Reynolds, 48, was arrested Dec. 5 after he tried to retrieve $40,000 "that he believed constituted payments from al-Qaeda in exchange for his services," the indictment says. He was detained at a rest stop on an interstate highway in southern Idaho.
Since then, he has been held in the Lackawanna County jail on unrelated weapons charges. He was not immediately charged with terrorism because such cases must be reviewed in Washington.
But the terrorism accusations became public in February, when The Inquirer published excerpts of a transcript from a court hearing in which a prosecutor told a judge that Reynolds planned to blow up oil refineries.
Reynolds has denied that he is a terrorist. His lawyer, Joseph A. O'Brien, declined to comment.
Authorities say Reynolds entered a Yahoo chat room called "OBLcrew" last fall, met someone he believed to be an al-Qaeda member, then exchanged e-mail with that person privately.
Four postings from a "Michael Reynolds" were still on the Yahoo OBLcrew public chat room last night.
A message from Oct. 25 said: "It is true America has overstepped its bounds in invading Iraq. Those serious enough to do something about it should e-mail. . . . Contact soon. . . . We both want something, let's talk."
The next day, the same person wrote: "Still awaiting someone serious about contact. Would be a pity to lose this idea."
On Nov. 3, someone responded, offering to talk. Further details weren't posted in the chat room, which is available to anyone who registers with Yahoo.
