{{Short description|Americans charged with domestic terrorism by the Federal Bureau of Investigation}} The '''Liberty City Seven''' were seven construction workers and members of a small [[Miami]], [[Florida]]-based religious group who called themselves the Universal Divine Saviors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2006/06/seas_of_david_or_seeds_of_davi.php |title=Seas of David? Or Seeds of David? |first=Justin |last=Rood |date=June 26, 2006 |work=[[Talking Points Memo|TPM]] |accessdate=May 25, 2016 |archive-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227012747/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2006/06/seas_of_david_or_seeds_of_davi.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> Described as a "bizarre [[cult]]," the seven were [[arrest]]ed and charged with [[terrorism]]-related offenses in 2006 by a [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] [[Sting operation|sting]] investigation although their actual operational capability was extremely low and their intentions were unclear.<ref name="TimesOnline">{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2242141,00.html |title=Bizarre cult of Sears Tower 'plotter' |first1=Paul |last1=Thompson |first2=Sarah |last2=Baxter |date=June 25, 2006 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908095707/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2089-2242141%2C00.html |archivedate=September 8, 2008}}</ref> The members of the group operated out of a small [[warehouse]] in the Miami neighborhood of [[Liberty City, Miami, Florida|Liberty City]].<ref name="ITSO911">{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Dan |title=IN THE SHADOW OF 9/11 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/in-the-shadow-of-9-11/? |publisher=Public Broadcasting System |access-date=16 August 2021}}</ref>
[[Indictment|Indicted]] in [[United States federal courts|federal court]] and after all seven had refused to take a plea deal,<ref name="ITSO911"/> three [[trial]]s of the Liberty City Seven [[defendant]]s took place. One defendant was [[Acquittal|acquitted]] in the first trial, but the jury [[Hung jury|deadlocked]] on the other six defendants, leading to a mistrial. The second trial also resulted in a deadlocked jury and a mistrial. On the third trial of the remaining six defendants, five were [[Conviction|convicted]] on some of the counts, including the group's leader, Narseal Batiste, the only defendant to be convicted on all four charges. One more defendant was acquitted of all charges in the third trial.
The FBI first became aware of the group in October 2005 as a result of a tip given to Miami FBI Special Agent Anthony Velazquez.
{{blockquote|One of my colleagues comes in and says, "Look I have some information from an informant that there's a group of guys in Liberty City that are conducting military training, that are interested in over throwing the U.S. government, um, and that wanna be Al-Qaeda."<ref name="ITSO911"/>}}
A sting operation was conducted. Ultimately, the charges centered on the FBI's belief that the group was seeking money in order to commit a terrorist act. The informant posed as someone from Yemen who was willing to help their mission in Liberty City, provided they supported the al-Qaeda jihad. The FBI agents represented themselves as representatives of [[al-Qaeda]], and persuaded Batiste to provide plans for a stated intention to destroy the [[Willis Tower|Sears Tower]] (now Willis Tower) in [[Chicago]], the FBI field office in Miami, and other targets. [[Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation]] [[John S. Pistole]] described the group's plot as more "aspirational than operational"; the group did not have the means to carry out attacks on such targets. The group had no weapons and did not seek weapons when they were offered. The group had no communication with any actual al-Qaeda or other terrorist operatives. Rather, the plan was to scam the money given to them by the informant (up to $50,000 was offered) and use it to save their fledgling construction business. Never considering that the ruse was on them in order to get the money, the FBI proceeded to bait the group into saying that the money was for a violent terrorist attack thereby leading to their ultimate arrest.<ref name="ITSO911"/>
==Views and beliefs== The groups held idiosyncratic [[Syncretism|syncretic]] views.<ref name="juancole.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.juancole.com/2006/06/cair-miami-cult-not-muslims-i-just-saw.html |title=Cair Miami Cult Not Muslims I Just Saw |first=Juan |last=Cole |author-link=Juan Cole |date=June 23, 2006 |work=Informed Comment |accessdate=May 25, 2016}}</ref> [[Juan Cole]] wrote that:
{{blockquote|It seems pretty obvious that they are just a local African-American cult which mixed Judaism, Christianity and (a little bit of) Islam. It seems to be a of [sic] vague offshoot of the [[Nuwaubian Nation|Moors group]] founded by [[Dwight York]]. I heard on CNN that one of them talked of being Moors. And Batiste, the leader, called whites "devils" in the tradition of the original [[Nation of Islam]] and York's Moors. Now CNN is saying one member said they practiced witchcraft [likely meaning Haitian voodoo or perhaps Santería-like rituals]. One former member is called Levi-El, suggesting he might be associated with the [[Black Hebrew Israelites|Black Hebrew movement]] or an offshoot. Now a relative of one of the members, Phanor, said that they wore black uniforms with a star of David arm patch and considered themselves of the Order of Melchizadek ...
