ARIZONA – An Arizona
woman accused of smuggling publications distributed by Islamist militant groups
into a prison as part of a plot to help her inmate husband build a bomb, has
been arrested on suspicion of terrorism and conspiracy, court documents showed
on Thursday.  

Michelle Bastian, 49, was
taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with taking part in the alleged
plot at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Lewis, where her husband, Thomas
Bastian, is incarcerated for murder, according to the documents filed by the
state Attorney General’s Office in Maricopa County Superior Court.

The court papers said
agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation learned of the plan in
September from an unidentified source who previously told state prison
officials that Thomas Bastian was a radicalized Muslim.

Michelle Bastian was
accused of giving her husband “known terrorist publications” distributed by al
Qaeda and Islamic State, including information on building a bomb out of
everyday kitchen materials, the probable cause statement said.

Authorities said they
were also tipped off that during visits to the prison, Michelle Bastian was
going to provide her husband with materials to attack the warden or to
construct a device to be hidden in a vending machine where inmates met with
visitors.

It was not clear if any
bomb-making materials were found and no charges have been filed against Thomas
Bastian. A prison spokesman said Bastian remained in maximum security at Lewis,
where he is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.

Publications by militant
groups and a stack of detailed handwritten documents on how to build an explosive
device were discovered in searches of his cell, according to court documents.

Letters from the inmate
were found at Michelle Bastian’s work and residence requesting the
publications, including copies of an al Qaeda training manual and a piece
titled: “44 ways of Supporting Jihad,” according to the documents. Several of
the requests had checkmarks next to them.

Michelle Bastian was being
held on $100,000 bond on charges of terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism
and conspiracy to promote prison contraband. It was unclear on Thursday whether
she had retained an attorney.