"Liberty City Seven" Terror Trial Ends In Mistrial, 1 Acquittal
By Logan Murphy Thursday Dec 13, 2007 3:15pm
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.
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.
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." Read on...
Raw Story documented the fairly weak case the Feds went to court with last year. Talk Left has more...
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Oops my bad.
The DOJ is caught red handed, yet again, manufacturing terror cells where non exist. Well done, boys.
What a waste of my tax dollars. These so-called "domestic terrorists" didn't have the first clue, and basically had to be talked into it by the government informant. I'm still astounded that any members of this Administration is capable of tying their own shoes, let alone knowing when to come in out of the rain.
As it should. I was listening to NPR yesterday (in the afternoon) - Neil Cohan? - a reporter for one of the Miami papers was talking about this being such a "noncase" given that it was the FBI informant who was pushing for action NOT the defendants.
The more I learn about this, the more it sounds just some trumped up shit to rally the ReThugs, and the undecideds to be afraid and more paranoid.
Since the FBI instigated the group to form in the first place, this whole thing is a crock-o-shit. Some agents trying to make themselves look good by breaking up a cell they themselves created. Thank goodness some on the jury were intelligent.
The Wanderer @ 4:
at best they probably could mannage to fuck up a pit bull fight!
But, but, but...
They're BLECK!
We need to fight em over there so they don't come killin us over here!!
[refers to deleted post]
Any chance the Feds will learn from their mistakes and start focusing on actual terrorist threats?
Oh, right. I forgot we're heading into an election year.
Has there been a trial of the pizza delivery "terrorists" yet? The ones who planned to storm a military base. I have a feeling, if there hasn't been a trial yet, this one will probably come out the same way.
Both of these cases are always mentioned when repubs are talking about the need to crack down on our freedoms here at home.
Jesus, Wolf has glenn beck as his guest on his show. WTF? Who the hell cares what he thinks about Huckabee's campaign?
pissed off patricia @ 12:
The most trusted name in bullshit.
This was discussed on the Diane Rehm Show this morning on NPR. One caller pointed out, thankfully, that all the government's propagandistic talking points about all the "terror attacks" they've thwarted is complete bullshit because a negative can not be proven.
Joementum @ 11:
Yes.
Someone has to clean the streets of independent thinkers who value freedom.
More expensive bullshit brought to you by the CheneyBushCo.
stupid patsies
Do you think the prosecutors actually thought they could get a conviction out of this shit-case?
excuse the OT …
just heard from the man, on randi… sign up!:
http://wexlerwantshearings.com/
sign up … pass it on!
thanks!
The terrorists are sitting in the White House.
katy @ 19:
Found a link on rawstory.com this morning and signed up.
Sign up, everyone!!!
razant @ 3:
Have you checked out your driver's license picture lately?
Not exactly Glamour Shots are they?
Dr. Acula @ 14:
Remember that's what bush asked Saddam to do, he wanted him to prove he didn't have weapons of mass destruction. Another time of asking someone to prove a negative.
That's the way this bunch of bush crooks work.
Damn freedom-killing activist judges and left wing America-hating media proving this is a plot by French-leaning Pelosi-loving George Soros and his San Francisco values trying to legislate defeat in Iraq with a pre-determined date for surrender which can only be solved by teaching Christianity in our schools!!
Uhm... did I miss anything?
JayDog @ 23:
You forgot to defiantly order everyone to have a merry christmas.
Dr. Acula @ 20:
Thanks for that, I signed it and sent it on
OT - The Impeachment of Dick Cheney has just picked up significant steam. Three members of the House Judiciary have opened a new website. Please visit and sign up right now! Demand hearings on the Impeachment of Dick Cheney! This is HUGE news!
http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/
So the FBI uses a phony turrist to persuade a group of losers to join the club and then busts them for being turrists?
Shit, next you're going to tell me that the New York police are planting fake lost wallets to arrest people for picking them up.
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 24:
thanks for the humor, we need more in the world.
We need someone like Italy's Beppo Grillo, who got almost a hundred thousand into Vatican Square to Show the "V" sign (vafunculo) and shout it to the Italian Parliament.
Reading about these guys leads me to conclude that they are a bunch of morons who were, at the least, up to no good. Did they really intend to carry out a terror attack? Who knows? However, I am impressed that juries can convene in this country who can judge the case on it's merits, instead of with fear, and actually return verdicts that reflect the state's inability to make a solid case.