This Seas of David group primarily seems to have been studying the Bible. The mother of one insisted that he is a Catholic. Then there is all that Jewish symbology and terminology, even in their names. Islam was nothing more for them but a set of symbols they could pull into their syncretic local culture. The group drew on poor Haitian immigrants and local indigent African-American youth. If this were the 1960s, they'd have been Black Panthers or Communists.<ref name="juancole.com"/>}}
Followers wore uniforms bearing a [[Star of David]] and met for Bible study and [[martial arts]] practice.<ref name="Harnden">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1522288/Sect-inspired-leader-of-Sears-Tower-plot.html |title=Sect inspired 'leader of Sears Tower plot' |first=Toby |last=Harnden |date=June 25, 2006 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London, UK |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref>
==Members== Batiste was the leader of the group. He is married and he and his wife Minerva have three boys and a girl. Batiste's relatives described him as a "[[Moses]]-like" figure who roamed his neighborhood wearing a robe and carrying a crooked wooden cane as he recruited young men, based his teachings on those of the [[Moorish Science Temple of America]].<ref name="Harnden"/>
Batiste once drove a [[Federal Express|FedEx]] truck in [[Chicago]] and was a member of the volunteer [[Guardian Angels]], an anti-crime group. His father, Narcisse Batiste, sister and two of his brothers are [[Minister (Christianity)|Christian ministers]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sears24copy1.html |title=Article |work=Chicago Sun-Times}} {{dead link|date=October 2019}}</ref> His mother Audrey Batiste died in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2115811 |title=Father: Plot Suspect Not in 'Right Mind' |work=ABC News |accessdate=May 25, 2016}} {{dead link|date=October 2019}}</ref>
According to the indictment, Batiste told an FBI informant posing as an [[al-Qaeda]] member around December 16, 2005 that he was organizing a mission to build an "Islamic Army" in order to wage [[jihad]] against the United States with his "soldiers" to destroy the [[Sears Tower]]. He requested a list of materials and equipment needed to wage jihad, including boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios, and vehicles.<ref name=LibertyCity2006-06-22/>
Around December 22, 2005, he provided said "al-Qaeda representative" with shoe sizes of his "soldiers" and received military boots a week later. Around that same time he requested radios, binoculars, bulletproof vests, vehicles and $50,000 cash.
On February 19, 2006, in a meeting with the "al-Qaeda representative," along with [[Patrick Abraham]], he expressed interest in attending al-Qaeda training during April and gave further details of the mission to wage "a full ground war" against the United States in order to "kill all the devils we can" in a mission that would "be just as good or greater than 9/11." He requested a video camera for the trip to Chicago.
Around March 10, 2006 he along with Lyglenson Lemorin met with the FBI plant in Miami-Dade County, Florida and swore fealty to al-Qaeda. Around March 16, 2006, along with Patrick Abraham, Stanley Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augustine, Batiste met with the "al-Qaeda representative," swore an oath of loyalty to al-Qaeda and discussed plans to bomb the FBI building in five cities. At this meeting, Batiste took possession of a video camera and promised to obtain "good footage" of the North Miami Beach FBI building.
