CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Two men found traveling with eight pipe bombs are members of white supremacist groups, a federal investigator said Wednesday.
The bombs were found in a vehicle and trailer it was towing Monday night on Interstate 80 east of Cheyenne. A state trooper had stopped the vehicle for driving erratically.
Gil Salinas, resident agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Wyoming, said authorities have identified the two men despite getting no cooperation from them and finding a number of driver's licenses and credit cards in their vehicle.
He said he could not immediately release their names because it might jeopardize an investigation.
Both men were being held in the county jail. Salinas said federal charges are pending against the two.
Salinas said one of the men is possibly connected to a weapons case being investigated out of the ATF's Salt Lake City office.
Investigators say they don't know where the men were headed in their rented vehicle.
''We want to know why (the bombs) were made and why were they being transported,'' Salinas said.
The FBI, Secret Service and U.S. Attorney's Office are also involved in the investigation, he said.
AP-WS-02-18-04 1704EST
FORT LEWIS, Wash. - A National Guardsman accused of attempting to pass military intelligence to the al-Qaida terrorist network has been formally charged, an Army spokesman said Wednesday.
Spc. Ryan G. Anderson was charged Feb. 12, but the Army did not immediately release that information, Lt. Col. Stephen Barger said. A military defense lawyer has been appointed for Anderson, but Barger refused to identify the lawyer.
Anderson was charged with two counts of attempting to supply intelligence to the enemy, the Army said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, defense officials have said Anderson signed on to extremist Internet chat rooms and tried to get in touch with al-Qaida operatives. It is unclear how the U.S. government got wind of his alleged offer to supply military information to the terrorists. It does not appear he transmitted any information to al-Qaida, authorities said.
Barger said the soldier's alleged attempts to pass information occurred between Jan. 22 and Feb. 11.
Anderson, a Muslim convert, was arrested Feb. 12 and is being held at Fort Lewis.