Boston Marathon Bombing Arrest: 5th Man Charged With Obstruction, Making False Statements During Investigation
More than a year after the Boston Marathon bombings, a fifth arrest was made in connection to the terror attack.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Khairullozhon Matanov has been charged with obstructing the investigation to the April 2013 bombings. He's charged with one count of "destroying, altering and falsifying records, documents and tangible objects," specifically from his computer, during the federal investigation. The DOJ disclosed three additional counts were also filed for making false, fictitious and fraudulent statement to federal investigators.
Matanov, a Quincy, Massachusetts, resident, was arrested shortly after 5 a.m. on Friday. The 23-year-old is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston this afternoon.
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U.S. District Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz's office stated Matanov allegedly knew the FBI was likely to contact him because of his ties to bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who are accused of planting two homemade bombs that killed three people and injuring over 260 others.
"Matanov allegedly then took a series of steps to impede the FBI's investigation into the extent of his friendship, contact and communication with the suspected bombers, and the fact that he shared the suspected bombers' philosophical justification for violence," Ortiz said. "In addition to deleting information from his computer, Matanov made a number of false statements to federal investigators."
Matanov is not charged with participating or knowing in advance about the Boston Marathon bombings. According to the Houston Chronicle, a spokesperson decline to comment if additional charges were possible against Matanov.
Prosecutors against Matanov claimed he invited the Tsarnaev brothers to dinner 40 minutes after the bombings. Prosecutors also stated he told an unnamed witness that he would support the bombings if the Tsarnaev brothers provided a "just reason."
"In the days following the bombings, Matanov continued to express support for the bombings, although later that week he said that maybe the bombings were wrong," read the 20-page indictment. "He expressed sympathy for the victims' families, although he continued to explain away the significance of the victims' deaths on the ground that everyone must eventually die."
According to Matanov, the maximum sentence Matanov could face for the destruction count is 20 years in prison and eight years for false statements. The total four counts also serve a maximum three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation of Matanov was conducted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Originally from Kyrgyzstan, Matanov is a legal resident in the U.S.
Indictment Against Matanov:
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