Indictment of suspected terrorists; little evidence of plot

Terror suspects were `more aspirational than operational'
Posted on Fri, Jun. 23, 2006email thisprint this
Terror suspects were `more aspirational than operational'
By Larry Lebowitz, Lesley Clark and Martin Merzer
Knight Ridder Newspapers

MIAMI - They swore allegiance to al-Qaida, authorities charge, and were led by a "Moses-like figure" who carried a cane through his neighborhood here, wearing a cape or sometimes a bathrobe. They allegedly sought to sow death and terror, but ended up in leg irons instead.

The seven men arrested in an alleged terrorist plot thought they were conspiring with al-Qaida "to levy war against the United States" in attacks that would "be just as good or greater than 9/11," according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.

The campaign was to begin with the bombing of the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago, the indictment charges, though an FBI sting foiled the alleged plot long before it reached that point. Attacks on federal buildings in Miami and four other cities also were discussed, officials said.

"What we had was a situation where individuals in America made plans to hurt Americans," U.S. Attorney General Albert Gonzales said during a news conference in Washington.

But that's where it stopped - with initial plans, authorities said.

The men, allegedly led by Narseal Batiste, each swore an oath of fidelity to al-Qaida called a bayat but never met with an authentic representative of the group that was responsible for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to authorities.

They weren't able to obtain explosives and no weapons were found, officials said. In Chicago, police said there was no credible threat against the Sears Tower, and no arrests were made there.

"This group was more aspirational than operational," John Pistole, the FBI's deputy director, said of the group's alleged plot.

Authorities said the group had been infiltrated by a government informant, had been under surveillance for months and no longer posed a danger. But they stopped short of saying that every member had been arrested.

"I can tell you that the investigation continues," Gonzales said.

Other officials described the group as a distinct threat to national security and, at the same time, as something akin to the gang that couldn't think straight.

For the most part, authorities framed the case as one against a "homegrown cell" of terrorists, and said the seven could have inflicted great harm.

According to the indictment, Batiste, 32, called his men "soldiers" in an "Islamic army" that would wage a "full ground war."

He said he wanted to "kill all the devils that we can," officials said, and that he wanted most of his group to attend al-Qaida training this past April.

The suspects called the Liberty City, Fla., warehouse in which they met - and where most of them were arrested Thursday - "the embassy," authorities said.

"They lived and worked in the United States, enjoyed all the freedoms our great nation offers, yet they pledged their allegiance to al-Qaida," Pistole said. "Their goal was simple: Commit attacks against America."

Gonzales compared them to terrorists in Madrid, London and Toronto.

"Left unchecked, these homegrown terrorists may prove to be as dangerous as groups like al-Qaida," Gonzales said.

A tip from the public and a full-court press from an anti-terrorism task force frustrated the group's plan, he said.

"These men were unable to advance their deadly plot beyond the initial planning phase," Gonzales said.

Their motive?

"They did not believe the U.S. government had legal authority over them," Pistole said. "They were separatists."

The seven were fooled for months by a government informant who pretended to be an al-Qaida operative, according to the indictment.

They needed help acquiring everything from machine guns to rental vans and boots, even giving the informant a list of their shoe sizes, according to the indictment, and they were led by an eccentric man who called himself Brother Naz and Prince Manna.

A friend described Batiste as a "Moses-like" figure who would roam the neighborhood in odd clothing, carrying a crooked wooden cane as he recruited vulnerable young men.

"He had a resentment in his heart toward God," Sylvain Plantin said. "I felt something wasn't right about him."

Others said he was a martial arts devotee who sometimes wore camouflage and led his followers through late-night physical exercises.

The indictment identified the six other defendants as Patrick Abraham, 26; Burson Augustin, 21; Rotschild Augustine, 22; Naudimar Herrera, 22; Lyglenson Lemorin, 31; and Stanley Grant Phanor, 31.

None has made any substantive public comment since the arrests, but friends and relatives of some of them have expressed shock - and doubt over their guilt.

