ATF Claims Assassination Plot Disrupted

By TChris, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:24:08 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

ATF claims to have foiled a plot by two neo-Nazi skinheads "to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate 102 black people in a Tennessee murder spree."

Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the two men planned to shoot 88 black people and decapitate another 14. The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community.

ATF says the alleged conspirators intended to rob a gun store, then target an unnamed high school with a predominately African-American student body, and then go on a nationwide killing spree culminating in Obama's assassination. As disturbing as this news is, it doesn't appear that the two men even took the first step of obtaining guns.

< Alaska Sen. Stevens Found Guilty Of Accepting Illegal Gifts | Details of Alleged Tenn. Assassination Plot >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

ATF Claims Assassination Plot Disrupted | 36 comments (36 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

Sometimes evil really is stupid. (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by Fabian on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:40:14 PM EST

This is one of those times.

I'm glad they caught these knuckleheads (5.00 / 2) (#11)
by scribe on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:02:03 PM EST

before they actually hurt anyone, let alone themselves.

But, I have to say that stupid (an assumption, but IMHO a fair one) people like these are inordinately susceptible to the sub rosa messages in the wingnut propaganda out there. They are, in fact, no different from the kid who watched Beavis and Butthead setting crap on fire, chanting fire, fire, fire, and then set the trailer on fire.

In that kid's case, he was about 5. At that age, kids are easily suggestible - experience and willing to do what they are told.

The adults in this plot are, truth be told, likely to be similarly weak-minded. I've seen it all too many times. When you ask adults who do crap like this "why did you [do this]?", people like this almost invariably shrug and say, in a weak, childlike manner "I dunno." almost inaudibly. And, in reality, they don't. Their susceptibility to the unspoken messages in the propaganda they've been getting is what they were acting on. In a large enough population, there will be someone who will act like this. It's a statistical certainty.

Which is why people have been right to be outraged by the McCain campaign's tactics and message. The only thing they haven't broadcast is a message to "take out the terrist". They've done everything else. Almost every blood libel of blacks. Every bad thing about Arabs, terrorists and Muslims. And, then, having the Obama is a muslim terrist message injected into the debate by a surrogate the campaign won't criticize.

This incident (and the one in Denver during the Convention) is the natural, logical and expectable result of weak-minded people being exploited by the campaign propaganda. McCain has no excuse on this one.

It's societal hysteria that fuels such stuff (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:13:09 PM EST

and we have seen that on all sides in this campaign -- the effigy-lynching of Palin, say, feeds a mob mentality, too.

I hope all this stops in a week, and isn't a harbinger of years more of behaviors seen in this country throughout this campaign. It's very deja vu all over again for some of us oldsters who have seen where the madness -- all the madness -- leads before.


: Your point that it goes on is true, so far (5.00 / 2) (#20)
by scribe on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:28:23 PM EST

as it goes.
I don't defend mock lynching of a Palin effigy at all. I reject it the same way I did the mock lynching of an Obama effigy (also tagged as an affirmative action recipient) at an Oregon Bible college about a month ago, following a McCain rally there.
But it is undeniable that the McCain-Palin campaign has thrown itself into the pig sh*t with a vigor I have never seen, at least since the 60s. OF course, I was pretty young then. But every campaign tried to maintain some respect for the others. When telephone call center employees in Indiana walk out en masse because the anti-Obama script they're being required to read is "too nasty" and "disgusting" (the same script is being used in robo-calls elsewhere, but Indiana outlaws recorded calls and requires live callers) and forego a day's pay, and when Obama is called a "n*gger" at a Palin rally (I hear the shout in the YouTube, but can't make out that word) and Palin says nothing but just keeps on with her script, it seems pretty obvious that not only is McCain-Palin not discouraging this behavior, it is encouraging it.
No - "hey - knock that off - we respect everyone for their fundamental humanity even though we disagree " or "hey - knock that off - everyone's a child of God" or even "have some manners".
Nope. It just goes out there uncriticized.
They want this to go on. And they would be shedding crocodile tears if, heaven forbid, one of these knuckleheads were to get "lucky".
So can the false "Equivalence" arguments - they're false.

"McCain campaign's tactics and message" (2.00 / 0) (#19)
by vml68 on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:26:34 PM EST

Scribe, you are an avid supporter of Obama so why not focus on Obama's tactics and message, afterall you are picking him as your representative.
I was raised in the middle-east. While I am not an arab or a muslim, my friends, neighbors, teachers, etc were. So when I see Obama's claim that using his middle name is racist or a smear tactic, I am absolutely disgusted. He kept going on and on about his funny name and how it would be used against him. Here is a man who has the opportunity to be bold, hold his head high and say that he is proud of his full name, that there is nothing wrong with being a muslim or having a dad that is a kenyan arab. Instead he tries to hide it and then label anyone who brings it up as racist. What message is he sending?


What an inane comment. (5.00 / 0) (#22)
by scribe on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:34:47 PM EST

After nearly 20 years (not counting the days back in the 80s when his use of chemical weapons got him some opprobrium) of vilifying the name Hussein (as being attached to that Sadaam guy) and another near-decade of vilifying the "Osama" name, you want Obama to come at his name as if it were a tabula rasa just dropped from the sky.

Puhleeze.

He's quite proud of his heritage. Otherwise, canny, conniving, conspiring, corrupt, devious Chicago street politician that he is, why did he allow himself to be photographed in Kenyan tribal robes? You know the photo - it's the one that winds up on every leaflet, mailing, DVD, poster and who knows where which purports to tell how he's really a communist, fascist, terrist, Muslim extremist who's gonna make good white Christians kneel and face Mecca and worship Mohammed while his legions of dark-skinned followers have their way with white women.

Get a clue.


