FBI Had Al-Awlaki in Custody in 2002 Before Releasing Him

Ended up being the first U.S. citizen on the president's kill list

The FBI, for the the first time, has admitted publicly that it knew the radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was returning to the U.S. in October 2002 and that an FBI agent discussed the American's return with a U.S. attorney before he was detained and then abruptly released from federal custody.