"3 arrested in NATO terror plot" by Michael Tarm and Tammy Webber | Associated Press, May 19, 2012
Brian Church, Brent Vincent Betterly, and Jared Chase (left to right) are seen in photos from the Chicago Police department.
CHICAGO (AP) — Three men accused of making Molotov cocktails had been planning to attack President Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home and other targets during this weekend’s NATO summit, prosecutors said Saturday.
The three were arrested Wednesday in a nighttime raid of an apartment in the city’s South Side Bridgeport neighborhood ahead of the two-day meeting.
Defense attorneys alleged that the arrests were an effort to scare the thousands of people expected to protest at the meeting of world leaders. They told a judge that undercover police were the ones who brought the Molotov cocktails.
It's called a FRAME-UP!!!!!!!
‘‘This is just propaganda to create a climate of fear,’’ defense attorney Michael Duetsch said.
And to JUSTIFY a CRACKDOWN (cui bono?)!!
Later, outside the courtroom, Duetsch said two undercover police officers or informants who called themselves ‘‘Mo’’ and ‘‘Gloves’’ were also arrested during the Wednesday raid, and defense attorneys said they later lost track of the two.
We call them instigators, and they lost track of 'em?
PFFFFFFFFFTT!!
‘‘We believe this is all a setup and entrapment to the highest degree,’’ Duetsch said.
Yup, and we have seen it all before.
The trio was charged with providing material support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of explosives.
The suspects were each being held on $1.5 million bond. They apparently came to Chicago late last month to take part in May Day protests. Six others arrested Wednesday in the raid were released Friday without being charged.
Chicago police Lt. Kenneth Stoppa declined to elaborate on the case beyond confirming the charges against the three who were still in custody.
Police identified the suspects as Brian Church, 20, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Jared Chase, 24, of Keene, N.H.; and Brent Vincent Betterly, 24. A police spokesman gave Betterly’s hometown as Oakland Park, Mass., but no such town exists. There is an Oakland Park, Fla., that is near Fort Lauderdale.
Activist Bill Vassilakis, who said he let the men stay in his apartment, described Betterly as an industrial electrician who had volunteered to help wire service at The Plant, a former meatpacking facility that has been turned into a food incubator with the city’s backing.
Vassilakis said he thought the charges were unwarranted.
‘‘All I can say about that is, if you knew Brent, you would find that to be the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard. He was the most stand-up guy that was staying with me. He and the other guys had done nothing but volunteer their time and energy,’’ he said.’’
Betterly appears to have a history of minor run-ins with law enforcement.
He was cited for disorderly intoxication in February in Miami-Dade County, Fla., earlier this year , but the case has been dismissed, according to online court records.
Authorities in Oakland Park, Fla., said Betterly and two other young men walked into a public high school last fall after a night of tequila drinking and took a swim in the pool, according to a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
They stole fire extinguishers from three school buses, discharged one and smashed a cafeteria window with another. The vandalism caused about $2,000 in damage. Betterly was charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief, the newspaper said.
Chase grew up in Keene, N.H., and moved to Boston a few years ago before becoming active in the Occupy movement, said his aunt, Barbara Chase of Westmoreland, N.H.
She said she was stunned to learn of the charges against her nephew.
‘‘That surprised me because he’s not that dumb, at least I wouldn’t have thought so anyway,’’ said Barbara Chase, a factory worker. ‘‘He always seemed harmless, but who knows? Outside influences sometimes can sway people to do things that they normally wouldn’t do.’’
Jared Chase’s father, Steve Chase, died about five weeks ago after a long struggle with a disease that left him disabled, Barbara Chase said. The family had been waiting for him to come home before having a funeral.
Security has been high throughout the city in preparation for the summit, where delegations from about 60 countries will discuss the war in Afghanistan and European missile defense.
Elsewhere, Chicago was mostly quiet. Downtown streets were largely empty, though that is not unusual for a weekend. Security guards stood watch outside many downtown buildings and in some places almost outnumbered pedestrians.
Among the pre-NATO protests planned for Saturday was a march on the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
As of midday, no protesters had arrived, but about two dozen police officers were waiting, including a group on bicycles that formed something of a fence outside the house.
The bigger show will be on Sunday, the start of the two-day NATO summit, when thousands of protesters are expected to march 2½ miles from a band shell on Lake Michigan to the McCormick Place convention center, where delegates will be meeting.
