Miami 7

QueEx · Jun 23, 2006

<center>7 held in alleged Sears Tower bomb conspiracy
Source: Black Muslims undone by informant
posing as al-Qaida contact</center>

NBC News and news services
June 23, 2006
Updated: 50 minutes ago

MIAMI - Officials planned to announce charges Friday against seven people arrested a day earlier inside a Miami warehouse, members of a Black Muslim group that the FBI believes was in the early stages of a plot to bomb Chicago’s Sears Tower, an FBI office in Miami and other U.S. buildings.

On Thursday, authorities swarmed the warehouse in Miami’s Liberty City area, removed a metal door with a blowtorch and made the arrests.

A U.S. government informant had earlier infiltrated the group, which thought the informant was part of the al-Qaida terrorist network, a law enforcement source said. The informant followed the group from its early stages, thus neutralizing the threat.

“There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these operations,” said Richard Kolko, spokesman for FBI headquarters in Washington. He declined further comment.

The source said the suspects “thought they were dealing with al-Qaida” and had been trying to buy weapons and other things needed to carry out attacks.

Indictments against the suspects will be unsealed Friday for charges including an attempt to "maliciously damage or destroy" property "by means of an explosive," a source told NBC News.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is scheduled to hold a news conference Friday to discuss the raid. A simultaneous news conference will be held in Miami.

'Like military boot camp'
Neighbors who lived nearby said young men, who appeared to be in their teens and 20s, slept in the warehouse, running what looked like a militaristic group. They appeared brainwashed, some said.

“They would come out late at night and exercise,” said Tashawn Rose. “It seemed like a military boot camp that they were working on there. They would come out and stand guard.”

Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Muslims and had tried to recruit young people to join their group. Rose said they tried to recruit her younger brother and nephew for a karate class.

She said she talked to one of the men about a month ago. “They seemed brainwashed,” she said. “They said they had given their lives to Allah.”

Residents said FBI agents spent several hours in the neighborhood showing photos of the suspects and seeking information. They said the men had lived in the area for about a year.

Benjamin Williams, 17, said the group sometimes had young children with them. At times, he added, the men “would cover their faces. Sometimes they would wear things on their heads, like turbans.”

A man who called himself Brother Corey and claimed to be a member of the group told CNN late Thursday that the individuals worship at the building and call themselves the “Seas of David.”

He dismissed any suggestion that the men were contemplating violence. “We are peaceful,” he said. He added that the group has “soldiers” in Chicago but is not a terrorist organization.

Xavier Smith, who attends the nearby United Christian Outreach, said the men would often come by the church and ask for water.

“They were very private,” said Smith.

Sears Tower
Managers of the Sears Tower, the nation’s tallest building, said in a statement they speak regularly with the FBI and local law enforcement about terror threats and that Thursday “was no exception.”

Security at the 110-floor Sears Tower, a Chicago landmark, was ramped up after the Sept. 11 attacks, and the 103rd-floor skydeck was closed for about a month and a half.

“Law enforcement continues to tell us that they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against Sears Tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions,” the statement said.

The warehouse owner declined comment. “I heard the news just like you guys,” George F. Mobassaleh told the AP. “I can’t talk to you.”

South Florida has been linked to several terrorism investigations in the past. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers lived and trained in the area, including ringleader Mohamed Atta and several plots by Cuban Americans against the government of Fidel Castro have also been based in Miami.

Jose Padilla, a former resident once accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive bomb in the country, is charged in Miami with being part of a North American terror support cell to al-Qaida and other violent Islamic extremist organizations. He has been in federal custody since 2002 and is scheduled for trial in September.

Padilla was originally designated an "enemy combatant" and held for three years without charge by the Bush administration shortly after his May 2002 arrest at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

NBC News’ Pete Williams, Jim Popkin, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13497335/

QueEx · Jun 23, 2006

<center>Alleged Home-Grown Terror Plot Foiled
Men May Have Been Planning Attacks On Sears Tower, Federal Offices</center>

CBS
MIAMI, June 23, 2006

(CBS/AP) Inside a Miami warehouse, authorities believe, a group was hatching the early stages of a widespread terror plot — one that targeted Chicago's Sears Tower, an FBI office in Miami and other U.S. buildings.

On Thursday, authorities swarmed the warehouse in Miami's Liberty City area, removed a metal door with a blowtorch and arrested seven people, a federal law enforcement official said. Authorities in Washington and Miami were expected to release more details in separate news conferences Friday morning.

Although the seven men arrested are described as "al-Qaeda inspired," law enforcement sources tell CBS News that there is no evidence to tie them to that organization or any other foreign terrorist group, reports correspondent Jim Acosta.

What the plotters didn't know is that they were discussing their plans with an informant who had infiltrated the group posing as an al-Qaeda operative. Law enforcement officials say their plans were "pretty much all talk" and that agents "were on top of them." No weapons or explosive devices were found in the warehouse and federal officials say the men posed "no immediate threat."

"I think this is really a success story and people need to point that out," CBS News terrorism analyst Christopher Whitcomb said on CBS News' The Early Show. "The FBI and law enforcement in general found this plot in its very, very early stages."

Neighbors who lived nearby said young men, who appeared to be in their teens and 20s, slept in the warehouse, running what looked like a militaristic group. They appeared brainwashed, some said.

"All you could do was see their eyes. They had the whole head wrapped up with just their eyes showing and they like were standing guard, one here, one there, like soldiers. You know? Very quiet," said resident Patricia Sands.

"There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these operations," said Richard Kolko, spokesman for FBI headquarters in Washington. He declined further comment.

"It's not necessarily al Qaeda-inspired anyway but people inspired by terrorism. They want to inflict harm and gain recognition, destabilize through fear," Whitcomb, a former FBI agent, told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "We as Americans tend to blame everything on al Qaeda because that's what we know."

(CBS/AP) Inside a Miami warehouse, authorities believe, a group was hatching the early stages of a widespread terror plot — one that targeted Chicago's Sears Tower, an FBI office in Miami and other U.S. buildings.

On Thursday, authorities swarmed the warehouse in Miami's Liberty City area, removed a metal door with a blowtorch and arrested seven people, a federal law enforcement official said. Authorities in Washington and Miami were expected to release more details in separate news conferences Friday morning.

Although the seven men arrested are described as "al-Qaeda inspired," law enforcement sources tell CBS News that there is no evidence to tie them to that organization or any other foreign terrorist group, reports correspondent Jim Acosta.

What the plotters didn't know is that they were discussing their plans with an informant who had infiltrated the group posing as an al-Qaeda operative. Law enforcement officials say their plans were "pretty much all talk" and that agents "were on top of them." No weapons or explosive devices were found in the warehouse and federal officials say the men posed "no immediate threat."

"I think this is really a success story and people need to point that out," CBS News terrorism analyst Christopher Whitcomb said on CBS News' The Early Show. "The FBI and law enforcement in general found this plot in its very, very early stages."

Neighbors who lived nearby said young men, who appeared to be in their teens and 20s, slept in the warehouse, running what looked like a militaristic group. They appeared brainwashed, some said.

"All you could do was see their eyes. They had the whole head wrapped up with just their eyes showing and they like were standing guard, one here, one there, like soldiers. You know? Very quiet," said resident Patricia Sands.

"There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these operations," said Richard Kolko, spokesman for FBI headquarters in Washington. He declined further comment.

"It's not necessarily al Qaeda-inspired anyway but people inspired by terrorism. They want to inflict harm and gain recognition, destabilize through fear," Whitcomb, a former FBI agent, told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "We as Americans tend to blame everything on al Qaeda because that's what we know."

Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Muslims and had tried to recruit young people to join their group. Tashawn Rose said they tried to recruit her younger brother and nephew for a karate class.

She said she talked to one of the men about a month ago. "They seemed brainwashed," she said. "They said they had given their lives to Allah."

Residents said FBI agents spent several hours in the neighborhood showing photos of the suspects and seeking information. They said the men had lived in the area for about a year.

