Biography
Mark Neiweem — anti-NATO summit arrestee, Chicago, May 2012. Charged under Illinois terrorism statute with solicitation to make a Molotov cocktail; pleaded guilty to a reduced count and sentenced to three years.
In the days surrounding the May 2012 NATO summit in Chicago, the FBI and Chicago Police arrested a series of activists in raids tied to anti-NATO protest organizing. The 'NATO 3' (Brian Church, Jared Chase, Brent Betterly) became the headline case after being charged under Illinois state terrorism statutes. The 'NATO 5' designation is sometimes used to include two additional men arrested in parallel raids — Sebastian Senakiewicz and Mark Neiweem — on charges that critics described as informant-driven entrapment. Several other anti-NATO arrestees were later swept up on protest-related charges. All were held at Cook County Jail in Chicago; some were transferred to Stateville or to IDOC custody after conviction.