Terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov, who has admitted to using a rental truck to kill eight people in New York City earlier this week in the name of ISIS, should be considered as enemy combatants and not getting their read their Miranda rights, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday.
"Congress probably needs to pass a law that says people who are identified as enemy combatants don't get Miranda rights," Gingrich told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.
"We have to fight this through the Supreme Court. But the fact is you're dealing with terrorists."
The most important thing to know, with a captured terrorist, is what that person knows, said Gingrich. Criminal law protects the innocent, he added, but "when you've got a guy who's driving a truck and killing eight people, you don't have an obligation to say 'oh, we're going to give you the benefit of the doubt.' This is an enemy combatant. This is a person who has sided with the other team."
The laws need to be revised to recognize the U.S. is in a worldwide campaign, Gingrich continued.
"Everybody is focused on Raqqa and Syria," he said. "The truth is there's an ISIS-type campaign underway in the Philippines. We just had Americans killed in Niger from an ISIS-type campaign. We have people in the United States like this guy who are being radicalized, and it's not just about immigration."
And, said Gingrich, such people are not confused or mentally ill — they're enemies.
By reading such people their Miranda rights, one can't be sure if they're going to talk, particularly if they're surrounded by lawyers.
"We have a good track record doing it without torture," said Gingrich. "There are lots of things that you can do to get people to talk that are short of torture. I think you want a sophisticated facility.
"You don't have to go to Guantanamo if you change the laws inside the U.S. What you can do is get involved in a trial where the defendant has the right to make you reveal your sources."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.