A city judge and mother of three from Conrad [Montana] used the Internet to help authorities nab a National Guardsman accused of trying to aid Al-Qaida. Judge Shannen Rossmiller, 33, is a key witness in the case against Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, a Fort Lewis-based National Guardsman and Muslim convert. Anderson, 26, faces five counts of trying to provide the terrorist network with information about U.S. troop strength and tactics as well as methods for killing American soldiers.
Rossmiller told the court Wednesday that she is a member of 7-Seas Global Intelligence, an organization that tracks terrorist activity and forwards leads to authorities. She often surfs the Web late into the night at her home in Conrad, a town of 2,750 an hour north of Great Falls, searching for clues of terrorist activity. Last year Rossmiller’s work led her to a posting from Anderson, who was using the name "Amir Abdul Rashid." Rossmiller baited "Rashid" by posting a call to jihad against the United States and he replied. ... Rossmiller had been corresponding with Anderson since October. He was arrested in February after he allegedly tried to pass information to undercover Army investigators. |