Islamic terrorism:
July 2002: Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, a 41-year-old Egyptian national, opened fire at LAX, killing two Israelis and wounding four others before being shot dead by a security guard for the Israeli airline.
Right-wing terrorism:
Right-winged terrorist groups fall into 3 major categories: Anti-abortion terrorists, racist hate groups, and anti-government separatists. Fortunately most attempts by right-winged extremists were thwarted by law enforcement agencies, as is shown below in the section on "attempts". If not for good police work, the right-winged terrorists would likely pull off attacks that would have consequences similar to 9/11.
Unfortunately the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t consider them a threat. In 2005 DHS released a list of terrorist groups. While foreign terrorists such as Al Queda and left-winged groups such as the Earth Liberation Front received attention, there were no right-wing terrorist groups on their list. Fortunately for us, the FBI and ATF don’t feel the same way, and due to their placing of informants and undercover agents in those groups, they have thwarted numerous terrorist attempts on American citizens (some of which, ironically enough, had Muslims as targets). Despite all of the attempts by hate groups, I did find one attack that was successful (all right-winged attacks and attempts, with the exception of anti-abortion terrorism, are provided by the
Southern Poverty Law Center):
April 2004: Neo-Nazi Skinhead Sean Gillespie videotapes himself as he firebombs Temple B'nai Israel, an Oklahoma City synagogue, as part of a film he is preparing to inspire other racists to violent revolution.
Anti-abortion terrorism:
Just looking for stories on anti-abortion terrorism is a struggle for two reasons. The first being that the media hasn’t been paying much attention to domestic terrorism since 9/11. The second being that there are so many stories of attempts and attacks spread across the internet in small pieces that it’s almost impossible to keep up with all of it. Because of this I’m sure I won’t be able to find every instance of either an attempt or a successful attack against an abortion clinic, and many incidents will be lacking details. The following is a list of what I did find:
Demember 2001: Anti-abortion extremist Clayton Lee Wagner, who nine months earlier escaped from an Illinois jail while awaiting sentencing on weapons and carjacking charges, is arrested in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wagner's odyssey began in September 1999, when he was stopped driving a stolen camper in Illinois and told police he was headed to Seattle to murder an abortion provider. He escaped in February 2001 and, while on the lam, mailed more than 550 hoax anthrax letters to abortion clinics and posted an Internet threat warning abortion clinic workers that "if you work for the murderous abortionist, I'm going to kill you." Wagner is eventually sentenced to 30 years on the Illinois charges, including his escape. In Ohio, he is sentenced to almost 20 years more, to be served consecutively, on various weapons and car theft charges related to his time on the run. In late 2003, he also is found guilty of 51 federal terror charges, but his sentencing is deferred.
June 2002: An abortion clinic in Texas is set on fire.
January 2003: An abortion clinic in Illinois is set on fire.
May 2003: A clinic in Florida is set on fire.
September 2003: An abortion clinic in Indiana is set on fire.
January 2004: An abortion clinic in Florida is set on fire.
July 2004: An abortion clinic in Palm Beach County, FL was set on fire.
January 2005: An abortion clinic was set on fire in Olympia, WA.
July 2005: An abortion clinic in Palm Beach, Florida was set on fire.
The Earth Liberation Front (ELF):
ELF is an organization that has been described as the most dangerous domestic terrorist group in the United States. Their lack of attention in the media is probably more due to the fact that ELF hasn’t killed anyone yet than anything else. This is because ELF concentrates their attacks on property instead of people. Still, as one of their favorite methods to operate is arson, it’s only a matter of time before one of their fires goes out of control and results in a loss of life. ELF is a eco-terrorist group that advocates the use of violence and sabotage to stop companies from hurting the environment. They are allied with and modeled after the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a violent animal rights group that was formed in England.
ELF/ALF work in a unique way to other terrorist groups in that they are decentralized and have no leadership. All you need to do to be a member is commit an act of eco-terrorism in their name, spray paint ELF somewhere on your work, and you’re a member.
Here is a list of their attacks, courtesy of wikipedia.