Around March 23, 2006, Batiste asked the FBI informant for a rental van for himself and his conspirators to take reconnaissance footage of the FBI building. Around March 24, 2006, [[Patrick Abraham]] drove Batiste by car by the FBI and the National Guard Armory buildings in Miami-Dade, Florida. Around the same date, they traveled with the "al-Qaeda representative" to purchase a digital camera. Around March 26, 2006, Batiste and [[Burson Augustin]] provided the FBI informant with photographs and video footage of the FBI building and the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building, federal courthouse, Federal Detention Center, and the Miami Police Department buildings. They met again around April 6 to discuss the photographs and footage.
Around May 24, 2006, Batiste told the "al-Qaeda representative" that he was experiencing delays because of various problems within his organization but that he wanted to continue his mission and maintain his relationship with al-Qaeda.
==Investigation and arrest== On June 22, 2006, a [[grand jury]] indicted the seven men. They were arrested during an FBI raid on the run-down warehouse in Liberty City, Miami in which the group met.<ref name=LibertyCity2006-06-22>{{cite web |url=http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/usbatiste62206ind.html |title=Indictment of 7 in Miami Accused of Plotting to Blow Up U.S. Buildings in Support of al-Qaeda: U.S. v. Batiste, et al. |website=[[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] |date=June 22, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060702100835/http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/usbatiste62206ind.html |archivedate=July 2, 2006}}</ref>
The seven were arrested on June 23, 2006. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, at a press conference that day, said that the men had been taped promising to fight a "full ground war against the United States."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/23/AR2006062300942.html |title=Attorney General Gonzalez Holds a News Conference on Terrorist Arrests |date=June 23, 2006 |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=August 13, 2021 }}</ref>
The seven men named in the indictment: *'''Narseal Batiste''', a/k/a '''Brother Naz''', a/k/a '''Prince Manna''' - Considered the ringleader. *'''Patrick Abraham''', 29, a/k/a '''Brother Pat''' *'''Stanley Grant Phanor''', 33, a/k/a '''Brother Sunni''' (although actually nicknamed "Sunny"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://robertdreyfuss.com/blog/2006/06/sunni_or_sunny.html |title=Sunni -- or Sunny? |first=Robert |last=Dreyfuss |author-link=Robert Dreyfuss |date=June 25, 2006 |website=The Dreyfuss Report |accessdate=May 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611033917/http://robertdreyfuss.com/blog/2006/06/sunni_or_sunny.html |archivedate=June 11, 2011}}</ref>) *'''Rotschild Augustine''', 25, a/k/a '''Brother Rot''' *'''Burson Augustin''', 24, a/k/a '''Brother B''' *'''Naudimar Herrera''', 25, a/k/a '''Brother Naudy''' *'''Lyglenson Lemorin''', 33, a/k/a '''Brother Levi''', a/k/a '''Brother Levi-El'''
Five were U.S. citizens, one a legal immigrant from [[Haiti]], and the last an illegal immigrant originally from Haiti. They were accused of planning to levy a "full ground war" against the United States.