--more--"
CHICAGO (AP) — Three men accused of making Molotov cocktails had been planning to attack President Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home and other targets during this weekend’s NATO summit, prosecutors said Saturday.
The three were arrested Wednesday in a nighttime raid of an apartment in the city’s South Side Bridgeport neighborhood ahead of the two-day meeting.
Defense attorneys alleged that the arrests were an effort to scare the thousands of people expected to protest at the meeting of world leaders. They told a judge that undercover police were the ones who brought the Molotov cocktails.
It's called a FRAME-UP!!!!!!!
‘‘This is just propaganda to create a climate of fear,’’ defense attorney Michael Duetsch said.
And to JUSTIFY a CRACKDOWN (cui bono?)!!
Later, outside the courtroom, Duetsch said two undercover police officers or informants who called themselves ‘‘Mo’’ and ‘‘Gloves’’ were also arrested during the Wednesday raid, and defense attorneys said they later lost track of the two.
We call them instigators, and they lost track of 'em?
PFFFFFFFFFTT!!
‘‘We believe this is all a setup and entrapment to the highest degree,’’ Duetsch said.
Yup, and we have seen it all before.
The trio was charged with providing material support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of explosives.
The suspects were each being held on $1.5 million bond. They apparently came to Chicago late last month to take part in May Day protests. Six others arrested Wednesday in the raid were released Friday without being charged.
Chicago police Lt. Kenneth Stoppa declined to elaborate on the case beyond confirming the charges against the three who were still in custody.
Police identified the suspects as Brian Church, 20, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Jared Chase, 24, of Keene, N.H.; and Brent Vincent Betterly, 24. A police spokesman gave Betterly’s hometown as Oakland Park, Mass., but no such town exists. There is an Oakland Park, Fla., that is near Fort Lauderdale.
Activist Bill Vassilakis, who said he let the men stay in his apartment, described Betterly as an industrial electrician who had volunteered to help wire service at The Plant, a former meatpacking facility that has been turned into a food incubator with the city’s backing.
Vassilakis said he thought the charges were unwarranted.
‘‘All I can say about that is, if you knew Brent, you would find that to be the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard. He was the most stand-up guy that was staying with me. He and the other guys had done nothing but volunteer their time and energy,’’ he said.’’
Betterly appears to have a history of minor run-ins with law enforcement.
He was cited for disorderly intoxication in February in Miami-Dade County, Fla., earlier this year , but the case has been dismissed, according to online court records.
Authorities in Oakland Park, Fla., said Betterly and two other young men walked into a public high school last fall after a night of tequila drinking and took a swim in the pool, according to a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
They stole fire extinguishers from three school buses, discharged one and smashed a cafeteria window with another. The vandalism caused about $2,000 in damage. Betterly was charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief, the newspaper said.
Chase grew up in Keene, N.H., and moved to Boston a few years ago before becoming active in the Occupy movement, said his aunt, Barbara Chase of Westmoreland, N.H.
She said she was stunned to learn of the charges against her nephew.
‘‘That surprised me because he’s not that dumb, at least I wouldn’t have thought so anyway,’’ said Barbara Chase, a factory worker. ‘‘He always seemed harmless, but who knows? Outside influences sometimes can sway people to do things that they normally wouldn’t do.’’
Jared Chase’s father, Steve Chase, died about five weeks ago after a long struggle with a disease that left him disabled, Barbara Chase said. The family had been waiting for him to come home before having a funeral.
Security has been high throughout the city in preparation for the summit, where delegations from about 60 countries will discuss the war in Afghanistan and European missile defense.
Elsewhere, Chicago was mostly quiet. Downtown streets were largely empty, though that is not unusual for a weekend. Security guards stood watch outside many downtown buildings and in some places almost outnumbered pedestrians.
Among the pre-NATO protests planned for Saturday was a march on the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
As of midday, no protesters had arrived, but about two dozen police officers were waiting, including a group on bicycles that formed something of a fence outside the house.
The bigger show will be on Sunday, the start of the two-day NATO summit, when thousands of protesters are expected to march 2½ miles from a band shell on Lake Michigan to the McCormick Place convention center, where delegates will be meeting.
--more--"
"Suspect in alleged Chicago plot has Occupy Boston ties; 3 arrested ahead of NATO summit" by Dan Adams | Globe Correspondent, May 20, 2012
Three men were arrested on terrorism and possession of explosives charges in Chicago on Saturday, including one with ties to the Boston area.
Prosecutors say the men were plotting to attack President Obama’s
campaign headquarters, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home, and other
targets with Molotov cocktails.