Benjamin Williams, 17, said the group sometimes had young children with them. At times, he added, the men "would cover their faces. Sometimes they would wear things on their heads, like turbans."

A man who called himself Brother Corey and claimed to be a member of the group told CNN late Thursday that the individuals worship at the building and call themselves the "Seas of David."

He dismissed any suggestion that the men were contemplating violence. "We are peaceful," he said. He added that the group studies the Bible and has "soldiers" in Chicago but is not a terrorist organization.

Xavier Smith, who attends the nearby United Christian Outreach, said the men would often come by the church and ask for water.

"They were very private," said Smith, 33.

FBI Director Robert Mueller, questioned about the case on CNN's "Larry King Live," said he couldn't offer many details because "it's an ongoing operation."

"The problem we have is not what we know, it's what we don't know," said Mueller. "I do fear another attack. I know there are people out there that want to harm us."

Managers of the Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building, said in a statement they speak regularly with the FBI and local law enforcement about terror threats and that Thursday "was no exception."

Security at the 110-floor Sears Tower, a Chicago landmark, was ramped up after the Sept. 11 attacks, and the 103rd-floor skydeck was closed for about a month-and-a-half.

"Law enforcement continues to tell us that they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against Sears Tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions," the statement said.

Several terrorism investigations have had south Florida links. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers lived and trained in the area, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, and several plots by Cuban-Americans against Fidel Castro's government have been based in Miami.

Jose Padilla, a former resident once accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive bomb in the U.S., is charged in Miami with being part of a support cell for Islamic extremists. Padilla's trial is set for this fall.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/23/terror/main1745316.shtml

QueEx · Jun 23, 2006

I know its early, the arrest occurring just hours ago, but,
i have to wonder -- were these people actually capable
of mounting terrorist attacks or just some wannabes ....

QueEx

QueEx · Jun 23, 2006

The Indictment:



[pdf]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/images/06/23/cts.batiste.indict.pdf[/pdf]

QueEx · Jun 23, 2006

GhostofMarcus · Jun 23, 2006

I bet you a 100 dollars the informant came to them with the idea of money and weapons. Also why is it the sears tower always in the plot everytime maybe because it is owned by the same person that owned the world trade center.

QueEx · Jun 23, 2006

I don't know about your Sears Tower comment, but I tend to agree with you regarding the informant. From what I have seen thus far, it looks like the informant was awfully involved and there were not many "independent" acts by the 7. Makes we wonder whether the informant did more urging on than the 7 did planning.

QueEx

African Herbsman · Jun 23, 2006

Now black males will be percieved as an even greater threat. Everything is going according to plan.

QueEx · Jun 23, 2006

African Herbsman said:
Now black males will be percieved as an even greater threat. Everything is going according to plan.

What plan AH ?

QueEx

xeon · Jun 23, 2006

QueEx said:
I don't know about your Sears Tower comment, but I tend to agree with you regarding the informant. From what I have seen thus far, it looks like the informant was awfully involved and there were not many "independent" acts by the 7. Makes we wonder whether the informant did more urging on than the 7 did planning.

QueEx

I don't doubt it. He probably suggested it, and they agreed. I just hope that Black people don't by into this BS wholesale.

Brown Pride · Jun 24, 2006

QueEx said:
I know its early, the arrest occurring just hours ago, but,
i have to wonder -- were these people actually capable
of mounting terrorist attacks or just some wannabes ....

QueEx

Que,dont you think it's funny that after Canada cought some so called terroistas,that America did the same?????????????It's a pinche set up.....to make Bush look good,because he was upstaged by the canuckkks hmm:As much as you and I talk mierda towards eachother,I hope you can see thru dis chit.......... oh yeah.......they just happened to be Black.

QueEx · Jun 24, 2006

<center>Terror Suspects Had No Explosives and Few Contacts
Sears Tower Plan Never Finished, Authorities Say</center>

By Peter Whoriskey and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 24, 2006; Page A03

MIAMI, June 23 -- Federal authorities announced charges here Friday against seven men they described as "a homegrown terrorist cell" that planned to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and other buildings. But officials conceded that the group never had contact with al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups and had not acquired any explosives.

The group, which operated from a small, warehouse-like building in Miami's impoverished Liberty City neighborhood, adhered to a vague and militant Islamic ideology, claimed the U.S. government had no authority over it, and was led by a charismatic Haitian American named Narseal Batiste, according to officials and the four-count indictment. All but one of the members were citizens or legal residents of the United States.

The case underscores the murkiness that has been common to many of the government's terrorism-related prosecutions since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, cases that often hinge on ill-formed plots or debatable connections to terrorism. It is also the latest in a series of FBI-run stings involving informants or government agents who pose as terrorists to build a case.

The indictment, which charges the men with seeking support from al-Qaeda to wage a "ground war" on the United States, is based primarily on Batiste's interactions with an unidentified government informant who posed as an al-Qaeda "representative" and discussed plans for bombings and assaults on the Sears Tower, the FBI office in Miami and other targets. Batiste and the six others also allegedly swore an oath of loyalty to al-Qaeda during meetings with the informant, according to the charges.

"On or about December 16, 2005, Narseal Batiste provided the 'al Qaeda representative' (actually the FBI informant) with a list of materials and equipment needed in order to wage jihad, which list included boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios and vehicles," the indictment said. The indictment said the group's aim was to " 'kill all the devils we can' in a mission that would 'be just as good or greater than 9/11.' "

But officials said the plot never progressed beyond the early planning stages and the group had no known contact with al-Qaeda. Batiste allegedly recorded video of the U.S. courthouse and other federal buildings in Miami as part of a casing operation, but the camera was provided by the government informant, the indictment said.

Deputy FBI Director John S. Pistole said at a news conference in Washington that the talk of attacking the 110-story Sears Tower -- the tallest building in the United States -- was "aspirational rather than operational." He said none of the men appeared on U.S. terrorism watch lists.

But Pistole and other U.S. officials said aggressive policing and early arrests were necessary to ensure that potential terrorist attacks -- no matter how improbable they may seem -- are thwarted. Prosecutors say that the group's alleged actions, including the video recordings and the requests for weapons and explosives, amounted to overt acts that can be prosecuted under federal anti-terrorism laws.

"Our philosophy is that we try to identify plots in the earliest stages possible, because we don't know what we don't know about a terrorism plot, and that once we have sufficient information to move forward with the prosecution, that's what we do," Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said at the Washington news conference.

Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert who heads the Washington office of the Rand Corp., said that the Miami plot appears to be "embryonic at best" but that "amateur terrorists can kill as effectively as the professional kind."

"It seems clear that their ambitions were serious; what's not clear is whether they had any real capabilities to pull it off," Hoffman said. "This is the difficult balance that we're trying to strike between being vigilant and not overreacting and equating this with 9/11 or something."

The group came to the attention of authorities when its members began to seek the aid of foreign agents who could help them, federal officials said at a Miami news conference. One of the people the group sought aid from tipped terrorism investigators. A federal informant then presented himself to the group as an al-Qaeda representative, officials said.

On Dec. 16, 2005, Batiste met in a hotel room with the informant and, around the same time, said he was trying to build an "Islamic Army" to wage jihad, according to the indictment. He also asked for boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios, vehicles and $50,000 in cash.

But the suspects received little other than military boots and the video camera from the false al-Qaeda representative, according to the indictment. By May, the indictment suggests, the plan had largely petered out because of organizational problems.

Batiste appeared in federal court in Miami on Friday along with four other defendants who had been arrested during the FBI raids Thursday: Patrick Abraham, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin and Rotschild Augustine. Another defendant, Lyglenson Lemorin, was arrested in Atlanta, while the seventh, Stanley Grant Phanor, was already in custody on a probation charge.

Five of the men are U.S. citizens. Abraham is a Haitian illegally in the country, and Lemorin is a Haitian with legal residency here, officials said. At least six of the seven appear to have faced criminal charges before, according to records, for marijuana possession, battery, assault and concealed weapons.

Phanor had worked in construction, his family said, and took up studying Islam at the warehouse-like building a year ago. He called it "the temple."