Also involved was Charles James Stewart of the [[Moorish Science Temple]] in Chicago, a convicted rapist who was paid through the FBI informant to join the group in April. He subsequently shot one of Batiste's followers and then became a witness against him and his supporters.<ref name="wapocase" />
The two FBI informants, both Middle Eastern-born, were known as CW1, a Miami resident who had previous arrests for assault and marijuana possession, and CW2, who had worked for the FBI for six years and was awaiting approval of his petition for political asylum in the United States.<ref name="wapocase"/>
Narseal Batiste (also known by some as "Prinze Nas"), 32, is a father of four and a [[martial arts]] enthusiast, who had been a member of the [[Guardian Angels]] in Chicago.<ref name="TimesOnline"/>
The indictments accused the seven of being a domestic [[Clandestine cell system|terrorist cell]] who plotted to blow up the Sears Tower and the FBI building in Miami and had contact with [[al-Qaeda]] to attempt a bombing of Sears Tower. Although no links to outside terrorist groups were alleged, nor any weapons found,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5110342.stm |title=Seven charged over 'Chicago plot' |date=June 23, 2006 |website=[[BBC News Online|BBC News]] |accessdate=October 16, 2006}}</ref> the arrests were the subject of a high level press briefing in [[Washington D.C.]] hosted by the Attorney-General<ref name="pressconf">{{cite web |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2006/06/sec-060623-doj01.htm |title=Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales at the Press Conference on Florida Terrorism Indictments |date=June 23, 2006 |website=Global Security |accessdate=October 12, 2019}}</ref> and made headline news in Europe the following day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/zfriday_20060623.shtml |title=Today |date=June 23, 2006 |website=[[BBC Radio 4]] |accessdate=October 16, 2006}} {{Dead link |date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> The Director of the FBI [[Robert Mueller]] cited the incident in a "Major Executive Speech" in [[Cleveland]] that afternoon entitled "Protecting America from Terrorist Attack: The Threat of Homegrown Terrorism".<ref name="fbiexec">{{cite press release |title=Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Director Robert S. Mueller, III |url=https://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/mueller062306.htm |first=Robert S. |last=Mueller |date=June 23, 2006 |website=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] |accessdate=October 17, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060705064818/http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/mueller062306.htm |archivedate=July 5, 2006 }}</ref>
According to the indictments, the group had been infiltrated for nearly a year by two paid FBI informants posing as [[al-Qaeda]] members. The warehouse they were in had been wired for surveillance and provided rent-free by the FBI since January, and members of the group discussed the terrorist plots with the undercover agents present while smoking [[marijuana]]. Differences had broken out in April between the leaders, causing one to be arrested for shooting a follower of the other.<ref name="wapocase">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101764.html |title=FBI Role in Terror Probe Questioned - Lawyers Point to Fine Line Between Sting and Entrapment |first=Walter |last=Pincus |date=September 2, 2006 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |accessdate=October 13, 2006}}</ref>
==Trials== [[Image:Miami seven charged with terror.jpg|thumb|300px|The seven men charged in the terror plot.]] All seven were denied bail since their arrest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5152652.stm |title=Chicago plot suspects denied bail |date=July 5, 2006 |website=BBC News |accessdate=October 16, 2006}}</ref> Their trial began on 2 October 2007 with the threat of up to 70 years in prison if convicted of all charges,<ref name="AP102007">{{cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/03/trial_starts_in_liberty_city_7_case/ |title=Trial starts in Liberty City 7 case |first=Curt |last=Anderson |date=October 3, 2007 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |website=[[Boston.com]] |accessdate=October 25, 2007}}{{dead link|date=May 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} </ref> and ended on 13 December with one defendant acquitted and the jury unable to return a verdict on the other six, for whom a retrial was scheduled for 7 January 2008.<ref name="anderson14"/> On April 16, 2008, the federal judge in the case declared a second mistrial for the six remaining defendants after the jury had been deadlocked for 13 days.<ref name="AP article">{{Cite web|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5idfDmrtarDonhbdqZdXQwhTtFYRwD9031S3G0|title=AP article}}</ref>
The presiding judge for all three trials was [[Joan A. Lenard]].
The first trial began on October 2, 2007 in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida]]. Prosecutors presented evidence drawn from 15,000 FBI recordings, including one in which Narseal Batiste said they would make sure no one survived destruction of the 110-story Sears Tower, and another which features ceremony in which each member of the group swears allegiance to al-Qaeda and [[Osama bin Laden]]. The defense claimed that the men played along with the talk by the FBI informants of terrorist plots in the hope of obtaining money, and that they never constituted a credible terrorist threat. In the second week of the trial two of the jurors were dismissed after a police [[counter-terrorism]] [[pamphlet]] was found in the jury room.
