Three men face a court hearing Friday for plotting to use firebombs during last year's NATO Summit in Chicago. (Source: WGN - Chicago)
Attorneys for three protesters accused of plotting to use Molotov cocktails to blow up political targets during the NATO summit last year in Chicago asked today that the state’s terrorism law be declared unconstitutional.
Brent Betterly, 24, Jared Chase, 28, and Brian Church, 21, were each charged in 11-count indictments with conspiracy to commit terrorism, possession of explosives and attempted arson after a raid at the Bridgeport apartment where they were staying in the weeks leading up to the May 2012 summit.
In a seven-page court filing today, attorneys for the three asked Criminal Court Judge Thaddeus Wilson to declare the terrorism charges unconstitutional, arguing the statute defining a terrorist act is so vague it encompasses lawful conduct protected by the First Amendment such as labor protests or other acts of civil disobedience.
According to the filing, the terrorism statute – which had previously been used in only one Illinois prosecution since being enacted a decade ago after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – defines terrorism as “intent to intimidate or coerce a significant portion of a civilian population.”
“The vague nature of the terms ‘coerce,’ ‘intimidate,’ and ‘significant portion of the civilian population’ allows for the arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of the law,” the filing said.
Michael Deutsch, a lawyer for the People’s Law Office who represents Church, said after today’s brief hearing that the statute also allows police and prosecutors to “arbitrarily pick and choose” whom to charge with terrorism offenses.
“On its face, (the law) could criminalize as terrorism First Amendment conduct, like protests, labor strikes, boycotts – they are all intended in some way to intimidate or coerce,” Deutsch said.
Prosecutors have alleged the defendants, dubbed the "NATO 3" by supporters, are members of an anarchist group known as Black Bloc and intended to firebomb targets such as police stations, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home and President Barack Obama's downtown campaign headquarters. Police who infiltrated the group were able to record the men talking about the plots and making four gasoline-fueled Molotov cocktails that were recovered inside the apartment during the raid, according to prosecutors.
Church, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Chase, of Keene, N.H.; and Betterly, of Oakland, Fla., are being held in custody on $1.5 million bond each.
The judge gave prosecutors two weeks two file a response. It will likely be set for a hearing in March.
jmeisner@tribune.com
NATO protesters seek to overturn state's terrorism law
This article
NATO protesters seek to overturn state's terrorism law
can be opened in url
http://hatingautism-v2a.blogspot.com/2013/01/nato-protesters-seek-to-overturn-state.html
NATO protesters seek to overturn state's terrorism law
Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Hatingautism V2a News
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment
