NYC ATTACK | Trump calls for death penalty for NYC truck attack suspect

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump today backed away from his threat to send the suspect in the New York bike path attack to Guantanamo Bay, acknowledging in an early morning tweet the military judicial process at the Cuban detention center takes longer than the civilian federal court system.

But Trump called again for the man to be executed, which could complicate the case for prosecutors and give defense attorneys a chance to argue the president's tweets hurt their client's right to a fair trial.

Trump tweeted this morning the case against Sayfullo Saipov, 29, "Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY!" He had tweeted Wednesday night: "NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!"

His comments broke with longstanding tradition against presidents publicly commenting on criminal cases.

Trump on Wednesday, in seemingly off-the-cuff responses to reporters, said he would consider sending Saipov to Guantanamo, a notion the White House later reinforced by saying it considered Saipov to be an "enemy combatant." Authorities say Saipov was inspired by the Islamic State group when he veered into a city bike path in Manhattan on Tuesday, killing eight people.

But just a few hours later, the government filed federal terrorism charges against the Uzbek immigrant, signaling an intent to prosecute him within the U.S. The one-two developments marked a sharp disconnect between the president and his administration.

8:25 a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — The suspect in a deadly truck rampage was inspired by the Islamic State group's online videos and plotted his New York City attack for two months, renting a truck ahead of time to practice turning it, federal authorities said in a criminal complaint bringing terrorism charges against the Uzbek immigrant.

Sayfullo Saipov chose the attack date to target Halloween crowds, according to the criminal complaint. And after his trail of terror was halted by a police bullet, he asked to display the Islamic State group's flag in his hospital room, saying "he felt good about what he had done," authorities said.

Brought to court in a wheelchair, Saipov was held without bail on charges that could bring the death penalty. Separately, the FBI was questioning people who might have information about his actions before the attack, including a second Uzbek man.

The charges against Saipov, 29, came just a day after the attack near the World Trade Center killed eight people. Investigators in multiple states raced to retrace Saipov's steps and understand his motivations, which they said were illuminated by a note he left by the truck: "Islamic Supplication. It will endure."

The phrase "it will endure" commonly refers to the Islamic State group, and Saipov had a cellphone loaded with the group's propaganda, an FBI agent said in the criminal complaint.

Handcuffed and with his legs shackled, Saipov nodded his head as he was read his rights in a brief court proceeding that he followed through a Russian interpreter. Outside court, his appointed lawyer, David Patton, said he hoped "everyone lets the judicial process play out."

"I promise you that how we treat Mr. Saipov in this judicial process will say a lot more about us than it will say about him," Patton said.

The FBI released a poster saying it was looking for one of Saipov's associates, Mukhammadzoir Kadirov, only to announce less than 90 minutes later that it had found him.

A law-enforcement official said Kadirov was a friend of Saipov's and may not have any role in the case. Saipov didn't have many friends, the official said. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.