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Sniper's kit found in search on I-80
Omaha World-Herald ^ | July 28, 2004 | Lynn Safranek

Posted on 07/28/2004 4:54:55 PM PDT by johnfrink

Michael Wagner lied about his name.

He told the trooper who stopped him for not wearing a seat belt that he couldn't find his identification.

Then, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kenneth Haas found a gun, three bulletproof vests, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a flight simulator and a bag of flight manuals dating to 2001.

Haas testified at a federal court hearing Tuesday that he also found a 5-foot telescope hooked to camera equipment, night-vision goggles and a night-vision rifle scope when searching Wagner's sport utility vehicle on July 14 on Interstate 80 near Council Bluffs.

The materials, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Rothrock, were "all of the equipment necessary for sniper attacks."

Haas said a tape showed that when Wagner was alone with his wife in a cruiser after they were stopped, he spoke of killing the officers at the scene to get away.

Haas and an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives described Tuesday what was found in Wagner's vehicle and their conversations with him.

Wagner, 44, of Santee, Calif., was indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition and being a felon in possession of body armor. He pleaded not guilty to both charges Tuesday.

Wagner, a Navy veteran, has been in custody since his arrest in Pottawattamie County. At his detention hearing, U.S. District Judge Celeste Bremer decided he should remain in custody while he awaits trial because he is a flight risk and a danger to the community.

In 1988, Wagner was convicted of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.

His attorney, Angela Campbell, said the items found in Wagner's vehicle weren't illegal for average citizens to own and suggested that Wagner and his wife, Linda Maguire, were targeted because they are Muslim.

Books written in Arabic, including the Koran, along with hundreds of pages printed from the Internet on the Iraq war and terrorism, were found in Wagner's vehicle.

Wagner and his wife, who was at the court hearing, are both Muslim converts.

During the traffic stop, Wagner repeatedly gave a false name, couldn't produce an identification card and showed signs of nervousness, Haas said, so the trooper searched the vehicle.

Haas first discovered a 9 mm pistol and a loaded magazine in the car's back seat - the same area where the trooper let Wagner search for his identification.

At that point, Haas handcuffed Wagner and seated Wagner's wife along with him in the cruiser. Their conversation was caught on tape.

"I told you I should have killed him," Wagner said when his wife entered the trooper's cruiser.

He mentioned getting his gun so he could "kill all three" officers looking through his vehicle, Haas testified. Then, Haas said, Wagner told his wife, "Find a handcuff key, get up here and run them over."

Campbell said the couple was upset because of how long the search had lasted and how their possessions were being treated. Police dogs were allowed to step on Muslim writings and books, she said.

Meanwhile, Haas said he continued to find other items, including ashes from burnt marijuana, a canteen, pills, an outdoor stove and a sleeping bag. The night-vision goggles and rifle scope, he said, were found in a hollowed-out computer.

Campbell said the equipment was tucked away because it can be ruined by sunlight. She also suggested that the flight simulator was a video game.

Special Agent Paul White said Wagner was cooperative during several hours of questioning.

"He was very vocal and very talkative about his religion," White said.

Later, Wagner asked to speak to a federal agent because he said he had information that authorities "would be greatly in need of," White said.

He agreed to provide information only if he and his wife were released from custody. His wife eventually was released.

In the interview, he talked about a man in San Diego who he said wanted him to shoot at trolleys there, White said. Wagner also told the agent "he knew of activities and people involved in al-Qaida and Taliban."

When Maguire spoke to authorities, according to court documents, she told officials she bought the gun about two years ago for safety reasons, and Campbell said the gun is registered in her name.


TOPICS: Front Page News; US: Iowa
KEYWORDS: alfuqra; banglist; dhimmi; enemywithin; i80; interstatesniper; iowa; islam; michaelwagner; mikewagner; muslim; shootings; sniper; terror; wagner
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Uh...WOAH. Looks like we narrowly avoided a DC sniper repeat. Good work by the cops.
1 posted on 07/28/2004 4:54:56 PM PDT by johnfrink
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To: johnfrink

BINGO!!


2 posted on 07/28/2004 4:57:29 PM PDT by A. Morgan (3,000 Americans didn't survive the Clinton administration's incompetence, vileness, and corruption.)
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To: johnfrink
The parts you bolded belong in the headline, not buried deep in the text.
3 posted on 07/28/2004 4:58:26 PM PDT by True Capitalist
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To: johnfrink
indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition and being a felon in possession of body armor. He pleaded not guilty to both charges Tuesday.

Why do they keep letting these guys out of prison.

4 posted on 07/28/2004 4:58:50 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Who would the terrorists vote for?)
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To: johnfrink

From the report seems they are Johnny Jihad type islamofascist soldiers.


