The recent arrest of nine domestic terrorists for plotting to kill police has focused media attention on the basic question -- who are those guys?
The Hutaree militia cult was led by David B. Stone Sr., who is, according to a former fiancee, "a Ron Paul fanatic." (h/t Crooks and Liars)
You know, just like many teabaggers, especially their leaders and their loudest.
Of course, Paul and his teabagger followers are not responsible for the crimes plotted by a "Ron Paul fanatic."
It's just one of those wacky coincidences that some followers of a far-right government-hater are inspired to do more than harass politicians and wave signs at street corners.
Details, below.
The ex-fiancee spoke with Shepard Smith of Fox News (!) about the terror cell leader:
Here's some of what she said:
He did not like the government and when Obama took the presidency, he really kind of lost it, because he's a Ron Paul fanatic.
snip
He thought he could get away with anything, and he wanted more freedom than what he had, and was trying to do it through the violence.
snip
He thought he was above the law and he didn't want to have to apply for a driver's license, he didn't want to have to fill out Census papers, he wanted to be able to own guns unregistered.
Ron Paul has evidently inspired other domestic terrorists who got to the trigger-pulling stage -- Pittsburgh cop killer Richard Poplawski, Holocaust Museum killer James von Brunn, and Pentagon Metro shooter John Patrick Bedell.
In those cases and probably in this one, mental illness played a role in convincing the Ron Paul fanatics that they had to move beyond legal protest/dissent.
Which is one of the problems with the extremist rhetoric of Paul, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, etc. -- among the millions who buy into their government-is-evil shtick are some unknown number who are mentally ill and/or sociopaths who will be inspired by such talk to kill.
As has been evident so far, the FBI cannot catch all of them before they act.