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MIAMI (AP) ― Statements given to the FBI by six of the seven men accused of plotting to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and other buildings show that some apparently didn't believe the talk of joining up with al-Qaida. Others from Miami's depressed Liberty City neighborhood indicate they were motivated by money rather than Islamic radicalism.

Some were clearly bewildered by what had happened to them. One of those arrested in June 2006 even asked the FBI agents interrogating him whether he could have some of the marijuana he had been carrying, according to the statements filed recently in federal court.

That defendant, 23-year-old Naudimar Herrera, asked for "a rub of my green" after the agents showed him a videotape of the group swearing loyalty to al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden, at the direction of an FBI informant the men knew as Mohammed.

"Herrera said that he needed the substance to calm his nerves ... Herrera was provided with a bottle of water to drink and was allowed to take a restroom break," an FBI summary said.

The FBI statements by six group members are key pieces of evidence in a case scheduled to go to trial this fall. The group, known as the "Liberty City Seven," has been in custody since their arrests over a year ago on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to wage war against the United States.

Prosecutors say they discussed blowing up the Sears Tower and destroying FBI offices and other buildings in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Washington. Authorities have said their purported plot never moved beyond the preliminary stages and the group never possessed explosives or other weapons to carry it out, but insist the men were serious about their intentions.

The seven men have pleaded not guilty to charges that carry combined maximum sentences of some 70 years in federal prison.

Defense attorneys are asking a federal judge to throw out their statements to the FBI, mainly over claims they were not truly voluntary or that some defendants asked for lawyers but were interrogated without one present. A hearing is scheduled for July 16 on those and other defense motions.

In the statements, some of the group members appear to play down their roles or minimize what they knew about the purported bombing plots. The alleged ringleader, 33-year-old Narseal Batiste, told the FBI that he only played along with joining al-Qaida so he could extort as much as $50,000 from Mohammed.

"Batiste stated that during his relationship with Mohammed that he agreed to blow up buildings, but that was not his intention," the summary said.

Much of the evidence consists of FBI audio and video surveillance, including the al-Qaida allegiance or "bayat" ceremony staged by Mohammed on March 10, 2006, at a warehouse the group used as a headquarters.

"I thought it was a joke and I didn't take it serious," said Rotschild Augustine, 23, in a written statement to the FBI. "I felt as though we were all manipulated and (forced) to do things that didn't feel right ... I'm just mad I even ended up meeting with these people and getting me and the rest of us into this situation and being fooled."

Another defendant, 32-year-old Lyglenson Lemorin, told FBI agents he grew "fearful" after the ceremony and that he "knew nothing good would come from this. Lemorin has seen al-Qaida on TV and advised that 'they do killing' and that he does not want to be associated with that," according to an FBI summary.

Prosecutors scoff at such claims, noting in court papers that members of the group later discussed a plot to conduct coordinated attacks against FBI buildings in five cities and use land Batiste's family owned in Louisiana as a training camp. They also took video and photos of potential targets in the Miami area, including the FBI office, a large downtown federal building and a National Guard Armory.

"Batiste and the other defendants eagerly embraced and pledged to support al-Qaida, and they carried out surveillance and other activities in specific support of an identified al-Qaida plot," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Arango in court documents.

Defendant Burson Augustin, 22, told the FBI that the group was part of the Moorish Science Temple religious sect, which blends elements of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Augustin said some group members "shared the vision of taking over the United States" and did not recognize the authority of the U.S. government.

Members of the group would often go paintball shooting as a form of military training in woods south of Miami, Augustin told the FBI. "The training was realistic and Augustin was told that he 'had to be careful' to avoid public scrutiny,"' an FBI summary said.

On one occasion, a member of the group put up a U.S. flag that the others used as target practice with their paintball guns, Augustin told the FBI. Other groups linked with Islamic extremist causes in the U.S. have engaged in paintball training, including one that was active in Northern Virginia.

Like Batiste, Augustin said he only pledged loyalty to al-Qaida to get money and that he agreed to take photos of the FBI building in Miami to go "above and beyond" the request from Mohammed.

"In this way, he and others could prove loyalty which would make it easier to get money from Mohammed," the FBI summary said.

But there was also sometimes discussion of overthrowing the U.S. government, defendant Patrick Abraham told the FBI. Abraham, 27, also said he suggested that Mohammed be investigated by the group, which resulted in an incident in which Mohammed was strip-searched and driven to a meeting with Batiste in the Florida Keys town of Islamorada.

After that, the group trusted Mohammed once again.

"Abraham attended several meetings with Batiste and Brother Mohammed where Batiste discussed a plan to take down the Sears Tower in Chicago and wage war with the U.S. government," the FBI summary of Abraham's interview said.

The defendants have pleaded not-guilty to charges that accuse them of conspiring to support terrorists and to wage war against the United States.

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