Edit: Here's the indictment,
U.S. v. Batiste, et al.
Seven people arrested during an FBI raid in the US city of Miami have been charged with conspiring to work with al-Qaeda and under its control.
Ok. The press thinks them to be American Muslims, possibly an offshoot of black muslims. (five US citizens and two foreigners, including a Haitian) They're most likely not even muslims.
Reports say they were infiltrated by a US agent posing as an al-Qaeda member.
Wow. Showtime's
Sleeper Cell, anyone? I wonder what the JTTF/FBI thinks a profile of an AQ plant in Miami looks like?
Batiste met several times in December 2005 with a person purporting to be an al-Qaeda member and asked for boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios, vehicles and $50,000 US in cash to help him build an “`Islamic army’ to wage jihad’,” the indictment said. It said that Batiste said he would use his “soldiers” to destroy the Sears Tower.
In February 2006, it said, Batiste told the “al-Qaeda representative” that he and his five soldiers wanted to attend al-Qaeda training and planned a “full ground war” against the United States in order to “kill all the devils we can.” His mission would “be just as good or greater than 9/11,” the indictment accused Batiste of boasting.
Here're some names. I'm looking for the indictment document. Seems juicy.
- Narseal Batiste
- Patrick Abraham
- Stanley Grant Phanor
- Naudimar Herrera
- Burson Augustin
- Lyglenson Lemorin
- Rotschild Augustine
They were arrested on Thursday after heavily armed FBI agents and other law enforcement agencies swooped on a warehouse in one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods, Liberty City, [isn't this a GTA city?] a predominantly black area that has witnessed some of Miami's worst race riots.
A man identified as a member of the "Seas of David" religious group told CNN on Thursday that five of his fellow members were among those arrested and that they had no connection to terrorists.
"We are not terrorists. We are members of David, Seas of David," said the man, identified as Brother Corey. He said the group had "soldiers" in Chicago, but reiterated it was peaceful movement.
...
He refused to provide the names of those arrested, insisting his group was a religious organisation: "We study Allah and the worship of the regular Bible."
Cory also said his group had connections in Chicago. "We have soldiers in Chicago," he said, clarifying that by soldier he meant: "We train through the Bible ... not only physical but mentally."
Echoes of the Branch Davidians, or a David-derivative cult? Seas of David is apparently a religious group that blends the teachings of Christianity and Islam.