"I believe my husband is innocent of all the accusations against him," said Minerva Batiste, 34, the wife of the alleged ringleader.

Despite early reports to the contrary, the men didn't appear to be members of mainstream Muslim communities.

A close friend of one of the defendants said Batiste's teachings came from the Moorish Science Temple of America, an early 19th-century religion that blends Christianity, Judaism and Islam with a heavy influence on self-discipline through martial arts.

On Friday, their Liberty City neighborhood resembled a parking lot for television news trucks as dozens of reporters set up live shots in front of the arrest scene: a windowless, coral-colored, one-story warehouse.

Some residents watched the action, while others went about their business, saying they didn't mind the attention if the arrests made their neighborhood safer.

"Good, take them away," Daniel Bellamy said. "I just got out of the Army three years ago. If I learned anything, it's that we have to stay alert and keep our eyes open. Always."

Five of the defendants - all except Phanor and Lemorin - appeared in federal court Friday afternoon in Miami, though they said nothing about the case.

The five, arrested Thursday in Liberty City and Little Haiti, were dressed in the muddy-brown jumpsuits that new federal prisoners wear. Chains restricted their movements. Batiste had a wispy beard and a shaved head.

No pleas were entered during the brief hearing. All responded in soft, respectful tones when U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White asked about their financial situations. None spoke specifically about the case

They said they were self-employed or unemployed and had scarce financial resources. White appointed attorneys to represent them. The defendants will return to court next Friday.

A sixth suspect, Lemorin, was arrested Thursday in Atlanta and the seventh, Phanor, already was in state custody for allegedly violating probation by carrying a concealed weapon.

Abraham is an undocumented immigrant from Haiti; Lemorin is a permanent resident. The other five are U.S. citizens, officials said.

"The defendants are innocent until proven guilty," R. Alexander Acosta, the U.S. attorney in South Florida, said during a news conference in Miami.

The four-count indictment charges all seven with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists, conspiracy to maliciously damage and destroy by means of an explosive and conspiracy to levy war against the United States.

If convicted, they face maximum prison sentences of 15 or 20 years on each charge.

According to the indictment:

-The plot began in November with Batiste recruiting the others for the mission "to wage war."

-On Dec. 16, Batiste met in a hotel with the confidential informant.

-The seven men pledged allegiance to al Qaida. Group members asked the phony al Qaida agent to provide machine guns, boots, uniforms and vehicles.

-Members of the group took reconnaissance photographs of the FBI's field office in North Miami Beach and shot video and still photos of the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building, other federal courthouse buildings, the Federal Detention Center and the Miami Police Department in downtown Miami.

How serious were these threats and how close did the seven come to succeeding with their plans?

"They certainly had the will. They were searching for the way," Acosta said. "Our mission is to identify them . . . and prevent them from prosecuting their plan."
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Jennifer Babson, Evan S. Benn, Oscar Corral, Amy Driscoll, Susannah A. Nesmith, Charles Rabin and Nicholas Spangler of The Miami Herald contributed to this report.

Re: Indictment of suspected terrorists; little evidence of p


I'm shaking in my boots.

Seriously though, we could look at it two ways:

1- These people really wanted to cause damage, and we got only lucky because they didn't connect with the right people.

2- This was a bunch of knuckleheads who couldn't do sh*t if they tried and at most would have caused a headache for the local police to deal with.

I'll wait until further investigations before I come to my decision.
However, so far it's leaning more towards the former than the latter (no weapons? No terrorist links? No explosives? No "army" of soldiers? Why all the hype?)

So far, it looks as though they were more interested in headlines than building a solid case against these idiots.

I want to know more about this "confidential informant". This was a guy who obviously has connections in the Hatian Muslim community -- I mean why would these Hatians go to him for their help.

This is actually pretty funny.

It looks to me like some desperate hooey being hyped to help make the case that we're safe under Bush and the Refugnicans.

These yahoos didn't even have any weapons - none.

Indictment reveals little hard evidence of terrorist plot

The guy paying the "Miami 7" to act like terrorists was an FBI informant, setting them up for a headline-making arrest.

