Man arrested at Ga. Army base had land mine, laser sight in bag, but not terror threat

Man seized at Army base had land mine, laser scope

FORT GORDON, Ga. — A civilian arrested in uniform on an Army base had a land mine in his vehicle along with several grenades, night vision devices and a military laser targeting device, according to charging documents filed Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors said in a criminal complaint that Anthony Todd Saxon, 34, falsely pretended to be a master sergeant in the U.S. Army and tried to steal the Army-issued infrared laser targeting sight made for military rifles. Authorities urged a federal judge to find probable cause and issue a warrant for his arrest.

Saxon was in custody at the Richmond County Jail after he was arrested Tuesday with the explosives in a bag in his vehicle, authorities said.

Military authorities were not treating the case as a terrorist threat, said Buz Yarnell, a spokesman for Fort Gordon near Augusta. The base is home to the Army Signal Corps, which is in charge of the service’s global communication and information systems.

The arrest came a day after an AWOL serviceman was arrested in Florida for trying to enter an Air Force base there with fake ID and weapons, although authorities did not link the two and the Florida case was also deemed not terrorism.

FBI spokesman Steve Emmett in Atlanta said his agency was investigating. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also looking into the Georgia case.

Yarnell says the vehicle was parked in a remote area when it was discovered. He says it did not pose a threat to command operations or military housing.

Fort Gordon is also home to the Eisenhower Army Medical Center, one of largest military hospitals in the Southeast.