Second Mistrial in Miami Terror Case

A government case against seven suspected terrorists ended with a deadlocked jury for the second time today. The "Liberty City Seven" allegedly conspired to knock over the Sears Tower and blow up FBI buildings, before they were thwarted by FBI informants.

The six defendants (the seventh was exonerated in the previous trial) are members of a group called the Seas of David, who combine Christian and Islamic thought, along with Freemasonry, Buddhism and Taoism. Their leader, Narseal Batiste, used to search the streets of Miami for new recruits, dressed in a robe and carrying a cane.

Batiste and his "army" met in a warehouse they called "The Temple,", where they studied the Bible and practiced martial arts. They trained for their jihad with paintball guns. The only weapons stockpile that the FBI found consisted of a blackjack and a knife. They also had combat boots, but these had been supplied by an undercover FBI informant.

Last month Rolling Stone published an interesting feature that puts this one in perspective. They expose a veritable witch hunt, in which terrorism enforcers use informants to goad angry, misguided, and incompetent would-be terrorists into planning attacks. The informants lead these "terrorists" into making more concrete threats, and pretend to provide logistical support. The Feds then move in to knock over their newly-created straw men. These "victories" give officials the opportunity to present lurid accounts of homegrown terrorism and then crow about stopping these manufactured attacks.