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Boston Bombing Suspect Charged

Posted at 2:02 PM, Apr 22, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-22 14:08:06-04
By Michael Pearson and Holly Yan, CNN
updated 1:55 PM EDT, Mon April 22, 2013
 

(CNN) The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has been charged, the Justice Department announced Monday.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death, according to a statement from the Justice Department.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Tsarnaev, 19, made his initial appearance Monday before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler in his hospital room at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston.

The decision to charge Tsarnaev in civilian court put an end to speculation that he would be charged as an enemy combatant, a designation sometimes used against terrorists.