A federal judge has rejected a defense request to relocate the trial of a man charged in a bombing rampage through New Jersey and New York.

Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan denied the request Monday by lawyers for Ahmad Khan Rahimi.

They’d argued that prejudicial publicity would make it impossible for him to get a fair trial.

Rahimi, an Afghanistan-born U.S. citizen, is charged with detonating a pipe bomb near a charity run in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and planting two pressure cooker bombs in Manhattan on Sept. 17.

His trial is scheduled to start days after the anniversary of his arrest.

He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

(AP)