Loughner Faces 49 Counts in Tucson Shootings

PHOENIX – Prosecutors filed 49 federal charges Friday against Jared L. Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson shooting spree, accusing him of murdering and attempting to murder five federal officials but also of killing four constituents of Representative Gabrielle Giffords who were attending a public event she sponsored, and injuring 10 others waiting in line to talk to her.

“You have a right to meet with your member of Congress openly and freely and peacefully,” said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke, indicating he was confident that the novel legal theory the prosecutors were using – including charges involving victims who were not federal officials but merely attending a “federally provided activity” – would be upheld in court. Outside legal experts, however, said the charges would give an opening for Mr. Loughner’s defense team, led by Judy Clarke, to challenge their validity.

The raft of new charges, some of which could carry the death penalty, go far beyond the previous indictment against Mr. Loughner, a troubled 22-year-old man who is accused of opening fire outside a Tucson-area supermarket on Jan. 8 with a Glock semiautomatic pistol in an effort to kill Ms. Giffords.

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