5 posted on 07/28/2004 4:59:06 PM PDT by Dane (Trial lawyers are the tapeworms to wealth creating society)
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To: True Capitalist

His attorney, Angela Campbell, said the items found in Wagner's vehicle weren't illegal for average citizens to own and suggested that Wagner and his wife, Linda Maguire, were targeted because they are Muslim.

Books written in Arabic, including the Koran, along with hundreds of pages printed from the Internet on the Iraq war and terrorism, were found in Wagner's vehicle.


6 posted on 07/28/2004 4:59:42 PM PDT by True Capitalist
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To: johnfrink
Campbell said the couple was upset because of how long the search had lasted and how their possessions were being treated. Police dogs were allowed to step on Muslim writings and books, she said.

Yep, that jackel they worship has no use for dogs, 'cept Hell-Hounds.

7 posted on 07/28/2004 4:59:56 PM PDT by evolved_rage (Metrosexual is just being a homo without commitment.)
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To: johnfrink
Michael Wagner lied about his name.

Then how do you know he's Michael Wagner?

8 posted on 07/28/2004 5:00:08 PM PDT by VisualizeSmallerGovernment (Question Liberal Authority)
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To: johnfrink

John Mohammed wannabe. Get this guy and his wife off the streets until they're grizzled and gray.


9 posted on 07/28/2004 5:00:19 PM PDT by GVnana (Tagline? I don't need no steenkin' tagline!)
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To: johnfrink
Good work by the cops.

Nah. Get ready for the cop-haters to bellyache about the poor widdle guy getting stopped for not wearing a seat belt!

According to the libertarian philosophy, you are not allowed to prevent a crime. You can only prosecute the perp after he commits it.

10 posted on 07/28/2004 5:00:47 PM PDT by sinkspur (There's no problem on the inside of a kid that the outside of a dog can't cure.)
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To: A. Morgan
Wagner also told the agent "he knew of activities and people involved in al-Qaida and Taliban."

...you forget to bold this.

11 posted on 07/28/2004 5:01:51 PM PDT by True Capitalist
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To: Smartass

Holy smokes! Check this out!


12 posted on 07/28/2004 5:02:00 PM PDT by Ladysmith (Morality anchored to the 'definitions' of man is not anchored at all. - Petronski)
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To: Ladysmith

Found this in a related article:

"Michael Wagner, 44, also is on a terrorism task force watch list, Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said in a court hearing Thursday."

How come this is the first I've heard of this?? This happened on July 16!


13 posted on 07/28/2004 5:04:11 PM PDT by johnfrink
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To: johnfrink
I have much of the same equipment, I hope I don't get jacked up like that. My reading material would be significantly different though; Sports Illustrated (swimsuit edition), SEC Football, Civil War Times, Anarchist' Cookbook, The Artillery of Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry...
14 posted on 07/28/2004 5:04:56 PM PDT by vetvetdoug (In memory of T/Sgt. Secundino "Dean" Baldonado, Jarales, NM-KIA Bien Hoa AFB, RVN 1965)
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To: VisualizeSmallerGovernment
Then how do you know he's Michael Wagner?

He did time, his prints were on file..

15 posted on 07/28/2004 5:05:19 PM PDT by cardinal4 (Its noteworthy that the two biggest shills for the left are Michael Moore and Al Franken..)
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To: johnfrink
Police dogs were allowed to step on Muslim writings and books, she said.

The dogs SHOULD have been allowed to CR@P on the writings, not just step on them.

16 posted on 07/28/2004 5:05:42 PM PDT by EggsAckley (.....John Edwards: The political equivalent of breast implants.....)
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To: johnfrink; Grampa Dave; Shermy; Travis McGee; Squantos; Cindy; Mo1; cyncooper; Peach
Thanks for finding and posting this one, john. There's a lot here that wasn't in the first articles that came out on Wagner
17 posted on 07/28/2004 5:07:30 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
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To: True Capitalist
His attorney, Angela Campbell, said ... that Wagner and his wife, Linda Maguire, were targeted because they are Muslim.

Well, that sounds like a good idea to me since Muslims are the number one enemy of peace, justice, decency, fairness, virtue and human civilization around the world.
18 posted on 07/28/2004 5:07:55 PM PDT by broadsword (Liberalism is the societal AIDS virus that thwarts national defense.)
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To: johnfrink

Wagner? Maguire?

Wonderful to see the positive effect that the ROP has on its converts.


19 posted on 07/28/2004 5:08:11 PM PDT by livius
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To: johnfrink

A pervert and a terrorist.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040716/NEWS01/407160338/1002

Officials found a 9mm semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle. Wilber said **** Wagner was convicted of a sex offense **** in the late 1980s in California, which led to the weapons charges.

Wagner also was charged with giving false information to law enforcement officers. He allegedly gave a false name.

He was stopped for not wearing a seat belt, officials said.


20 posted on 07/28/2004 5:08:27 PM PDT by adam_az (Call your State Republican Party office and VOLUNTEER!!!!)
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