Jury Selection Starts In Port Authority Pipe Bomb Trial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Jury selection got underway Monday in the terror trial of a man accused of setting off a poorly constructed pipe bomb near the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Akayed Ullah, a Bangladeshi immigrant, allegedly strapped the bomb to his body and partially detonated the device inside a passageway that links the Times Square subway station to the bus terminal in Midtown.
He told authorities he "did it for the Islamic State," according to a federal criminal complaint.
Watch: Pipe Bomb Partially Explodes Near Port Authority Bus Terminal
Ullah was indicted on five counts in the December 2017 attack, including providing material support to terrorists and using a weapon of mass destruction. He pleaded not guilty in January.
He was hospitalized with serious burns after the attack. Five other people suffered minor injuries.
U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan told dozens of possible jurors that Ullah is presumed innocent. The trial is likely to last about two weeks.
Sullivan told lawyers he would question prospective jurors to ensure they were not affected by reports of bomb-laden packages sent last week to critics of President Donald Trump.
Authorities said Ullah, who lived in Brooklyn, moved to the United States on an immigrant visa in 2011 before later becoming a legal, permanent resident.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