The defense rested its case on November 20, 2007. The prosecution alleged that although the defendants did not have the means to carry out a terrorist attack, they "were a ready-made [[terrorist cell]] here for al-Qaeda" who sought to use their attacks on the Sears Tower to spark an insurrection, topple the government, and bring about the destruction of the United States.<ref>[http://www.mail-archive.com/osint@yahoogroups.com/msg50073.html [osint] Defense Rests in Miami Terrorism Trial]</ref> The first trial ended on December 13, 2007. Lyglenson Lemorin was acquitted of all charges, and on the other six the jury deadlocked, leading to a mistrial.<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite web | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/13/miami.terror.trial/index.html |title=1 Acquitted, 6 To Be Retried, In Alleged Terror Plot |date=December 13, 2007 |work=[[CNN]] |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref><ref name="anderson29">{{cite web |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5idfDmrtarDonhbdqZdXQwhTtFYRwD8T7K5V81 |title=Prosecutor: Fla. Group Was Terror Cell |first=Curt |last=Anderson |date=November 29, 2007 |website=Associated Press|accessdate=December 16, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070609092030/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5idfDmrtarDonhbdqZdXQwhTtFYRwD8T7K5V81 |archive-date=June 9, 2007}}</ref> The defense argument was that the men were playing along with the FBI agents in order to con for money.<ref name="anderson29"/>
On December 13, 2007, after nine days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Lyglenson Lemorin, who had left the group and moved to Atlanta months before the arrests but were unable to reach a verdict on the other six.<ref name="anderson14">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121400556.html |title=Jurors Deadlock on 6 of 7 in Sears Plot |first=Curt |last=Anderson |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=December 16, 2007}} {{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The judge declared a mistrial, and the jury for a retrial was scheduled to be picked after 7 January 2008.<ref name="cnn.com"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/20/2026227/acquitted-haitian-defendant-in.html |title=Acquitted Haitian Defendant |date=January 20, 2011 |newspaper=Miami Herald}} {{Dead link |date=October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/23/miami.reax/index.html |title=Families insist suspects not terrorists |date=June 24, 2006 |website=CNN |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0733513120071213 |title=FACTBOX: Miami terrorism trial of Liberty City Seven |date=December 13, 2007 |work=Reuters |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/16/AR2008041603607.html |title=2nd Mistrial in 'Liberty City 7' Case |first=Julienne |last=Gage |date=17 April 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-06-24-terrorism-profile_x.htm |title=Father: Plot suspect not in 'right mind' |date=June 24, 2006 |work=[[USA Today]] |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref> Following Lemorin's acquittal, he continued to be detained pending a deportation proceeding in which the same charges were reexamined. Deportation is considered a civil proceeding, where [[double jeopardy]] protections do not apply and a lower standard of [[clear and convincing evidence]] is used rather than [[reasonable doubt]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/after-acquittal-us-resident-now-faces-deportation-827 |title=After Acquittal, U.S. Resident Now Faces Deportation |first=Eric |last=Umansky |date=August 27, 2008 |website=[[ProPublica]] |access-date=October 12, 2019}} This reference quotes the [http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/story/657890.html ''Miami Herald'' story] no longer available online.</ref> After being detained by immigration authorities for three years, in Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, he was deported to Haiti on January 20, 2011 while his appeal to an Atlanta federal court was pending.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article24608470.html |title=Acquitted Liberty City Seven terror defendant deported to Haiti |first1=Jay |last1=Weaver |first2=Trenton |last2=Daniel |date=January 21, 2011 |website=[[McClatchy|McClatchyDC]] |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref> The following April, Lemorin was not permitted to return for the funeral of the 15-year-old son he had fathered in the United States, who remained in the U.S. and was struck while trying to push a stalled vehicle off the highway.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/lyglenson-lemorin-deported-despite-liberty-city-7-acquittal-cant-return-for-sons-funeral-6554942 |title=Lyglenson Lemorin, Deported Despite Liberty City 7 Acquittal, Can't Return For Son's Funeral |first=Tim |last=Elfrink |date=April 18, 2011 |newspaper=[[Miami New Times]] |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref>
A second trial ended on April 16, 2008, when Lenard declared a mistrial after the second jury reported that they were deadlocked after 13 days of deliberations.