It get's funnier by the hour.

There is now an argument over whether one of the guys nickname is Brother Sunni (as reported) or Brother Sunny. Apparently he has quite a bright, happy personality.

Suspects Were Terrorist "Stooges," Say Officials
Suspects Were Terrorist "Stooges," Say Officials

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the foiling of "a terrorist plot" by an obscure and eccentric cult called "The Star of David," while acknowledging that there was no imminent danger of an attack ... "In terms of plans, it was an aspiration, not an operation," an FBI agent said.

The Attorney General today announced that a successful sting operation resulted in the arrest of a terrorist cell known as the "Three Stooges." The cell's members are believed to be part of an offshoot of Al Qaeda known as "Why I Oughta," a phrase that appears regularly in their verbal communications.

The President hailed today's arrest as "a major breakthrough in the global war on terror."

Details of the plot are sketchy, but officials painted a portrait of three desperate men tormented by a violent leader who routinely attacked them without provocation. These assaults included hammer blows, knocking their heads together, and injuring their toes with a foot or heavy object. In a particularly gruesome ritual, he would often poke them in the eyes after forcing them to choose the fingers with which they would be punished.

The men allegedly possessed a very long ladder, which officials explained could have been used to "attack a tall building, possibly the Sears Tower." The plot might have succeeded, agents added, if the men hadn't kept knocking each other down while attempting to move the ladder.

The conspirators were nabbed shortly thereafter for a plot that the Attorney General described as "an aberration, rather than an operation."

An FBI official told reporters that the cell leader's name is "Moe," which intelligence officials suspect is short for "Mohammed." The other members of the cell are known as "Curly" (or "Qurli") and "Larry." The official also discussed the possible existence of a mysterious "fourth terrorist," who may be named "Abu Shemp."

The Attorney General interrupted the FBI spokesman to interject: "Or, is that 'a rumination rather than an operation'?"

Officials said that the terrorists exchanged coded messages by employing sounds that included high-pitched whines and "repeated glottal vocalizations" such as "whoop" and "nee-yuk."

The three men were lured into the plot by a government agent who gained their trust by teaching them to play piano. "Hey, it's Paganini!" one of the conspirators shouted on a secret wiretap, only to be chastised: "That's page nine, you idiot!"

"Perhaps it's 'an implication rather than an operation,'" Mr. Gonzalez mused.

The government agent soon joined with the violent sect, and encouraged them in their scheme to hijack a rocket ship and send themselves into orbit around the earth. The agent suggested they submit a request for materiel to Al Qaeda's high command. They responded with a note that read as follows, according to officials:

"Dear Mr. Al Kinda: We want boots, three periscopes, a large rubber mallet, eyeglasses with little mirrors so you can look behind you, those other glasses that make pretty girls look like they're naked, a knuckle-cruncher, and one of those whistles that makes all the dogs in the neighborhood bark."

"Could it be 'a gene-mutation rather than an operation'?" "Ssh, sir."

This arrest follows a series of recent arrests in a program the government labelled "Operation Street Sweeper." That initiative yielded a number of "aspirational terrorists," according to sources, including someone from the planet Bok and a homeless man who had been monitoring CIA radio transmissions using the fillings in his teeth.

Also arrested in "Operation Street Sweeper" was a person in pasty makeup, described only as a "mime." Officials said the suspect refused to give his name.

The silent suspect's interrogation was conducted with the aid of an "interpreter for the speaking-impaired." The mime declined to answer any questions directly, but complained about jail conditions. "He says he's in a box," the interpreter explained. "The box is getting smaller. Now he's going downstairs ..."

The Attorney General was then heard to ruminate in a half whisper, "maybe it's a 'dance sensation that's sweepin' the nation,' rather than an actual, uh, operation ..."

The press conference dissolved in confusion when an intelligence official squeezed the red rubber nose impounded from another recent raid, creating a sound that drew a squadron of policemen on unicycles and a bright red firetruck filled with clowns.