Marathon Bombing Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

By Sara Jacobi

The man accused of bombing the Boston Marathon was arraigned in federal court today on 30 charges including possession of weapons of mass destruction and murder. Seventeen of the charges carry a potential death penalty sentence. 

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, appeared before Judge Marianne B. Bowler at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston on Wednesday afternoon, July 10.

Tsarnaev appeared in court wearing an orange jumpsuit that was unbuttoned, and a cast on his left arm. 

As the 30 charges against him were read, Tsarnaev's defense attorneys, Miriam Conrad and Judy Clarke, noted he would be pleading "not guilty" on all charges. 

Judge Bowler asked Tsarnaev to stand and enter his plea himself.

Standing at the microphone and speaking with a slight accent, Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to all 30 charges as they were read in several groups. 

Wednesday's arraignment was Tsarnaev's first court appearance since his arrest on April 19, after a 24-hour-long standoff with police. After his arrest, he was held in a hospital to recuperate from wounds sustained during his capture. He was later transported to a military prison at Fort Devens. 

Dzhokhar and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed during a confrontation with police in Watertown on April 19, are alleged to have created a pair of bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15, killing three and wounding hundreds.

The two have also been charged in the death of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier.