Fergie's Tech Blog

U.S. Man Accused of Plotting to Blow Up Pipelines

Jon Hurdle writes for Reuters AlertNet:

A Pennsylvania man who sympathized with al Qaeda plotted to blow up U.S. energy installations in a bid to drive up gas prices and prompt a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, prosecutors alleged on Monday.

Defendant Michael Curtis Reynolds believed gasoline prices could hit "astronomical" levels if he succeeded in attacking the Alaska pipeline or the Transcontinental Pipeline connecting the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Northeast, a jury heard in federal court.

Reynolds, 49, of Wilkes-Barre, faces six charges including attempting to support al Qaeda; plotting to damage an interstate gas pipeline; distributing instructions on making explosives over the Internet; and possession of hand grenades.

Reynolds' suspected plans were uncovered by Shannen Rossmiller, a former Montana magistrate and Internet sleuth with a record for tracking down extremists online.

posted by Fergie @ 7/09/2007 12:35:00 PM