5 Ft. Jackson Muslim soldiers removed from duty

McClatchy:

A South Carolina congressman said Friday that five Muslim soldiers at Fort Jackson had been removed from active duty, and four of them discharged from the Army , in connection with an ongoing probe into alleged threats to poison food at the large South Carolina base.

Republican Rep. Joe Wilson , who sits on the House Armed Services Committee , said the soldiers' laptops had been seized and were being analyzed. Congressional officials with knowledge of the case said cell phones and Arabic writings had been confiscated as well.

In his first public comments on the case, Wilson said FBI forensics experts were working with the Army's Criminal Investigation Division in the probe.

"The initial investigation confirmed that (the five soldiers) had not made any effort to poison food and that allegations about their disloyalty were inaccurate," Wilson told McClatchy . "There was further investigation. I have not received any word of it being over. I think they would tell me."

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Contrary to some previous accounts, however, Wilson said that all five military trainees were U.S. citizens from northern Virginia .

Wilson also disclosed for the first time that four of the Muslim soldiers had been "administratively separated" from the Army , a military designation that means they were discharged with neither honorable nor dishonorable status.

"If you don't succeed (in the Army ), you can be administratively discharged without a court-martial and without a full military review," Wilson said.

The fifth soldier was removed from active duty and returned to the National Guard's jurisdiction in Virginia , Wilson said.

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Three of the soldiers are with the National Guard in DC. They were removed from duty because of thefts from other soldiers according to Wilson. While there is a continuing investigation, the allegations of food poisoning have not been supported by evidence to date.