Via CNN:
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — Seven people were in custody Thursday night after and state and local officials conducted anti-terrorism raids in Miami, law enforcement sources told CNN
The arrests were made in connection with the early stages of a plot to attack Chicago’s Sears Tower and the FBI building in Miami, the sources told CNN.
Officials said no weapons or bomb-making materials had been found in the searches so far. The Miami area is under no imminent threat, according to the FBI.
Law enforcement sources told CNN the seven arrests were made in connection with “suspected domestic terrorist activity,” and that documents related to the investigation have been sealed.
One of the arrests was made before Thursday, officials said.
The FBI said one search warrant was being executed in a warehouse near a housing project in Liberty City, a predominantly black and low-income area of Miami.
“We are conducting a number of arrests and searches, and we’ll have more about that when the operation is completed, probably tomorrow morning,” FBI Director Robert Mueller told CNN’s Larry King in an interview to be broadcast Thursday night.
ABC News is reporting that the alleged plots targeted the FBI building in Miami and the Sears Tower in Chicago:
Among those arrested, five were U.S. citizens, one was a permanent legal resident, and one was a Haitian who was in the United States illegally on a visa overstay, federal officials told ABC News.
The group has been under surveillance for some time and was infilitrated by a government informant who allegedly led them to believe he was an Islamic radical, a Justice Department official said.
The group had expressed interest and discussed bombing targets in Miami and the Sears Tower in Chicago, sources familiar with the investigation said.
Sources say the arrests reflect the government’s concern about so-called “homegrown terrorists.” It’s a threat FBI Director Robert Mueller discussed during a recent speech in New York.
Hat tip: Stop The ACLU
AllahPundit has more.
Update: Some DU’ers are saying that this raid sounds like ‘voter intimidation’. There’s a generally sour mood at moonbat central over this news. Sigh. (hat tip: James Joyner)
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I just hope none of the suspects were unfairly profiled.
Comment by Dave in CO @ 6/22/2006 - 11:07 pm
I think they should be treated as POW’s, they planned terroristic attacks against the U.S then they should be treated as enemy combatants. Lets just hope some passive liberal doesn’t get in the middle and want us to treat them with love and give them three meals a day, and let them watch T.V and have life easy. Screw them, they wanted to kill innocent women, men and children on our land. Once found guilty they should be taken out, hands tied behind their backs, make them stand with their backs against a wall and shot dead…send a clear message to any other group that decides to plot against the U.S and its people, they will be dealt with accordingly if caught and convicted.
Comment by Logan @ 6/23/2006 - 12:20 am
Since they have sworn allegiance to the terrorist ways,”I just hope none of the suspects were unfairly profiled.” before they are tried, shot and hung from the lamposts.
Comment by forest hunter @ 6/23/2006 - 5:08 am
Miami Seven Stand Accused of Thought Crime
In regard to arrested Nuwaubians in Miami, Time Magazine writes: “The arrested men appear to be part of a cult organization proclaiming itself to be
Muslim—although a member of the same religious group says it is, in fact, based on a homebrew of Islam and Christianity, and calls itself ‘Seas of David.’ Its
members, mainly Americans and Haitan (sic) immigrants, clearly have an enthusiasm for emulating and following al-Qaeda. But their only ‘connection’
with al-Qaeda appears to have been the fact that a government informant who had infiltrated their ranks had apparently convinced the alleged conspirators that he was, in fact, a Qaeda operative. The oaths of allegiance to the organization
alleged by the indictment to have been taken by the accused were administered not by any representative of the organization, but to a U.S. government agent
posing as a Qaeda operative.”
In other words, they were entrapped, same as the “terrorists” in Ottawa.
It is now apparently a crime to have “enthusiasm for emulating and following al-Qaeda,” absurd as this is on its face, especially for members of a cult not
strictly based on “Islam and Christianity,” as the stenographers at Time would have us believe.
Nuwaubianism is an odd mélange of Madame Blavatsky influenced spiritualism and alien cryptozoology, among other things, and is not based on Sunni
fundamentalism. Nuwaubianism is counter to the austere monotheism of Wahhabism and no doubt an operative from “al-Qaeda” would find the religion heretical and his young charges unacceptable for a holy war against the United States.
But then the “operative” behind the bust is an FBI agent, not a Sunni fundamentalist hailing from the fantastical “al-Qaeda,” a movement essentially
created by western intelligence, Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, and funded by Saudi Arabia.
