Feds Raid Homes in Chicago, Minnesota in Terror Probe

Chicago - Federal agents raided homes in Chicago and Minneapolis Friday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, according to FBI spokespersons in the two cities.

Investigators searched two homes on Chicago's North Side, including one that property records link to the director of the Arab-American Action Network. Chicago FBI spokesperson Ross Rice would not detail the nature of the investigation, but his counterpart in Minnesota was more forthcoming.

"We are doing six federal search warrants in Minneapolis that are related to an ongoing Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation into activities concerning the material support of terrorism," Minneapolis FBI agent Steve Warfield said in a statement.

In Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, people watched as agents removed boxes from the home of a couple active in the anti-war movement.

FBI agents spent more than 11 hours inside the home of Stephanie Weiner and her husband Joe Iosbaker, both long time anti-war protesters.

"What we really think is going on is that they're trying to harass us and the whole peace and justice movement in Chicago and across the country and they're trying to intimidate and they're trying to silence anyone who speaks about what's going on in terms of the wars in Afghanistan or the wars in Iraq," said Stephanie Weiner who's home in Logan Square was searched Friday.

"They're on some kind of fishing trip, and I'm just gonna say we've done nothing wrong, all we've done is we've opposed their immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and we've opposed US funding for the corrup and brutal governments of Israel and Columbia. That's all we've done," Iosbaker said.

Their attorney said the FBI had a grand jury search warrant that authorized them to search for evidence the couple has done work to support unnamed terrorist organizations.

"The FBI has seen fit to take boxes of their documents of what they did in the 70s and the 80s and the 90s. I personally saw baby cards that they wre taking, post cards from Joe Iosbaker's former girlfriends are being taken, none of this has anything to do with anything the government has any right to be taking," said attorney Melinda Power who is representing the couple.

The homes of six anti-war activists in Minneapolis were searched as part of the investigation.

Among the targets of the raids were Jessica Sundin, who led a 10,000-person anti-war march on the opening day of the Republican National Convention in 2008, and Mick Kelly, who was part of Sundin's 2008 protest and who has planned to march in Minneapolis if the Democratic National Convention is held there in 2012.

Minnesota anti-war leader Meredith Aby and Students for a Democratic Society activist Tracy Molm were also targeted by the raids. The identities of the other two activists whose homes were raided in Minneapolis were not disclosed.

Kelly said the warrant issued in the raid on his apartment suggested authorities were looking into any connections or travel to Palestine and Colombia, the Star-Tribune reported. He said he had not traveled to those locations. Kelly said he had traveled to Lebanon, where the paramilitary group Hizbollah is based, but said he did not believe that country was mentioned in the warrant.

Sundin said she has visited Colombia but did not do anything illegal.