By Danny Fenster
ticklethewire.com
The appeals of Narseal Batiste and followers were rejected in Atlanta on Tuesday, reports the Associated Press. Batiste and four others were convicted of plotting, in conjunction with al-Qaida, to destroy the 110-story Willis Tower in Chicago and to bomb FBI offices in several cities in May of 2009.
Batiste, cited as the group’s ringleader, questioned the sufficiency of the evidence, the FBI’s use of an informant posing as a member of al-Qaida and one juror’s dismissal amid deliberations in the trial. A three-judge panel in Atlanta’s 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the claims.
The men were convicted of providing material support to al-Qaida in addition to the plan to take down the hulking, 110-story Chicago skyscraper formerly known as the Sears Tower. Their stated goal was to “overthrow the US government,” according to the AP.
After two mistrials, they were convicted the third time around.
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