Boston Marathon bombing

== Motives and backgrounds of the Tsarnaev brothers ==

=== Motives ===
According to FBI interrogators, Dzhokhar and his brother were motivated by extremist beliefs but "were not connected to any known terrorist groups", instead learning to build explosive weapons from an online magazine published by [[al-Qaeda]] affiliates in Yemen.<ref name="AutoLC-8" /> They further alleged that "Dzhokhar and his brother considered suicide attacks and striking the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Fourth of July";<ref>{{cite news|title=Boston Plotters Said to Initially Target July 4 for Attack|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/us/Boston-bombing-suspects-planned-july-fourth-attack.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 2, 2013 |access-date= April 11, 2015|first1=Eric|last1=Schmitt|first2=Mark|last2=Mazzetti|first3=Michael S.|last3=Schmidt|first4=Scott|last4=Shane}}</ref> but ultimately decided to use remotely-activated pressure cooker bombs and other IEDs. Fox News reported that the brothers "chose the prestigious race as a 'target of opportunity' ... [after] the building of the bombs came together more quickly than expected".<ref name="Fox TOA">{{cite web|date=May 2, 2013|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/02/new-information-revealed-about-boston-marathon-bombing-devices/|title=Boston Marathon was 'target of opportunity,' bombs built in attacker's home, sources say|work=Fox News Channel|access-date=May 19, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Douglas|first=Scott|date=May 3, 2013|url=http://www.runnersworld.com/races/marathon-was-target-of-opportunity-bombing-suspect-says|title=Marathon was 'Target of Opportunity,' Bombing Suspect Says|work=RunnersWorld.com|access-date=May 19, 2013}}</ref>

Dzhokhar said that he and his brother wanted to defend Islam from the U.S., accusing the U.S. of conducting the [[Iraq War]] and [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]] against Muslims.<ref name="CNN220130423" /><ref name="AutoLC-98" /><ref name="AutoG4-3" /> A CBS report revealed that Dzhokhar had scrawled a note with a marker on the interior wall of the boat where he was hiding; the note stated that the bombings were "retribution for U.S. military action in Afghanistan and Iraq", and called the Boston victims "[[collateral damage]]", "in the same way innocent victims have been collateral damage in U.S. wars around the world".<ref name="cbs20130516" /> Photographs of the note were later used in the trial.<ref>{{cite news|work=CBS Local Boston|url=http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/03/10/jury-in-boston-bombing-trial-sees-photos-of-writing-in-boat/|access-date=March 12, 2017|title=Boston Marathon Bombing Trial Jury Sees Photos Of Tsarnaev Boat Note|date=March 10, 2015}}</ref><ref name=NYT20130516>{{cite news|title=Note by Boston Bombing Suspect Sheds Light on Motive, Officials Say|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/us/boston-bombing-developments.html|newspaper=The New York Times | first1=Scott|last1=Shane|first2=Ellen|last2=Barry|date=May 16, 2013 |access-date= April 11, 2015}}</ref>

Some political science and public policy writers theorize that the primary motives might have been sympathy towards the political aspirations in the Caucasus region and Tamerlan's inability to become fully integrated into American society.<ref name="Secondary">{{cite news |title= Islam might have had secondary role in Boston attacks |first= Lisa |last= Wangsness |author2= Brian Ballou |url= https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/19/scholars-caution-against-drawing-easy-religious-conclusions-about-suspects-boston-marathon-bombings/a5Iucv4ntQHgSvXchQqKOM/story.html |newspaper= The Boston Globe |date= April 20, 2013 |access-date= April 26, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190216055617/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/19/scholars-caution-against-drawing-easy-religious-conclusions-about-suspects-boston-marathon-bombings/a5Iucv4ntQHgSvXchQqKOM/story.html |archive-date= February 16, 2019 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref> According to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', a law enforcement official said that Dzhokhar "did not seem as bothered about America's role in the Muslim world" as his brother Tamerlan had been.<ref name="la-times-suspect-describes-plot" /> Dzhokhar identified Tamerlan as the "driving force" behind the bombing, and said that his brother had only recently recruited him to help.<ref name="CNN220130423" /><ref name="AutoLC-102" />