2001
September 20, 2001; Tucson, Arizona: ALF claimed an estimated half million in damage at a McDonald's arson in Tucson. "ALF," "ELF," obscenities and swastikas were spray-painted on the buildings in the attack.
September 20, 2001; Tucson, Arizona: Activists targeted a Ronald McDonald statue in front of the Ronald McDonald House, a home for families of seriously ill children. The "ALF", "ELF", swastikas and vulgarities left on statue were the same as those found on the walls of a McDonald's restaurant destroyed in Tucson on September 8, 2001.
September 24, 2001; Utah: A card left at a gas and oil exploration site near Moab claimed ELF credit for vandalizing seismic equipment used in the operation.
October 15, 2001; Susanville, California: 200 equines released from the Bureau of Land Management wild horse and burro corrals and the hay barn was burned down causing $85,000 in damages. Claimed by the ELF.
November 4, 2001; Grangeville, Idaho: The Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for spiking trees throughout the Otter Wing Timber Sale in the Nez Perce National Forest. A communiqué read: "The Otter Wing Timber Sale was spiked in Idaho
November 5, 2001; Houghton, Michigan: After a series of ELF E-mail threats, ELF activists planted incendiary devices at the U.J. Noblet Forestry Building and a U.S. Forest Service laboratory at Michigan Tech University. The devices were disarmed.
2002
January 26, 2002; St. Paul, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Microbial and Plant Genomics Research Center soil-testing lab and construction trailer burned down, construction equipment, including a bulldozer damaged, $630,000 damages Claimed by ELF
January 29, 2002; Fairfield, Maine: ELF announced they had sabotaged a "Biotech Park" in a communiqué that read: "We are writing to inform you that there is a Biotech Park being built in Fairfield, Maine. We went there some weeks ago and put a sand/quickcrete mix in the engines, gas, and hydraulics of an excavator and a roller. These were the only machines there, plowing up the land, building bridges over creeks. So we left no trace so when the operators came to work the machines would run and then seize, costing big bucks. Now, we are letting the people know.
January 26, 2002; The ELF claimed responsibility for the use of incendiary devices at a new Microbial & Plant Genomics Research Center construction site at the University of Minnesota. Their communiqué read: 1/26/02 St. Paul, MN
March 24, 2002; Erie, Pennsylvania: Hundreds of trees spiked in Wintergreen Gorge, crane, generators and pumps torched, other equipment monkey wrenched, $500,000 damages Claimed by ELF.
May 12, 2002; Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania: 200 mink released from Mindek mink farm Claimed by ALF and ELF.
August 11, 2002; Irvine, Pennsylvania: A device, containing gasoline, was thrown onto the roof of the Northeast Research Station in the Allegheny National Forest. The ensuing fire caused nearly $700,000 in damages. An e-mail from ELF's office said "While innocent life will never be harmed in any action we undertake, where it is necessary, we will no longer hesitate to pick up the gun to implement justice, and provide the needed protection for our planet that decades of legal battles, pleading protest, and economic sabotage have failed so drastically to achieve." and that "all other US Forest Services administration and research facilities, as well as all Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) buildings nationwide should now be considered likely targets."
September 2002; Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania: more than 50 mink released Mindek mink farm Claimed by ALF and ELF.
September 28, 2002; Richmond, Virginia: 25 windows etched at 1 Burger King and 13 windows etched at each of 2 McDonalds Claimed by ELF
November 1, 2002; Richmond, Virginia: Vandals who left messages crediting ELF damaged SUVs in several incidents recently. Twenty-five SUVs on the lot of a Ford dealer were permanently defaced with a glass-etching cream. A week later, SUVs parked near homes were severely damaged with an ax or hatchet. Vandalism and attempted arson have also been reported recently at highway and home construction sites in the area.
December 28, 2002; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: ELF activists attacked a housing development, severely damaging construction vehicles and the model home on the property.
2003
January 1, 2003; Girard, Pennsylvania: Jugs of gasoline were set under three vehicles at Bob Ferrando Ford Lincoln Mercury and set ablaze. Two pickup trucks, one Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a car were destroyed causing $90,000 in damages. The ELF claimed responsibility for the attack.
