SCRANTON, Pa. - A man charged with trying to help al-Qaida blow up U.S. energy facilities described in chilling detail a plan to target a natural gas refinery in Wyoming and wrote that it would lead to "instant rebellion" by an American public disgusted over the Iraq war and the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

Michael C. Reynolds, 49, of Wilkes-Barre, is on trial here on federal charges of providing material support to terrorists. He was arrested in December 2005 after he tried to meet a purported al-Qaida contact near a hotel where he was staying in Pocatello, Idaho.

Prosecutors on Tuesday displayed a series of computer messages between Reynolds and the contact, whom he knew from an Internet message board used by adherents of Osama bin Laden. The contact turned out to be a Montana judge who was working for the FBI.

Reynolds, who has pleaded not guilty, maintains that he was working as a private citizen to uncover terrorist plots and that his Internet communications were meant to ensnare a person he thought was a terrorist.

He wrote in one message that he had selected the Williams natural gas refinery at Opal in southwest Wyoming, "the largest refinery in the west," as the first target. He said the refinery should be struck on Dec. 24, 2005, when presumably there would be less security.

"The site has no fences or security to speak of, 3 men would merely walk as they wished there and leave undetected. … Minimum forces, maximum damage," he wrote, according to transcripts displayed to the jury.

Prosecutors said Reynolds also sought to target the Transcontinental Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that runs from the Gulf Coast to New York and New Jersey; and a Standard Oil refinery in Perth Amboy, N.J., that no longer exists.

Reynolds wrote it was an opportune time to strike, citing public disapproval of the Iraq war and President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina. "The fuel is here … He'll be roasted on a spit," wrote Reynolds, tacking on a news article that quoted U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., as calling for an immediate end to the war.

In another message, Reynolds seemed to refer to the Dec. 1, 2005, death of a top al-Qaida leader, Hamza Rabia, in Pakistan. Rabia was allegedly killed by a Hellfire missile fired by an unmanned American warplane, although Pakistan's army maintained that Rabia had died in a bomb-making accident.

"I notice the news of a beloved leader being killed, and conflicting reports that the US takes credit," Reynolds wrote. "Your people need a strike victory here, and soon to bolster support, not to mention cutting down this president."

FBI agent Mark Seyler, posing as an Islamic extremist, sent Reynolds encouragement. Attacking the United States on behalf of al-Qaida, Seyler wrote, "is of delight to Allah and will be of much benefit to you also."

Reynolds and his contact agreed that he would receive $40,000 to finance the alleged plot. Reynolds provided a shopping list of materials to build a land mine, including stainless steel flasks, shotgun shells, flares, batteries, an alarm clock and stereo wire. He also said he was working on a "15-20 minute timer that is failsafe."

The message traffic shows that Reynolds was worried about getting caught.

"You say I risk little, you are wrong," he wrote. "If I am discovered … I could get life in prison, perhaps even execution as a traitor."

Prosecutors said Reynolds might have been motivated by money more than ideology because he owed more than $5,000 in child support.

A few hours before his arrest, he wrote to his contact: "I took this job because this government took my family from me. The funds you offer give me my only chance to get them back."

Reynolds was taken into custody at a rural rest stop in Idaho, where his purported al-Qaida contact had told him a satchel full of money would be.

Interviewed that day, Reynolds told the FBI that he believed he was communicating with Islamic extremists - but that his plan was to gather information on them and give it to a paramilitary organization. "He said he didn't trust law enforcement," Seyler, the FBI agent, testified Tuesday.

Reynolds claimed that he had previously worked for Executive Outcomes, a now-defunct private military company in Africa, Seyler said.