Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy speaks at at news conference addressing the arrest three activists who are charged with providing material support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of explosives, Saturday, May 19, 2012, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

(MintPress) – The case against three Chicago residents accused of building molotov cocktails for the alleged purpose of targeting Barack Obama’s headquarters will not be tried by federal prosecutors — instead, they’ll face up against state lawyers.

It’s the first time the state will try out its anti-terrorism laws, implemented following the 9-11 attacks, drawing questions from critics confused as to a lack of federal involvement into a case involving alleged terrorism.

Days before May’s NATO Summit in Chicago this year, local police officers arrested three protesters on terrorism charges for allegedly creating and planning the attack on the headquarters. Brian Church, 22, Jared Chase, 27, and Brent Betterly, 24, were all charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism, providing material support for terrorism and possession of an explosive incendiary device.

Despite such charges being handed down, the federal government is now staying away from the case, with state prosecutors from Illinois taking the wheel — a move that casts doubt on the story provided by Chicago police.

Chicago police made the arrests after going undercover and infiltrating the group, claiming the three had made molotov cocktails and openly discussed attacking the headquarters and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s house. It was a claim met by sharp criticism among those who knew the men, claiming the devices were not for bomb-making, but for brewing beer.

Attorneys for the three men claim their clients were entrapped by two men working for the Chicago Police Department, not specifying whether they were informants or officers.

Claiming their clients were non-violent protesters unfairly accused of plotting violent acts, Thomas Anthony Durkin, one of the defense attorneys on the case, claimed the charges were far fetched.

“This is not a terrorism case,” he told the Sun Sentinel. “This is a ridiculous terrorism case charged under a ridiculous statute.”

Attorney Sarah Gelsomino told Chicago’s WLS station the charges are being used as a scare mechanism in order to drive protesters away. She compared the Chicago case to the arrest of eight protesters in the days leading to the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minnesota — a case in which all charges were eventually dropped.

“If these guys are really scary terrorists, why aren’t the feds on this,” she told the station.

While the men were labeled as “black bloc” protesters, who tend to favor more violent forms of civil disobedience at large-scale demonstrations, the New York Observer says Facebook posts by the two men say otherwise. In a post before the NATO Summit, Betterly, a Florida native, wrote the following post, “Just arrived in Chicago last night. The people in Occupy chicago have been awesome! Thanks for the hospitality! This is going to be a great summit!”

The three men will be arraigned July 2, at which time the men are expected to enter not guilty pleas. If convicted, they could face up to 85 years in jail.