Washington, May 21: Five people, including three members of the ‘Black Bloc' group, have been arrested in President Barack Obama's hometown Chicago on charges of plotting terror attacks during the key NATO Summit in the city.
Nearly 60 world leaders have gathered in Chicago for the Summit which began yesterday, aimed at charting out a road map of international support to Afghanistan post-2014.
Sebastian Senakiewicz, 24, of Chicago, is charged with falsely making a terrorist threat, the Illinois state's attorney's office said in a statement today.
Mark Neiweem, 28, also believed to be from Chicago, is charged with attempted possession of explosives or incendiary devices.
Senakiewicz' arrest came a day after prosecutors said three men were caught in the act of making Molotov cocktails, which they had discussed using against the Obama campaign headquarters, as well as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home, several area financial institutions and four police stations, CNN reported.
The three men—Brian Church (22) from Florida, Jared Chase (27) from New Hampshire and Brent Betterly (24) who told police that he is from Massachusetts, were produced before a court yesterday. An Illinois judge set bails for each of the three suspect of USD 1.5 million.
The three were charged with material support for terrorism; conspiracy to commit terrorism; and possession of explosives or explosive or incendiary devices.
According to prosecutors, the investigation began in May, and revealed that the defendants are self-proclaimed anarchists and members of the “Black Bloc” group, who travelled together from Florida to the Chicago in preparation for committing terror acts and destruction directed against different targets in protest to the NATO Summit.
According to prosecutors, plans were made to attack four police stations with destructive devices, in an effort to undermine the police response to the conspirators' other planned actions for the NATO Summit.
All three men will plead not guilty at an arraignment set for May 26, said Sarah Gelsomino, an attorney at the National Lawyers Guild.
The ‘Black Bloc' members wear black clothing and face-concealing items during protests to hide their identities and appear as one large unified mass.
