Judge Tosses Piracy Charges

A federal judge in Norfolk, Va. has dismissed piracy charges against six Somali men accused in an attack on a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Africa.

The piracy charges dismissed today were the most serious of eight charges against the defendants, and carried a mandatory life term upon conviction.

Federal Judge Raymond Jackson ruled the government was too broad in its interpretation of piracy in its allegations about the attack USS Ashland last April.

The six still face charges of plundering and weapons counts.