Some journalists and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's defense attorney have suggested that the FBI may have recruited or attempted to recruit Tamerlan Tsarnaev as an informant.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2017/04/09/tamerlan-tsarnaev-fbi-informant/| author=Michele McPhee| title=Tamerlan Tsarnaev: Terrorist. Murderer. Federal Informant?| magazine=Boston Magazine| date=April 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://whowhatwhy.org/2015/04/09/was-tamerlan-tsarnaev-an-fbi-informant-odds-say-its-possible/| author=Lara Turner| title=Was Tamerlan Tsarnaev an FBI Informant? Odds Say it's Possible| publisher=Who.What.Why| date=April 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.wbur.org/news/2014/03/28/tamerlan-tsarnaev-fbi-informant| author=Rachel Paiste| title=Tamerlan Tsarnaev Was Approached To Be An Informant, Defense Says| publisher=WBUR News| date=March 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2017/06/15/tsarnaev-mcphee-fbi| author=Jamie Bologna and Meghna Chakrabarti| title=Unanswered Questions About Tamerlan Tsarnaev| publisher=WBUR| date=June 15, 2017}}</ref>

=== Backgrounds === 
[[File:4.20.13 6023BuchananPlaceByLuigiNovi4.jpg|thumb|upright|An apartment was searched in [[West New York, New Jersey]], that belonged to a sister of the Tsarnaevs.]]

{{See also|Tamerlan Tsarnaev#Personal background|Dzhokhar Tsarnaev#Personal background}}
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was born in 1986 in the [[Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]], [[North Caucasus]].<ref name="Wall Street Journal" /> Dzhokhar was born in 1993 in [[Kyrgyzstan]], although some reports say that his family claims that he was born in [[Dagestan]].<ref name="GuardianBirthplace" /> The family spent time in [[Tokmok]], Kyrgyzstan, and in [[Makhachkala]], Dagestan.<ref name="WashPost04192013" /><ref name="SullivanAP04192013" />
They are half [[Chechen people|Chechen]] through their father Anzor, and half [[Avar people (Caucasus)|Avar]]<ref name=thestarCarus /> through their mother Zubeidat. They never lived in [[Chechnya]], yet the brothers identified themselves as Chechen.<ref name="GuardianBirthplace" /><ref name="NYTimes04192013" /><ref name="HuffPost04192013" /><ref name="HuffPostNoronha04192013" />

The Tsarnaev family [[Immigration to the United States|immigrated]] to the United States in 2002<ref name="NY Times Standoff" /><ref name="NYTimes04192013" /><ref name="autogenerated4" /><ref name="AutoLC-105" /> where they applied for [[Asylum in the United States|political asylum]], settling in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref name="AtlanticWire04192013" /> Tamerlan Tsarnaev attended [[Bunker Hill Community College]] but dropped out to become a boxer. His goal was to gain a place on the U.S. Olympic boxing team, saying that, "unless his native [[Chechnya]] becomes independent", he would "rather compete for the United States than for Russia".<ref name="thecomment" /><ref name="deadspin" /> He married U.S. citizen Katherine Russell on July 15, 2010, in the Masjid Al Quran Mosque. While initially quoted in a student magazine as saying, "I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them," a later FBI interview report documents Tamerlan stating it was a misquote, and that most of his friends were American.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/tamerlan-tsarnaev|title=Tamerlan Tsarnaev|work=FBI|access-date=October 12, 2017|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/11/us/tamerlan-tsarnaev-fbi-boston-marathon-interview/index.html|title=Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev told FBI he never picked a fight|first=Eric |last=Levenson|work=CNN|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref>  He had a history of violence, including an arrest in July 2009 for assaulting his girlfriend.<ref name="AutoLC-107" />

