Chicago man had ties to Miami-based alleged terrorist group

AP on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 6/29/06 | Laura Wides-Munoz - ap

[NormsRevenge]

A Chicago man arrested last month and charged with illegal possession of a weapon has been identified by federal prosecutors as a former member of an alleged group of aspiring terrorists based in Miami.

In court documents filed Thursday, prosecutors identified the man as Charles Stewart or "Sultan Khan Bey," and said he apparently belonged to an organization called the Moorish National Republic, for which he was trying to recruit members. Stewart has not been charged in the terrorism case.

The group in Miami was arrested June 22. Six men are accused of seeking to support what they thought was an al-Qaida operative's effort to bomb FBI buildings in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington. A seventh man, was arrested and charged in Atlanta.

In fact, their only al-Qaida contact was an individual cooperating with the FBI.

The group's alleged leader Narseal Batiste met with Stewart in April in Miami where the two discussed recruiting new members and the need for "a revolution to help the people," according to the documents.

Stewart allegedly told Batiste they were "here to rid the Earth of filth..."

But the group allegedly splintered in mid-April after Stewart confronted Batiste over what he feared was law enforcement surveillance of the group's operations, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Getchell in Atlanta.

In early May, Stewart allegedly shot a gun at a person inside a Miami store the group frequented. He was arrested May 5 and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. It was unclear from the documents whether anyone was injured or whether the arrest was connected to the alleged shooting.

After his arrest, Stewart allegedly told federal agents, "he had knowledge of individuals that were 'plotting' against the United States," and that "these people were starting to get serious."

Stewart, whose age was unavailable, was released on bond and assigned a federal public defender, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami. The public defender's office in Miami did not immediately know if one of its attorneys was representing him.

Also on Thursday, Lyglenson Lemorin, 31, the suspect arrested in Atlanta, was denied bond and ordered transferred to Miami to await trial.

--

Associated Press Writer Giovanna Dell'Orto in Atlanta contributed to this story.

[phoenix0468]

Stewart allegedly told Batiste they were "here to rid the Earth of filth..."

So they were all going to take a bath in Lake Michigan? Wouldn't that make them even filthier?

[sageb1]

Now what is it that we know about these ones known as the Moorish National Republic? Well we know that they hold Abraham Lincoln as being a Prophet.

Not sure whether to laugh or cry.