"He does not have the heart to kill people," his disbelieving mother, Elizene Phanor, said, falling to her knees. "I swear to God."

The men gathered daily at the building, neighbors said. It used to be a sandwich shop, but less than a year ago the men moved in and remodeled, a neighbor said.

The men sported a variety of dress -- sometimes they were seen in black fatigues, sometimes in ski masks, sometimes in fezzes and dashikis -- and at one point they arranged flags from a number of nations, including Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, around the building, according to neighbors.

They were not well funded: Neighbors said the men drove old cars and some of them made money by selling shampoo and hair tonic on the street. At Friday's hearing, the defendants said they were self-employed, and all qualified to be represented by a public defender. Batiste, who did stucco work, told the judge he made about $30,000 a year.

"We used to wonder, 'What are they doing? Who are they?' " said Babalu Nesbitt, 67, an immigrant from the Bahamas who collects cans for recycling for a living and who lives close to the building. "But they were the kind that only wanted to talk to their own."

They held readings of the Koran at times, and at others could be seen practicing martial arts outside. After Hurricane Wilma knocked out the electricity in the area for days last fall, the group passed out water from a silver van, some neighbors recalled.

Christopher Johnson, 37, a bodyguard and former Navy SEAL, said he recalled watching the martial arts they were using and being surprised that it seemed to be less about self-defense and more about attack. "A little bell went off," he said. "I thought, 'There's got to be a bigger purpose.' But I let it ride."

In Chicago, Police Superintendent Philip J. Cline told reporters that Batiste used to live in Chicago and was once arrested on a misdemeanor property damage charge. But he said the Miami group never came close to mounting an attack there.

"There was never any imminent danger to the Sears Tower or Chicago," Cline said.

Eggen reported from Washington. Staff writer Peter Slevin in Chicago and researcher Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201997.html

QueEx · Jun 25, 2006

Washinton Post said:
Deputy FBI Director John S. Pistole said at a news conference in Washington that the talk of attacking the 110-story Sears Tower -- the tallest building in the United States -- was "aspirational rather than operational." He said none of the men appeared on U.S. terrorism watch lists.

Aspirational

Is aspirational a "New Term" that the government has coined in the war on terror? I guess I'm having a problem with "aspiring" to commit an act. That is, having a strong desire to achieve something - or a strong desire to commit a criminal act -- but not actually committing or attempting to commit a criminal act.

If a person does not commit or attempt to commit a criminal act -- sounds to me the government may now be contemplating punishment of people for having bad or evil "thoughts" ???

Of course, the indictment alleges that the Miami 7 did certain things in furtherance of their criminal thoughts to blow up the Sears Tower:

- One of the 7 "Swore alligiance to Al Qaeda". Really? Who gave the oath? - the government's informant/FBI agent the "Al Qaeda Representative".

- One or more of the 7 took pictures of the FBI headquarters in Miami. Who supplied the camera? Same person, the government's informant/FBI agent the "Al Qaeda Representative".

Personally, I think the 7, or at least the Leaders of the 7, are damn idiots who may or may not have ever committed or attempted to commit an act of terror. But, it concerns me when our government wants to punish "thought", without some criminal act.

QueEx

lun4tik · Jun 26, 2006

QueEx said:
Aspirational

Is aspirational a "New Term" that the government has coined in the war on terror? I guess I'm having a problem with "aspiring" to commit an act. That is, having a strong desire to achieve something - or a strong desire to commit a criminal act -- but not actually committing or attempting to commit a criminal act.

If a person does not commit or attempt to commit a criminal act -- sounds to me the government may now be contemplating punishment of people for having bad or evil "thoughts" ???

Of course, the indictment alleges that the Miami 7 did certain things in furtherance of their criminal thoughts to blow up the Sears Tower:

- One of the 7 "Swore alligiance to Al Qaeda". Really? Who gave the oath? - the government's informant/FBI agent the "Al Qaeda Representative".

- One or more of the 7 took pictures of the FBI headquarters in Miami. Who supplied the camera? Same person, the government's informant/FBI agent the "Al Qaeda Representative".

Personally, I think the 7, or at least the Leaders of the 7, are damn idiots who may or may not have ever committed or attempted to commit an act of terror. But, it concerns me when our government wants to punish "thought", without some criminal act.

QueEx

The word aspirational is interchangable with conspiracy. It sounds better and more threatning.

Don't sleep.

This was done so that they can say, "look at what is going on here at home the war on terror is not over". Funny how it coincides with the vote to withdraw our troops. I'm not saying that they wouldn't have done it but theese fools didn't have anything necessary to carry out any of the deeds discussed.

QueEx · Jun 26, 2006

[frame]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5113232.stm[/frame]

QueEx · Jun 30, 2006

<center>The Jihadi Next Door?
The arrest of some unusual suspects in Miami
says less about homegrown terror than a new attempt to police it</center>

TIME Magazine
By JOSH TYRANGIEL
Posted Sunday, Jun 25, 2006

Were the consequences of underestimating terrorists neither so grave nor so fresh, it would be tempting to look at the seven men indicted on conspiracy charges for plotting to blow up the Sears Tower and laugh. Not so much at the suspects--five American citizens, a legal immigrant from Haiti and an illegal Haitian national, all of whose hardscrabble bios make them seem more sad than sinister--but at those who considered them a real threat to wage, as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales put it, "a full ground war against the United States." FBI deputy director John Pistole conceded that the men, part of a Miami group called Seas of David, were "more aspirational than operational," and its aspirations reeked of ineptitude. When alleged ringleader Narseal Batiste, 32, presented an FBI informant he thought was an al-Qaeda operative with a list of materials necessary for jihad, it did not include explosives. Instead Batiste asked for $50,000, radios, uniforms and steel-toed boots. Was the plan to blow the Sears Tower up or kick it down?

Of course, it once would have been easy to dismiss the four working-class British men who strapped on backpacks and bought Tube tickets. Or the 19 men who imagined they could hijack passenger jets with box cutters. Historically, it's been law enforcement's job to separate the genuinely scary people from the goofballs--particularly when the goofballs are American citizens whose eccentricities, however radical, are protected by the Constitution. But times change, and as shown by last week's indictments and dozens of other arrests over the past five years, the Bush Administration appears less focused on trying to gauge the ability of domestic terrorism suspects to carry out their wildest plots and more on rooting out those who may have the intent, though not yet the ability, to harm the United States.

You could call it the broken-windows theory of domestic terrorism--after James Q. Wilson's and George L. Kelling's much lauded crime policy that suggests that by cracking down on minor offenders, you send a message to the major ones, and sometimes catch them too. The policy, reiterated by FBI director Robert Mueller in a conveniently timed speech late last week, is to never dismiss the grand schemes of small men, even if those men are Americans and their schemes are more dream than reality. "Radicalization often starts with individuals who are frustrated with their lives, with the politics of their home governments," said Mueller. "And as talk moves to action, an extremist can become a terrorist." Says Ron Suskind, author of The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11: "You find a reversal of the general posit that it is sufficient that 100 guilty men go free so that one innocent man is not convicted. It's now sound that 100 innocent men are swept up so that one guilty man not slip away."

At a time when a handful of terrorists can trigger an exponentially larger tragedy, such a policy can seem prudent. But the recent arrests in Miami, and of 17 Canadian residents who allegedly plotted to use fertilizer bombs on sites in Ontario, ultimately raise more questions than they answer about the level of threat. Are these men the tip of the iceberg, with many other home-grown cells lurking below the surface? Or is America so inhospitable to made-in-the-U.S.A. terrorism that street-corner confidence men are all we're producing?

