WICHITA — Three men accused of plotting to bomb an apartment complex housing Somali refugees have asked a federal judge to pull prospective jurors from rural Kansas because they are twice as likely to have voted for President Donald Trump.
Investigators said the plotters were part of a group called “the Crusaders” that had militia and so-called sovereign citizen ties.
A defense motion filed Friday argues plans to issue summons only to citizens in the more urban counties closest to the federal courthouse is a discriminatory practice that excludes rural and conservative jurors. The trial begins March 19 in Wichita.
Gavin Wright, Patrick Stein and Curtis Allen are charged with conspiring to detonate the day after the 2016 election truck bombs at a mosque and apartment complex in the meatpacking town of Garden City. They have pleaded not guilty.
Wright is a former Manhattan resident.