Time Magazine admits these Nuwaubian influenced “terrorists” were basically
harmless, “strutting around a poor black neighborhood in military-style uniforms, wearing turbans, standing guard around the abandoned warehouse in
which they lived and conducting late-night exercise drills, while telling neighbors that they had ‘given their lives to Allah.’ The basic habit of trained
terrorists is secrecy and stealth; they do their utmost to fit in with their surroundings rather than stand out. The Miami seven, according to reports thus
far, seemed to have been doing the exact opposite, behaving more like a Hollywood B-movie version of terrorists than the real thing.”
However, for the government and the corporate media, “Hollywood B-movie” terrorists are just what the doctor ordered, as Americans are surrounded by
Hollywood stereotypes and these work just fine on their collective psyche.
“The London bombings last summer were carried out by a self-taught group of British-born men who had no direct connection with al-Qaeda, yet sought to
emulate it. But that grouping, perhaps having learned from the Qaeda terror manuals widely available on jihadist web sites, seem to have observed many of
the same principles of secrecy that a group like the 9/11 plotters would have.
Friends, family and neighbors were shocked to learn that young men in their midst who seemed no different from any others turned out to be terrorists. The
extent of the danger represented by such groups depends on their capacities: Are they able to operate undetected? Do they have the means to carry out attacks? Do they have workable plans for such attacks?”
Never mind that the London bombings were masterminded by a known MI6 asset, Haroon Rashid Aswat, and Iyman Faris, supposedly an “al-Qaeda” operative who
supposedly plotted to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge, was an FBI asset, or in the weeks before nine eleven, the alleged hijackers were monitored by numerous
intelligence agencies as they attempted to bone up on their miserable flight skills. It is of little significance Israeli “art students” (i.e., young Mossad agents) followed around and kept close tabs on Mohammed Atta and his key accomplice, Marwan al-Shehi.
“After 911 these so called terrorists have been allowed to go on with business as usual, despite the ‘war on terror’ and in many instances have been protected. It seems that the authorities find it more useful to restrict the liberties of law abiding citizens by introducing draconian restrictive laws such as the Patriot act and Free speech zoning, whilst allowing those they label as
terrorists to go undetected,” writes Steve Watson.
As well, the authorities, with the help of a complaisant corporate media, find it useful to set-up and frame young African-Americans who may or may not espouse al-Qaedaism, with more than a little help from the FBI.
“From the indictment it is clear that the men had no shortage of ambition, asking for al-Qaeda training to wage a ‘full ground war’ to ‘kill all the devils
we can.’ To his end, the group asked the undercover agent for a wish-list of equipment that included boots, uniforms, machine guns, bullet-proof vests,
radios and vehicles—as well as $50,000 in cash,” Time continues. “The group’s leader also provided the government agent with ‘a list of shoe sizes for the
purchase of military boots for his “soldiers”.’ The idea that these seven men could wage a ‘ground war’ in the U.S. seems to have more in common with the
fevered thinking behind various deadly cults over the years than with the operations of international terror networks.”
In other words, without the help of the FBI, determined to establish a “homegrown” terrorist threat, as elucidated by FBI head honcho Robert Mueller in Cleveland as the bust unfolded in Miami, these “terrorists,” hailing from a cult
that believes in shape-shifting reptiles, would have gone nowhere.
“We’ve already seen this new face in terrorism in Madrid, London and Toronto,” Mueller told the City Club in Cleveland. “They were persons who came to view their country as the enemy,” a view helped along by FBI “informants,” also known as agents provocateurs, practicing a form of entrapment perfected during the halcyon days of COINTELPRO—now back with a vengeance, as the neocons are in the
process of demonizing Muslims of all stripe, even if said Muslims blend Moorish Science, nominally Islamic, with the belief their leader, Malachi Z. York, is from the planet Rizq.
“Fevered minds can be very dangerous, of course. But the threat they present is quite different from that of transnational terror groups. After all, the
government appears to have had no problem infiltrating and exposing this group, which was hardly making itself inconspicuous or impregnable—unlike the New York subway plot reported in TIME this week, whose perpetrators slipped into the U.S., conducted their surveillance, prepared the operational details of poison gas attacks, then aborted them on instructions from al-Qaeda leaders and departed America, all with U.S. security none the wiser.”
It appears the “fevered minds” of the Nuwaubians were exploited by the FBI, a possibility that does not seem to bother Time Magazine, as it is staunchly
behind the effort to convince Americans, weary of war and terrorism, they face “homegrown” terrorism, a threat, however preposterous, more ominous than the
alleged threat posed by “transnational terror groups,” most in fact created by the CIA, MI6, Mossad, the Pentagon’s DIA, and other intelligence outfits working in the shadows.
