The government claims the seven swore allegiance to al-Qaida and plotted to blow up several buildings in the United States, including the 108-story Sears skyscraper, FBI buildings and a federal courthouse in Miami.

The FBI has described the arrest of the group in June 2006 as an “important step forward in the war on terrorism here in the United States”, though it acknowledged the plot was “more aspirational than operational.”

The seven have pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charges and their lawyers claim the whole case was fabricated by the government, arguing that the plot was hatched by an informant paid by the FBI to infiltrate the group, posing as an Al-Qaida member.

The lawyers said the men, known as the “Liberty City Seven,” had no means to carry out any form of attack.

The defendants say they are simply members of a sect that blends elements of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

The indictment alleges that Narseal Batiste, the leader of the “Seas of David” group, had asked someone who was traveling to Yemen to help him establish contact with al-Qaida. The person contacted the FBI, which then infiltrated the group.

Batiste told the infiltrator he was “organizing a mission to build an ‘Islamic Army’ in order to wage jihad.” He requested help in the form of boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios, vehicles and money.

The infiltrator made members of the group swear loyalty to al-Qaida and suggested that they consider attacking FBI buildings in five American cities, according to video footage entered as evidence.

The group allegedly pledged to “kill all the devils we can.”

When the seven were arrested in Liberty City, a poor, predominantly African-American Miami neighborhood, though, the only weapon seized was a nine-millimeter handgun.

Florida Islamic leaders insisted the seven men belonged to a cult, were not Muslims and were not linked to the local Muslim community.

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