Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Charged With Using A Weapon Of Mass Destruction

That's according to a statement issued this afternoon by the U.S. Department of Justice, which reads in part:

In a criminal complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Tsarnaev is specifically charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (namely, an improvised explosive device or IED) against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death

Tsarnaev will be tried in civilian court and not as an enemy combatant. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. He also had his first court hearing today in his hospital room, where he's been listed in critical but stable condition. Tsarnaev's case will be prosecuted by two U.S. attorneys from the feds' anti-terrorism and national security unit, with help from the DOJ's counterterrorism section.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Update: The complete criminal complaint can be read below.