Several news sources are now reporting the name of the suspect in the murder of Dr. George Tiller. According to KWCH-TV:
Deputy Chief Tom Stolz w/ Wichita Police Dept. says Dr. Tiller died of a single gunshot wound. The Associated Press says the man detained in the Kansas City area is 51-year-old Scott Roeder of Merriam, Kansas, according to Law Enforcement authorities in the area. Roeder has not been formally charged with the killing at this time. Police say he was arrested without incident after a traffic stop.
Via diarist FreeStateDem, Militia Watchdog previously reported of Roeder:
July 7, [1997], Kansas: Scott Roeder is sentenced to sixteen months in state prison for parole violations following a 1996 conviction for having bomb components in his car trunk. Roeder, a sovereign citizen and tax protester, violated his parole by not filing tax returns or providing his social security number to his employer.
He was also an active member of Operation Rescue; in 2007 a "Scott Roeder" posted this on the Operation Rescue website (which has been down throughout the day, probably more as a result of increased traffic than any sense of collective shame):
[May 19th, 2007 at 4:34 pm] Bleass everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp. Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn’t seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller.
The Lawrence Journal-World and News relays that Kansas City station KMBC reported a post-it note with a phone number for Operation Rescue in his car at the time of his arrest.
So a bombmaker, tax protester, member of the "sovereignity" movement, anti-abortion zealot and Operation Rescue member: the arrested suspect manages to fit every stereotype of right-wing militia teabagger.
No doubt much more information will be forthcoming later; Roeder is not expected to be formally charged until Monday.
There will be a candlelight vigil honoring Dr. George Tiller in Wichita at 8:00pm in Old Town Square.
[UPDATE by Dana Houle]
Kossacks have dug out a few more bits of information about Scott Roeder:
NoiseWithdrawal found an article about his 1996, when he was linked to the Montana Freemen:
A man identified by the FBI as a member of the anti-government Freemen group was arrested yesterday after deputies found what they called a bomb-triggering device in his car.
Scott Roeder, 38, of Silver Lake, Kan., was arrested in Topeka and held on charges of criminal use of explosives, driving with a suspended license and failure to carry registration and insurance.
Roeder was stopped because his car didn't have a legitimate license plate. Instead, it had a tag indicating the driver was a "sovereign" citizen and immune from Kansas law.
The same type of tag is sometimes used by Freemen, whose members in Montana are in the fourth week of a standoff with federal agents.
Roeder's name is included on an FBI list of Freemen, said Shawnee County Sheriff Dave Meneley.
In Roeder's trunk, authorities found fuse cord, a pound of gunpowder and two nine-volt batteries, one wired to a switch - the alleged triggering device. Ammunition and a blasting cap also were found in the car.
And via Twitter from twitter.com/problemchylde and twitter.com/TeresaKopec, on an Operation Rescue website called Charge Tiller (which in the last 30 minutes or so has been taken down), there's this comment, posted on Monday, September 3, 2007, by a Scott Roeder from Kansas, almost certainly the same Scott Roeder alleged to have assassinated Tiller:
It seems as though what is happening in Kansas could be compared to the "lawlessness" which is spoken of in the Bible. Tiller is the concentration camp "Mengele" of our day and needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgement upon our nation.
It appears that Roeder decided the he couldn't wait for God to pass judgment, so he assassinated Tiller himself.
