A man credited with helping Rep. Michele Bachmann win last week’s Ames straw poll was charged by Ugandan authorities with terrorism in 2006, the Atlantic reported Wednesday. The charges were eventually dropped.

Peter Waldron, a longtime GOP political operative, handled evangelical outreach for the Minnesota Republican in the GOP presidential straw poll in Iowa.

“Peter did a tremendous job with our faith outreach in Iowa,” Bachmann’s team told the Atlantic. “We are fortunate to have him on our team and look forward to having him expanding his efforts in several states.”

Waldron was arrested in Uganda on suspicion of possessing assault rifles and ammunition in February 2006, then incarcerated in the African nation for 37 days on terrorism charges that were then dropped, according to the report. He did not reply to emails from the Atlantic seeking comment, but he has previously said that he was tortured while in prison and that the Bush administration intervened to secure his release.

The terrorism charges could have resulted in a lifetime prison term.

Waldron’s website links to efforts to produce a movie about his imprisonment.