Bond Denied For Terrorists

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A judge Wednesday denied bond for six of the men charged in an alleged Miami-based plot to blow up U.S. buildings.

U.S. Magistrate Ted Bandstra said his decision was based on the risk of flight, the strong evidence presented by the government, the nature of the charges and the character of each defendant.

A seventh defendant remains jailed in Atlanta.

The men face charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, including al Qaeda, and plotting to bomb buildings around the country as part of a "jihad" against the United States.

All have pleaded not guilty.




Prosecutors opposing bail for the group played a video Friday that allegedly showed the men swearing allegiance to al Qaeda.

An attorney for Narseal Batiste -- who prosecutors say is the group's ringleader -- argued that his client does not speak Arabic, has no contacts in the Middle East and has no passport.

On the videotape, Batiste could be heard saying he was "very grateful" to bin Laden and that he "loved" the al Qaeda leader's work. He also said he respected bin Laden and wanted to meet him some day.

A seventh defendant, Lyglenson Lemorin, appeared in court Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was arrested. A federal judge there denied Lemorin bond and ordered him transferred to Miami to stand trial with his co-defendants.

Lemorin's public defender, Jimmy Hardy, accused prosecutors of overstating his client's role. He said Lemorin wanted no part of any terror plot and moved from Miami to Atlanta in April to get away "from the craziness."

Prosecutors said the buildings the men plotted to blow up included the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, which is the nation's tallest building, and FBI offices in Miami, New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles, California.

They acknowledged, however, that it was an FBI informant who first brought up the bombing plans to the men.

Authorities have said the men did not have any explosives or weapons and that their plans appeared "more aspirational than operational."

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Steve Faircloth
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I watched a report on this group on the Jeraldo Rivera Show last week. His reports show a botched job by our goverment agents and that these guys couldn't find the Sear's store in their own town with none of them ever being to Chicago. These guy's are supposed wannabe's with no money, resources or weapons of any kind. I personally am not in love with Rivera, but his rebutal seemed factual and made a lot of sense. This story and trial will prove most interesting.