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Acquittal denied for 'Liberty City Seven'
The group is accused of planning to destroy the Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices.
Associated Press
Published November 3, 2007
MIAMI - The evidence against seven men accused of conspiring to topple Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices is strong enough that a jury could convict the entire group of all four terrorism-related charges against them, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard rejected motions for acquittal by defense attorneys for the "Liberty City Seven," who claimed the prosecution's proof was weak. Prosecutors rested Thursday after nearly five weeks of testimony, with the defense scheduled to begin its case on Tuesday.
"The government has provided sufficient evidence that the conspiracies existed as charged," Lenard said at a hearing. "Each defendant knowingly and willfully became a member of that conspiracy."
The group's alleged ringleader, Narseal Batiste, and his six co-defendants each face up to 70 years in prison if convicted of all four charges, including conspiracy to levy war against the United States and conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida.
Batiste and his followers - part of the Moorish Science Temple sect that does not recognize the U.S. government's authority - are accused of seeking support from al-Qaida for a plan to destroy the Sears Tower and to assist the terror organization with a plot to bomb FBI offices in Miami and other cities.
The ultimate goal, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Arango, was "to bring down the U.S. government" and replace it with Islamic rule by using the attacks to spark an armed insurrection.
They had numerous meetings with an FBI informant they thought was an al-Qaida emissary, many of which were recorded by federal agents. Each of the seven also took an oath of allegiance to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden that was captured on FBI videotape.
Attorneys for other defendants sought to minimize their roles in Batiste's group, pointing out that Batiste frequently told the FBI informant that his men didn't know details of the alleged Sears Tower plot.
[Last modified November 3, 2007, 00:38:40]
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