Sears Tower Plotters Convicted

5 of the Liberty City 6 who had planned to attack the Sears Tower in concert with al Qaeda were convicted by a Miami court. Tribune:

They were arrested in June 2006 on charges of plotting terrorism with an undercover FBI informant they believed was from al-Qaida. Defense attorneys said terrorist talk recorded on dozens of FBI tapes was not serious and the men wanted only money.

Ringleader Narseal Batiste, 35, was the only one convicted of all four terrorism-related conspiracy counts, including plotting to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to wage war against the U.S. Batiste, who was on the vast majority of hundreds of FBI audio and video tapes, faces up to 70 years in prison.

The others face sentences of 30 to 50 years. The jury's names were kept secret.

UPDATE: The Jawa Report:

Much of my criticism of the Left's preferred law enforcement model of counter-terrorism comes from the fact that the vast majority of law enforcement is reactive rather than proactive. If the law enforcement model is to have any chance of preventing terrorist attacks by homegrown jihadis then it is essential that juries convict on conspiracy charges.

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