There have been 441 arrests in domestic terrorism investigations since Sept. 11, but drawing any conclusions about homegrown terrorism from these cases is risky--largely because so many of them involve foreign nationals arrested on American soil. As for native suspects, Seas of David--a partly Christian, Muslim, martial-arts, Bible-study group that wore black outfits with a Star of David on the sleeve and met in a pastel orange clubhouse--should defy any attempt at logic. But in cases from Toledo, Ohio, to Lodi, Calif., we do have a rough sketch of which Americans are getting nabbed. Mostly, they're young, lower-middle-class Muslims, Americans who flirt at some level with radicalism. They get caught when they try to get training, weapons or, as was apparently the case in Florida, when they reach out, however ham-handedly, to a larger network. "Anyone who forms their own little group and then tries to connect with al-Qaeda is more likely to run into government agents than al-Qaeda agents," says John Nutter, a terrorism expert and professor at the University of Toledo. "Clearly our government is watching those types of contacts."

The feds are monitoring nonverbal forms of contact too. As revealed last week, a U.S. deal with an international banking consortium, SWIFT, lets intelligence officials look at the financial transactions of suspected terrorists. In its pursuit of serious jihadists with moneyed connections abroad (a category the FBI admits Seas of David does not belong in) the program, run out of the CIA, targets millions of bank transfers, some of which appear to have involved U.S. residents, or even U.S. citizens, and many others that did not.

While computers sift through reams of transfers in the hunt for terrorism's big guns, the gumshoe task of proving guilt in Miami could be tricky. Some legal scholars suggest that the government's case creeps to the edge of entrapment. Would the accused have taken the bayat--al-Qaeda's loyalty oath--had they not been prompted to do so by the informant posing as an al-Qaeda operative? Is it possible that the defendants were more interested in money than in joining al-Qaeda? [As a hedge, charges were brought under both federal statute 18 U.S.C. 2339(a), which makes it illegal to intend to join any terrorist organization, and 18 U.S.C. 2339(b), which specifically lists al-Qaeda.] A senior Administration official told TIME the inquiry might have provided more answers, but arrests had to be made because "indications were that the group was starting to catch on to the informant."

Even more revealing than who gets busted is that the Department of Justice doesn't seem particularly concerned about how it convicts those it arrests. The Attorney General's office trumpets 218 guilty pleas, but admits that in many cases those are for minor immigration offenses that were uncovered during the course of a terrorism investigation. In response to critics who noted that one of the few patterns to emerge from domestic prosecutions is that the suspects seem too incompetent to carry out the deeds they're accused of, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty acknowledged last week that the Department of Justice's goal is "prevention through prosecution."

Americans have become experts at civic calculus since Sept. 11. Four years ago, about 60% of those polled said that a small abrogation of rights is an acceptable price for feeling--and perhaps being--a little safer, but recent polls put the number at 34%. While they may not want their own rights restricted, the real question is whether Americans care if the rights of their fellows--specifically the young American Muslims most likely to get caught in an aggressive prosecutorial dragnet--are abridged. Says Suskind, "The downside of overreaching is that it's not a judicious exercise of power. It's inefficient." It's also possible that in treating kooks like radicals, you radicalize some otherwise reasonable people. The predicament for law enforcement, though, is that it's not enough to fix broken windows. You have to shout it out to the whole neighborhood.

With reporting by With reporting by Brian Bennett, Timothy J. Burger, Elaine Shannon, MARK THOMPSON, Adam Zagorin/Washington; Jeanne DeQuine, Kathie Klarreich/Liberty City, Barbara Kiviat/New York

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1207821,00.html

GET YOU HOT · Jul 4, 2006

QueEx said:

I know its early, the arrest occurring just hours ago, but,
i have to wonder -- were these people actually capable
of mounting terrorist attacks or just some wannabes ....

QueEx

The tactics the Miami Seven cell allegedly was exploring also have been used as arguments to discredit them. According to federal officials, the cell members had seriously discussed plans involving armed assaults, and had requested that their "al Qaeda contact" provide them with cash and infantry equipment -- including boots, bullet-proof vests, machine guns, radios and vehicles. An article in Time magazine noted the request for boots and quipped, "Was the plan to blow the Sears Tower up or kick it down?"

Of course, unlike many of their more successful predecessors, the Miami Seven had very little terrorist training or experience. However, the very thing that brought them to the attention of authorities was their attempt to contact al Qaeda in order to receive support and training. According to the federal indictment that has been issued, Batiste wanted to secure "al Qaeda" training for himself and five of his "soldiers" so that they could conduct their "full ground war" against the United States and "kill all the devils we can."

As we have discussed, grassroots jihadists can and do pose a real threat, but left to themselves, their capabilities are generally not all that impressive. The crucial variable is whether a grassroots cell is able to secure training, logistical support and operational guidance. This amplifies effectiveness; Instead of assassinating a single target with a revolver, they can become a group that builds a huge truck bomb. For counterterrorism officials, it follows that the key to mitigating the threat posed by grassroots cells is to neutralize them before they are able to connect with influential or more capable jihadists networks.

SOURCE: http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=268358

QueEx · Jul 6, 2006

<center>Alleged Sears Tower plotters
to stay in jail until trial</center>

Chicago Tribune
By Vanessa Blum
Tribune Newspapers: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Published July 6, 2006

A judge ruled Wednesday that six men arrested on terror conspiracy charges will remain in federal custody in Miami until their trial, despite defense claims that the men were set up by a government informant.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ted Bandstra said he was disturbed by "strong and significant evidence" that the group swore allegiance to Al Qaeda and conspired to blow up buildings in Miami and Chicago.

Bandstra said the government's lawyer showed that defendant Narseal Batiste, the alleged ringleader, devised the plan to forge an alliance with Al Qaeda, and the other defendants joined in "without government coercion."

Attorney John Wylie, who represents Batiste, argued that the case was entrapment.

"This case is essentially something the government set up to knock down," Wylie said.

A federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment June 22 charging Batiste, 32; Patrick Abraham, 26; Stanley Grant Phanor, 31; Naudimar Herrera, 22; Burson Augustin, 21; and Rotschild Augustin, 22, with conspiring to support Al Qaeda, destroy buildings with explosives and wage war on the United States.

The men pleaded not guilty Friday. If convicted, each could face up to 70 years in prison.

A seventh defendant, Lyglenson Lemorin, 31, is in custody in Atlanta.

According to prosecutor Jacqueline Arango, the government's investigation began in 2005 after Batiste asked an acquaintance for help finding Middle Eastern terrorists to support his plan to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago. The acquaintance reported the conversation to the FBI, she said.

In December, the FBI infiltrated the group using an informant of Middle Eastern descent who posed as a representative of Al Qaeda. Several defense lawyers argued at Wednesday's hearing that it was the government informant, not their clients, who drove the alleged plot.

Roderick Vereen, who represents Phanor, said it was the FBI that provided the equipment needed to carry out the alleged plot.

Herrera's lawyer, Richard Houlihan, said Batiste might have invented the alleged conspiracy to scam Al Qaeda out of money. "It is a very, extremely weak case," Houlihan said.

Defense lawyers described their clients as hardworking and family-oriented.

Albert Levin, who represents Abraham, said his client gave money to the homeless and dreamed of building an orphanage in Haiti.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

london · Sep 2, 2006

MIAMI terror plot , planned by the FBI

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...6090101764.html

FBI Role in Terror Probe Questioned
Lawyers Point to Fine Line Between Sting and Entrapment
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 2, 2006; Page A01

Standing in an empty Miami warehouse on May 24 with a man he believed had ties to Osama bin Laden, a dejected Narseal Batiste talked of the setbacks to their terrorist plot and then uttered the words that helped put him in a federal prison cell.

"I want to fight some jihad," he allegedly said. "That's all I live for."

What Batiste did not know was that the bin Laden representative was really an FBI informant. The warehouse in which they were meeting had been rented and wired for sound and video by bureau agents, who were monitoring his every word.

Within a month, Batiste, 32, and six of his compatriots were arrested and charged with conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization and bomb a federal building. On June 23, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales held a news conference to announce the destruction of a terrorist cell inside the United States, hailing "our commitment to preventing terrorism through energetic law enforcement efforts aimed at detecting and thwarting terrorist acts."

But court records released since then suggest that what Gonzales described as a "deadly plot" was virtually the pipe dream of a few men with almost no ability to pull it off on their own. The suspects have raised questions in court about the FBI informants' role in keeping the plan alive.

