Bombing suspect is charged in two federal courts; he was questioned without lawyer, PD says
Bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami is now facing federal as well as state charges in connection with bombings in New York and New Jersey and a shootout with police.
Rahami was charged in connection with the bombings on Tuesday in complaints filed in federal courts in Newark (PDF) and Manhattan (PDF). The charges include using weapons of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, according to the Washington Post, the New York Times and a press release.
Rahami was previously charged in state court with five counts of attempting to murder a law enforcement officer, charges that relate to the police shootout that wounded Rahami.
A letter (PDF) filed with the federal court late Tuesday by the executive director of Federal Defenders of New York says Rahami “has already been held on extremely serious state charges in New Jersey for over 36 hours without the benefit of counsel. He is receiving treatment for gunshot wounds at a hospital in Newark, New Jersey. He has been held and questioned by federal law enforcement agents since his arrest on September 19, 2016. The Sixth Amendment requires that he be given access to counsel on the federal charges, and that he be presented without delay.”
The letter says public defenders could represent Rahami through a telephone or video conference.
The criminal complaint said authorities found a handwritten journal on Rahami that contained references to “brother Osama Bin Laden” and Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaida propagandist who was killed in a 2011 drone strike. He also referred to the Boston Marathon bombing and the Fort Hood shooting.
