One of the released protesters, Darrin Annussek, of Philadelphia, said he didn’t see bomb-making materials in the Bridgeport apartment.

Lawyers for the protesters said there was only brewing equipment there used to make beer. Michael Vassilakis said his brother William was hosting the protesters and his beer equipment was confiscated.

Anyone who farts too loudly in a room is going to be accused of Terrorism.

What I'm wondering is did the FBI provide the bottles and gasoline?

That are terror. No warning, the just sneak up on you

they confiscated the protesters beer brewing equipment and bottles.

must have been some pretty stout brew to be flammable.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/natosummit/chi-nato-arrests-proffer-20120519-pdf,0,852022.htmlpage

The homebrew was still in the apartment, post raid, according to the pictures posted on kos....

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/20/1093156/-3-NATO-Activists-Charged-with-Terror-Plot-After-Posting-Video-of-Police-Harassment-

sounds like the details of the story "evolved" over time.

thanks for the update.

a news story.

I have no doubt that defense theories will be constantly evolving, as facts negate certain strategies.

The space that they had rented had another area rented by someone else who used a 5 gallon pail to pee in at night because the bathroom was so far away. Of course that tested positive for ammonia (bomb making equipment) but hand nothing to do with bombs or even the protesters there but hey, lets not let the facts get in the way of false lurid headlines to justify what we are doing.

weren't making Molotovs. What worries me is this: If I have an empty wine bottle, some old rags and a can of gasoline out in my garage (which I do) I possess the materials to make an incendiary device, and then there's the old gun in the attic, the computer listing my repeated visits to websites that may have some connection to someone who has connections to someone, who has connections to someone connected to a possibly suspected terrorist organization and then there's...

...to manufacture an unregistered machinegun.

being in possession of bomb making materials, if you define bomb loosely enough.

Bleach, ammonia, iodine, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, propane, washing powder, soap, sugar, sawdust, any kind of pipe, bottle, or can, and a whole bunch of other stuff could easily be considered ingredients for a "bomb". If they go in looking for "bomb making materials", they're going to find them in every house they go in.

first how are they protesters if there has been no protest yet? and a case of empties and beer-making tools are hardly a terrorist plot!

This has gone off-the-scale ludicrous. I'm beginning to believe that (outside of White Supremicist and Extreme Right-wing circles) the only terrorist plots in the U.S. that actually produce bombs and fatalities are the plots created or facilitated by the CIA and/or FBI (e.g., WTC '93 and 9/11.)

What information led police to this apartment? My guess is that these are known black bloc protesters who probably travel from city to city and they were being tracked. And based on this, the police were probably tracking their communications and knew they were cooking something up.

C'mon, be honest here. Three out-of-towners just happened to be in town to protest AND brew beer. But, feel free to post evidence that the owner of the Bridgeport apartment is a longtime home brewer and didn't just take up the "hobby" during the week leading up to NATO.

Frankly, we just don't have all of the information at this point to make a call either way. I'm sure the police probably just want them in custody until NATO is over and will likely allow them to plead down on the terrorism charges.

I welcome peaceful protest in the city. The more people here makes an awesome statement. I don't want outside people coming here to cause mayhem. I know some people here have no problem with violence and property destruction. So, why not invite them in to tear up your city?

And, I'm sure this post will earn me more ignores. Oh well...

both because I really love Chicago and I think it reflects badly on the protest movement.

In the lounge there's a weekly contest to see how many people you provoked enough to put you on ignore each week you'd be surprised how many loungers have double digits. I see it as having strongly held beliefs I'm willing to have real debates over and that's a good thing.

It's a shame that those who stand for nonviolence here have to put up with such bullying. But, it really says more about those posters than me.

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/05/19/three-activists-arrested-in-night-raid-still-in-jail-ahead-of-nato-summit/

What is important to note is that all the activists arrested were part of the “Fuck the Police” or anti-police march that took place on the south side of Chicago on Tuesday night. They marched on the streets of Bridgeport and wound up making some of the residents angry. They also taunted and messed around with police that were trying to control them with bicycles and keep them off the streets.

Additionally, the three activists that remain in jail are in the video of three Chicago police officers pulling them over in Bridgeport on May 9. The video, which went viral, features police questioning protesters and threatening them ahead of the NATO protest. They search the protesters’ vehicle and threatened “pre-emptive police violence against those” who planned to attend the NATO summit protests.

One officer can be heard in the video saying, “We’ll come look for you, each and every one of you.” And, the police also say the now infamous lines among occupiers:

CPD Officer 1: “You like that, he knows these guys know, ’68. You guys know all about ’68. What did they say back in ’68?”

CPD Officer 2: “Billy club to the fucking skull.”

That should never be the default, especially given the track record of police in leftist protests in general and NATO protests specifically.

which were confiscated...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/natosummit/chi-nato-arrests-proffer-20120519-pdf,0,852022.htmlpage

..arresting people for having bottles, rags and flammable liquids in the same vicinity. It's just harassment to keep them off the street and create tension among the protesters.
Chicago's Flying Squad worked with the FBI in the past as a hit squad to take out Black Panthers and AIM members.

Chicago Police are well connected, even some have been Knighted for their work in keeping the Serfs in check.

Read: Agents of Repression. It's all well documented.

If they wanted to mess up the protests, wouldn't they have arrested many, many more? There have been demonstrations all week. Very few arrests have been made and there has been no widespread violence OR widespread police brutality. I think both sides have been holding the balance remarkably well. I'm holding my breath and hope this keeps up.

"Chicago Police are well connected, even some have been Knighted for their work in keeping the Serfs in check. " What are you talking about?

Arrested Protester Charges Mistreatment After Police Raid Apartment

Lawyers Deny Group Was Plotting To Make Molotov Cocktails, Only Beer


http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/05/18/arrested-protester-charges-mistreatment-after-police-raid-apartment/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/natosummit/chi-nato-arrests-proffer-20120519-pdf,0,852022.htmlpage

apparently still is, not that the Tribune is much better.

"Defense attorneys told a judge on Saturday that undercover police are the ones who brought the Molotov cocktails, and that their clients were entrapped."

How so? According to the Republicans, there are no domestic terrorists.

Not that I think these people are terrorists.

Bomb making material? Give me a break. I have LP, kerosene, gasoline, lamp oil, rags, and bottles in my house or on my property. I also have bleach and ammonia, I could make up a little mustard gas in between stuffing rags into my bottles of flammable liquid.

Fuck the bomb throwers.