Judge To Weigh Government Secrets In North Carolina Terror Case

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man charged with seeking to join an al-Qaida-linked militant group in the civil war in Syria must stay in custody ahead of his trial, and now a federal judge is deciding how to protect government secrets.

Federal Judge Terrence Boyle scheduled a hearing today with prosecutors and defense lawyers for Basit Sheikh of Cary. He was arrested two months ago on his way to Lebanon.

Prosecutors say he planned to sneak into Syria to join the fight against government forces on the side of Jabhat al-Nusra, which the U.S. government declared a terrorist group. The FBI says Sheikh expressed a desire to fight in online messages they were monitoring.

The hearing will help the judge to decide how to schedule a speedy trial while protecting classified information.