The plot featured self-proclaimed militant religious leaders who referred to themselves as kings, talked of establishing their own nation inside the United States, called their headquarters an embassy and discussed plans to train their recruits to use bows and arrows. One of their quixotic notions was to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower.

Batiste's father, a Christian preacher and former contractor who lives in Louisiana, told the news media after the indictment that his son was "not in his right mind" and needed psychiatric treatment.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, separating serious terrorist plotters from delusional dreamers has proved one of the FBI's most challenging tasks. The effort is complicated by the bureau's frequent use of informants who sometimes play active roles in the plotting.

U.S. law enforcement officials say they do not have the luxury of waiting for a terrorist plot to mature before they break it up. A delay, they say, could mean that a member of the plot they had not discovered might be able to pull off an attack.

At the news conference, Gonzales acknowledged that Batiste was nowhere near carrying out a terrorist act.

"Our philosophy here is that we try to identify plots in the earliest stages possible, because we don't know what we don't know about a terrorist plot," he said. It is dangerous to evaluate in advance that "this is a really dangerous group; this is not a dangerous group," he added.

But lawyers for the defendants have raised questions about where a government sting ends and entrapment begins. Not only did government informants provide money and a meeting place for Batiste and his followers, but they also gave them video cameras for conducting surveillance, as well as cellphones, and suggested that their first target be a Miami FBI office, court records show

At the hearing, Batiste's attorney, John Wylie, showed that the FBI's investigation found no evidence that his client had met with any real terrorist, received e-mails or wire transfers from the Middle East, possessed any al-Qaeda literature, or had even a picture of bin Laden.

Asked for a response, a Justice Department spokesman referred a reporter to Gonzales's remarks about the case.

Court documents and testimony at hearings describe how the plot unfolded. Last October, Batiste allegedly contacted a Middle Eastern-born Miami resident who was about to travel to Yemen. The man dealt in fresh produce; Batiste was unaware that he was also a paid informant for the FBI.

The man -- known only as CW1 in court documents -- told his FBI handlers that Batiste had spoken of forming an army to wage jihad and overthrow the federal government. He said Batiste was "willing to work with al Qaeda to accomplish the mission and wanted to travel with [the informant] overseas to make appropriate connections," according to court documents.

The FBI would eventually pay the informant, who had previous arrests for assault and marijuana possession, $10,500 for his services in the Batiste investigation and reimburse him $8,815 for his expenses.

Over the next few weeks, the informant stayed in touch with Batiste and spent a night at the "embassy" where the group was headquartered. He reported seeing guns, karate practice and fighting drills that involved machetes.

By mid-November, the FBI decided to take a more active role. Agents introduced a more experienced Middle Eastern-born informant, CW2, to play the role of a potential financier to prevent Batiste from seeking money elsewhere. CW2, according to court papers, had worked for the FBI for six years and provided information that led to the arrests of two individuals on "terrorist-related charges."

But CW2 soon also took a key role in the plotting, suggesting targets and supplying videotaping equipment, according to the court papers. His reward was $17,000 the FBI paid for his services, and approval of his petition for political asylum in the United States.

At their initial meeting, the second informant said he was there to "evaluate" Batiste's operation and asked what help he needed to carry out his "mission." Batiste drew up a list that included "uniforms, boots, automatic hand pistols, communications equipment like Nextel cell phones, an SUV truck, black in color," according to court documents. Two days later, he asked for more equipment, including a "mini .223 Bushmaster" rifle.

Three days before Christmas, Batiste and CW2 met again, and Batiste talked for the first time about destroying Chicago's Sears Tower, a landmark in a city where he once worked as a FedEx delivery driver and still had associates. Batiste said he would take advantage of the ensuing chaos to liberate Muslims from a nearby jail. They would form an army powerful enough to force the U.S. government to recognize the "Sovereign Moors" -- an offshoot of a religious group, the Moorish Science Temple, to which Batiste claimed allegiance -- as an independent nation.

A week later, when he met with CW2 again, Batiste asked for more firearms, radios, binoculars, bulletproof vests, SUVs and $50,000 in cash. He also invited the informant to join him on a trip to Chicago to meet his "two top generals" and look at the Sears Tower. But the trip never took place.

By the beginning of January, CW2 had offered Batiste a rent-free warehouse large enough for training. In reality, the FBI wanted a new meeting spot because it could not carry out surveillance at the "embassy," which was located in a high-crime area where agents would be easily spotted. At the same time, however, Batiste began to mistrust CW2 because of his numerous questions and ended direct contact with him for a while.

In mid-January, the first informant contacted Batiste's closest associate in the group to report that approval for the plan had come from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. When bin Laden issued a public statement saying that al-Qaeda would soon strike in the United States, the informant passed word to Batiste that it was a reference to the missions he was planning.

CW2 soon informed Batiste that an explosives expert in Europe -- actually a Scotland Yard agent -- was ready to come and help.

On Feb. 19, Batiste met with CW2 in a videotaped session at the informant's Miami apartment, where he "outlined his plan to wage jihad in the United States," according to court records. Batiste said he would conduct a "full ground war" and "kill all the devils we can," beginning with "taking down the Sears Tower in Chicago and attacking a prison to free Muslim Brothers who are incarcerated."

When Batiste grew impatient for money early in March, CW2 placated him by formally swearing him into al-Qaeda. In a ceremony recorded by the FBI, the informant read an English translation of the al-Qaeda loyalty oath, "welcomed Batiste to al Qaeda and declared that al Qaeda and the Moors were officially united," according to court papers. The informant and Batiste also selected a two-story warehouse as their new headquarters and training site.

On March 15, the FBI wired the warehouse for sound and video. The next night, before a secret camera, CW2 administered an English translation of the al-Qaeda oath to six members of Batiste's group, four of whom called themselves "prince" and two who were addressed as "brother."

The men also face charges of conspiring to aid a terrorist group.

Acting on instructions from the FBI, CW2 told the group that his al-Qaeda bosses were planning to attack FBI buildings in Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Miami. He asked that Batiste and his group assist by providing video of the Miami FBI building, "which would be sent back to al Qaeda overseas," according to court papers. He also gave Batiste a video camera.

In late March, driving a van provided by the informant, Batiste and two associates videotaped and photographed the FBI building, as CW2 had requested. They also taped the federal courthouse and detention center, and the Miami police headquarters.

CW2 later expressed interest in meeting Batiste's Chicago associates and said al-Qaeda would pay to have them come to Miami. Batiste called Charles James Stewart, also known as Sultan Khan Bey, and his wife in Chicago, where Stewart leads his own branch of the Moorish Science Temple. With $3,500 in FBI money, Batiste paid for them to come to Miami.

Court papers show that Stewart is a convicted rapist with a long arrest record for other serious crimes. On April 11, with FBI cameras rolling, Stewart and Batiste sat in the Miami warehouse and discussed opening a shop to sell marijuana and drug pipes. They smoked marijuana as they talked, and Stewart revealed his plan to build a Moorish nation of 10,000 people.

Stewart wanted to make his wife, whom he called Queen Zakiyaah, an ambassador of the Moorish nation so she could not be detained by U.S. authorities. He said Moorish soldiers would wear green uniforms and become expert with bows and arrows. They would undergo night training that included jumping from a bridge into water 20 feet below.

But within days, Stewart and Batiste began to have differences over control of the organization and its mission. On April 17, the conflict broke into the open and Stewart tried Batiste under Moorish law on charges of treason and insubordination. He questioned "his relationship and association with the Arabian or Nigerian mafia," a reference to the second FBI informant.

Two days later, Stewart, now running what was left of Batiste's group, was arrested by Miami police after he fired a shot at one of Batiste's supporters.

On May 5, after a local hearing on the shooting, federal weapons charges were lodged against Stewart. Federal agents asked whether he knew of any plots against the United States, and Stewart began talking about Batiste's mission as one that was "starting to get serious," a phrase later cited in court by prosecutors. Stewart became a witness against Batiste and the others.

