http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/21/government-agents-directly-involved-us-terror-plots-report
Government agents 'directly involved' in most high-profile US terror plots
• Human Rights Watch documents 'sting' operations
• Report raises questions about post-9/11 civil rights
"In some cases the FBI may have created terrorists out of law-abiding individuals by suggesting the idea of taking terrorist action or encouraging the target to act," the report alleges.
Out of the 494 cases related to terrorism the US has tried since 9/11, the plurality of convictions – 18% overall – are not for thwarted plots but for "material support" charges, a broad category expanded further by the 2001 Patriot Act that permits prosecutors to pursue charges with tenuous connections to a terrorist act or group.
In one such incident, the initial basis for a material-support case alleging a man provided "military gear" to al-Qaida turned out to be waterproof socks in his luggage.