Three protesters arrested in a late-night raid days before the start of this weekend's 60-nation NATO summit in Chicago have been charged with terrorism for possession of explosive devices, police and their attorney have said.
The men have been accused of making petrol bombs and planning to attack US President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, the home of the Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and other targets during this weekend's conference, prosecutors said on Saturday.
The three were arrested on Wednesday night in a raid of an apartment in the city's South Side Bridgeport neighbourhood ahead of the two-day meeting.
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) said the men were charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism, providing material support for terrorism, and possession of an explosive incendiary device.
The trio was charged with providing material support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of explosives.
The suspects were each being held on $1.5m bond. They are believed to have come to Chicago late last month to take part in May Day protests. Six others arrested on Wednesday in the raid were released on Friday without being charged.
Comment: It's always nice to see the mainstream media continuing to promote blatant lies about Iran's 'nukes' and ignore the copious evidence that the West is convinced that Iran is not building nuclear bombs.
It's also nice to see the mainstream media ignore the obvious logic that a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to no one, least of all Israel, given that Israel possesses upwards of 400 nuclear weapons and could easily destroy Iran.
Perhaps the problem is that the mainstream media has somehow forgotten that 45 years of 'cold war' between the US and the Soviet Union proved conclusively that MAD - Mutually Assured Destruction - is a sure safeguard against nuclear war. Of course, Israel would say that the Iranians are so crazy that they would accept their own annihilation just to launch one nuke at Israel, but again, there is no evidence whatsoever for such a ridiculous contention.
In short, the real 'fear' here is that Iran with a nuclear capability would act as a bulwark against Israeli and US hegemony and off-the-leash criminality and murder in the Middle East. That's why Iran "must be stopped", because Israel wants to remain the economic and military top dog on the block.