January 20, 2003; Seattle, Washington: Arson at a McDonalds caused $5000 worth of damage. In September, 2005, Christopher W. McIntosh of Maple Shade, NJ, admitted he set the fire by pouring several gallons of gasoline on the roof on behalf of ALF-ELF. In an anonymous phone call he said "[there was an E-L-F-A-L-F hit at McDonald's across from the Space Needle. There will be more. ... As long as Mother Earth is pillaged, raped, destroyed. As long as McDonald's keeps hurting our furry brothers, there will be more." He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
March 21, 2003; Superior Township, Michigan: Two luxury homes set on fire in a Superior Township housing development in an action against urban sprawl. Claimed by the ELF. Damages estimated at $400,000.
March 28, 2003; Montgomery, Alabama: Five government vehicles were vandalized and one truck was set on fire at a Naval Recruitment Headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama. The ELF claimed responsibility for the attacks both in a communiqué and by spray-painting their initials at the scene. Messages that read, "Stop the War," "Stop killing" and "Leave Iraq" were also found along with the ELF initials.
April 8, 2003; Santa Cruz, California: The ELF claimed responsibility for 65 SUV's. The vandalized SUV's included about twenty private vehicles as well forty at the North Bay Ford and Lincoln Mercury car dealership. Messages were spray-painted on the vehicles denouncing the war in [Iraq].
April 15, 2003; Santa Cruz, California: ELF activists attacked 15 SUVs with bright orange paint, and in an ELF press release, complained that the local paper did not cover the story.
June 3, 2003; Chico, California: ELF claimed the attempted arson of a new home. The fire burned through a PVC pipe holding water, dousing the flames so the damage was minimal, about $100. "Save our bio-region ELF" was painted on the sidewalk.
June 4, 2003; Macomb County, Michigan: ELF sets fire to two luxury homes in a Macomb County housing development in an action against urban sprawl. "ELF" and "Stop sprawl" were spray painted on nearby construction equipment. Damages estimated at $700,000.
June 5, 2003; Chico, California: An arson attempt was made at a shopping center under construction. Workers found remnants of several small fires, and ELF spray-painted on the door of a work truck at the site. The FBI was exploring connections with arson attempts at two McDonalds in March, and SUVs in May, in Chico.
June 14, 2003; Santa Cruz, California: Environmental activists scratched the slogan ELF into ten new SUVs, causing $15,000 worth of damage.
July 2, 2003; South Windsor Connecticut: Signs of the Earth Liberation Front, "ELF" and "no sprawl," were spray-painted on a newly completed. An unidentified man called police and said the graffiti was done by an ELF activist.
August 1, 2003; San Diego, California: A 206-unit condominium being built in was burnt down causing damage in excess of $50 million. A 12 foot banner at the scene read "If you build it, we will burn it," signed, "The E.L.F.s are mad." — sympathizers often refer to themselves as "elfs" or "elves".
August 22, 2003; West Covina, California: The ELF attacked several car dealerships in east suburban Los Angeles, burning down a warehouse and vandalizing several cars, with such phrases as "I love pollution" written on the cars. All told, more 125 SUVs and Hummers, which were targeted due to their lower than average fuel efficiency, were damaged or destroyed causing $2.3 million in damages.
August 29, 2003; Fairbanks, Alaska: ELF spray-painted concrete walls and construction equipment at a [Wal-Mart] construction site.
September 04, 2003; Santa Fe, New Mexico: ELF action against SUV dealer in New Mexico - SUVS spray-painted with messages naming the seven deadly sins. 1/3 of the dealership's stock was marked, leaving thousands of dollars in damages.
September 12, 2003: Federal agents arrested Pomona, California resident Joshua Thomas Connole in connection with the August 22nd 2003 Los Angeles area arsons. Apparently, the FBI profiled Connole based on his anti-war protest activities. He was soon released due to lack of evidence. The FBI awarded Connole $100,000 and agreed to give him an apology after he filed a lawsuit against the agency.