A third trial ended on May 12, 2009, when following two weeks of deliberation a jury acquitted Naudimar Herrera, but convicted the five remaining defendants. During the deliberations two of the jurors were replaced. Ringleader Batiste was convicted on all four charges brought against him. Abraham was convicted on three of the four counts against him. Phanor, Augustine, and Augustin were convicted on two counts of [[providing material support for terrorism]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/us/13miami.html |title=Five Convicted in Plot to Blow Up Sears Tower |first1=Damien |last1=Cave |first2=Carmen |last2=Gentile |date=13 May 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref>
The five were sentenced on November 20, 2009 by Judge [[Joan Lenard]] after a three-day sentencing hearing:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0911/091120miami.htm |title=Liberty City defendants sentenced to federal prison on terror-related charges |date=November 20, 2009 |website=Immigration and Customs Enforcement |accessdate=May 25, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531183908/http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0911/091120miami.htm |archive-date=May 31, 2010}}</ref> *Narseal Batiste: 162 months in prison, followed by 35 years of supervised release; *Patrick Abraham: 112.5 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release; *Stanley Grant Phanor: 96 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release; *Burson Augustin: 72 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release; and *Rothschild Augustine: 84 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.
==Press coverage of the arrests== The arrests were announced on 23 June at a high level press briefing in [[Washington D.C.]] by the Attorney-General [[Alberto Gonzales]], the Deputy Director of the [[FBI]] John S. Pistole, and an Assistant Attorney-General Alice S. Fisher.<ref name="pressconf"/>
At the press conference, the Attorney-General and the Deputy Director took questions from reporters: :'''Question:''' Did any of the men have any actual contact with any members of al-Qaeda that you know of? :'''Attorney-General:''' The answer to that is "No". :'''Question:''' Did they have any means to carry out this plot? I mean, did you find any explosives, weapons? :'''Attorney-General:''' You raise a good point ... We took action when we had enough evidence. :'''Question:''' Was there anything against the Sears Tower other than this one apparent, just, kind of mention of the Sears Tower? It doesn't look like they ever took pictures or ... :'''Deputy Director of the FBI:''' One of the individuals was familiar with the Sears Tower, had worked in Chicago, and was familiar with the tower. But in terms of the plans, it was more aspirational than operational.<ref name="pressconf"/><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://149.101.1.32/ag/speeches/2006/ag_speech_0606231.html |title=Transcript of Press Conference Announcing Florida Terrorism Indictments |date=June 23, 2006 |website=Department of Justice |accessdate=October 16, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928034633/http://149.101.1.32/ag/speeches/2006/ag_speech_0606231.html |archive-date=28 September 2007 }}</ref>
He assured the public that the men posed no actual danger because their plot had been caught in "its earliest stages", and that the group's only source of money and weapons would have been the undercover FBI agent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5110342.stm |title=Seven charged over 'Chicago plot' |date=June 23, 2006 |website=BBC News |access-date=October 12, 2019}}</ref>
The following week the incident was featured on [[The Daily Show]], where [[Jon Stewart]] quipped: "Now, I am not a general. I don't have any association with any military academy. But I believe that if you are going to wage a full ground war against the United States, you need to field at least as many people as, say, a softball team."<ref name="dailyshow">{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=114155&title=headlines-the-apprentices |title=The Daily Show Headlines - The Apprentices |first=Jon |last=Stewart |date=June 25, 2006 |website=Comedy Central |access-date=October 12, 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307012427/http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=114155&title=headlines-the-apprentices |archive-date=March 7, 2008}}</ref>
[[Democracy Now]] interviewed two community activists in Miami on 26 June who summed up local reaction to the indictments:
{{blockquote|[A] lot of show has been made about the militaristic boots that they had ... [I]t turns out ... the FBI bought them the boots. If you look at the indictment, the biggest piece of evidence ... is that the group may have taken pictures of a bunch of targets in South Florida. But the guys couldn't afford their own cameras, so the federal government bought them the cameras ... The federal government rented them the cars that they needed to get downtown in order to take the pictures.
