Terror Suspect Has Previous Run-Ins With Law

Brent Betterly arrested last October following break-in to Florida high school

One of the men brought up on terrorism charges Saturday was arrested last year and charged with vandalism in Florida.

Brent Betterly, 24, is currently being held on $1.5 million bond following his arrested Wednesday from an apartment in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. He and two others are accused of trying to make Molotov cocktails ahead of the NATO Summit.

He and another man were also arrested last October after they allegedly broke into an Oakland Park, Fla., high school and going for a swim in the pool. Surveillance video showed the men walking around their bathing suits, going into three school buses and stealing fire extinguishers from them. They discharged an extinguisher inside a bus and on the roof of the girl's locker room. Another extinguisher was used to smash a cafeteria window, authorities said.

Betterly was also cited for disorderly intoxication in February in Miami-Dade County, Fla., but the case has been dismissed, according to online court records.

The National Lawyers Guild, which provides legal support to NATO protesters, said this week's charges are bogus. Betterly and the two other defendants said they were making homemade beer, not bombs.

PDF: Bond Proffer

Contact Us