The Niqabi Paralegal

The Seattle Times reports that an FBI sting operation has caught Spc. Ryan Anderson, a National Guardsman and Seattle-area Muslim convert.

Anderson is being held pending charges of attempting to communicate with and give intelligence to Al-Qaida; however, the person he thought was an Al-Qaida operative was an undercover FBI agent and no information actually passed to Al-Qaida, FBI sources say. Federal law enforcement sources also say that Anderson was a "wannabe" who had no significant security clearance, and that the information he passed on was "common knowledge stuff".

Anderson was more noted for his love of guns than for his religious fundamentalism. A series of letters to the editor at a local newspaper that he wrote, published by the Associated Press, could have been written by any gun enthusiast except for generally commenting that the Muslims he had met were kind, patient, and courteous. Pro-gun views are not uncommon in the Pacific Northwest, where many militia groups have found a home. Anderson was once arrested for approaching a school while toting weaponry, according to Reuters. The incident occurred a day after a school shooting in Oregon by Kip Kinkel.

Anderson has not yet been formally charged.

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