In addition ... the men provided the FBI informant with a list of things they needed in order to blow up these buildings, but in the list they didn't include any explosives or any materials which could be used to make explosives. So now everyone in Liberty City is joking that the guys were going to kick down the FBI building with their new boots, because they didn't have any devices which could have been used to explode ...<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/26/1349235 |title="Aspirational Rather than Operational" - 7 Arrested in Miami Terror Plot |date=June 26, 2006 |website=Democracy Now |accessdate=October 16, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018225348/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06%2F06%2F26%2F1349235 |archivedate=18 October 2006}}</ref>}}
In his afternoon speech, the Director of the FBI, [[Robert Mueller]], cited the case to illustrate how his department's policies were working. He also made reference to the case of [[Kevin James (alleged terrorist)|Kevin James]], the [[2006 Toledo terror plot|Toledo terror plot]], and the [[2006 Toronto terrorism case]].<ref name="fbiexec"/>
==FBI payments== * The first informant, CW1, received $10,500 for his services and $8,815 in expenses. * The second informant, CW2, received $17,000 and approval of his petition for political asylum in the United States. * Expenses for Charles James Stewart and his wife to travel from Chicago to Miami came to $3,500 * Rent paid on the warehouse used for training from January to June.<ref name="wapocase"/>
The trial information revised these figures * First informant, Abbas al Saidi, received $40,000. * Second informant, Elie Assad, received $80,000.<ref name="mh102007">{{cite news |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_dade/story/280185.html |title=Tough time for Liberty City 7 defense |first=Jay |last=Weaver |date=22 October 2007 |newspaper=Miami Herald |accessdate=October 15, 2007}} {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
==Media== The case was one of a type that inspired [[Chris Morris (satirist)|Chris Morris]] in the making of the 2019 film ''[[The Day Shall Come]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Chris Morris on satire in the Trump era and his new film 'The Day Shall Come' | date=2 October 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liV5wKAihh8 |language=en |access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{cite news |url=https://www.religionnewsblog.com/15040/seas-of-david-oddballs-tried-mix-of-creeds-religions |title=Oddballs tried mix of creeds & religions |first1=Jeanne |last1=Dequine |first2=Adam |last2=Lisberg |first3=Helen |last3=Kennedy |date=June 24, 2006 |newspaper=New York Daily News |via=Religion News Blog}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=batiste62306%2Ehtm |title=Indictment of 7 in Miami Accused of Plotting to Blow Up U.S. Buildings in Support of al-Qaeda: U.S. v. Batiste, et al |date=June 22, 2006 |website=PipelineNews.org}} *{{cite magazine |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/02/department-pre-crime |title=Department of Pre-Crime |last=Umansky |first=Eric |date=February 29, 2008 |magazine=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]}} * {{cite episode|title=In the Shadow of 9/11|series=Frontline|series-link=Frontline (American TV program)|network=[[PBS]]|station=[[WGBH-TV|WGBH]]|date=August 10, 2021|season=39|number=16|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/in-the-shadow-of-9-11/|access-date=August 1, 2025}}
{{War on Terrorism}} {{AmericanTerrorism}}
[[Category:June 2006 crimes in the United States]] [[Category:American prisoners and detainees]] [[Category:Quantified groups of defendants]] [[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government]] [[Category:21st-century American trials]] [[Category:Trials in Florida]]