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Jul 6, 2006 12:26 am US/Eastern
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No Bond For 'Liberty City 7' Alleged Terrorists
FBI Put Itself On Terror Group Hit List - Witness
by Brian Andrews
MIAMI (CBS4 News) ―
A federal magistrate has ordered six of the seven men known as The Liberty City 7 be held in federal custody without bond until their trial on terrorism charges. Magistrate Ted Bandstra ruled Wednesday afternoon that the US Government has a strong and substantial case against the men, and said they must remain in custody because they "present a danger to the community."
The men are charged with allegedly plotting to blow up the Sears tower, the Miami FBI office, and other government buildings. Alleged ringleader Narseal Batiste and the others were arrested in Miami last month, as part of a high-profile domestic-terrorism investigation.
The decision came after defense attorneys for the men spent two days before Bandstra, trying to convince him that their clients have strong ties to the community and are not a flight risk. In his ruling, Bandstra addressed that, but said it was the danger they present to the community which makes it necessary that they be held until trial.
The decision came despite impassioned arguments by attorneys for the six men. Attorney Richard Houlihan said this is not a case of terrorism, and called the whole thing "a scam on the part of Narseal Batiste to get money" from an alleged al Qaida operative, who turned out to be an undercover FBI informant.
Attorney Nathan Clark told Bandstra that of the people who knew his client, nobody in the community believed the men charged were capable of the alleged terrorism scheme.
Earlier in the day, the FBI admitted that two people working for the agency planted the idea of blowing up government buildings, including and FBI office in Miami, with members of an alleged South Florida terror group known as the Liberty City 7. The testimony came during efforts by attorneys for the alleged terrorists to get their clients released from custody until their trial on terrorism charges.
CBS4 Reporter Brian Andrews reports the revelation came during testimony by FBI Agent Tony Velazquez. According to Velazquez, the FBI used two men to deal with the alleged terror cell operated by Narseal Batiste; a confidential informant who had been working with the FBI for more than a year before he infiltrated Naseal's group, and a man who had been an undercover operative for the agency for 6 years.
Velazquez described the second man, the confidential witness who it is believed posed as an al Qaeda operative in dealings with Batiste, as someone of Middle-eastern background who has a thick accent.
In questioning by attorneys for the alleged terrorists, Velazquez indicated the government urged it's informants and operatives to go back to the group and specifically suggest they blow up FBI offices and government buildings.
The FBI admitted that the idea to blow up the Sears Tower came from Batiste, and Batiste only.
Velasquez also indicated Batiste may have been getting nervous in the weeks before the FBI closed in, testifying that at one point, Batiste dropped out of sight for two weeks in January. Velazquez said Batiste was living in a tent, under a bridge in Islamorada.
During questioning in Tuesday's hearing, attorneys for the alleged terrorists raised doubts about the role their clients played in the terrorist plans the government credits to Batiste. Attorneys tried to show that the sole connection one defendant had with the plot was seeing some boots which were claimed to be provided by al Qaeda sources.
A second defendant, Patrick Abraham, was portrayed as a man who often fed the homeless and who dreamed of building an orphanage in Haiti.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)