That said, I'm not going to jump on a bandwagon and claim these wonderful boys were totally railroaded. The state failed here. If this case really had the potential to be a true danger, then the state could have--and should have put together a much better case with deeper cover and more evidence over a longer time. And if Bill O'Reilley wants to argue that more time may have resulted in a bombing, then the state would have already had the goods to convict.
By not putting together a responsible and provable case, the state has failed the citizenry. These guys may have eventually been a true danger in a couple of years. Now they may still be because irresponsible prosecution has put them back on the street and made them much smarter about what not to do next time if they should choose to be bad guys.
I agree that the state probably got boners and jumped at the chance to glory hog over an arrest. I certainly will never rush to the defense of the Bush DOJ. But at the same time, it's clear to me that these guys are not exactly innocent victims.
Bad decisions by the state that lead to acquittals and hung juries don't prove innocence. The only thing they prove is incompetent prosecution.
Whew... I feel so much safer that the Bush administration is protecting us from people talking about possibly thinking of proposing the concept of maybe attacking the Sears Tower... as soon as any of them can afford to get to Chicago. THAT was a narrow escape that only Jack Bauer could save us from.
Wait! What? You mean they're being released??? NNNNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Wolf is telling how each candidate likes their coffee. Sheesh, who the fu*k cares? That's the kind of bs that got us where we are today. This is the kind of stuff we used to do in elementary school. Pepsi or Coke?
If there are still people who care about stuff like this, maybe not all people have evolved.
I wish Nonny was here on the thread. I just got her book in the mail today. I can't wait to get some time to curl up and do some serious reading.
pissed off patricia @ 31:
most repigs like it with a dash of jiz.
Dr. Acula @ 20:
Finally an elected person from Florida that I can be proud of for doing something good.
pissed off patricia @ 31:
Oooh. Didja hear the one about how Hillary refuses to eat green M&Ms.
*For the administration to consider making into an article*
Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (Ret.) Announces His Candidacy for Senate!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=l8qfFOJZDbg
I'm so glad I was protected from the terrifying might of seven people incapable of doing anything whatsoever to me.
Phew!
I thought they canceled COINTELPRO?
Even with a weak case, the jury couldn't find them all not guilty. That worries me. This should have been totally thrown out.
A little OT; but did the FBI ever solve those anthrax cases?
Thing Fish @ 39:
Did they ever TRY??
Sure, with enough training, support and encouragement from government informants.
Che's Lounge @ 7:
I was going to say the same thing. They were suspects because they were "wily [deleted].
Look at the mug shots and ask yourself,
Is this a terror threat worthy of a trillion dollar foreign war?
another bullshit sting designed to get the mouth-breathers to clamour for more stasidom and mercantilism
isn't it funny.....that the only people who have been busted and charged here in the US.....are black.Me myself and I would like to see them go after the white supremists more.......the skin head nazi white supremists are a big threat to national security as well.
These are the people that the US government would have us fear? These poor feckers couldn't carjack a Vanagon full of Quakers.
I guess the FBI aren't as competent as they appear on TV. /snark
Now the Brits, on the other hand, knew how to fit up a suspect. The Guilford Four and the Birmingham Six come to mind, but there were many, many others. "Innocent until proven Irish" was the working credo. Looks like Bush's DOJ was working on the "Innocent until proven Black" variant.
These seven guys didn't have the wit or the resources to knock over a liquor store, never mind the Sears Tower. The government should just drop the case now; it's over.
Hello Propaganda Goodbye Freedom
During the time of this so called crackdown, there was another claim that there was a plot to make bombs in mid air over the seas. I can't wait to hear that had no bases in fact or proof it would be carried out. The media was all over these two stories. Where are they now?
I recall this was the proof Al Qaeda was on the rise. They were knocking at are door, living among us and plotting to blow Americans up. At the time, the media only showed one side of the story: the hype about Al Qaeda. Time has delivered a measure of truth and the right-wing media fear machine, led by CNN and MSNBC, are no where to be found. They don't want to have nothing to do with having to admit they were wrong. Yes, all their special terrorism guest did know WTF they were talking about.
I find this news disturbing because, as a Black man who can be very vocal about what this administration has done to our country, the Iraqi people, and the so-called enemies of the state , I know they would come after me with a put together claim I am aiding Al Qaeda. I feel this as a real threat to me and my young family. What is the world coming to when you could lose your freedom for something they cannot proof you are doing?
I felt then,as I feel now, this is bull shit, and it is time to hold someone accountable for some of these propaganda moves. In Miami, and abroad, we need to bring this Al Qaeda threat into factual perspective, taking away the media's attempt to make it something sensational or more then it really is. Sooner then later.
