Sears Tower - Terror Plot Uncovered (CNN)
233 South Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60606
A federal indictment against seven men revealed Friday details of what the government said was a terrorists’ plan to “kill all the devils we can,” including blowing up Chicago’s Sears Tower.
The “jihad” was intended to be “as good or greater than 9/11,” beginning with destruction of the 110-story tower and FBI buildings, according to court documents obtained Friday by CNN.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in a news conference Friday, described the men as examples of “homegrown terrorists” who “may prove to be as dangerous as groups like al Qaeda” and who have come “to view their home country as the enemy.” ( Watch for views of the windowless warehouse where the suspects lived — 1:48)
Named in the grand jury indictment is Narseal Batiste, who allegedly told an informant — posing as a member of al Qaeda — that he was organizing an Islamic army to wage a jihad in the United States. (Read the full indictment — PDF)
The indictment offered no indication that the suspects were actually in contact with any al Qaeda members.
Gonzales said there never was an immediate threat.
“We felt that the combination of the planning and the overt acts taken were sufficient to support this prosecution and that’s why we took this action,” Gonzales said. “There is no immediate threat … part of the reason for that is because they didn’t have the materials they requested, they didn’t receive the weapons, at least we don’t know of.”
Later in the day, FBI Director Robert Mueller is expected to make remarks on homegrown terrorism.
Six of the suspects were arrested on Thursday in Miami, and a seventh was arrested earlier in Atlanta, Georgia.
Some of the suspects were expected to appear in federal court Friday afternoon.
Batiste “recruited and supervised individuals in order to organize and train for a mission to wage war against the United States government, which included a plot to destroy by explosives the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois,” the nation’s tallest building, the document said. (Watch why the FBI director says he’s scared — 2:24)
Batiste gave the informant a list of equipment he needed to “wage jihad” including “boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios and vehicles,” according to the document, as well as bullet-proof vests and $50,000 in cash.
“In order to obtain funding and support for the mission to wage war against the United States, Narseal Batiste and other conspirators attempted to obtain the support of al Qaeda,” the document said.
“… the conspirators pledged an oath to al Qaeda and supported a purported mission of al Qaeda to destroy FBI buildings within the United States,” it said.
The document said that Batiste wanted to “attend al Qaeda training, along with five of his soldiers, during the second week of April and further detailed his mission to wage a ‘full ground war’ against the United States in order to ‘kill all the devils we can’ … beginning with the destruction of the Sears Tower.”
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