Man indicted on terror charges in NYC bomb case

"We believe that jurors and New Yorkers in particular, who have suffered real threats and know real tragedy, are sophisticated enough to know the difference between a real threat and a manufactured one and will reject an unchecked police power that attempts to broad-brush political discourse and religious affiliation as universally threatening," Cohen and Walsh said.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers had said plea negotiations were under way last month; the defense lawyers had repeatedly waived a legal timeframe for an indictment or hearing. Cohen said Wednesday that both sides used the extra time to conduct their own evaluations of the case more than to discuss resolving it.

In another Manhattan case brought under the state terror law last year, a grand jury declined to indict two men on the most serious charge initially brought against them — a high-level terror conspiracy count that carried the potential for life in prison without parole. But Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh were indicted on lesser state terrorism and hate crime charges, including one punishable by up to 32 years behind bars.

The two are accused of plotting to attack synagogues. Ferhani's attorneys have said the case reflects police entrapment. Mamdouh's lawyers have said the allegations against him don't meet the requirements for a conviction under the state terror law.

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