Breaking via AP:

Tampa, FL — A former Florida professor accused of helping lead a terrorist group that has carried out suicide bombings against Israel was acquitted on several charges Tuesday, and the jury deadlocked on the other counts.

The case against Sami Al-Arian, 47, had been seen as one of the biggest courtroom tests yet of the Patriot Act’s expanded search-and-surveillance powers.

Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida computer engineering professor, wept after the verdicts, and his attorney, Linda Moreno hugged him. He will return to jail until prosecutors decide whether to retry him on the deadlocked charges.

More from Reuters:

A federal jury on Tuesday found a former Florida professor not guilty of funding a banned Islamist group in a verdict likely to be seen as a stiff blow to the U.S. government in its attempts to prosecute terror suspects.

The jury in Tampa, Florida, took 13 days to deliver its verdict against Sami al-Arian, who along with three co-defendants was accused of raising money for Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.

The panel, delivering verdicts six months to the day after the trial started, found al-Arian not guilty of conspiracy to murder, providing material support to a terrorist group and obstruction of justice.

The other men, Sameeh Hammoudeh, Hatem Fariz and Ghassan Ballut, were also cleared of most of the charges against them.

The jury was deadlocked on several other charges and U.S. District Judge James Moody declared a mistrial on those counts.

Prosecutors will have to decide whether to retry the men on the undecided charges.

The four were arrested in February 2003 and accused of providing money and support to Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian group the United States designated as a terrorist organization in 1997.

The U.S. government blames Islamic Jihad for killing more than 100 people in Israel, including three Americans.

The Orlando Sentinel blog reports “pandemonium” outside the courthouse:

Reporter Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, who was in court when verdict was read acquitting Sami Al-Arian on many terrorism conspiracy charges, said in a phone call that it is pandemonium outside the court right now. Al-Arian reacted with a big smile and was blowing kisses to his wife in the courtroom. People were heard saying “God is great” and “Justice is done” after the verdict, which meant acquittal on some charges for Al-Arian and three co-defendants or a hung jury on the others.

Pedro says U.S. Attorney Paul Perez for Middle District of Florida said his office will revisit the charges on which the jury could not agree…

Debbie Schlussel predicted al-Arian would walk.

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