The defendants have signaled that they will contest the government's actions. At a July 5 detention hearing, Nathan Clark, an attorney for one member of the group, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ted E. Bandstra that the ceremony at which the defendants took the al-Qaeda oath was "induced by the government themselves in an effort to set these people up."

"What we see is this entire organization, by the government's own admission, falling apart. . . . Nobody really believes that these people are capable of doing anything," he said.

In the end, Bandstra ruled that the seven would have to remain in jail because the allegations were "disturbing." But he added that "the plans appear to be beyond the present ability of these defendants" and said he expected their attorneys to argue the government's actions at trial.

Researchers Julie Tate and Madonna Lebling contributed to this report

African Herbsman · Dec 13, 2007

I knew this case was bullshit.

Jurors deadlock in 6 of 7 defendants

By CURT ANDERSON 31 minutes ago

One of seven Miami men accused of plotting to join forces with al-Qaida to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower was acquitted Thursday, and a mistrial was declared for the six others after the federal jury deadlocked.

Federal prosecutor Richard Gregorie said the government plans to retry the six next year. The Bush administration had seized on the case to illustrate the dangers of homegrown terrorism and trumpet the government's post-Sept. 11 success in infiltrating and smashing terrorism plots in their earliest stages.

Lyglenson Lemorin was acquitted and buried his face in his hands when the verdict was read.

The jury gave up on the other defendants after nine days of deliberations on four terrorism-related conspiracy charges that carry a combined maximum of 70 years in prison. The jury twice sent notes to the judge indicating they could not reach verdicts but were told to keep trying. The mistrial came after their third note.

"We believe no further progress can be made," it said. U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard read the note in court.

Prosecutors said the "Liberty City Seven" — so-named because they operated out of a warehouse in Miami's blighted Liberty City section — swore allegiance to al-Qaida and hoped to forge an alliance to carry out bombings against America's tallest skyscraper, the FBI's Miami office and other federal buildings.

The group never actually made contact with al-Qaida. Instead, a paid FBI informant known as Brother Mohammed posed as an al-Qaida emissary.

The defense portrayed the seven men as hapless figures who were either manipulated and entrapped by the FBI or went along with the plot to con "Mohammed" out of $50,000.

The group never actually made contact with al-Qaida and never acquired any weapons or explosives. Prosecutors said no attack was imminent, acknowledging that the alleged terror cell was "more aspirational than operational."

But then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said after the arrests in mid-2006 that the group was emblematic of the "smaller, more loosely defined cells who are not affiliated with al-Qaida, but who are inspired by a violent jihadist message."

And U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of Miami said: "Our mission is to disrupt these cells if possible before they acquire the capability to implement their plans."

The Liberty City Seven, who included immigrants from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, adhered to a sect called the Moorish Science Temple that blends elements of Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

The government case was built largely on FBI surveillance video and some 12,000 telephone intercepts.

One key piece of evidence was a video of the seven men taking an oath of loyalty to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden in a March 2006 ceremony.

Also, the group's leader, 33-year-old Narseal Batiste was overheard talking about starting a "full ground war" against the U.S. government by bringing down the 110-story Sears Tower — an attack he said would be "as good or greater than 9/11."

Batiste also supplied the informant with detailed wish lists that included assault rifles, bulletproof vests, uniforms, motorcycles and $50,000 in cash, prosecutors said.

However, Batiste testified he faked interest in the plot and really only wanted the money.

Members of the group also took reconnaissance photos of the FBI office and downtown federal buildings at the informant's request.

Defense lawyers contended that the informant and an overzealous FBI were responsible for pushing the alleged conspiracy along.

"This was all written, directed and produced by the FBI," said defense attorney Albert Levin.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071213/ap_on_re_us/terrorism_investigation

Makkonnen · Dec 13, 2007

Lyglenson Lemorin, 32, had been accused of being a "soldier" for alleged ringleader Narseal Batiste. He buried his face in his hands when his acquittal was read.

Lemorin, a legal U.S. resident originally from Haiti, was subject to an immigration hold and would not be immediately released, his lawyer said.

Outside the courtroom, jury foreman Jeff Agron said the group took four votes but was split roughly evenly between guilt and innocence for the other six men. They spent hours viewing and listening to FBI recordings of meetings and conversations involving Batiste and the others, he said.

"People have different takes on what they saw, on what was said and what that meant," said Agron, 46, a teacher and lawyer. "My personal belief is that there may have been sufficient evidence on some of them as to some of the counts."

Agron said the evidence was weakest against Lemorin, who had moved with his wife and children to Atlanta and gotten a job at a shopping mall after splitting with Batiste months before the group was arrested.

In a statement to the FBI, Lemorin said he never wanted to be associated with al-Qaida and that he knew "nothing good would come from this."

The judge, who imposed a gag order on all lawyers in the case, refused a request by Lemorin's lawyer, Joel DeFabio, for Lemorin to be allowed to speak with reporters after the verdict.

----------

they will deport that dude

QueEx · Dec 24, 2007

<center>Liberty City 7 ex-defendant in `nightmare'
The only acquitted defendant in the Liberty City 7
terrorism trial may be deported to Haiti, even though
the lawful U.S. resident has never been convicted of a crime.</center>

594-lemorin.embedded.prod_affiliate.56.JPG

Lyglenson Lemorin's mom, Julienne Olibrice,
left, and his wife, Charlene, in Miami on
Thursday. Lemorin was the only defendant
among the so-called Liberty City 7 to be
acquitted at the recent terrorism trial in
Miami. But he could be deported back to
his native country, Haiti.

Miami Herald
BY JAY WEAVER
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
Fri, Dec. 21, 2007

Lyglenson Lemorin, acquitted of terrorism charges last week in federal court in Miami, is still a guilty man in the eyes of the U.S. government.

Lemorin, 32, a lawful U.S. resident, remains behind bars -- far from his Miami family -- in the tiny town of Lumpkin, Ga., a deportation center 150 miles south of Atlanta.

On Thursday, Lemorin's wife learned from The Miami Herald that federal authorities have charged her husband with unspecified ''administrative immigration violations'' and that he has been placed in ''removal proceedings'' that could lead to his deportation to his native Haiti.

''He has kids here, and we really need him home,'' said Lemorin's wife, Charlene Mingo Lemorin. ``He can't do anything for us in Haiti. Everything was settled by the jury. He was found not guilty. It's like the nightmare is not over.''

Family members say they are upset and dumbfounded because Lemorin has lived in South Florida for more than two decades and has no criminal history.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials declined to discuss Lemorin's alleged immigration violations.

''He was detained by ICE, and for safety and security reasons, we can't say where he is,'' agency spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez told The Miami Herald.

SEVEN ARRESTED

Lemorin was arrested along with six other men in June 2006 on charges of conspiring with al Qaeda -- in an FBI-directed undercover sting -- to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and federal buildings in Miami and other cities. They were dubbed the ``Liberty City 7.''

A federal jury found him not guilty on Dec. 13. Jurors deadlocked on the others, with a retrial set for Jan. 7.

The day after he was acquitted, immigration agents whisked Lemorin away to Miami International Airport.

Lemorin -- born in Haiti, raised in Miami and the father of two children who live in Little Haiti -- told his family and attorneys that he feared the agents were going to put him on a plane to his native Haiti.

Instead, they drove him to the Krome detention center in West Miami-Dade County. Then came an overnight drive to the Stewart detention center in Lumpkin.

Leonard Fenn, who temporarily represented Lemorin in the immigration case, expressed outrage over the government's actions.

''We're presuming they're claiming there is reason to believe he was a supporter of terrorist activities or a terrorist himself,'' said Fenn, who got on the case through Lemorin's criminal attorney, Joel DeFabio.

''It's outrageous -- a complete misallocation of government resources,'' Fenn said.

Immigration experts said that under the USA Patriot Act, adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a lawful U.S. resident such as Lemorin may still be locked up and possibly deported on terrorism-related charges -- even if they cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt in federal court.

