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RALEIGH (AP) — Seven terrorist suspects smiled and waved to supporters who packed a North Carolina courtroom, greeting them with a simple and significant phrase: "May peace be upon you," said in Arabic.

"May peace be upon you, also," many audience members murmured in response Tuesday.

Federal authorities were talking very little about peace during a lengthy and tense detention hearing set to resume Wednesday. They played chilling audio tapes of Daniel Patrick Boyd's manifestos about the struggle of Muslims, the honor of martyrdom and his disgust of the U.S. military.

Authorities played a recording gathered just six weeks ago of Boyd talking in his home to his family about protecting Muslims at all costs.

"I love jihad. I love to stand there and fight for the sake of Allah," a voice identified as Boyd said. Prosecutors didn't say how the recording was made.

The courtroom echoed with the sounds of gunfire from a tape an FBI agent said came from military-style training in rural North Carolina.

With so many supporters appearing on behalf of the seven men, dozens were denied entrance to the hearing. Expressing clear frustration with the case before them, some audience members laughed derisively when federal agents said they didn't know certain Arabic translations or details about the men. The shackled suspects nodded, smiled and tried to lift their arms to wave at family and friends.

Special Agent Michael Sutton testified that Boyd, 39, recruited followers to engage in violent jihad, train on firearms and gather the financial resources to travel overseas. The agent said Boyd repeatedly spoke of armor-piercing ammunition and a year ago told someone authorities called a witness about his dislike of the U.S. military being in the Middle East.

"They're over there killing our brothers," Sutton quoted Boyd as saying.

Sutton said Boyd recruited followers with stories of his past. Boyd told the FBI he had trained in a secret Connecticut camp before going to Pakistan and Afghanistan two decades ago to continue training there.

Boyd's two sons — 20-year-old Zakariya and 22-year-old Dylan — have also been indicted. The other suspected group members are Anes Subasic, 33; Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22; Ziyad Yaghi, 21; and Hysen Sherifi, 24. An eighth man, Jude Kenan Mohammad, is still at large and Sutton said Tuesday authorities last heard he was in Pakistan.

Sutton said some of the men took trips over the past three years to Jordan, Kosovo, Pakistan and Israel "to engage in violent jihad." He frequently cited unidentified witness statements.

The investigation began in 2005, Sutton said.

There are signs Boyd knew he was being watched. Sutton said Boyd tried to communicate in ways that couldn't be monitored, such as writing warnings to his followers to be quiet while in his grocery store, and possibly talking in code. He also said a witness reported in July 2008 that Boyd was worried that the FBI was listening to his conversations.

Federal officials said they seized from Boyd's home and cars more than 27,400 rounds of ammunition, 26 weapons, gas masks, a handbook on how authorities respond to acts of terrorism and the text of a fatwa urging jihad against Americans. Sutton said there was a trench dug under the Boyd's deck that a witness described as a place to hide weapons.

Attorneys for the suspects questioned prosecution witnesses but did not say whether their clients were innocent and later declined comment.

Family members and close friends also didn't want to talk, but some supporters said they believed the men were innocent or being unfairly targeted.

"Maybe there's some bad Muslims in there, but just because you have a head scarf and faith in your heart doesn't mean we're aliens," said 37-year-old Shagufta Syad, one of Boyd's supporters. "I just want justice to be served. I'm here concerned as a Muslim, as an American, I need to know what's going on."

Associated Press writers Alysia Patterson in Raleigh and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.