Trial Tests Courthouse's Neighbors

Moussaoui Case a Big Presence In a Dense Area of Alexandria

As Zacarias Moussaoui was thrown out of a federal courtroom in Alexandria one recent Monday, police blocked off streets surrounding the courthouse that will host his long-awaited death-penalty trial.

Just outside the blockade zone, traffic crept along in single lines. A bevy of television trucks sat along Eisenhower Avenue, part of the worldwide media contingent covering the highly publicized case.

The federal courthouse itself resembled an armed camp. Snipers patrolled nearby roofs, while bomb-sniffing dogs inspected bags. The signs of gridlock mixed with the sounds of construction emanating from a neighborhood undergoing heavy development.

It was the beginning of jury selection in the penalty trial of Moussaoui, the only person convicted in an American courtroom on charges stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Moussaoui, 37, pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al-Qaeda and said Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's leader, had instructed him to fly an airplane into the White House. He denied being part of the events of Sept. 11.

An anonymous jury, amid extraordinary security, will hear opening statements Monday and ultimately will decide whether Moussaoui lives or dies. The trial is expected to last one to three months.

Moussaoui's antics have enlivened a case that centers on the most serious of crimes: the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. He has erupted repeatedly in court and filed jailhouse motions taunting prosecutors and the judge. He was ejected four times on the first day of jury selection for disavowing his attorneys and calling his trial a circus.

But the case has been no laughing matter for residents of the densely packed neighborhood surrounding the federal courthouse. Ever since Moussaoui was charged in December 2001, some residents -- especially at the Carlyle Towers condominium complex across the street -- have expressed concerns about the trial. They worried about being able to take a simple walk to the store amid the media onslaught, along with the possibility of terrorist reprisals against their neighborhood.

With the passage of time, residents said recently, those fears have quieted.

"For us, at this point, it's a big nonevent. We're just sort of shrugging our shoulders," said Kim Uttenweiler, a Carlyle Towers resident.

For security and logistical reasons, authorities are closing four nearby streets from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on days when the trial is held. They are Courthouse Square; Jamieson Avenue from Englehardt Lane to Mill Road; Elizabeth Lane from the guard post to Courthouse Square, and Ballenger Avenue from the construction site to Courthouse Square. The trial will run Mondays through Thursdays, with an occasional Friday session.

For Uttenweiler, what's most important is that Carlyle residents can "sneak in" a side entrance and avoid the main entrances on Jamieson. "As with everything, when you get a little further away, you realize maybe your worries were a little over-the-top and there's not a whole lot you can do except to go on," she said.

Carlyle resident Bill Harvey attributed much of the earlier concern to the tumultuous atmosphere in the days after Sept. 11, 2001. He said the Moussaoui case itself seemed more important then, pointing out that since Moussaoui was first charged, a number of top al-Qaeda leaders, including former operations chief Khalid Sheik Mohammed, have been captured.