Local soldier won’t face death penalty in spy case

The local soldier accused of trying to spy for the al-Qaida terrorist network will not face the death penalty, the Army said Wednesday.

National Guard Spc. Ryan Gibson Anderson of Lynnwood was arrested in February after a sting operation by the Army and federal officers. He was charged with attempting to give intelligence to the enemy, attempting to aid the enemy and providing information to people he believed were members of al-Qaida.

Anderson, who graduated from Everett’s Cascade High School in 1995 and converted to Islam about five years ago, had his first military court appearance in May. Fort Lewis officials said Wednesday he will not face the death penalty, and will face arraignment for a general court-martial on Friday. The arraignment is expected to last 15 minutes.

Anderson is an armor crewman in Alpha Company, 1/303rd Armor Regiment of the 81st Armor Brigade. He was taken into custody on the eve of his brigades deployment to Iraq.

In charges filed earlier, the Army claimed Anderson tried to give intelligence to the enemy on Jan. 23 and Feb. 10 about U.S. Army troop strength, movements, equipment, tactics, and weapon systems, as well as methods and means of killing U.S. Army personnel and destroying U.S Army weapon systems and equipment.