Boston suspect's friend in YouTube video: I'm "an average guy"
A YouTube video uploaded last year shows one of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's three college friends currently held by police.
Robel Phillipos uploaded the video on March 16, 2012 for what appears to be a school project (video below). He and two other students from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth were arrested and accused Wednesday of removing a backpack containing fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room three days after the attack.
- Accused Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's friends hid damning evidence, feds say
- Criminal complaint against Robel Phillipos (PDF)
- Criminal complaint against Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov (PDF)
- Special Section: Boston Marathon Bombing
The most interesting part of the video comes about three-and-a-half minutes in, when Phillipos responds to a question about what he would do if he, like the character in the book he is reporting on, came across a large sum of money. Phillipos describes his upbringing:
"I grew up in a very mild-mannered way of living," Phillipos says in the video. "I wasn't too poor, I wasn't too rich. I was, you know, an average guy."
"But I've experienced so much, you know, going to Africa - I've seen the 'depths of hell' and back," he continues, making air quotes. "I've seen the poor people, and I can definitely see myself giving a lot of money - not only money, but actually trying to make a difference."
A photo dated April 18, 2013 from a Russian social media network shows Dzhokhar, 19, with the two other men being held: Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev.
Lawyers for the suspects said in a press conference late Wednesday afternoon that their clients had no idea the attack was being planned.