Miami attorney Cheryl Little, who heads the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center, said Lemorin's arrest by ICE may be ''overreaching but not unprecedented'' in the post-9/11 era, in which non-U.S. citizens acquitted at trial on drug-trafficking or other charges are sometimes picked up and dumped into the immigration legal system. Her center agreed to represent Lemorin, whose first immigration court hearing is set for Jan. 8.

Lemorin's attorneys and family now fear he will be charged with the same terrorism-related conspiracy offenses in immigration court, where an administrative judge -- not a jury of his peers -- decides his fate.

There is no principle of double jeopardy barring his prosecution on the same charges, and the burden of proof is based on a weaker civil standard, the weight of the evidence tipping one way or the other.

Lemorin's family members say the terrorism case against him was ''bogus,'' a conclusion reached unanimously by the 12-member, racially mixed federal jury that concluded he had ''distanced himself'' from his colleagues in the Liberty City group.

Until his arrest, Lemorin's life in America was like that of countless South Florida immigrants.

Lemorin was born in Haiti in 1975 and left for Miami with his family in the 1980s. They settled into a one-story stucco home in a working-class neighborhood on Northwest 45th Street, a few blocks from Interstate 95. One of eight children, Lemorin attended Shadowlawn Elementary School, Miami Edison Middle School and Edison Senior High School.

He obtained his general equivalency diploma and a security guard license from the state of Florida, continuing to live with his mother, Julienne Olibrice. Lemorin's father died from a heart attack in Miami in 1997.

Lemorin fathered two children with Linda Polydor, a woman he had met as a youth growing up in the Little Haiti area. Polydor, who lives just a couple of blocks north of Lemorin's mother, described him as a ''decent man'' whose life was turned upside down by the FBI's probe into the Liberty City 7.

Lemorin got to know the group's ringleader, Narseal Batiste, by working odd jobs at his construction company and participating in his religious group, the Moorish Science Temple, which combines Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. Batiste began talking about terrorism plans with an FBI informant, who posed as al Qaeda representative. With promises of money, the informant led Batiste and his followers deep into a terrorism plot, including taking loyalty oaths to al Qaeda in March 2006.

But Lemorin had serious reservations, later telling the FBI that he knew ''nothing good would come from this.'' Indeed, in April, he moved with his future wife and two children to Atlanta to start over. He and Charlene married the following month.

`A BETTER PLACE'

Charlene said her husband got a job as a stock clerk with Abercrombie & Fitch, and she worked as a hair stylist.

''He wanted to distance himself from the group, and we wanted to pursue our business careers and a better place for our children,'' said Charlene, adding that her husband wrote rap songs and wanted to break into the record business.

Their hopes were shattered when the FBI arrested him amid much publicity. ''I was very shocked,'' she said.

Charlene returned to Miami, where the couple's first child, a baby girl named Diniah Lemorin, was born prematurely on Oct. 26, 2006, while Lemorin was in custody at the federal detention center in downtown Miami.

The baby died less than three weeks later, said Charlene, who had high blood pressure during her pregnancy.

Charlene, who undergoes kidney dialysis because of complications from her pregnancy, now fears the worst: ``It seems to me that they just want to send him away to Haiti.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/352667.html

QueEx · Dec 24, 2007

<center>Mistrial called for 6 of `Liberty City 7'
Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on six of the
seven men from Liberty City charged with terrorism</center>

Miami Herald
BY JAY WEAVER AND LUISA YANEZ
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
Fri, Dec. 14, 2007

A homegrown terrorism case that allegedly sprouted in one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods wilted on Thursday when a judge declared a mistrial in the prosecution of six of seven defendants.

Federal jurors acquitted one defendant in the so-called Liberty City 7 trial, but they could not agree on any of the terrorism conspiracy counts against the others.

''We believe that no further progress can be made,'' the 12-member jury told U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard, ending deliberations after nine days following a two-month trial in Miami. Each, if convicted, would have faced up to 70 years in prison.

The judge ordered a retrial to begin Jan. 7 and issued a gag order.

The jurors found defendant Lyglenson Lemorin not guilty of four terrorism-related conspiracy charges. Lemorin, 32, a Haitian immigrant, cried with his attorney, Joel Defabio, after the verdict, saying they were ''ecstatic.'' But Lemorin won't be immediately released because of immigration issues.

The judge's decision was seen as a significant defeat for the Justice Department and a temporary victory for most of the defendants, who are still in custody. The U.S. attorney's office in Miami declined to comment.

The group was arrested in June 2006 amid much fanfare by the Bush administration, which described the defendants as being as ''dangerous'' as al Qaeda -- despite evidence showing they had no terrorism blueprints or weapons of mass destruction.

The FBI had declared the original indictment ``yet another important victory in the war on terrorism.''

At trial, prosecutors tried to prove the defendants' mission was a conspiracy to spread ''chaos and confusion'' by blowing up Chicago's Sears Tower and FBI buildings in major cities.

The defendants -- a struggling group of construction laborers who tried to start a religious group in Liberty City -- were charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, destroy buildings with explosives and break away from the United States.

But the racially mixed, 12-member Miami-Dade jury apparently didn't see it that way. The jury foreman said the panel was ''evenly split'' on the four terrorism conspiracy counts against the remaining defendants, though it decided Lemorin was not guilty on Thursday.

''It was a very difficult case with a lot of evidence,'' said foreman Jeffrey Agron, of Pinecrest, a lawyer who is principal of a Jewish school in Kendall. ``People see evidence in different ways.''

He said jurors took sides: Some believed the government's conspiracy case was strong because the seven defendants took an oath to al Qaeda and had videotaped alleged target sites.

But other jurors thought the defendants, especially ringleader Narseal Batiste, were simply trying to con thousands of dollars out of an FBI-directed informant, who infiltrated the group and led the seven men deeper into the alleged terrorism plot.

Said Agron: ``My personal belief is there may have been sufficient evidence to convict some of the defendants.''

Agron said the jury acquitted Lemorin, a Haitian who is a lawful permanent resident, because of the ''general lack of evidence.'' Lemorin had moved to Atlanta to distance himself from the group in April 2006 -- two months before the FBI made arrests.

He attributed the lengthy deliberations to the complexity of the case -- a total of 28 counts for the seven defendants.

The trial turned on the role of the FBI informant, who infiltrated the Miami organization in December 2005. He was introduced to the group by a previous FBI informant, a North Miami shopkeeper who began reporting to his handlers that Batiste was talking about alleged terrorism plans.

At trial, Batiste came across as a complex messianic-like figure, a father of four who lived in North Miami while trying to get a construction business off the ground. All the while, he was trying to start a local chapter of the Moorish Science Temple in a warehouse called ''The Embassy'' in Liberty City. The religion embraces the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths.

Batiste's attorney, Ana Jhones, argued that he joined forces with the ''al Qaeda representative'' only because he was desperate for money. His main defense: The FBI informant entrapped him and his men in a ''fabricated crime,'' said Jones, calling the government's conduct ``outrageous.''

But prosecutors portrayed Batiste and his followers as wannabe terrorists bent on breaking away from the United States.

While Batiste, a former Chicago resident, initially brought up the idea of bombing the 110-story Sears Tower, it was the FBI-led informant who steered him and his followers into the more grandiose plot of joining forces with al Qaeda to destroy FBI buildings in Miami and other cities.

The informant, an Arabic man who went by the name ''Brother Mohammad'' and was paid about $80,000, was posing as a terrorist financier for his FBI undercover work.

He succeeded in persuading Batiste and his followers to take the oath to al Qaeda in March 2006 under FBI video surveillance in a warehouse near Little Haiti in Miami. He also gave them a video camera to take photos of target sites, including the FBI building in North Miami Beach.

Although Batiste was recorded on wiretaps talking about waging war along with al Qaeda and praising its leader, Osama bin Laden, he testified at trial that he was merely trying to con $50,000 out of the FBI informant.

The other defendants' attorneys tried to distance their clients from Batiste, suggesting they were not aware of his discussions with the FBI informant. At the same time, they backed Batiste's defense that he was trying to trick the informant into giving him the $50,000.

