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Boston Bombing Trial Starts With Defense Lawyer Admitting ‘It Was Him’

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Updated: | Originally published: ;

BOSTON — Nearly two years after twin blasts rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon, alleged bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared before a jury Wednesday as a federal prosecutor accused him of believing he was “a soldier in a holy war against Americans” and Tsarnaev’s defense lawyer admitted that “it was him” in surveillance videos dropping a bomb-laden backpack on crowded Boylston Street.

In opening statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb painted a detailed picture of the moments before the April 15, 2013 attack, with thousands gathered along the race sidelines as a Boston Red Sox game let out. Weinreb also presented a portrait of Tsarnaev as a duplicitous character who kept his violent tendencies secret from his closest friends and mingled among race’s spectators…

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Photos: The Last Moments of the Man Hunt for Boston Bombing Suspect

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
6:02.14 p.m. Tactical Police Officers converge on the house where 19-year-old Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was hiding at the time of his capture in Watertown, Mass., April 19, 2013.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
6:04.55 p.m. Tactical Police Officers get their first view of the boat where Tsarnaev was hiding.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
6:15.04 p.m. Massachusetts State Police troopers prepare for the final assault on the boat where Tsarnaev was hiding.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:08:59 p.m. The boat containing Tsarnaev.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:29:21 p.m. Tsarnaev, bloody and disheveled, rises out of the boat.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:29:38 p.m. Tsarnaev raises his hands.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:31:10 p.m. Tsarnaev stands in the boat.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:31:11 p.m. Tsarnaev stands in the boat.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:31:23 p.m. Tsarnaev stands in the boat with the red dot of a rifle's laser sight locked on his head.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:32:10 p.m. Tsarnaev raises his shirt to show that he is not armed or concealing an explosive device.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:33:54 p.m. Tsarnaev begins to step out of the boat.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:39:48 p.m. Tsarnaev stands in the boat with his hands raised.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:39:48 p.m.Tsarnaev stands in the boat with his hands raised.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:39:59 p.m. Tactical units move in on Tsarnaev to remove him from the boat.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:40:06 p.m. Tactical units move in on Tsarnaev to remove him from the boat.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:40:16 p.m. Tactical units move in on Tsarnaev to remove him from the boat.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:40:31 p.m. Tactical units remove Tsarnaev from the boat and place him in custody.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:46:48 p.m. Tactical units tend to Tsarnaev.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:46:48 p.m. Tactical units tend to Tsarnaev.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture
7:49:02 p.m. Medical personnel move Tsarnaev into an ambulance.Sgt. Sean Murphy—Massachusetts State Police

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