Nov 29, 2007 9:41 pm US/Eastern
'Liberty City 7' Trial Closing Arguments Underway
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The trial of the so called "Liberty City 7" is winding down in a Miami federal courtroom.
After weeks of testimony, closing arguments are underway in the trial of 7 Miami area men accused of planning to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and bomb several FBI offices including the one in Miami. However, closing arguments from defense lawyers and a final rebuttal from prosecutors are scheduled to continue through Friday and possibly into Monday.
During a two hour closing statement Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Arango told jurors the so-called "Liberty City Seven" were part of a homegrown terrorism cell seeking alliance with al Qaeda. She also said the ultimate aim of Narseal Batiste and his "soldiers" was to use the attacks to spark a broader insurrection -- even freeing prisoners to become guerrilla fighters -- that would topple the U.S. government..
The suspected leader of the group, Narseal Batiste, has testified that he invented a fake plot to destroy the Sears Tower in order to con money out of a man who claimed al Qaeda finance connections.
Prosecutors say the group's plot never got beyond the planning stage and they did not obtain any explosives or military weaponry. Jurors could begin deliberating as early as tomorrow following a nearly two-month trial.
The so-called "Liberty City Seven" face as many as 70 years in prison if convicted of four terrorism-related conspiracy charges.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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