CBS 4 in Denver has the story:
Denver’s U.S. attorney is expected to speak on Tuesday afternoon about the arrests of four people suspected in a possible plot to shoot Barack Obama at his Thursday night acceptance speech in Denver. All are being held on either drug or weapons charges.
One of those suspects spoke exclusively to CBS4 investigative reporter Brian Maass from inside the Denver City Jail late Monday night and said his friends had discussed killing Obama. […]
Maass reported earlier Monday that one of the suspects told authorities they were “going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a … rifle … sighted at 750 yards.”
Law enforcement sources told Maass that one of the suspects “was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative.”
At the last blogger bash, someone said they fully expected Obama, if elected, to be assassinated while in office. Several people were shocked by the statement. And it is shocking when you say it out loud like that. But to be honest, I had thought the same thing. I’m not sure why — maybe because the first African American president on the FOX TV series 24 was assassinated. Or maybe because there are still people like Matt Hale running around spewing their hate and looking for ways to be a martyr for their racist cause.
In any case, I didn’t expect it to begin so soon — even before the official nomination. And it was white supremacists, natch, who were plotting to kill Obama. One of them was even wearing a swastika. Charming, huh? One of the four arrested, Nathan Johnson, 32, told Maass, “He don’t belong in political office. Blacks don’t belong in political office. He ought to be shot,” according to the CBS 4 story.
We’ve come so far in our nation, and yet there are still people like these four idiots out there. Hard to believe, and a little depressing.
Very depressing–that’s my greatest fear about this election. Too much to say about this topic, so I’ll leave it alone for now. C.J. and Dennis–in case you had any intentions of coming to West Peoria tonight, the meeting has been postponed.
Nathan Johnson? Wasn’t that Steve Martin’s character in The Jerk?
diane I think it was Navin R Johnson… Navin R it was.
Not to down play this at all, but I doubt this plot would have come anywhere near being successful. They would have had no opportunity to get those rifles in the convention or the stadium with the Secret Service pulling security and as far as I can tell there are no buildings of sufficient height around the stadium to use for this purpose.
It would be interesting to know what the thought process was for these idiots prior to being caught. One supposedly jumped from a sixth story balcony to try to evade police, obviously that didn’t work so well for him.
My ex-brother in law is named Nathan Johnson. He’s the father to my beloved nieces and nephews.
Whatever flaws he has, being a racist maniac is not one of them.
What’s in a name? I know that in Julius Caesar one guy was killed because he had the same name as one of the conspirators. I think I taught some Nathan Johnsons–at least some Nathans and many Johnsons. All of which proves that we will all do almost anything to avoid discussing the sad racial implications of this story. I guess I’ll go back to my e-mails arguing about the West Peoria conflict.
hey Billy, whats up with PP?
The Original PP is down until I can pay the bill.
It wouldn’t surprise me if there were many plots against Obama’s life. Historically there have always been people who will hate or fear another people group simply for their “otherness”. It makes me sad that I know a number of people who don’t feel that Obama should be president simply because of his name or the color of his skin. They are just as ignorant as men who would plot to kill him for the color of his skin.
It’s hard not to feel cynical about the political process even as a young person when such prejudices remain.
Well, it makes me sad that if(hopefully when) Obama doesn’t win people will also say it was because of the color of his name or the color of his skin.
Sharon,
Honestly I’m not trying to make light of this situation. There are people that hate other people for all kinds of reasons all over the world. I don’t feel that one kind of hate is worse than another, and I have no interest in trying to “understand” those that hate.
These people are sad and misguided and have probably been brought up in a home filled with hate. Better to use our resources towards those that have not yet had their minds contaminated.
A big discussion about why did those 4 men feel that way and where has society gone wrong is a waste of energy in my opinion. That kind of thinking empowers them, and might encourage others to take notice.
Better to just lock their sorry a$$es up and throw away the key.
Diane, I didn’t mean to imply that you were making light of it–I also continued the silliness because I don’t know how to begin to express how I feel about this issue. Those like these 4 scare me–but I worry more about the bigotry that I hear coming from very ordinary, otherwise decent people. I keep fooling myself sometimes by trying to believe that the racial divide isn’t a problem in our country–but that just isn’t reality. I comfort myself with the thought that it is better than it was in the 1950s–but better isn’t the ideal for which I still hope. The District #150 issues always disturb me because I don’t want anyone (especially white bigots) to think that my disagreements with black administrators such as Ken Hinton are based on race, instead of the issues. That’s one of the reasons I like this blog–so far I haven’t read the bigotry that is so prevalent on some sites–especially those who respond to PJS stories.
Bravo11 — I wasn’t trying to imply that Obama’s winning or losing would be dependent upon the small contingent of people who vote one way or the other because of racism or prejudice.
It is simply a sorry fact that people make decisions based on prejudice. There are probably just as many people who won’t vote for McCain because they think he’s too old.
Its 11Bravo, but anyway… I wasn’t trying to imply that you meant that, I was merely making a prediction as to what some of his supporters ( and many in the media ) are likely to claim should he lose. They can’t possibly believe that its because people just simply don’t agree with his politics.
While Madonna and I were having lunch the other day [discussing the ‘character’ of John McCain] she said that every President stands the risk of being assassinated….for any number of reasons. Correct me if I am wrong [and I never am], but every Pres assassinated so far has been…….white? I would, however think that Barak Obama’s name [Barak?] might be enough to get him into trouble!