Three Irishmen have been found guilty here of conspiring to send over 100 handguns and ammunition to Ireland, but not guilty of conspiracy charges to murder and maim, which could have meant life imprisonment. They were also found guilty on numerous counts of illegally buying or mailing the guns and will be sentenced on August 18th.
The three are Conor Anthony Claxton (27), from Belfast, who told the court he had been a member of the Provisional IRA for eight years and an international representative for Sinn Fein and was on an arms-buying mission; Anthony Smyth (43), also from Belfast, a car salesman who has lived in Florida for about 15 years; and Martin Mullan (30), from Dunloy, Co Antrim, who had been working as a painter and mechanic in Philadelphia.
A fourth accused, Siobhan Browne, from Youghal, Co Cork, who was charged with the other three, was not in court yesterday. Browne, who is now a US citizen, agreed last March to plead guilty to a less serious charge when the other charges against her were dropped. She will also be sentenced on August 18th.
Outside the courtroom the chief prosecutor, Assistant US Attorney Richard Scruggs, was verbally abused by friends of the accused. Ms Roseann Clinton, whose husband was murdered in Belfast in 1992, shouted at him: "We're getting shot and murdered in Northern Ireland and you say it's not political."
Mr Scruggs said that the three men could still get stiff sentences, given the number of counts on which they were found guilty. He speculated that the jury might have been influenced not to convict on the more serious charges because of the "changed" situation in Northern Ireland whereby the IRA was offering to put its weapons beyond use.
Martin Mullan's mother appealed to Mr Scruggs to get permission for her to visit her son.
Mr Fred Haddad, Claxton's lawyer, while relieved that his client had avoided a life sentence, said he was angry at the way Judge Wilkie Ferguson had "truncated" the defence arguments.
The defence would have conceded the facts on the buying and sending of guns to Ireland and would have "pleaded political justification". But the judge had not allowed the defence to introduce political arguments, and this aspect might yet be appealed, he said.
The FBI has indicated its investigation into gun-running activities in a number of other American cities is continuing.
In Belfast, a Sinn Fein spokesman said last night that the party would not comment on the Florida trial verdict until it had received all the details.
The DUP's security spokesman, Mr Gregory Campbell, expressed disappointment that the accused had not been convicted on the main charge of conspiracy to murder. However, their convictions on the lesser charges was further proof that the IRA had been operational when it was supposed to be observing a ceasefire.