Jury Selection For Key West Backpack Bomb Suspect
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KEY WEST (CBSMiami/AP) — The federal trial of a Key West man accused of conspiring to detonate a bomb on a Keys beach is scheduled to get underway on Friday with jury selection.
Opening statements could take place as early as Monday in the trial of 25-year-old Harlem Suarez who has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The FBI says Suarez told an informant he wanted to set off a backpack bomb on a Key West beach. He was arrested in 2015 after accepting an inert device from an FBI employee posing as an extremist.
Prosecutors say Suarez drew inspiration from the Islamic State for his alleged plot.
Suarez faces a lengthy prison term if convicted of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and supporting terrorism.
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