Finally, although we were initially told these putative Nuwaubian al-Qaedaites wanted to kill “white devils,” now we are told they wanted to “levy war against the government of the United States.” It is absurd to believe impoverished kids from a Miami ghetto would be capable of taking on the government, especially when they are reduced to begging for boots and money from the FBI. As usual, rationality does not figure into the equation, as the point here is to scare the pants off clueless Americans perched before their idiot tubes, digesting pablum dispensed by the Ministry of Neocon Lies and Fantastic Campfire Stories.
However, this did not stop U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta from declaring: “You want to go and disrupt cells like this before they acquire the means to
accomplish their goals.” It also helps to plant an agent provocateur in their midst to egg them on and offer assistance. In effect, Acosta is accusing the
“Miami Seven” of little more than thought crime.
But then thought crime in America, as in Orwell’s Oceania, is a punishable offense.
Comment by Debra @ 6/26/2006 - 1:06 am
Debra funnily wrote, “enthusiasm for emulating and following al-Qaeda”
It’s not a thought crime that’s being prosecuted from my understanding Debra. It’s not MERELY ENTHUSIASM Debra. It would be punishable to be PLANNING the killing of thousands or hundreds or even one human being. However if these thoughts aren’t punishable in your mind then I guess we can chalk this up to a disagreement as to what the law means. Then I’d have to ask you for your LAW credentials.
The REST of your post went on the same tangent as if you simply disagree with the law concerning planning of terrorist plots. You ended your post with, “But then thought crime in America, as in Orwell’s Oceania, is a punishable offense”
Well Debra, All I can say is please by all means practice what you preach and start planning an operation and check back with us and let us know how your planning is going. Good Luck with that flawed thinking!
And I’ll agree with you in jest. You might be put in jail for your “THOUGHTS”. 
And I’ll be happy that the law was being applied to you!
Comment by Baklava @ 6/26/2006 - 1:20 pm
Funny thing Debra, what you call a “thought crime” most normal people refer to as conspiracy.
It’s the left, not the government, that is well into Orwellian territory BTW. There are no WMDs in Iraq, despite the fact that they have been found, those aren’t the “right” WMDs. Saddam never had connections to terrorists, Hamas, Al Qaeda, etc. are just social groups. Etc. And, if you note, it’s the Left who promotes the idea of thought crime and mandatory political indoctrination for people who don’t toe the multi-cultural, all so inclusive diversity line. Newspeak, thought crime, and the making of “unpersons” is part and parcel of the Leftist Ideology.
The fact that the Left constantly impugns the right and the current government with Orwellian epithets is a certain indication that they either never read Orwell or didn’t understand him.
Comment by Severian @ 6/26/2006 - 1:54 pm
Debra, let me give you this simple example to help you to understand that in the United States, planning to kill another human being is a crime. Last night I was watching the Court TV channel. They were profiling the case of the man who was PLANNING to kill his wife. He talked to people about it. He spent some of his own money to facilitate it. Luckily for his wife, he chose the wrong people to talk to and ended up planning her death with undercover police. Guess what? He was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. He was convicted and sent to prison. Oh, and by the way, he was a middle-aged white guy, and not some young black/Haitian/Miami/African Americans, whom you seem to feel are the targets of ‘framing’ by the FBI.
Here’s the bottom line, Debra, and see if you can follow me on this:
‘Thought’ is a brain process that goes on quietly inside your head (well, for most of us it is). When a ‘thought’ process that entails murder crosses over the threshold of your lips and becomes the subject of discussion amongst like-minded individuals, it is no longer just a ‘thought’, but a conspiracy to commit murder. And that is a real crime here in the good ole U.S. of A.
Comment by Mahwah @ 6/26/2006 - 2:42 pm
Mahwah. Are you sure? I would think that people can freely discuss plots to kill….
Where have our civil liberties gone? I’m so dissappointed we don’t have that freedom anymore….
Comment by Baklava @ 6/26/2006 - 5:47 pm
Bak - haven’t you heard? All our civil liberties erroded away with the Patriot Act…
Comment by Mahwah @ 6/26/2006 - 8:22 pm
Ha Ha! Oops, wrong emoticon in my last. I thought that second one was supposed to be a tongue sticking out.
Note to self: must wear my glasses when posting online.
Comment by Mahwah @ 6/26/2006 - 8:26 pm
LOL Mahwah! Was just about to ask what the heart icon was all about
Comment by Sister Toldjah @ 6/26/2006 - 8:54 pm