"Peace" Activist Enlisted al Qaeda to Blow up Pipeline and Topple President Bush (Wizbang)

Michael Curtis Reynolds isn't a peace activist; he's a traitor and a terrorist. From Reuters:

A Pennsylvania man was convicted on Friday of plotting to blow up U.S. oil pipelines and energy installations and of attempting to enlist al Qaeda militants on the Internet to help carry out his plan.
A federal jury of six women and six men took a little more than an hour to convict Michael Curtis Reynolds, 49, on those charges and of possessing a hand grenade. He faces a maximum 57 1/2 years in prison.

The government accused Reynolds, from Wilkes-Barre, of scheming to attack the Alaska and Transcontinental pipelines and other energy installations to prompt a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

Reynolds' purported plot was uncovered by Shannen Rossmiller, a former Montana magistrate who has been independently tracking extremists on the Internet since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

In closing arguments earlier on Friday, defense attorney Joseph O'Brien said Reynolds had been attempting to communicate online with purported Islamist militants to expose them and not because he had any intention of working with them.

"His intent was the same as Rossmiller's," O'Brien told the court before U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik. "He was out there trying to uncover terrorist actions."

But Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gurganus said Reynolds had admitted he told no one of his online contacts with purported militants, who also included an FBI agent posing as an attack plotter.

"He actively offered his services to commit acts of terrorism," said Gurganus, dismissing Reynolds' claim that he intended to trap alleged militants on the Internet. "He really is a person who thought he could make money helping al Qaeda."

Reynolds was arrested on December 5, 2005, at a remote rest stop in Idaho where he had been lured with the promise of cash for his operation.

Many "peace" activists hate America and will make any excuse to justify their actions, no matter how violent they are. Hat tip: LGF

_{About The Author: Kim Priestap is a freelance writer, blogger extraordinaire, wife, and mom to three wild and wacky kids. In addition to blogging at Wizbang, she also writes at her personal political blog KimPriestap: No-nonsense conservative opinion.

You can follow Kim on Twitter at @KimPriestap.}

Comments (17)

This is very interesting. ... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by kim | July 14, 2007 9:10 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

kim:

This is very interesting. I suppose I don't have to ask why this hasn't been big news before. How did they catch on to him? I may have to look.
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Posted on July 14, 2007 09:10

OK, Shannen Rossmiller. It... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by kim | July 14, 2007 9:13 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

OK, Shannen Rossmiller. It helps to read things, now and then.

Where's the movie?

I had all sorts of visions of datamining and NSA surveillance nailing this guy. Instead, it's PJ Hadeen.
==================================

Posted on July 14, 2007 09:13

Don't misunderstand; I'm al... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by kim | July 14, 2007 9:15 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Don't misunderstand; I'm all for it. This Shannen is a hero, perhaps a prototype.
===========================

Posted on July 14, 2007 09:15

BDS in full action mode. Li... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by WildWillie | July 14, 2007 9:51 AM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)

WildWillie:

BDS in full action mode. Like some of the lefties here. Glad they got him. ww

Posted on July 14, 2007 09:51

Idiot traitors like this Re... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Paul Hooson | July 14, 2007 10:20 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Paul Hooson:

Idiot traitors like this Reynolds guy always get me angry. You, never ever ever turn against your own nation and support an enemy. Period.

Posted on July 14, 2007 10:20

The enemy within. Wonder ho... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by nikkolai | July 14, 2007 10:21 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

nikkolai:

The enemy within. Wonder how many more thousands there are like him?

Posted on July 14, 2007 10:21

I have little doubt he hate... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by jpm100 | July 14, 2007 10:34 AM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)

jpm100:

I have little doubt he hated America before he ever heard the names of Al Queda or Bin Laden.

Unfortunately hatred for America is the legacy of Cold War Soviet sympathizers and their "useful idiot" followers. That legacy didn't go away when the Soviets did and is more widespread than we like to think.

Posted on July 14, 2007 10:34

But don't you dare question... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by yetanotherjohn | July 14, 2007 11:00 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

yetanotherjohn:

But don't you dare question his patriotism.

Posted on July 14, 2007 11:00

See why I like you, PH? Ex... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by kim | July 14, 2007 11:26 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

See why I like you, PH? Excellent emotion despite it's absoluteness. How do you define 'enemy'?
======================

Posted on July 14, 2007 11:26

Idiot traitors lik... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by C-C-G | July 14, 2007 12:09 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)

C-C-G

So you're not supporting the Dhimmicrats like Pelosi and Reid and are going to support our President in the War on Terror?

Posted on July 14, 2007 12:09

Question: what would you a... (Below threshold)

11. Posted by Mitchell | July 14, 2007 12:11 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Mitchell:

Question: what would you assume to be this guy's party affiliation?

Most felons are Democrats, after all.

Posted on July 14, 2007 12:11

This sounds like a guy dest... (Below threshold)

12. Posted by Jo | July 14, 2007 1:48 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Jo:

This sounds like a guy destined to sit next to an ex president in their VIP seats at their next convention.

Posted on July 14, 2007 13:48

Nowhere in the article does... (Below threshold)

13. Posted by ijosha | July 14, 2007 1:59 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

ijosha:

Nowhere in the article does the guy get refered to as a "peace activist" -- why did you use that term?

Posted on July 14, 2007 13:59

BTW, the fool definitely de... (Below threshold)

14. Posted by ijosha | July 14, 2007 2:18 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

BTW, the fool definitely deserves the maximum sentence... but does anyone else wonder where they get those numbers from? Fifty-seven and a half years? What do they do, roll 20-sided dice or something?

Posted on July 14, 2007 14:18

I 'dugg' this article for y... (Below threshold)

15. Posted by Rosemary | July 14, 2007 2:54 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Rosemary

I 'dugg' this article for you. Why didn't you? Hmm...

The Left communists and anti-Americans are NOT a peaceful bunch, not now, not ever. It's their way or no way at all. I'm glad the creep was found guilty. I am not happy that he was not found as a traitor. You made the right call.