Prosecutors argued that it didn't matter if the FBI informant was posing as an al Qaeda operative, because Batiste and his men believed he was a member of the terrorist group and gave him lists for weapons, ammunition, vehicles and other resources for their fledgling Islamic army.

The challenge for prosecutors was proving the defendants' criminal intentions to join the conspiracy -- one that an FBI deputy director said was more ``aspirational than operational.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/344272.html

SpiritualPorn · Dec 24, 2007

Funny thing and true story.

I used to study with these guys in 2002, when they had the MST on 54 and seventh avenue. Alot of politics and double talk had me spooked. The "leader" was just too smooth. I liked what they were saying as far as history however the other things seemed like a stretch.

I always felt they were some government shit.

This lady got me in. They wanted me to go deeper with just the MST stuff....BEFORE they broke off to this other shit.

I went online and did research. I found about 30 pages of FBI and CIA infiltration into the group. Most of the names of the informants WERE BLACKED OUT!!!!!!!

That was all I needed to see.

I have no beef with this government. If I really didn't like what was going on I would move somewhere else.

After I found out the Nation of Islam was Government funded, I refuse to be part of any groups.

GET YOU HOT · Dec 27, 2007

Key word, conspiracy... :hmm:

LennyNero1972 · Dec 27, 2007

GET YOU HOT said:
Key word, conspiracy...

What's really going on is that the Feds are trying to link the word "Moor" to the whole terrorism scam. The Moorish Science Temple is not like the NOI.

QueEx · Apr 16, 2008

<center>For Second Time; Jury Can't Reach Verdicts 
After 10 Days of Deliberations</center>

The Tampa Tribune
April 12, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE - A jury considering charges against six South Florida men accused of plotting to blow up the Chicago Sears Tower and the Miami FBI headquarters reported Friday it has been unable to reach verdicts for any of the defendants.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard instructed the jury of seven men and five women to continue trying to reach agreement. News that the panel is at an impasse after 10 days of deliberations, however, raises the possibility that the high-profile case could be poised for a second mistrial.

The defendants, struggling construction workers who hung out in a Liberty City warehouse, are charged with conspiring to support terrorism, to destroy buildings and to wage war on the United States. If convicted of all counts, the men face up to 70 years in prison.

An earlier trial in the so-called "Liberty City 7" case ended in a mistrial Dec. 13 after jurors agreed to acquit one man but could not reach verdicts for the other six.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/12/na-2nd-liberty-city-7-jury-says-it-cant-reach-verd/

GET YOU HOT · Apr 16, 2008

LennyNero1972 said:
What's really going on is that the Feds are trying to link the word "Moor" to the whole terrorism scam. The Moorish Science Temple is not like the NOI.

Could be the Feds are, but we all knew from the beginning, the case was entrapment type stuff and pieced together. It is possible that they will be convicted on lesser charges, I don't thing prosecuters are going to give up. Conspiracy to commit...whatever crime, is totally possible.

NOI, splintered off from Moorish Science Temple, so there is link between the two. As for the word Moor, it's like what more harm could be done, that hadn't already be done, long time ago, it just follows a general pattern of more of the same. I hope a 2nd, mistrial is a clear sign to a judge, that all the charges should be thrown out...

LennyNero1972 · Apr 16, 2008

GET YOU HOT said:
Could be the Feds are, but we all knew from the beginning, the case was entrapment type stuff and pieced together. It is possible that they will be convicted on lesser charges, I don't thing prosecuters are going to give up. Conspiracy to commit...whatever crime, is totally possible.

NOI, splintered off from Moorish Science Temple, so there is link between the two. As for the word Moor, it's like what more harm could be done, that hadn't already be done, long time ago, it just follows a general pattern of more of the same. I hope a 2nd, mistrial is a clear sign to a judge, that all the charges should be thrown out...

Yes love, I'm aware the NOI splintered from the MST, and yes I do hope they are released, but once again this is still just a plot to link "blacks" (specifically black males) to the terrorism bullshit. Unfortunately they are arresting more black men on "terrorism" related charges.

harlem1nyc · Apr 16, 2008

all bullshit......AS OF LATE blacks for the most part are never involved in civil unrest...hence THE PROBLEM!!

QueEx · Apr 16, 2008

harlem1nyc said:
all bullshit......AS OF LATE blacks for the most part are never involved in civil unrest...hence THE PROBLEM!!

Interesting. Unless we're involved in civil unrest, we're not likely to see positive results. On the other hand, if we engage in "civil unrest" ... we're likely to go to jail.

What does that say ??? :confused:

QueEx

LennyNero1972 · Apr 17, 2008

QueEx said:
Interesting. Unless we're involved in civil unrest, we're not likely to see positive results. On the other hand, if we engage in "civil unrest" ... we're likely to go to jail.

What does that say ???

QueEx

Or be killed. :hmm:

GET YOU HOT · Apr 18, 2008

QueEx said:
Interesting. Unless we're involved in civil unrest, we're not likely to see positive results. On the other hand, if we engage in "civil unrest" ... we're likely to go to jail.

What does that say ???

QueEx

Correct, "civil unrest", in the black community is concentrated amongst our own, or other minorities, for the most part. What they will do, is capitalize on microscopic hearsay and unnamed sources of "terrorist" type events, site conspiracy, scapegoats here and there, which blacks have been for all time.

Use the saying, "don't start none, won't be none, static", as a rule of thumb. Education and independance, is key, look after your fellow blacks, at this day in time, NEGROES NEED UNITY, otherwise we will all become moving targets...

blackdragon2000 · Sep 27, 2008

thanks for the news

QueEx · May 12, 2009

<center>
Miami jury finds five guilty in Sears Tower plot</center>

A handout photograph from the U.S. Department of
Justice shows Narseal Batiste, one of seven people
arrested in Miami Thursday, who, U.S. officials said
on June 23, 2006, had discussed attacks on the
landmark Sears Tower in Chicago, the FBI building
in Miami and other government buildings.

Reuters
May 12, 2009

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. jury found five men guilty on Tuesday of plotting with al Qaeda to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and government buildings after two previous attempts to convict the group ended in mistrials.

The jury acquitted a sixth man in a case that was touted nearly three years ago as a major blow against terrorism and a victory in the government's efforts to dismantle domestic "sleeper cells."

The guilty verdicts in a trial that lasted nearly three months came after prosecutors tried and failed twice in the last two years to persuade juries that the men conspired with the Islamic militant group to wage holy war against the United States.

Federal agents arrested the men, who became known as the Liberty City Six after the poor Miami neighborhood where they met, in June 2006.

At the time, authorities said the plot was "aspirational rather than operational," and that the men posed no real threat because they had neither al Qaeda contacts nor the means of carrying out attacks.

But during the trial, prosecutors accused them of pledging allegiance to Osama bin Laden's militants.

Basing the case on thousands of hours of wiretaps, the prosecutors said ringleader Narseal Batiste had recruited soldiers who wore uniforms, marched together and engaged in military training to wage war on the United States.

They said the men took photos of possible targets, scouting Miami's FBI headquarters and a courthouse, surveying entry ramps, surveillance cameras and guardhouses.

According to the prosecution, Batiste suggested an attack on the Sears Tower, America's tallest skyscraper.

Defense lawyers said the alleged plot was concocted by the government with the help of informants who posed as Middle Eastern contacts. They said the accused went along in a bid to extract money from the informants.

Batiste was convicted on all four charges; conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda, conspiring to provide material support to an act of terrorism, conspiring to destroy a building and conspiring to wage war against the United States. He faces up to 70 years in prison.

The jury also found Patrick Abraham guilty on three of the counts. He could face up to 50 years in prison.

The panel returned guilty verdicts on two counts against Stanley Grant Phanor, Burson Augustin and Rotschild Augustine, who each face 30 years in prison.

Sentencing was set for July 27.

The sixth man, Naudimar Herrera, was acquitted of all charges.

(Reporting by Jim Loney; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/usTopNews/idUKTRE54B71P20090512

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