Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev faces a 30-count indictment by a federal grand jury that charges him with using weapons of mass destruction and killing four people.
The indictment alleges that Tsarnaev, who had been inspired by Al Qaeda publications, left a confession in the boat where he was captured in a Watertown back yard, saying, “I don’t like killing innocent people†but it was justified because of US government actions abroad.
“The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians. .... I can’t stand to see such evil go unpunished. ... We Muslims are one body, you hurt one, you hurt us all,†Tsarnaev allegedly wrote. “Stop killing our innocent people, we will stop.â€
Seventeen of the charges carry the possibility of the death penalty. The others carry the possibility of as much as life in prison, prosecutors said in a statement.
Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured in the twin blasts near the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15. Authorities have said Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted the explosives. They have also said the Tsarnaevs killed MIT police officer Sean Collier.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed after a shootout with police on April 19 in Watertown. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arrested after he was found hiding in the boat later that day.
The indictment alleges that sometime before the bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, downloaded several different pieces of extremist Islamic propaganda from the Internet, including one that directed Muslims not to give their allegiances to governments that invade Muslim lands and another by Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki is the American citizen who became a senior operative in Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen and was killed in a 2011 drone strike.
A 3 p.m. news conference has been slated at the federal courthouse in Boston to discuss the indictments. Among those expected to attend are US Attorney Carmen J. Ortiz, and officials from the Middlesex and Suffolk district attorney’s office, as well the head of the Boston FBI and the head of the Massachusetts State Police.
The charges include: use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death; bombing of a place of public use resulting in death, malicious destruction of property resulting in death, and conspiring to do those crimes. The charges also include use of a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime and carjacking resulting in serious injury, federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Tsarnaev learned how to make the pressure cooker bombs used in the bombings from Volume 1 of a magazine called “Inspire,†the indictment alleged.
He also downloaded a book called, “Jihad and the Effects on Intention Upon It.’’ The indictment said the book “glorifies martyrdom in the service of violent Jihad.’’
The indictment alleges that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, purchased 48 mortars from Phanton Fireworks in Seabrook, N.H., containing approximately eight pounds of explosive powder. The two brothers allegedly went to Manchester, N.H., on March 20 where they rented two 9mm handguns and fired off some 200 rounds at the range.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev placed the bomb in front of Marathon Sports at 671 Boylston St., while Dzhokhar Tsarnaev placed the bomb in front of the Forum restaurant at 755 Boylston St., the indictment alleged.
The indictment alleges that after their pictures had been released to the public by law enforcement, the Tsarnaevs, armed with five improvised explosive devices, a Ruger P95 semi-automatic pistol, ammunition, a machete, and a hunting knife, killed MIT officer Collier and attempted to steal his service weapon.
After fleeing the Cambridge scene of the Collier slaying, the Tsarnaevs confronted police in Watertown, using four of the five IEDs against them. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was tackled by three Watertown police, who struggled with him as they tried to handcuff him. Dzhokhar drove his car at the three officers, running over his brother, “seriously injuring and contributing to his death,†the indictment alleged.
State indictments have also been handed up, the US attorney’s office said.
The bombings had raised questions about what motivated the brothers and whether US officials could have stopped them before they struck.
