Blackwater drama unfolds on 2 cross-country stages
By MATT APUZZO and LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The legal drama surrounding five Blackwater Worldwide security contractors charged with killing Iraqi civilians was unfolding Monday on two stages thousands of miles apart.
In Washington, the Justice Department planned to make public the manslaughter indictment it obtained last week. And in Utah, the five guards were to surrender and question the legitimacy of the government's case.
They will be the first public events in an FBI investigation that has been carried out in secrecy since the September 2007 shooting, which left 17 Iraqis dead and strained U.S. relations with Iraq.
The five guards face charges including manslaughter and using a machine gun in a crime of violence. The latter falls under a law that passed during the height of the crack epidemic. It carries a mandatory 30-year prison term.
A sixth guard struck a plea deal in Washington to avoid that lengthy sentence, people close to the case have said. Details of the deal remain sealed in Washington but could be made public Monday.
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