Michelle Bastian was arrested by Feds, Wednesday on terrorism related charges 

 

The Arizona Department of Corrections where Thomas Bastian is serving a life sentence.
Authorities were told Thomas ‘was planning to create an explosive device in order to kill people, including the prison warden.’ 

 

Thomas Bastian, who is serving a life sentence in prison for first-degree murder

That same source said Michelle was helping Thomas, who has been imprisoned in a maximum security unit within ASPC-Lewis since March 31, 2009.  Bastian, now 39, is serving a life sentence for a murder conviction in a 2007 shooting death that police said was a conspiracy to cash in on a $500,000 insurance policy. He was accused of being a member of the conspiracy, but police say another man fired the fatal shots.

Authorities corroborated the source’s information about Thomas’ plan when they searched his prison cell and found a publication called ‘Inspire,’  distributed by al Qaeda and another publication distributed by ISIS called ‘Dabiq.’
Prison officials say the offending mail made it through prison security because it was labeled as ‘legal mail.’
The the arresting officer noted that ‘The objective of these publications is to provide detailed instruction on how to commit acts of terrorism and to praise those that have successfully carried out attacks.’  he added,
‘Located within a stack of detailed handwritten notes on how to construct an explosive device were several pages from an issue of Inspire that contained information on how to construct a bomb out of materials found in ‘your mother’s kitchen.’

Lifer, Thomas Bastian was going to get everything he required for his terror attack on the prison system from his wife

A search conducted by the FBI of Michelle’s home found letters that Thomas sent her requesting ‘radicalized materials’.
Authorities also found a handwritten note with coded terminology that he suggested she use.
In recorded conversations between the couple
‘ Michelle states she sent the ‘articles’ to Thomas. It is believed that Michelle is reference terrorism related (sic) publicans,’ according to court paperwork.
‘She also mentions that she knows that Thomas is a supports of ISIS.’
The couple have been married for less than three years. How they met is not clear, since Thomas has been in prison for five years by that time.
They filed for their marriage license in March 2014 and then were married in May.
She captioned one photo she shared of Thomas to her Facebook page by calling him her ‘Papa Smurf.’
Inmate Thomas Orville Bastian was investigated in 2009 by Scottsdale PD for ‘threatening the lives of the law enforcement personnel who assisted in his murder conviction and threatened the use of explosives.’
Investigators say  Thomas converted to Islam after entering prison and later became radicalized.
In addition, Michelle Bastian herself also served time in prison from September 2006 to October 2009 for theft. While in prison, she was ‘disciplined’ twice for ‘smuggling contraband.’
She appeared in court on Thursday for the charges including suspicion of terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and conspiracy to promote prison contraband.
A judge set a secured appearance bond of $100,000.
She is due back in court for a status conference on October 19 and then a preliminary hearing on October 21.