The brothers were [[Muslim]]; Tamerlan's aunt stated that he had recently become a devout Muslim.<ref name="HuffPost04192013" /><ref name="HuffPostNoronha04192013" /> Tamerlan became more devout and religious after 2009,<ref name="cnn20130420" /><ref name="nyd20130421" /> and a YouTube channel in his name was linked to [[Salafi movement|Salafist]]<ref name="cnn20130420" /> and [[Islamism|Islamist]]<ref name="NYTimes20130420" /><ref name="AutoLC-108" /> videos. The FBI was informed by the Russian [[Federal Security Service]] (FSB) in 2011 that he was a "follower of radical Islam".<ref name="NYTimes20130420" /> In response, the FBI interviewed Tamerlan and his family and searched databases, but they did not find any evidence of "terrorism activity, domestic or foreign".<ref name="AutoLC-109" /><ref name="latimes20130420" /><ref name="AutoLC-110" /><ref name="AutoLC-111" /><ref name="AP FSB" /><ref name="Englund20130420" /> During the 2012 trip to Dagestan, Tamerlan was reportedly a frequent visitor at a mosque on Kotrova Street in Makhachkala,<ref name="AutoLC-112" /><ref name=dailybeastcaucasus /><ref name="AutoLC-113" /> believed by the FSB to be linked with radical Islam.<ref name="dailybeastcaucasus" /> Some believe that "they were motivated by their faith, apparently an anti-American, radical version of Islam" acquired in the U.S.,<ref name="AutoLC-114" /> while others believe that the turn happened in Dagestan.<ref name="AutoLC-115" />

At the time of the bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student at the [[University of Massachusetts Dartmouth]] with a major in [[marine biology]].<ref name="AutoLC-116" /> He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 11, 2012.<ref name="AutoLC-117" /> Tamerlan's boxing coach reported to NBC that the young brother was greatly affected by Tamerlan and admired him.<ref name="AutoLC-118" /><ref name="AutoLC-119" />

Tamerlan was previously connected to [[2011 Waltham triple murder|the triple homicide]] in [[Waltham, Massachusetts]], on the evening of September 11, 2011, but he was not a suspect at the time.<ref name=probe>{{cite news|url=https://boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/22/police-probe-possible-link-between-marathon-bomber-and-unsolved-triple-homicide-waltham/T6MgaX0lur7plZrGj0HsvO/story.html|first=Michael|last=Rezendes|title=Police probe possible link between Marathon bomber and unsolved triple homicide in Waltham|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=April 22, 2013|access-date=April 23, 2013|archive-date=April 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422230931/http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/22/police-probe-possible-link-between-marathon-bomber-and-unsolved-triple-homicide-waltham/T6MgaX0lur7plZrGj0HsvO/story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/boston-bombing-brings-twist-cold-murder-case/story?id=19063282&page=2 |title=Boston Bombing Brings Twist to Cold Murder Case |work=ABC News |date=April 29, 2013 |access-date=May 6, 2013}}</ref> [[Brendan Mess]], [[Erik Weissman]], and [[Raphael Teken]] were murdered in Mess's apartment. All had their throats slit from ear to ear with such great force that they were nearly [[decapitation|decapitated]]. The local district attorney said that it appeared that the killer and the victims knew each other, and that the murders were not random.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/09/14/they-all-dead-waltham-killings-likely-not-random/Jmz6xjUgA7wqt1TZIak33J/story.html|title='They're all dead': Waltham killings likely not random – Metro – The Boston Globe|work=BostonGlobe.com|access-date=April 8, 2015}}</ref> Tamerlan Tsarnaev had previously described murder victim Brendan Mess as his "best friend".<ref name= NYT1 /> After the bombing and subsequent revelations of Tsarnaev's personal life, the Waltham murders case was reexamined in April 2013 with Tsarnaev as a new suspect.<ref name=probe /> Both [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and ''The New York Times'' have reported that there is strong evidence which implicates Tsarnaev in this triple homicide.<ref name=NYT1>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/us/boston-bombing-suspect-is-said-to-be-linked-to-2011-triple-murder-case.html|title=In 2011 Murder Inquiry, Hints of Missed Chance to Avert Boston Bombing|date=July 11, 2013|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="tabletmag1">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/130396/boston-bomber-suspected-in-triple-homicide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423013635/http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/130396/boston-bomber-suspected-in-triple-homicide |archive-date=2013-04-23 |first=Adam|last=Chandler|title=Boston Bomber Suspected in Triple Homicide|magazine=Tablet|date=April 22, 2013|access-date=April 23, 2013}}</ref>

Some analysts claim that the Tsarnaevs' mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva is a radical extremist and supporter of jihad who influenced her sons' behavior.<ref name="Auto9P-4" /><ref name="Auto9P-5" /> This prompted the Russian government to warn the U.S. government on two occasions about the family's behavior. Both Tamerlan and his mother were placed on a terrorism watch list about 18 months before the bombing took place.<ref name="AutoQU-8" />