Jose Pimentel, Alleged Al-Qaida Sympathizer, Pleads Not Guilty to NYC Pipe-Bomb Plot

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Alleged al-Qaida sympathizer Jose Pimentel, who is charged with plotting to attack police and soldiers with homemade bombs, pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday to rarely used state-level terrorism charges.

Pimentel, 27, reportedly whispered "not guilty" in a case authorities describe as bringing down an overt al-Qaida sympathizer who was building a pipe bomb to act on his violent beliefs.

His defense attorneys call the case an example of police overreaching. "We think that when a jury hears both sides of this case, they'll see it for what it really is," one of his lawyers, Susan J. Walsh, said as she left court.

Pimentel is a Dominican-born Muslim convert also known as Muhammad Yusuf. Authorities say Pimentel had a website detailing his belief in jihad, or holy war, and said he believed Muslims were obligated to attack Americans as retaliation for U.S. military involvement in Muslim countries.

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