Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been read his Miranda Rights as he was charged with using weapons of mass destruction during an arraignment while he laid in his hospital bed.
During the proceedings at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, only uttered the word “no” when asked if he could afford a defense attorney.
The teenager was officially read his Miranda Rights at the time was he was arraigned on Monday by a magistrate judge, court officials said.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was also asked several questions in which he nodded his head to respond.
The hearing began with a doctor being asked whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is alert.
“You can rouse him,” the doctor said, according to a transcript of the hearing obtained by The New York Times.
Dzhokar Tsarnaev then nods his head when asked how he’s feeling.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Marianne B. Bowler said: “At this time, at the conclusion of the initial appearance, I find that the defendant is alert, mentally competent and lucid.
“He is aware of the nature of the proceedings.”
A probable cause hearing in the case was then set for May 30.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is specifically charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction – namely, an improvised explosive device or IED – against persons and property within the US resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death, according to the criminal complaint.
If he is convicted, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces the death penalty or life imprisonment. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000.
Regardless of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s sentence if found guilty, rocker Ted Nugent has weighed in on the case, arguing that his punishment be much more severe, and as America’s “Founding Fathers” intended.
In a column for World Net Daily entitled, “Time to Stretch Neck of Jihadist Punk”, Ted Nugent wrote: “Imagine if this jihadist punk had basically committed the same crimes 150 years ago. He would have been swinging from an oak tree in Boston Common no longer than 60 days from the date of his arrest. That would be justice.”
The charging documents reveal dramatic new details of the investigation and events following the bombings, including a list of items obtained from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s college dorm room and claims that during a carjacking at least one suspect was advertising his role in the marathon bombings.
“Although our investigation is ongoing, today’s charges bring a successful end to a tragic week for the city of Boston, and for our country,” US Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will not be tried as an enemy combatant because he is a naturalized US citizen and under federal law, citizens cannot be tried in military commissions, the White House said Monday. Instead, he will be tried in the US justice system.
CARJACKING
The charging papers allege that Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev carjacked a man around midnight on Thursday and that older brother, Tamerlan, told the car’s owner that he had carried out the Boston Marathon bombings.
“The victim stated that while he was sitting in his car on a road in Cambridge, a man approached and tapped on his passenger-side window,” according to the charges.
“When the victim rolled down the window, the man reached in, opened the door, and entered the victim’s vehicle. The man pointed a firearm at the victim and stated, <<Did you hear about the Boston explosion?>> and <<I did that>>.”
The gunman, identified by the FBI as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, removed the magazine from his firearm to show the victim that it was loaded, then re-inserted it and said: “I am serious.”
Tamerlan Tsarnaev then allegedly forced the victim to drive to a location where they picked up Dzhokhar.
One of the suspects then got behind the wheel of the car and demanded money and an ATM card from the victim. The suspects drove to a gas station and got out of the car to withdraw money, at which point the victim managed to escape.
FIREFIGHT
The stolen vehicle with the two suspects inside was located by authorities a short time later in Watertown, Massachusetts. As police cruisers descended on the scene, the men threw at least two small IEDs from the car windows, sparking a firefight.
During the exchange of fire Tamerlan Tsarnaev got out of the car and was shot several times. Meanwhile, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev managed to escape in the car – but not without first running over Tamerlan’s body.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and authorities launched a manhunt for Dzhokhar, who apparently abandoned the carjacked vehicle shortly after making his getaway.
CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES
From the scene of the shootout, the FBI recovered two unexploded IEDs, as well as the remnants of numerous exploded devices. Another in-tact device was found inside the abandoned vehicle.
A preliminary examination of the explosive devices that were used at the Boston Marathon revealed that they were low-grade explosives housed inside pressure cookers with metallic BBs and nails. Many of the BBs were contained within an adhesive material, authorities said.
Investigators discovered the exact same type of explosives at the scene of the firefight and inside the abandoned getaway car.
MANHUNT
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was on the run for nearly a full day when authorities located him hiding in David Henneberry’s boat parked outside his home in Watertown.
The bomber engaged in a firefight with police from inside the boat before he was eventually coaxed out of the vessel, authorities said.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had visible injuries, including apparent gunshot wounds to the head, neck, legs, and hand. He was searched and authorities found several means of identification in his pockets, including credit cards and a Dartmouth student ID.
“At the end they were just making demands of him: Show your hands, lift your shirt. And eventually that’s what he did,” Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau told ABC News.
“He was very slow and lethargic in every move that he made and they could see that there was no device on his chest. They kept creeping closer to him and then they felt it safe enough to pull him away from the boat.”
Authorities initially said they couldn’t question the terror suspect because of his severe throat wound.
Authorities conducted a search at Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Dartmouth dorm, where they found a pyrotechnic as well as a white hat and black jacket like the ones he is pictured wearing in surveillance footage from the scene of the marathon bombings.
MARATHON BOMBINGS
The charging documents also contain new details about the marathon bombings and allege that at least one of the suspects was using a cell phone shortly before the explosions.
The documents state that at approximately 2:41 p.m. – about 8 minutes before the explosions – both bombing suspects were standing together about a half-block from the Forum Restaurant on Boylston Street near the finish line, according to footage from surveillance cameras.
About one minute later, one suspect – believed to be Tamerlan Tsarnaev – appears to break away from the crowd and begin walking east on Boylston street toward the finish line.
At 2:45 p.m. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev – referred to in the charging documents as “Bomber Two” – walks in the same direction but stops short of the finish line, directly in front of Forum Restaurant.
“He appears to have the thumb of his right hand hooked under the strap of his knapsack and a cell phone in his left hand,” FBI special agent Daniel R. Genck wrote in the documents.
About 15 seconds later, “Bomber Two” appears to drop his knapsack to the ground.
The suspect stays in that position for about four minutes, occasionally looking at his cell phone and once appearing to snap a picture with it.
“At some point he appears to look at his phone, which is held at approximately waist level, and may be manipulating the phone,” the charging papers state. “Approximately 30 seconds before the first explosion, he lifts his phone to his ear as if he is speaking on his cell phone, and keeps it there for approximately 18 seconds.
“A few seconds after he finishes the call, the large crowd of people around him can be seen reacting to the first explosion.”
As others are reacting to the explosion, “Bomber Two” “calmly but rapidly” begins moving away from the finish line – without his backpack, which he had left on the ground.
About 10 seconds later, an explosion occurs in the location of the discarded knapsack.
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