A Lynnwood soldier accused of trying to pass information to the al-Qaida terrorist network will have has first military court appearance on May 12, U.S. Army officials said Friday.
National Guard Spec. Ryan Anderson, 26, was arrested and placed in a military jail at Fort Lewis in February following a sting operation run by several federal agencies. He is accused of trying to give pieces of his personal identification and sketches of Army tanks to the terrorist organization.
Scheduled is an Article 32 hearing under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It is expected to start May 12 and last two days.
"It’s almost equivalent to a grand jury," said Joe Hitt, a Fort Lewis spokesman.
The prosecution and defense attorneys will present evidence. Anderson will be there for the hearing, which will take place before a hearing officer.
After all the evidence is presented, the hearing officer will come up with a recommendation to be presented to Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano, the commanding officer of I Corps at Fort Lewis, Hitt said.
Soriano will make the final decision on whether Anderson will face a court martial, and what the charge or charges would be.
Only a few reporters will be allowed into the hearing because of limited space. Other reporters will watch the proceedings on closed-circuit TV at a nearby media center.
The Army is also prohibiting the media from photographing Anderson or the proceedings. A court artist will be brought in to sketch Anderson during the hearing.
Anderson is being held at the Ford Lewis Regional Corrections Facility. He was arrested as he was preparing for deployment to Iraq with his unit, the 81st Armor Brigade. His job was to operate an M1A1 Abrams tank, one of the Army’s main battle tanks.
Charging papers released by the Army say Anderson tried to give intelligence to the enemy on Jan. 23 and Feb 10 about Army troop strength, movements, equipment, tactics and weapons systems.
Papers also accuse him of offering to tell al-Qaida "methods and means of killing U.S. Army personnel and destroying U.S. Army weapon systems and equipment."
Anderson is a 1995 graduate of Cascade High School who attended Washington State University. He grew up in Everett and converted to Islam about five years ago.
Among other things, the charging papers accuse Anderson of trying to give away a computer disk with his passport photo, driver’s license and a business card-sized receipt used by soldiers to check out weapons from the unit’s armory.
He handed the items over to military personnel posing as al-Qaida members on Feb. 9 in Lakewood and Feb. 10 in Seattle, the papers allege.
Attempts to aid the enemy are punishable by imprisonment or death, according to military rules.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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