September 19,2003; San Diego, California: ELF action against urban sprawl at three separate construction sites in the upscale Carmel Valley neighborhood of San Diego, causing an estimated $1 million in damages. Four unfinished houses were destroyed, two others were damaged and a condominium under construction sustained minor damage. A banner at the site of the first fires read, "Development = destruction. Stop raping nature. The ELFs are mad."
September 22, 2003; Martiny, Michigan: The ELF claimed responsibility for planting plastic bottles containing flammable liquid at an Ice Mountain Spring Water Company (a subsidiary of Nestle) pumping station. The devices were intended to start a fire at the premises but were discovered by maintenance workers before they were set ablaze.
October 6, 2003; Jemez Mountains, New Mexico: Construction equipment belonging to the US Forest had electrical wires cut, tires cut and windows broken by ELF.
October (mid), 2003; Portland, Maine: The Acadian Green Brigade of the ELF slashed the tires of 8 Boise Cascade delivery trucks and two trailers, glued locks and painted slogans across the building's main entrance.
October 24, 2003 Martinsville, Indiana: ELF activists sabotaged a Wal-Mart construction site. Survey stakes were removed, and walls and machinery spray-painted. Over a dozen pieces of heavy machinery and vehicles were vandalized, with slashed tires, cut fuel hoses, and sand poured in fuel tanks.
2004
January 22, 2004 Fayetteville, Arkansas: Five Hummers were vandalized. The letters ELF were spray-painted on the vehicles, tires were slashed and windows broken.
February 7, 2004; Charlottesville, Virginia: The ELF set fire to a bulldozer and caused damage to other equipment that was parked off of Route 29. This site is to be developed into a retail, commercial and residential community. On their website, the ELF writes that the site was "targeted as part of the ELF's ongoing actions against large-scale developments going up at the expense of what little green space is left in North America." A banner left on the site read "Your construction = long term destruction - ELF" The action caused over $30,000 in damages.
February 17, 2004; North Lima, Ohio: Vandals broke windows in a construction trailer, sprayed a fire extinguisher and scratched the initials "ELF" on the side of a piece of construction equipment at the construction site of a new showroom for a fireworks company.
April 20, 2004; Snohomish, Washington: Two homes were destroyed and attempts were made to burn two others at a housing development. A note found at the site of one of the fires was signed "ELF" and reportedly contained statements condemning suburban developments. As well, bottles of flammable liquid were found at two different housing development sites in the area caused an estimated $1 million in damages.
July 30, 2004 Charlotte, North Carolina: Activists vandalized a fleet of utility trucks owned by Utiliquest. Utiliquest is a national utility locating service provider that locates and marks underground infrastructure for large electric, gas, telecom and cable utility companies, and municipalities prior to excavation. All the trucks were marked with "ELF" and all had their tires slashed.
August 3, 2004; Spokane, Washington: A fire that heavily damaged one $55,000 Hummer and nearly burned two others at the George Gee Hummer dealership. One H2 Hummer had its windows broken and was spray painted with messages that oppose the Iraq war and President Bush. An e-mail sent to local media outlets claimed credit for the Eastern Washington Chapter of the Earth Liberation Front
December 27, 2004; Lincoln, California: Incendiary devises were located in three houses under construction at the Verdera Models construction site on Flores Court in the Twelve Bridges development. Graffiti was discovered on another house under construction in the same development. The graffiti found at the scene included notations such as "Enjoy the world as is - as long as you can", "U will pay", "Evasion", "4 Q" and "Leave". This house also sustained broken windows. The letters "ELF" were printed in the cul-de-sac where these homes were located. Across the street from this house a tractor had been vandalized with the notation "Disarm or die".
2005
January 12, 2005; Auburn, California: Five un-ignited incendiary devices were located in a commercial building under construction that, upon completion, were to be rented as doctor's offices. A letter claiming responsibility for "the actions taken in Placer County (CA)" was received by several media outlets. The return address on the letter indicated it was from "Emma Goldman." Emma Goldman is a major figure in the history of anarchism.
February 7, 2005; Sutter Creek, California: The ELF set fire to the new Pinewoods apartment complex, about 45 miles east of Sacramento. Sutter Creek Chief of Police Robert Duke said "there were seven individual fires and some kind of incendiary device with very, very crude triggering mechanisms." graffiti found near the fire said: "We will win -- ELF."