One of the suspects, identified by police as Jared Chase, 24, is from Keene, N.H., and spent time in Boston, where he participated in the Occupy Boston protests last fall.
Then he is either a dupe or an asset.
A Facebook page bearing Chase’s name, picture, and other personal information calls him a DJ and says he is studying 3-D animation and game programming at NHTI, a community college in Concord, N.H.
Chase’s page describes involvement with the Occupy movement, first in Boston, then Providence, Washington, Miami, and finally Chicago. The page describes Chase being arrested outside the White House, includes commentary about the merits of antiterrorism legislation, and threats against police.
“Freedom cannot be destroyed by these corrupt pigs with badges,’’ one post reads. Another says, “Miami has the most crooked cops in the country. We should execute them before they do something well regret.’’
No, we should have them arrest the banksters and war criminals that have lied to and looted them, too.
The Facebook page expresses support for Anonymous, a loose collective of activist computer hackers that has aligned itself with the Occupy movement. Linking to a post about the recent hacking of a Boston Police website, it reads, “[Anonymous] “to the rescue!’’
Don't do us any favors. We don't need an agenda-pushing intelligence agency operation helping us.
Gregg Housh, a leading figure in both Anonymous and the Occupy Boston protests, said Chase’s involvement in Occupy Boston was “an on-and-off thing’’ and that he “wasn’t around much,’’ preferring to move from city to city. Housh said several members of the Occupy Boston movement told him that they have not seen or heard from Chase since he left Boston in December last year.
“I can just see the sensationalist headlines: OCCUPY BOSTON GOES TERRORIST!,’’ Housh wrote in an e-mail. “But I know the groups from Occupy Boston that went [to Chicago] are sticking to their nonviolent stance.’’
And anyone who advocates anything else works for them.
Housh said activists he knows in Chicago planned to meet Saturday night for a protest in solidarity with the three men who were arrested. Housh said some activists believe that the men were set up.
While Housh admitted that there was “some crossover’’ between Occupy protesters and activists at the NATO summit, he argued that protests against meetings of global leaders were “violent long before Occupy ever showed up on the scene.’’
Chase’s aunt, Barbara Chase of Westmoreland, N.H., said that she was shocked by the charges against her nephew.
“He always seemed harmless, but who knows?’’ Barbara Chase, told the Associated Press. “Outside influences sometimes can sway people to do things that they normally wouldn’t do.’’
I wonder what outside influences she is referring to because this stinks of an inside job!
Calls to other relatives were not immediately returned.
Chase was arrested along with Brian Church, 20, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Brent Vincent Betterly, 24, who authorities initially said was from Oakland Park, Mass. There is no such town, but Betterly has had previous run-ins with authorities in Oakland Park, Fla.
Lawyers for the men denounced the charges, saying that undercover police bought the Molotov cocktails.
“We believe this is all a setup and entrapment to the highest degree,’’ Michael Deutsch, one of the lawyers, told the AP.
Another post on the Facebook page under Chase’s name mocks the FBI and Miami police for treating him and other protesters like serious criminals.
--more--"
Related: Did The FBI Foil Their Own Chicago NATO Summit Terror Plot?
Provocateurs Entrap Patsies as NATO War Council Plans Mass Murder
Nothing about the beer-making operation in my Boston Globe?
"Suicide blast kills 13 in eastern Afghanistan" by Rahim Faiez | Associated Press, May 20, 2012
KABUL - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint Saturday in a volatile area of eastern Afghanistan, killing 13 people, police said.
The bomber walked up to a checkpoint in Ali Sher district in Khost Province and detonated his explosives-rigged vest, said provincial police chief General Sardar Mohammad Zazia. The policemen were searching motorists’ vehicles at the time of the explosion, he said.
In a statement, the governor’s office in Khost province said 13
people died in the blast - 10 civilians, two Afghan policemen, and one
Afghan border police officer. Six other people were wounded, including
two border policemen, the governor’s office said.
In the past two years, tens of thousands of US-led coalition troops have flooded Taliban strongholds in the south and have largely succeeded in boosting security there. But the Taliban have proven resilient, opening up new fronts in the north and west and stepping up attacks in the east.
Translation: we are losing.
Earlier this month, militants assassinated Arsala Rahmani, a top member of the Afghan government-appointed peace council, dealing another setback to the fragile peace effort. The Taliban denied responsibility for the killing.
In September, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, the head of the peace council, was killed at his home in Kabul by a suicide bomber who claimed to be a peace emissary from the Taliban.
