And the jury deadlocked on the remaining counts.
This is big news.
Please see my earlier diary for the saga of Al-Arian's harrassment by the FBI and Justice Department.
It is significant that he was acquitted on the KEY CHARGE that he helped lead a Palestinian terrorist group. Al-Arian was supposed to be the poster boy for how the USA Patriot Act will help nail terrorists. Even with the latitude provided, and a crazy trial, the prosecution wasn't able to make the case. As the AP reports, "His indictment in 2003 was hailed by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft as one of the first triumphs of the Patriot Act, which was enacted in the weeks after Sept. 11."
Here's
more from the Orlando Sentinal
The Sentinal also reports that there was pandemonium outside the Courthouse when the verdicts were announced.
Unfortunately, he will return to jail while the prosecution figures out whether to retry him. I'm not a lawyer, so I guess this is SOP, but for God's sake, man, they've been after him for 10 years!