Bomb suspect seeks change of venue, citing media coverage
NEW YORK — A man accused of setting off bombs in New Jersey and New York seven months ago, injuring dozens of people, asked a judge on Wednesday to move his trial to Vermont to avoid the possibility potential jurors have been influenced by prejudicial publicity about the case.
Lawyers for Ahmad Khan Rahimi, an Afghanistan-born U.S. citizen, said in court papers he would get a fairer trial in Burlington, Vermont. They said an expert analysis shows that media coverage of his case in Manhattan newspapers was twice as heavy as occurred in Washington, D.C., and five times as much as in Burlington publications.
Rahimi, who lived with his family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, is charged with detonating a pipe bomb along a charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and planting two pressure cooker bombs in Manhattan on Sept. 17.
One device did not explode. The other one detonated in the Chelsea neighbourhood, injuring 30 people.