Shannen Rossmiller (May 31, 1970 – November 9, 2020)[1] was an American lecturer and instructor in cyber counter-intelligence forensics and a former Montana municipal court judge[2] who has had a controversial role as a vigilante online terrorist-hunter, and who was once part of the 7Seas group.[3]
A former high school cheerleader, paralegal, and a mother of three, Rossmiller posed online as militant anti-American Muslim radicals to attract the eye of those with similar mindsets.[3] While still a member of 7-Seas group, she provided evidence that led to the arrest and conviction of Ryan G. Anderson, a National Guardsman who was about to deploy from the U.S. to Iraq.[4] Ryan is now serving a life sentence for seeking to aid the enemy during a time of war and attempted espionage.[5]
In 2005, while posing online as an Al Qaeda financier, Rossmiller offered the transient Michael Reynolds $40,000 to purchase fuel trucks to attack American pipelines. Reynolds was arrested when he attempted to pick up the money. In 2007, he was convicted by a jury of attempting to provide material support to Al Qaeda and related charges, and sentenced to 30 years in jail.[6]
Rossmiller appeared in the 2005 BBC documentary entitled The New al-Qaeda.[7] She, along with other internet cyber sleuths, has been criticized for her work.[8][9]
She recounted her story in a 2007 article titled "My Cyber Counter-jihad" in Middle East Quarterly.[10] As of July 2007, a publicist was seeking a book or movie deal based on Rossmiller's story,[11] and in 2011 she published a book entitled The Unexpected Patriot.[12]
In November 2020, Shannen died from complications related to Graves' disease.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Shannen Rossmiller "Biographical information", "KXMB.com", July 19, 2007.
- ^ "Hon. Shannen L. Rossmiller (Ret.), Cyber Operative and Co-founder, AC-CIO, LLC", January 6, 2009
- ^ a b Carter, Mike."It's 4 a.m. in Montana, and a cyberspy is at work", The Seattle Times, June 14, 2004.
- ^ Mitchel, Melanthia."Net sleuth tells court of hunt that snared Guardsman", May 13, 2004.
- ^ Sanders, Eli. "Guardsman Given Life in Prison for Trying to Help Al Qaeda", The New York Times, September 4, 2004.
- ^ McGinn, George."American Convicted Of Attempting To Aid Al-Qaida Sentenced To 30 Years" Archived 2007-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, "AllHeadlineNews.com", November 8, 2007.
- ^ BBC Programmes."The New Al-Qaeda jihad.com","News.BBC.com", July 20, 2005.
- ^ Lettice, John."Internet has 'given Al Qaeda wings' claims BBC potboiler shock discovery - terrorists use computers too", "UK Register", July 27, 2005.
- ^ Tremonti, Anna Maria. "CBC The Current", June 15, 2006.
- ^ Rossmiller, Shannen (Summer 2007). "My Cyber Counter-jihad". Middle East Quarterly. 14 (3): 43–48.
- ^ Dempsey, John."Biz zeroes in on real-life terrorist hunter: Rossmiller story makes Hollywood rounds", Variety, July 20, 2007.
- ^ Rossmiller, Shannen; Carswell, Sue (2011). The Unexpected Patriot: How an Ordinary American Mother Is Bringing Terrorists to Justice. St. Martin's. ISBN 978-0230102552.
- ^ "Obituary - Shannen McCracken Rossmiller". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved 25 August 2023.