Boston bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was in possession of right-wing American literature in the run-up to the attack, it was emerged today.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev subscribed to publications espousing white supremacy and government conspiracy theories.
He also had reading material on mass killings.
Until now Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar were widely perceived as just self-styled radical jihadists.
It was reported that Tamerlan Tsarnaev possessed articles which argued that both 9/11 and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing were government conspiracies.
Another in his possession was about “the rape of our gun rights”.
Reading material he had about white supremacy commented that “Hitler had a point”.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev also had literature which explored what motivated mass killings and noted how the perpetrators murdered and maimed calmly.
There was also material about US drones killing civilians, and about the plight of those still imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.
The Tsarnaev brothers, ethnic Chechens, spent their early years moving around a troubled region of Russia torn by a violent Islamic insurgency.
But for the last decade they lived in Cambridge, near Boston.
It appears Tamerlan Tsarnaev turned against the country and became passionate about Islam after becoming frustrated when his boxing career faltered because he did not have American citizenship.
A spokesperson for Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s mosque in Cambridge, Nicole Mossalam, said Tamerlan only prayed there occasionally. She portrayed him as an angry young man who latched onto Islam.
“As far connecting with the Islamic community here, to actually praying, being involved, doing acts of charity….all of those were pretty much lacking.
“I would say he was just a Muslim of convenience,” she said.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tamerlan’s younger brother who has been charged with the bombings, scrawled a note shortly before his capture stating: “We Muslims are one body. You hurt one you hurt us all.”
The brothers had been reading militant Islamic websites before the bombings.
The FBI has been investigating the brothers, and possible connections Tamerlan Tsarnaev might have had in the troubled Russian republic of Dagestan which he visited last year.
The House Intelligence Committee in Washington is being briefed on his connections.
The committee chairman, Mike Rogers said he believes the brothers’ mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, was involved in Tamerlan’s radicalization.
“He had family members encouraging, we know that for sure,” he said.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva denies the allegations.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in April following a gun fight with police which ended when his younger brother ran him over while trying to escape.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, recently brought to court, denied all charges.
If convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.
