Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Smart Iowa Trooper arrests sniper

This is frightening: Michael Wagner is a convicted paedophile who was driving a bit stupidly on I-80 in Iowa. Trooper Kenneth Haas stopped Wagner, who lied about his name and was evasive. The trooper searched Wagner's vehicle and found:

a gun, three bulletproof vests, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a flight simulator and a bag of flight manuals dating to 2001 . . . a 5-foot telescope hooked to camera equipment, night-vision goggles and a night-vision rifle scope.

What good is all that? According to the report (click title above) "The materials, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Rothrock, were 'all of the equipment necessary for sniper attacks.'"

Why would Wagner need that? Because "In the interview [with police], he talked about a man in San Diego who he said wanted him to shoot at trolleys there . . . Wagner also told the agent 'he knew of activities and people involved in al-Qaida and Taliban.'"

And how would Wagner know such people? "Wagner and his wife . . . are both Muslim converts."

Naturally, his attorney claims Wagner was targeted for being a Muslim, even though Wagner is not a popular name in Arabia so the trooper could only learn Wagner is a Muslim AFTER Wagner acted suspiciously and gave reasonable suspicion to search the vehicle.

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

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