March 6, 2005; Fair Oaks, California: Three vehicles – two full-size pickup trucks and a Ford Expedition – were spray-painted with the initials "ELF," and their rear license plates were painted over. A total of at least seven SUVs were vandalized in the Sacramento area during the week.
April 13, 2005; Sammamish, Washington: The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) partially burned downed one of two buildings it targeted in a King County, Washington development. David Ammon, a developer whose property was burned, had planned on constructing two more homes in the area. Police discovered an incendiary device which had failed to ignite in a second house nearby along with a sheet condemning the rape of the Earth, clearing of trees, and claiming responsibility on behalf of ELF. It read "Where are all the trees? Burn, rapist, burn. E.L.F" The homes targeted were new ones located in a golf course subdivision.
May 17, 2005; Fair Oaks, California: Several SUVs and trucks were spray-painted with "ELF" and "polluter", and many also had their tires slashed. A short distance away "bomb the White House" was found spray-painted on a real estate sign. FBI, Secret Service, and a joint terrorism task force are investigating, and trying to find out if the two attacks were related.
July 27, 2005; Whatcom County, Washington: Arsonists damaged two homes under construction. The first caused $100,000 in damages. The second, a few days later, completely destroyed another home being built in the area. ELF has taken credit for other arsons in the area earlier in the year that police are investigating.
September 11, 2005; West Old Town, Maine: The ELF vandalized at least a dozen large machines at the West Old Town Landfill, which is one of New England's worst polluters. Last winter ownership of the landfill was transferred from the Georgia-Pacific timber company to state hands, in a behind closed doors deal which resulted in the expansion of the site and a sweet deal for Georgia-Pacific and Casella Waste Systems who now run the site. The machines had their ignitions ripped out, or superglue poured into them, tires were slashed, two buildings and many vehicles were spray painted, and the fuel in the equipments' tanks may have been tampered with. Officials say the damage will cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair.
October 3, 2005; Bozeman, Montana: U.S. - A construction site owned by the Kenyon Noble lumber company was vandalized by the Earth Liberation Front causing about $3000 in damage.
November 19, 2005; Hagerstown, Maryland: claimed responsibility for setting four fires in newly-constructed unoccupied homes built by the McLean, Virginia Ryan Homes in the Hager's Crossing subdivision. One building was burned to the ground but the other three may be salvageable. The developer estimated the damage at more than $300,000.
November 25, 2005, Bothell, Washington: Two pieces of construction equipment were destroyed by fire, causing more than $100,000 in damage.
November 29, 2005, Bothell, Washington: One piece of construction equipment was destroyed by fire.
December 14, 2005, Kenmore, Washington: Two pieces of excavation equipment were burned overnight at a housing development, causing around $180,000 in damage. Apparently this is the second fire at this construction site since November. The earlier fire caused $50,000 in damage.
December 16, 2005; Valley Springs, California: A window was broken and the letters E-L-F were spray-painted on the garage door of a partially constructed home. There is considerable opposition to new development and the required re-zoning in rural Calaveras County, where Valley Springs is located.
2006
January 17, 2006; Camano Island, Washington - ELF burned down a nearly completed 9,600-square-foot, $3 million, trophy house. Investigators said that: someone spray-painted a threatening message on a pink bedsheet and draped it across the front gate.
March 11, 2006; Salem, Oregon - Three newly-constructed upscale homes were vandalized with pro-environmental slogans which read: "Quit building ant farms," "E.L.F.," "Rent is theft," "Viva E.L.F." and "Don't kill my air." Additionally, a window was broken. According to authorities, this is the second time within the past two years that ELF vandals struck in this neighborhood.
