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I actually worked on contract around this guy at the Hawker Beechcraft's Wichita Service Center for a month this fall. I used to get things out of the very cabinets shown behind him in the picture. He was an Avionics lead guy on second shift. He would come in about 45 minutes before I would leave each day. I didn't talk with him very much directly, but I often overheard him interacting with others. The company was recently bankrupted by its moronic management, and most of the competent people had been forced to flee the place earlier. Morale was very bad amongst the remaining employees and management was a perfect "how not to do things" example. Terry, however, was different. He seemed to be one of the few people who actually was mentally well prepared to do his job, he actually knew what was going on and why and was technically competent. The other guys on his shift seemed to turn to him for guidance, while most of the supervisory folks were "lost" as to what should be going on. Oddly he seemed to be the only guy in the whole place who seemed to be happy to come into work each day, and seemed to act as though he had a "purpose" in coming to work besides just getting a paycheck. If the purported time-line is correct, he was already happily planning to blow the place to hell when I was seeing him there. I guess the lesson I take away from that is: Anybody at Hawker Beechcraft who is happy to be there is likely just a psychopath excited by the prospect of how they'll soon extract deadly retribution on the world. If I had stayed there longer than a month, I'm sure I would have gotten to know him better. I've got a call in to a friend who still works there to try to find out more.

I guess the lesson I take away from that is: Anybody at Hawker Beechcraft who is happy to be there is likely just a psychopath excited by the prospect of how they'll soon extract deadly retribution on the world.

LOL!
That was a good line.
Who knows, we will see how this plays out. By your description he certainly doesn't seem to fit the mold of the disgruntled/jihadist-wannabee - but who knows.

Interesting. About two decades of law enforcement has taught me that you rarely “know” people or what they do absent your presence. I have also learned that there is a built in amount of low-hanging fruit that are not difficult to catch. This guy sounds a bit simple, but they don’t really have much choice even though it potentially raises the entrapment argument - you still have to act. Can anyone imagine the criticism towards the FBI had they done nothing despite warning signs or intelligence? Oh wait, I remember the Boston Marathon bombers.

Damned if you do and damned if you don’t, but it sounds like this guy made some poor decisions. He will get his day in court. The ones that scare me are the ones that are not advertising their Jihad fantasies.