Seaside Park Bombing Suspect Escorted Out Of Courtroom As Trial Begins

ELIZABETH, NJ — The man accused of setting off pipe bombs in a garbage can along the planned route of a Marine Corps charity 5K in Seaside Park a year ago was removed from the courtroom Monday following an outburst as his trial there got underway on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

Ahmad Khan Rahimi, 29, is being tried in U.S. District Court in Elizabeth on charges including bombing a public place, using a weapon of mass destruction and interstate transportation of explosives in connection with the bombing attempt in Seaside Park and the explosion of a pressure cooker bomb in New York City that injured 30 people on Sept. 17, 2016, according to the AP report.

Rahimi had an outburst when he tried to speak with U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman and was escorted out. He returned after the prosecution's opening statement and apologized for the outburst, telling the judge he hadn't been able to see his wife since his detention.

Rahimi is accused of setting off a pressure cooker bomb in New York City while believing he was a "soldier in a holy war" bent on carrying out a murderous plot with maximum carnage, federal prosecutors said Monday at the start of his trial. He researched online, bought ingredients and assembled bombs after watching how-to videos, they said.

"He designed it. He built it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Crowley said. "He filled it with explosives and deadly shrapnel and he planted it on the street."

Rahimi planted a pipe bomb at a charity race in Seaside Park that exploded but didn't injure anyone, prosecutors said. He went back home, then took a train into Manhattan and planted two pressure cooker bombs, they said.

The bombing in Seaside Park resulted in the cancellation of the Seaside Semper V race, a fundraiser for the Marine Corps charity MARSOC, and also resulted in theshutdown of other events at the Jersey Shore last September, as authorities tried to track who was responsible.

The pipe bombs exploded in the garbage can along the race route; delays at the start of the race resulted in no one being near the garbage can, and no one was injured.

Rahimi, who lived with his family in Elizabeth, also has been charged with attempted murder in New Jersey because authorities say he shot at police officers during his arrest two days after the bombings. Details of the shootout won't be included in the federal trial. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

While Rahimi has not been charged with terrorism, prosecutors say his interest in jihad, terrorist attacks and terrorist organizations vastly influenced his plans. They said he was arrested carrying a notebook with writings with such passages as "the sounds of bombs will be heard in the streets."

Crowley called him a "soldier in a holy war against Americans, and New York and New Jersey were his battle grounds."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

AP Photo/Mel Evans, File