Attempts:
October 2001: A North Carolina sheriff's deputy pulls over Steve Anderson, a former "colonel" in the Kentucky Militia, on a routine traffic stop as he heads home to Kentucky from a white supremacist gathering in North Carolina. Anderson, who has issued violent threats against officials for months via an illegal pirate radio station and is an adherent of racist Christian Identity theology, pulls out a semi-automatic weapon and peppers the deputy's car with bullets before driving his truck into the woods and disappearing for 13 months. Officials later find six pipe bombs in Anderson's abandoned truck and 27 bombs and destructive devices in his home. In the end, Anderson apologizes for his actions and pleads guilty. He is sentenced on a variety of firearms charges to 15 years in federal prison.
December 2001: Jewish Defense League chairman Irving David Rubin and a follower, Earl Leslie Krugel, are arrested in California and charged with conspiring to bomb the offices of U.S. Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) and the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City. Authorities say a confidential informant taped meetings with the two in which the bombings were discussed and Krugel said the jdl needed "to do something to one of their filthy mosques." Rubin later commits suicide in prison, officials say, just before he is to go on trial in late 2002. Krugel pleads guilty to conspiracy in both plots, and testifies that Rubin conspired with him. Krugel faces a mandatory 10-year sentence, and could receive up to life in federal prison.
Januray 2002: Neo-Nazi National Alliance member Michael Edward Smith is arrested after a car chase in Nashville, Tenn., that began when he was spotted sitting in a car with a semi-automatic rifle pointed at Sherith Israel Pre-School, run by a local synagogue. In Smith's car, home and storage unit, officials find an arsenal that includes a .50-caliber rifle, 10 hand grenades, 13 pipe bombs, binary explosives, semi-automatic pistols, ammunition and an array of military manuals. They also find teenage porn on Smith's computer and evidence that he carried out computer searches for Jewish schools and synagogues. In one of his e-mails, Smith wrote that Jews "perhaps" should be "stuffed head fIRSt into an oven." In the end, Smith is sentenced on weapons and explosives charges to more than 10 years in prison.
February 2002: The leader of a militia-like group known as Project 7 and his girlfriend are arrested after an informant tells police the group is plotting to kill judges and law enforcement officers in order to kick off a revolution. David Burgert, who has a record for burglary and is already wanted for assaulting police officers, is found in the house of girlfriend Tracy Brockway along with an arsenal that includes pipe bombs and 25,000 rounds of ammunition. Also found are "intel sheets" with personal information about law enforcement officers, their spouses and children. Although officials are convinced the Project 7 plot was real, Burgert ultimately is convicted only of weapons charges and draws a seven-year sentence; six others are also convicted of or plead guilty to weapons charges. Brockway gets a suspended sentence for harboring a fugitive.
July 2002: Acting on a tip, federal and local law enforcement agents arrest North Carolina Klan leader Charles Robert Barefoot Jr. for his role in an alleged plot to blow up the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, the sheriff himself and the county jail. Officers find more than two dozen weapons in Barefoot's home. They also find bombs and bomb components in the home of Barefoot's son, Daniel Barefoot, who is charged that same day with the arson of a school bus and an empty barn. The elder Barefoot — who broke away from the National Knights of the KKK several months earlier to form his own harder-line group, the Nation's Knights of the KKK — is charged with weapons violations and later sentenced to more than two years. In 2003, Barefoot's wife and three men are charged with the murder of a former associate. Police say the murder may have been related to the alleged bombing plot.
August 2002: In a twist of irony, Tampa area podiatrist Robert J. Goldstein is arrested after police, called by Goldstein's wife after he allegedly threatened to kill her, find more than 15 explosive devices in their home, along with materials to make at least 30 more. Also found are homemade C-4 plastic explosives, grenades and mines, a .50-caliber rifle, semi-automatic weapons, and a list of 50 Islamic worship centers in the area. The most significant discovery is a three-page plan detailing plans to "kill all 'rags'" at the Islamic Society of Pinellas County. Eventually, two other local men are also charged in connection with the plot, and Goldstein's wife is arrested for possessing illegal destructive devices. In the end, Goldstein pleads guilty to plotting to blow up the Islamic Society and is sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison.