Related: Rubbing Out Rabbani
I'm sure they are responsible for the latest assassination, too (cui bono?).
President Hamid Karzai was asked Saturday in Chicago ahead of the NATO summit whether he still had hope that his government could reconcile with the Taliban.
--more--"
Also see:
Obama sees ‘emerging consensus’ on global economic growth
I'll Meet You in Chicago
Why Russia Isn't Coming to Chicago
Update:
"Thousands protest in Chicago; World leaders assembled for NATO summit" by Nomaan Merchant and Ryan J. Foley | Associated Press May 20, 2012
CHICAGO — Thousands of protesters marched through downtown Chicago on Sunday in one of the city’s largest demonstrations in years, airing grievances about war, climate change and a wide range of other complaints as world leaders assembled for a NATO summit.
The protest, which for months had stirred worries about violence in the streets, drew together a broad assortment of participants, including peace activists joining with war veterans and people more focused on economic inequality. But the diversity of opinions also sowed doubts about whether there were too many messages to be effective.
And some of the most enduring images of the event were likely to be from the end — when a small group of demonstrators clashed with a line of police who tried to keep them from the lakeside convention center where President Barack Obama was hosting the gathering.
That is how provocateurs act to give movements a bad name.
The protesters tried to move east toward McCormick Place, with some hurling sticks and bottles at police. Officers responded by swinging their batons. The two sides were locked in a standoff for nearly two hours, with police blocking the protesters’ path and the crowd refusing to leave. Some protesters had blood streaming down their faces.
Authorities were seen making arrests one by one and leading individual demonstrators away in handcuffs.
Here is AmeriKa lecturing the rest of the world on this s***.
Esther Westlake, a recent graduate of Northeastern Illinois University, marveled at the size of the crowd. She said she had been involved in marches protesting the Iraq War in Chicago but never one this big....
She worried that some protesters participated simply ‘‘to do stupid things’’ and cause trouble....
Oh, WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE!
At one point, dozens of protesters in black clothing surged toward a much smaller group of police, throwing objects at them. The badly outnumbered officers fought back with truncheons, and people on both sides threw punches. As police reinforcements moved in, the pack of violent protesters fled....
Unseasonably warm temperatures raised concerns about the safety of the marchers themselves. The city provided water, rest stations and cooling buses along the 2½-mile protest route.
The heat offered an unexpected benefit for police: making it easier to spot potential troublemakers.
Before the summit, officers were told to keep an eye out for people wearing bulky clothing that could hide weapons or big pieces of cardboard that protesters could use to shield themselves against rubber bullets. But anyone wearing overcoats or sweatshirts was conspicuous on a 90-degree day, when many people wore T-shirts and shorts.
Organizers of Sunday’s rally had initially predicted tens of thousands of protesters this weekend.
They got more.
But that was when the G-8 summit of leading industrial nations was also scheduled to be in Chicago. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama moved the Group of Eight economic meeting to Camp David, the secluded retreat in rural Maryland.
Chicago kept the NATO summit, which is not addressing the economy specifically. That left activists with the challenge of persuading groups as diverse as teachers, nurses and union laborers to show up for the Chicago protests even though the summit’s main focus doesn’t align with their most heart-felt issues.
At the end of the march, police appeared to be using precisely the tactics Superintendent Garry McCarthy said they would — extracting individuals from the crowd and quickly getting them away from the rest of the demonstrators.
Several times they could be seen pulling protesters into a line of officers, which parted briefly before quickly closing ranks again.
Police also used ‘‘sound cannons’’ to give orders to demonstrators and tried to relieve officers who had become fatigued to help prevent any escalation in violence.
Related: Chicago Cops Buy Sound Cannon “To Provide Protesters With Public Safety Messages”
Can you hear me now?
The demonstrations unfolded just a day after three activists who traveled to Chicago for the summit were accused of manufacturing Molotov cocktails in a plot to attack Obama’s campaign headquarters, Emanuel’s home and other targets.
PFFFFFFFT!
Defense lawyers argued that the police had trumped up the charges to frighten away peaceful protesters. They told a judge it was undercover officers who brought the firebombs to an apartment on Chicago’s South Side where the men were arrested.
On Sunday, police said two other men were also in custody on charges they discussed making bombs prior to the summit. Authorities said the pair was not connected to the earlier arrests, although defense attorneys said all five were targeted by authorities to scare protesters away from the meeting.
--more--"