Joseph
Hope someone provides the support for the victims to
SUE the BUSH Gobbermint criminals!
thank gods these poor smucks have gotten by...if they have. this admin and its' minions are full of hate and will probably dog these guys for decades.
Now people need to turn attention - unwavering attention to those forgotten souls rotting forgotten in black
waterholes here there and gitmo.Please everybody don't forget that these guys are human beings who have been for days, weeks endless years been held.
We cannot be the german citizens who said "We didn't know what our government was doing." We know.
JayDog @ 23:
Yeah, uh hello? You forgot THE CLENIS!!!! BILL CLINTON'S PENIS HATES AMERICA!!!!
This was BS from the get go. Bush/Cheney evil lying machine WILL face justice!
Oh, and what happened to those f*ckin rainbow alerts!!!!!!???
Has anyone noticed that all the Arab terrorist 'Al-Qaeda' suspects are Black or Hispanic?
Or that they were all goaded into Al-Qaeda by FBI informers?
Doesn't anyone find that just a little suspicious?
McDuff @ 2:
Could'nt have said it better. These guys were'nt even the first. This happens over and over again.
Chertoff must be so proud. To look over his anti-terror force and see them apprehend these Masterminds of Terror must overwhelm him. So relieved to see that these guys are no longer a threat and that our tax dollars are going to good use. I do have one question. Why didn't Homeland Security wait for this "cell" to make contact with Al Qaida and/or acquire weapons so they could apprehend even more dangerous adversaries in addition to these highly trained and highly motivated soldiers of terror? Probably they just could not control their excitement for that long. Or, maybe they figured these guys would get sidetracked and go back to what they were doing before they got led into this ill-conceived plan in which case the photo opportunity would be lost. Way to go team!
All this crap likely just a ReThug plan to keep the local Cuban voters voting ReThug. Lots of Cuban-Americans in Dade are getting tired of wating for Fidel to die, but they're also getting tired of seeing that the GOP ain't giving them any more that lip service...The GOP already
lostwon here convincingly before...Yo Son! That's like the first time I've seen negros featured on this site. Thanks for Posting!
You forgot to defiantly order everyone to have a merry christmas.
Damn! I forgot that Bill O' just reminded us again that he had won the "War on Christmas" for all of us. I hadn't even noticed it was happening.
I want a new country.
McDuff @ 2:
The DOJ is caught red handed, yet again, manufacturing terror cells where non exist. Well done, boys.
Could’nt have said it better. These guys were’nt even the first. This happens over and over again.
Glad to see my tax dollars are being used so ineffectivly at the Federal level. The prosecuters should be put on trial for incompetance.
I would like to report some real domestic terrorists, they live and work at 1600 Pennsylva......THUMP, BANG, ...WTF?
Gonzo was told to arrest these idiots based on the fact the White House wanted to prove were had terrorist in the US. Now the joke happen when these guys were arrested and their back grounds came out. Now none of these have jobs or money and to make it worse they don't even know who Al Qaeda or Bin Laden is. These wanna bees just talked to an undercover guy so they could rob him. To make a bomb you have to read the instructions well that leaves them out. None of these guys knew anything about Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran or any country in the Middle East. A reporter interviewed the neighborhood these guys lived in and were told by all that they often ask for food and do more talking then anything else. The Government needed some patsies to trick Americans but somebody messed up. Now the good news is these guys who didn't have food or a place to live were living large in jail,
We don't have to worry about these guys writing a book about their experiences.
I @ 54:
I Have Noticed
Not only is it a fact that somehow Al Qaeda in America is dark skinned or Latin, but they are also poor. This will minimize the efforts to defend themselves. Yes, no fancy lawyers for this group.
The first thing I think of is it could happen to me, I am a Black man. I am outspoken. I connect the dots and conclude the truth instead of debate. This means this president is guilty of murder. He has lots of blood on his hands for not pulling out of Iraq when no WMDs were found. Until this day, our presidents continues to seek reasons to stay into this war. He'll need more scapegoats to call Al Qaeda in America.
There was no significant Al Qaeda forces in Iraq. The Bush administration is claiming victory over a enemy that was not there to begin with. None of this can be done without the sensationalized support of the right wing media. We must tell the forces to be to stop delivering Bush's messages of fear.
Joseph
This is really sad and in poor taste, yet we all understand why this is happening and remember the entire world is also watching this crap.
McDuff @ 2:
well said! carry on, McDuff!
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