The widow of one of the Boston Marathon bombers is upset with her portrayal in Mark Wahlberg’s new film.
An attorney for Katherine Russell, who was married to terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev at the time of the Boston Marathon bombing, recently complained that “Patriot’s Day” depicts his client as having known about the attack beforehand.
The Daily Mail reports Amato DeLuca, a lawyer representing Russell, told the Associated Press: “It’s just not true … I have no objection to them making a movie. … What I quarrel with is the license they take in portraying Katie as someone who did not cooperate [with investigators] and try to save lives. She did everything she could.
Russell married Tsarnaev in 2010, and lived with him and his brother Dzhokhar prior to their attack on the Boston Marathon in April 2013. She is portrayed in “Patriot’s Day” by actress Melissa Benoist.
In the film, Russell reportedly attempts to lawyer up, rather than answer potentially life-saving questions in the hours and days after the Tsarnaev brothers detonated two pressure cooker bombs — killing three people and injuring nearly 300 others.
Former FBI Boston division head Richard DesLauriers, meanwhile, argues Russell’s portrayal in the film is accurate. He told the AP: “I have no reason whatsoever to believe that anything about this aspect of the movie is inaccurate.”
“Patriot’s Day,” which stars Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, and John Goodman, will be released nationwide on Jan. 13.