CHICAGO (AP) — Three NATO summit protesters have pleaded not guilty to charges that accuse them of plotting to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago with Molotov cocktails.
Brian Church of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jared Chase of Keene, N.H., and Brent Vincent Betterly of Oakland Park, Fla., appeared at their arraignment in a Cook County courtroom Monday in jail jumpsuits with their legs shackled.
Their lawyers told Judge Thaddeus Wilson that the men were pleading not guilty to all 11 counts, including four filed under Illinois' never-before-used anti-terrorism statutes. The other counts include several arson charges.
The protesters have been jailed since May after being arrested days before the NATO summit began in Chicago. If convicted, each could spend decades in prison.
