Defendant denies Sears Tower bomb plot

A man accused of plotting terrorist attacks testified Thursday that none of his six co-defendants was told about a plan to destroy the Sears Tower, a plot he claims he made up to con a financier.

Narseal Batiste, 33, said he did not inform his six "brothers" about plans he was describing to a Middle Eastern man who appeared to be an al-Qaida emissary, but who was in reality an FBI informant carrying a tape recorder.

"Nobody knew about it. Like I said, this was imagination," said Batiste, whom prosecutors call the ringleader. "I would have been deeply embarrassed if any of the brothers knew I was engaging in that kind of conversation."

Batiste got choked up after his attorney, Ana M. Jhones, asked how the mission of the six other defendants differed from the violent attacks he was discussing with the informant, a man he knew as "Brother Mohammed."

"The only mission the brothers had was just walking through the neighborhood and preaching about Jesus," Batiste said. A recess was called after he became emotional and was unable to continue on the witness stand.

Batiste, 33, testified earlier that his real reason for wanting the money was to run a nonprofit community outreach and assistance program in Miami's depressed Liberty City neighborhood. Batiste also said he was trying to build a construction company.

The "Liberty City Seven" face up to 70 years in prison if convicted of four terrorism-related conspiracy charges. They are accused of plotting to topple the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago and bomb FBI offices in Miami and other cities, although authorities say the purported plans were only in the earliest stages when the seven were arrested in June 2006.

Batiste and the other six men are adherents to a sect known as the Moorish Science Temple that includes elements of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and does not recognize the authority of the U.S. government. Batiste has said the group frequently discussed religion and did physical training through martial arts and marching exercises, often in uniforms.

A key piece of evidence is an FBI videotape showing the group taking an oath of allegiance to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. Batiste is overheard on numerous other FBI audio and video tapes discussing the Sears Tower plot and how it could help spark an Islamic extremist "ground war" that would eventually overthrow the U.S. government.

Testifying for a third day Thursday, Batiste continued to insist that this plot was all a fabrication aimed at persuading "Brother Mohammed" to give him $50,000 or more. Batiste said he wanted the money to finish renovating a headquarters for a nonprofit outreach program to help Miami's struggling Liberty City neighborhood.

The Sears Tower seemed like the kind of high-value target that would impress someone like "Mohammed," who had apparent access to international terror financing, Batiste said.

The trial, now in its sixth week, is expected to continue at least through the rest of November.