Not the best example (5.00 / 1) (#25)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:37:26 PM EST

as the Obama campaign, as you must not recall, saw that photo as an attack on him and tried to blame it on Clinton -- one of the low points of the campaign. . . .


He allowed himself to be photographed (5.00 / 0) (#30)
by scribe on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:48:41 PM EST

and the photo to get out there.

If he hadn't had some pride in his heritage, he wouldn't have allowed it, post-racial message or not.


Then why see the photo as an attack? (2.00 / 0) (#33)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 06:09:31 PM EST

I don't see how you're replying to Obama's stance that the photo was an attack. That's contrary to a stance of being proud of it. Why the mixed message?


nothing is black-and-white... (5.00 / 0) (#34)
by of1000Kings on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 06:58:05 PM EST

and politics is just a game to these people...a guy without rules...


: a game w/o rules... (none / 0) (#35)
by of1000Kings on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 06:58:23 PM EST

correction...

I do have a clue. (5.00 / 1) (#31)
by vml68 on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:52:41 PM EST

I know how his behavior makes me feel and I know how it has made my arab friends feel, like this is something to be ashamed of rather than take pride in. How about the message of not having a couple of muslim women with headscarves in the background for your photo-op!
From your post I get the impression that if someone or something can be used against me I should try to hide from it rather than shine a light on it and expose it for the foolishness it is. What a way to go through life and the hallmark of a true leader!!
BTW, he denounced the picture of himself in the kenyan garb.


I recently reread his 2004 speech (none / 0) (#23)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:35:19 PM EST

and it's an interesting exercise. I think I spotted about when the post-racial message changed. That speech just could not be given now, with all that has been said since. Sad.


Yep, it's all McCain's fault. (none / 0) (#18)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:18:53 PM EST

Or Rove's. So hard to tell them apart these days...


The scary thing (5.00 / 5) (#28)
by CST on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:40:09 PM EST

They probably would've succeeded at killing the students, and failed at killing Obama. I wonder if they would've been caught if their target wasn't also Obama - and what would've happened to the students?

: sad but true (5.00 / 4) (#32)
by nycstray on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:56:01 PM EST

especially since they were first on the list. We seem to have been spared another school shooting tragedy.

Doh! (none / 0) (#1)
by connecticut yankee on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:25:42 PM EST

You didnt bring the guns?

Looks like they already had gun access (none / 0) (#21)
by nycstray on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:33:54 PM EST

the images I saw of them had guns in their hands.


Sawed off Shotguns (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by CST on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:38:40 PM EST

Which I am pretty sure is illegal no matter what the intent of use.


: Not pretty sure. (5.00 / 1) (#29)
by scribe on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:46:48 PM EST

100 percent sure is more like it.
Short version - you have to have a special federal tax permit for one. They aren't issuing any of those permits.
That's The Big Problem for these characters.

I hope this isn't another case in which (none / 0) (#2)
by ThatOneVoter on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:27:11 PM EST

a federal informant plants an idea into some morons, who then talk about it, failing to follow up with any action whatsoever.

: Kinda sad... (none / 0) (#8)
by kdog on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:42:00 PM EST

but that was my first thought.

This story was a story just long enough (none / 0) (#3)
by CCinNC on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:33:59 PM EST

for Drudge to keep Sen Stevens off THE BIG HEADLINE before replacing it with the Obama 2001 speech "redistribution" story. Sigh. Shameless.

This can't be the first time (none / 0) (#4)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:34:52 PM EST

since there are so many crazies out there, and since there was some reason for an early Secret Service detail, etc.

So why talk about this plot, and with so little to it, and why now? Interesting. Social control theory in application?

And such a bad plan too. (none / 0) (#6)
by Fabian on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:41:21 PM EST

Good thing they didn't publicize a well thought out plan.


They were planning on working (none / 0) (#14)
by samtaylor2 on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:08:30 PM EST

Their way up to the hard stuff. Practice makes perfect. What idiots.


: While (5.00 / 2) (#27)
by Fabian on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:39:59 PM EST

getting their public/private identities splashed across every current events blogs, paper media, cable media and so on.
But then again, they probably had themselves being hailed as popular heroes instead of reviled villains. This isn't a plan, it's a fantasy fueled by lord-knows-what.

What does your last sentence mean CC? (none / 0) (#7)
by Teresa on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:41:27 PM EST

And why do these idiots in TN continue to embarrass me? At least they are far far away from me on the west side of the state.


Use of media, publicity, etc. (5.00 / 2) (#13)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:07:24 PM EST

to send a message to society . . . that idiots will get caught?


: Another possible message... (5.00 / 2) (#16)
by kdog on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:12:24 PM EST

keep giving money to the ATF lest rampaging skinheads go on killing sprees in your town.

Yep (none / 0) (#36)
by TN Dem on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 09:15:33 PM EST

Right there with ya sister. It seems like every loon is from TN these days...


Getting the guns might have been the last step (none / 0) (#9)
by Exeter on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:50:22 PM EST

Like getting the fertilizer was the last step for Timothy McVey.

Alcohol or drugs or both (none / 0) (#10)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 04:58:03 PM EST

...the alleged conspirators intended to rob a gun store, then target an unnamed high school with a predominately African-American student body, and then go on a nationwide killing spree culminating in Obama's assassination.

Alcohol or drugs or both must have been involved.

Who knows/who cares.... (5.00 / 2) (#12)
by kdog on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:06:14 PM EST

the guns and the hate are what counts, assuming this isn't an ATF budget justifying screwjob that is.


: Ahhh, budget turf battle. Interesting. (none / 0) (#15)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:09:27 PM EST

All they need is hate (5.00 / 3) (#24)
by nycstray on Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 05:36:11 PM EST

Alcohol and drugs wear off.
