Miami men plead not guilty to terrorism charges

MIAMI, July 1 (Reuters) Six men pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges they conspired to blow up the landmark Sears Tower in Chicago and FBI buildings in Miami and four other cities as part of a mission they hoped would be ''just as good or greater'' than September 11.

The pleas came a week after the men were accused in a Florida grand jury indictment of pledging loyalty to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda to seek support from it for their desire to ''wage war'' against the US government and build an Islamic army.

Outlining the government's case against the defendants, Assistant US Attorney Jacqueline Arango told a Florida magistrate's court on Friday it was based largely on two confidential witnesses or informants, one of whom posed as an al Qaeda representative.

In addition to a planned campaign of bombings and the razing of the 110-story Sears Tower -- the tallest building in the United States -- their mission was ''to build an Islamic army to wage jihad,'' Arango said.

She provided little direct evidence of any actual conspiracy. But Arango did show the court a grainy surveillance tape in which members of the Miami-based group can be seen swearing an oath, claimed to be one of loyalty to al Qaeda.

''I will be a soldier of the Islamic soldiers,'' said part of the oath, which the men recited in English.

''They were committed to joining forces with al Qaeda,'' Arango said.

READY TO KILL She also aired a tape in which the suspected ringleader of the group, Narseal Batiste, praises bin Laden and tells an FBI informant that he and his men are prepared ''to kill as many people as we can.'' US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told a news conference in Washington last week the plotting by the ''home-grown terrorism cell'' never went beyond the earliest stages.

He also acknowledged the defendants never had any actual contact with al Qaeda and did not have weapons or explosives.

Batiste appeared in court yesterday along with co-defendants Patrick Abraham, Rotschild Augustine, Burson Augustin, Naudimar Herrera and Stanley Grant Phanor.

A seventh suspect, Lyglenson Lemorin, was arrested in Atlanta and has not been transferred to Miami.

All seven are accused of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, conspiracy to bomb the Sears Tower and FBI offices in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC.

But the six Miami defendants sat silently and appeared almost emotionless as they heard the catalogue of charges against them in court yesterday.

They held hands during much of their nearly 2 1/2 hours in court and as court-appointed attorneys entered not guilty pleas on their behalf.

Arango and other Justice Department officials have linked the men to the Moorish Science Temple organization but have not elaborated on their connection with the group.

The Moorish Science Temple of America, a religion founded in the early 20th century, claims to be a sect of Islam with influences from Buddhism, Christianity, Freemasonry, Gnosticism and Taoism. One of its main beliefs is that African Americans were originally Islamic and descended from the Moors.

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