Prosecutors Seek 14 Years For "NATO 3"

CHICAGO (AP) -- A judge will decide whether to heed the prosecutors' request that three protesters accused of plotting Molotov cocktail attacks at a 2012 NATO summit in Chicago serve more than a decade in prison.

Jurors in February acquitted the activists of ominous-sounding terrorism charges brought under a rarely used Illinois statute. They convicted them of lesser counts of misdemeanor mob action and possession of an incendiary device to commit arson.

Heading into Friday's sentencing, Cook County prosecutors want a 14-year prison term for Jared Chase, Brian Church and Brent Betterly. They call the men dangerous and deserving of stiff punishment.

But Chase's attorneys call the case a "terribly politicized prosecution." They suggest the terrorism charges tainted their client as a menace even though he was acquitted of those charges.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)