FORT LEWIS – Army Spc. Ryan G. Anderson had a fascination for guns in recent years, and he spoke often against attempts to restrict them.
He once wrote e-mails to a person he believed was an al-Qaida terrorist, and told the man he thought the U.S. war in Iraq was unjust.
That “terrorist” turned out to be a woman who belongs to a Internet cyber-sleuthing group tracking terrorist activities. Military counterintelligence agents were called in, and Anderson was arrested.
Now the Lynnwood soldier goes on trial before a military court for his statements, which they say included an attempt to pass on information on how to kill American troops.
The weeklong court-martial begins this morning and is scheduled to continue until Friday.
Anderson, 27, who grew up in south Everett, won’t face the death penalty. He could serve as much as life in prison if he’s convicted.
Anderson has pleaded innocent.
He’s charged with five counts of trying to provide information about troop strength, methods of killing U.S. soldiers and disclosing other military information to people he thought were terrorists.
Anderson’s offenses were “a real and present danger to U.S. soldiers who are currently serving in harm’s way,” said Col. Patrick Reinert, the investigating officer, when he recommended a general court-martial in May.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused has committed each and every one of the offenses” in the charges,” he said.
Anderson has chosen to be tried in front of a panel of officers.
However, the number of panel members can be reduced by challenges, just as it’s done in civilian civil and criminal jury trials, said Joe Hitt, Army spokesman.
Anderson could also have chosen to include enlisted soldiers as well as officers on the jury, or to just make his case to a single judge, Hitt said.
While civilian criminal juries must reach a unanimous verdict, in military trials it only takes two-thirds of the jury panel to convict a person. Anything less, and the accused is acquitted, Hitt said.
Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano, commanding general of 1st Corps at Fort Lewis, picked the 12 members of the prospective panel. Under the Uniform Code of Military Conduct, Soriano must pick people who are best qualified in terms of age, education, training, experience, length of service and other factors, Hitt said.
The trial judge will be Col. Debra Boudreau.
Anderson’s defense attorney, Maj. Joseph Morse, and Army prosecutor Maj. Chris Jenks, refused comment.
Likewise, Anderson’s wife and parents have declined comment.
Anderson, a 1995 graduate of Cascade High School, was raised as a Lutheran and converted to Islam while at Washington State University.
He was a member of the Washington National Guard’s 81st Armor Brigade. Trained as a tank driver, Anderson was arrested Feb. 12. His unit was called up the next day and is now serving in Iraq.
The Army got involved when amateur terrorist sleuth Shannen Rossmiller, a part-time judge from Conrad, Mont., noticed Anderson’s posting.
Rossmiller testified that she was monitoring an extremist Islamic Web site and started corresponding with Anderson, pretending to be a terrorist.
At the May hearing, the Army played a secretly recorded discussion between Anderson and two Army counterintelligence agents also pretending to be al-Qaida terrorists.
Among other things, Anderson patiently described how to kill crewmembers of the M1A1 Abrams tank without damaging the war machine.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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