Bomb suspect seeks change of venue, citing media coverage

A man accused of setting off bombs in New Jersey and New York has asked a judge to move his trial to Vermont. (Photo: Michael Vadon/Flickr)

NEW YORK — A man accused of setting off bombs in New Jersey and New York has asked a judge to move his trial to Vermont.

Lawyers for Afghanistan-born U.

S. citizen Ahmad Khan Rahimi say in papers filed late Wednesday he would get a fairer trial in Burlington, Vermont. They say an expert analysis shows media coverage of his case in Manhattan newspapers was twice as heavy as occurred in Washington, D.C., and five times as much as in Burlington publications.

Rahimi is charged with detonating a pipe bomb along a charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and planting two pressure cooker bombs in Manhattan on Sept. 17. He has pleaded not guilty.

One device did not explode. The other one detonated in the Chelsea neighbourhood, injuring 30 people.