3 men face terrorism charges stemming from Bridgeport raid

Three out-of-state men arrested in a Bridgeport apartment raid days before the NATO summit were charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism, providing material support for terrorism and possession of an explosive or incendiary device.
The arrests were the result of a month-long investigation into a group suspected of making Molotov cocktails — crude bombs usually created by filling glass bottles with gasoline.
But the National Lawyers Guild, which is representing the men, said they were simply NATO protesters who had beer-making equipment when the apartment they were staying at was raided overnight Wednesday.
The three men being held at the Harrison District police station were charged late Friday night and were scheduled to appear in bond court Saturday afternoon, said Chicago police Lt. Kenneth Stoppa. He identified them as Brian Church, 20, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jared Chase, 24, of Keene, NH., and Brent Vincent Betterly, 24, of Oakland Park, Fla.
Police earlier Friday released from custody — without charging — six of the nine people who were swept up in the late-night Wednesday raid of a Bridgeport apartment building. Several are affiliated with the Occupy movement and had arrived in Chicago in recent weeks from California, North Carolina, Massachusetts and elsewhere