NATO protester pleads guilty to bomb charge
Apr 11, 2013, 6:20 PM
CHICAGO (AP) – A 28-year-old activist arrested around the time of the NATO summit in Chicago last year has pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase materials to make a pipe bomb.
A Cook County court judge on Thursday sentenced Mark Neiweem (NEYE’ weem) to three years in prison for the bomb charge and a probation violation.
The Chicago man’s attorney, Steve Salzman, says his client could be free by November based on various credits, including time served since his arrest.
Prosecutors have said Neiweem wrote out a list of ingredients to construct a pipe bomb and indicated that model rocket engines for it could be bought at Hobby Lobby stores.
Prosecutors charged three other anti-NATO activists under Illinois’ terrorism law. Their trial is set for September. Neiweem wasn’t charged with any terrorism offences.
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