Boston Marathon bombing

=== 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>