When Terror Charges Just Won't Stick

One big weakness in the case was adequate translation of the more than 20,000 hours of mostly Arabic conversation: "We asked for 13 translators, and Justice gave us one. We weren't ready" for a trial, says the supervisor. The federal judge in the case, James Moody, seemed to agree. Last year he ruled that prosecutors were using too broad an interpretation of a 1996 law that makes it illegal to provide "material support" to designated terrorist groups; they would have to prove that al-Arian knowingly funded Islamic Jihad terrorist activities. Jurors told reporters after last week's verdict that the feds simply didn't get that done. But the government was also hamstrung by the fact that most of its evidence focused on al-Arian's activities before the U.S. branded Islamic Jihad a terrorist group in 1995. Al-Arian's associates say the earlier time was a politically hot-headed period for al-Arian, which he disavows today.

Jurors indicated that most of them favored acquittal on the deadlocked counts against al-Arian. After the verdict, he told the St. Petersburg Times that he was "very confident the worst is over." But the government may simply deport him on pending immigration charges. For now, his wife Nahla says the verdict is vindication "not only for Sami but for our children, who are Americans. It matters to me that they have faith in this country."