New Jersey

Accused NYC, NJ Bomber Thrown Out of Court as Trial Begins

Defense lawyers have argued the government is trying to wrongly paint a picture of Rahimi, an Afghanistan-born U.S. citizen, as an extremist. They say federal lawyers have drummed up a "radicalization" theory

A man accused of setting off a pressure cooker bomb in New York City that injured 30 people was a "soldier in a holy war" bent on carrying out a murderous plot with maximum carnage, federal prosecutors said Monday at the start of his trial.

Ahmad Khan Rahimi researched online, bought ingredients and assembled bombs after watching how-to videos, they said.

"He designed it, he built it ... he filled it with explosives and deadly shrapnel and he planted it on the street," Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Crowley said.

Rahimi was briefly thrown out of court before the trial started when he tried to address jurors, saying he hadn't been allowed to see his wife and children for almost all of the last year. He was eventually allowed back in, and the judge allowed him to speak without jury present. 

Rahimi planted a pipe bomb at a charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey, that exploded but didn't injure anyone, they said. He went back home, then took a train into Manhattan and planted two pressure cooker bombs; one didn't go off, they said. The other, hidden near a large trash bin, burst at about 8:30 p.m. sending the 100-pound trash bin flying into the air. The blast shattered windows and sent bits of metal into the air.

The bomb knocked witness Helena Ayeh, an architect who was headed home, off her feet. She couldn't see or hear. She was bleeding heavily. Her knees were bruised. She opened her eyes and an emergency worker told her to shut them immediately. She asked if her eye was still even there.

"And she hesitated, and she said yes," Ayeh recounted Monday on the witness stand. She said she asked the woman why she hesitated.

"And she said, 'Do you believe in God?' I said yes. She said. 'Pray.'"

Ayeh said she'd suffered a deep cut in her right eye, and the metal barely missed slicing her eye in half. She said she eventually recovered her vision.

Rahimi has not been charged with terrorism, but federal lawyers say his interest in jihad, terrorist attacks and terrorist organizations vastly influenced his plans. They said he was arrested carrying a notebook with writings with such passages as "the sounds of bombs will be heard in the streets," and attack the non-believers.

"He was a soldier in a holy war against Americans, and New York and New Jersey were his battle grounds," Crowley said.

Rahmini's defense attorney, Meghan Gilligan, asked jurors to keep an open mind about the case and said the government would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her client is guilty.

"He is at the end of the day a person," who deserves an open mind from jurors, she said.

Rahimi was briefly removed from court just as his case opened after he interrupted proceedings to speak with U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman. He returned after the prosecution's opening statement and apologized for the outburst. He told the judge he was concerned because he hadn't been able to see his wife since his detention.

"It was not my intention to make a scene," he told the judge, but he's barely seen his three children and hasn't seen his wife once, because she is not approved to go to the detention facility where he's held.

"Why are they preventing me from seeing my wife?" he asked the judge. Berman scolded Rahimi for making a scene and for raising the issue "one minute before we were scheduled to start this trial," but promised he'd look into the visitation issue.

Rahimi sat down and had no other outbursts as the case progressed.

The 29-year-old who lived with his family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, is not charged with terrorism, but he has been charged with crimes including bombing a public place, using a weapon of mass destruction and interstate transportation of explosives.

He was shot by law enforcement during his arrest two days after the attacks. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Jurors were expected to see various terrorism-related videotapes, a book, a blood-stained journal with a bullet hole in it and two 2012 emails found during the investigation. Berman ruled the evidence could be included because they might show motive, intentions, preparation and knowledge of the bombings.

Jurors also may hear details of a bomb left in an Elizabeth, New Jersey, trash can.

Berman rejected a request to move the trial from New York to Vermont or Washington, D.C.

Rahimi also has been charged with attempted murder in New Jersey because authorities say he shot at police officers during his arrest. Details of the shootout won't be included in the federal trial.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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