2nd mistrial for alleged terrorist cell

MIAMI, April 16 (UPI) -- A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday after a second jury was unable to reach a verdict on six Miami men charged with a terrorist conspiracy.

The defendants were charged with swearing allegiance to al-Qaida and conspiring to blow up landmarks that included the Sears Tower in Chicago. But the al-Qaida oath was administered by an FBI informant posing as an al-Qaida member and no guns or explosives were found.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard said that after 12 days of deliberations and three notes from the jury describing a deadlock, she did not believe jurors could reach a verdict, The Miami Herald reported. Federal prosecutors argued for sending the jury back for more deliberations.

Lenard scheduled a status conference next week to decide whether the defendants should be tried again. The first trial ended with a complete acquittal for one defendant and mistrials for six.

The defense argued during the trial that Narseal Batiste, the alleged ringleader, hoped to con as much as $50,000 out of the supposed al-Qaida operative.