Seven Arrested In Alleged U.S. Terror Plot

Seven men have been arrested over an alleged terror plot to blow up buildings in the United States including Chicago’s Sears Tower.

Six of the individuals, in their 20s and 30s, were taken into custody Thursday after federal authorities surrounded a warehouse, removing the door with a blow torch. The seventh was arrested in Atlanta.

They’re accused of conspiring with terror organization al-Qaida to “levy war against the United States.”

“They were persons who for whatever reason came to view their home country as the enemy,” said U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in a news conference Friday.

“This case clearly demonstrates our commitment to preventing terrorism through energetic law enforcement efforts aimed at detecting and thwarting terrorist acts.”

According to a federal indictment, one of the men in question, identified as Narseal Batiste, allegedly started recruiting people back in November 2005 for a mission against the U.S. government including the destruction of the nation’s tallest building, the Sears Tower.

In describing the alleged scheme, the indictment contended that the men discussed bombing FBI buildings in five cities at a March meeting in a Miami warehouse.

In order to fund the supposed mission the men allegedly sought assistance from al-Qaida, pledging their allegiance to the organization.

Batiste allegedly met several times in late 2005 and early 2006 with a person he believed to be an al-Qaida representative, asking for supplies and boasting that his mission would “be just as good or greater than 9/11.”

Documents accuse him of wanting to take al-Qaida training in order to wage a “full ground war” against America so as to “kill all the devils we can.”

Batiste and six others were charged with conspiring to “maliciously damage and destroy by means of an explosive” the FBI building in North Miami Beach and the Sears Tower. They were also charged with conspiring to “levy war against the government of the United States, and to oppose by force the authority thereof.”

Sears Tower officials said they receive regular FBI updates about possible terror threats, and Thursday “was no exception.”

FBI agents canvassed the Miami neighbourhood following the arrests, showing photographs of the suspects and looking for anyone with information. Residents living nearby reportedly said the men had described themselves as Muslims and had invited young people to join their group.

The alleged terrorists – five American citizens, a legal immigrant from Haiti and a Haitian national in the U.S. illegally – had a court appearance later Friday.

The arrests come three weeks after 17 men and youths were arrested in the GTA over an alleged terror plot to bomb buildings in Ontario.

To see unedited video of Gonzales, click here.