Judge refuses to bar protesters outside Boston attack trial
A judge on Tuesday refused to bar demonstrators from gathering outside the court during the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, rejecting a request from his lawyers who worry that "self-appointed supporters" who believe the attacks were a government plot could hurt his chances for a fair trial.
The 2013 bombings killed three people and injured more than 260. Tsarnaev, 21, faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted. Jury selection is ongoing.
Tsarnaev's lawyers asked the court in December to ensure that jurors, survivors of the bombings and witnesses at the trial can leave the courthouse without having to pass through a "gauntlet of demonstrators bearing insulting and inflammatory messages."
