UPDATE: Man Accused of Point Pleasant Beach Attempted Carjacking Could Be Charged As a Terrorist

If Ali Muhammad Brown’s confession is accurate, the man accused of killing a Livingston teen and attempting a carjacking in Point Pleasant Beach could be tried as a terrorist, according to William C. Banks, Director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism at Syracuse University.

On Wednesday, Brown, 29, stated that he murdered Brendan Tevlin, a 19-year-old Seton Hall Prep grad from Livingston, along with three other men in retribution for lives lost in the military conflicts in the middle east, NJ.com reported.

“If he’s got the motivation that he announced he has, which is to extract revenge for the U.S. killing of Muslims in that part of the world, he’s a terrorist,” Banks told NJ.com. “It’s a matter of motivation.”

In the New Jersey, acts of terror that result in a death can result in the perpetrator being sentenced to life in prison.

The death penalty was repealed in New Jersey by Governor Corzine. But if Brown is extradited and convicted for the crimes he allegedly committed in Washington, he could receive the death penalty there. He could be tried by the U.S. Department of Justice for crimes of terror under the federal statutes in place.

In court documents detailing a confession released earlier this week, Brown explained his motives stating, “All these lives are taken every single day by America, by this government. So a life for a life,” according to NJ.com reports.

Brown has been held at the Essex County Jail since July 18.

At this time, it is unclear if Brown will be extradited to Washington to stand trial for the three murders he is charged with there before being tried in New Jersey for the murder of Brandon Tevlin.

Check back with Patch for more updates on this story. Read more on Brown and the murder of Tevlin here.