October 2002: Officials close in on long-time antigovernment extremist Larry Raugust at a rest stop in Idaho, arrest him and charge him with 16 counts of making and possessing destructive devices, including pipe bombs and pressure-detonated booby traps. He is accused of giving one explosive device to an undercover agent, and is also named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a plot with colleagues in the Idaho Mountain Boys militia to murder a federal judge and a police officer, and to break a friend out of jail. A deadbeat dad, Raugust is also accused of helping plant land mines on property belonging to a friend whose land was seized by authorities over unpaid taxes. He eventually pleads guilty to 15 counts of making bombs and is sentenced to federal prison. Raugust is expected to be released in 2008.
January 2003: Federal agents arrest Matt Hale, the national leader of the neo-Nazi World Church of the Creator (WCOTC), as he reports to a Chicago courthouse in an ongoing copyright case over the name of his group. Hale is charged with soliciting the murder of the federal judge in the case, Joan Humphrey Lefkow, who he has publicly vilified as someone bent on the destruction of his group. (Although Lefkow originally ruled in wcotc's favor, an appeals court found that the complaint brought by an identically named church in Oregon was legally justified, and Lefkow reversed herself accordingly.) In guarded language captured on tape recordings, Hale is heard agreeing that his security chief, an FBI informant, should kill Lefkow. Hale is eventually found guilty and sentenced to serve 40 years in federal prison.
January 2003: James D. Brailey, a convicted felon who once was selected as "governor" of the state of Washington by the antigovernment Washington Jural Society, is arrested after a raid on his home turns up a machine gun, an assault rifle and several handguns. One informant tells the FBI that Brailey was plotting to assassinate Gov. Gary Locke, both because Locke was the state's real governor and because he was Chinese-American. A second informant says that Brailey actually went on a "dry run" to Olympia, carrying several guns into the state Capitol building to test security. Eventually, Brailey pleads guilty to weapons charges and is sentenced to serve 15 months in prison. He is released in February 2004.
February 2003: Federal agents in Pennsylvania arrest David Wayne Hull, imperial wizard of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and an adherent of the anti-Semitic Christian Identity theology, alleging that Hull has arranged to buy hand grenades to blow up abortion clinics.
April 2003: William Krar, a white supremist from East Texas, was arrested for possesing enough poisonous gas to kill 30,000 people.
June 2003
Federal agents in California announce that former accountant John Noster, in prison since November 2002 for car theft, is under investigation for plotting a major terrorist attack. Noster was first arrested as part of a car theft ring investigation, but officials who found incendiary devices in his stolen camper continued to probe his activities. Eventually, they find in various storage facilities three pipe bombs, six barrels of jet fuel, five assault weapons, cannon fuse, a large amount of ammunition and $188,000 in cash. Law enforcement officials, who describe Noster as an "antigovernment extremist," allege at a press conference that he "was definitely planning" on an attack, but they do not elaborate.
October 2003
Police arrest Norman Somerville after finding a huge weapons cache on his property in northern Michigan that includes six machine guns, a powerful anti-aircraft gun, thousands of rounds of ammunition, hundreds of pounds of gunpowder, and an underground bunker. They also find two vehicles Somerville calls his "war wagons," and on which prosecutors later say he planned to mount machine guns as part of a plan to stage an auto accident and then massacre arriving police.
May 2005: Officials in New Jersey arrest two men they say asked a police informant to build them a bomb. Craig Orler, who has a history of burglary arrests, and Gabriel Garafa, said to be a leader of the neo-Nazi World Church of the Creator and a member of a racist Skinhead group called The Hated, were charged with illegally selling 11 guns to police informants. Carafa allegedly gave one informant 60 pounds of urea to use in building him a bomb, but never said what the bomb was for.
September 2006: On the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, David McMenemy attempted to suicide bomb a clinic that he thought performed abortions by driving his car into the clinic.
December 2006: Demetrius "Van" Crocker was convicted for attempting to blow up Congress while it was in session.
December 2006: Robert Weiler Jr. was sentenced to 5 years in prison for planning to blow up an abortion clinic.
So in conclusion, the next time you hear a right-winger talk about our need to be in Iraq to "distract the terrorists", be sure to tell them we have plenty of terrorists that aren't in the Iraq, and we have plenty to deal with here in the good 'ole USA.
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