updated
6:04 p.m. CT, Mon., Oct. 27, 2008
WASHINGTON - Law enforcement agents have
broken up a plot by two neo-Nazi
skinheads to assassinate Democratic
presidential candidate Barack Obama and
shoot or decapitate 88 black people, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives said Monday.
In court records unsealed Monday in U.S.
District Court in Jackson, Tenn.,
federal agents said they disrupted plans
to rob a gun store and target a
predominantly African-American high
school in a murder spree that was to
begin in Tennessee. Agents said the
skinheads did not identify the school by
name.
Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge
of ATF's Nashville field office, said
the two men planned to kill 88 African
Americans, including 14 by beheading.
The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in
the white supremacist community.
The men also sought to go on a national
killing spree after the Tennessee
murders, with Obama as its final target,
Cavanaugh told The Associated Press.
"They said that would be their last,
final act — that they would attempt to
kill Sen. Obama," Cavanaugh said. "They
didn't believe they would be able to do
it, but that they would get killed
trying.
"
No immediate comment
An Obama spokeswoman traveling with the
senator in Pennsylvania had no immediate
comment.
The men, Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells,
Tenn., and
Paul Schlesselman
18, of Helena-West Helena,
Ark., are being held without bond.
Agents seized a rifle, a sawed-off
shotgun and three pistols from the men
when they were arrested. Authorities
alleged the two men were preparing to
break into a gun shop to steal more.
The two men were arrested Oct. 22 by the
Crockett County, Tenn., Sheriff's
Office. "Once we arrested the defendants
and suspected they had violated federal
law, we immediately contacted federal
authorities," said Crockett County
Sheriff Troy Klyce.
Cowart and Schlesselman are charged with
possessing an unregistered firearm,
conspiring to steal firearms from a
federally licensed gun dealer, and
threatening a candidate for president.
The investigation is continuing, and
more charges are possible, Cavanaugh
said.
The court records say Cowart and
Schlesselman also bought nylon rope and
ski masks to use in a robbery or home
invasion to fund their spree, during
which they allegedly planned to go from
state to state and kill people.
Ram vehicle into Obama?
For the Obama plot, the legal documents
show, Cowart and
Schlesselman
"planned to drive their vehicle as fast
as they could toward Obama shooting at
him from the windows.
"
"Both individuals stated they would
dress in all white tuxedos and wear top
hats during the assassination attempt,"
the court complaint states. "Both
individuals further stated they knew
they would and were willing to die
during this attempt.
"
Cavanaugh said there's no evidence — so
far — that others were willing to assist
Cowart and Schlesselman with the plot.
He said authorities took the threats
very seriously.
"They seemed determined to do it,"
Cavanaugh said. "Even if they were just
to try it, it would be a trail of tears
around the South.
"
The court documents say the two men met
about a month ago on the Internet and
found common ground in their shared
"white power" and "skinhead" philosophy.
14, 88 are skinhead symbols
The numbers 14 and 88 are symbols in
skinhead culture, referring to a 14-word
phrase attributed to an imprisoned white
supremacist: "We must secure the
existence of our people and a future for
white children" and to the eighth letter
of the alphabet, H. Two "8"s or "H"s
stand for "Heil Hitler.
"
Helena-West Helena, on the Mississippi
River in east Arkansas' Delta, is in one
of the nation's poorest regions,
trailing even parts of Appalachia in its
standard of living. Police Chief Fred
Fielder said he had never heard of
Schlesselman.
However, the reported threat of
attacking a school filled with black
students worried Fielder. Helena-West
Helena, with a population of 12,200, is
66 percent black. "Predominantly black
school, take your pick," he said.
The patrols have netted 32 arrests
since they began last week in a
10-block neighborhood in this small
town on the banks of the
Mississippi River long
troubled by poverty. The council
said those living in the city want
the random shootings and drug-fueled
violence to stop, no matter what the
cost.
Officers armed with military rifles
have been stopping and questioning
passers-by in a neighborhood plagued
by violence that's been under a
24-hour curfew
for a week.
A Helena West police car is parked
in a neighborhood where a curfew was
established...
HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark.
Officers armed with
military
rifles have been stopping and questioning passers-by in a neighborhood plagued
by violence that's been under a 24-hour curfew for a week.
On Tuesday, the Helena-West Helena City
Council voted 9-0 to allow police to expand that program
into any area of the city, despite a warning from a lawyer
with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas that the
police stops were unconstitutional.
Police Chief Fred Fielder said the patrols have netted 32
arrests since they began last week in a 10-block
neighborhood in this small town on the banks of the
Mississippi River long troubled by poverty. The council said
those living in the city want the random shootings and
drug-fueled violence to stop, no matter what the cost.
Now if somebody wants to sue us, they have
an option to sue, but I'm fairly certain that a judge will
see it the way the way the citizens see it here, Mayor James
Valley said. The citizens deserve peace, that some
infringement on constitutional rights is OK and we have not
violated anything as far as the Constitution.
The area under curfew, in what used to be a
West Helena neighborhood, sits among abandoned homes and
occupied residences in disrepair.
White signs on large blue barrels warn those
passing by that the area remains under curfew by order of
Mayor James Valley. The order was scheduled to end at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, but Valley said the city council's vote would allow
police to have the same powers across Helena-West Helena.
Among the curfew operation's arrests, 10
came from felony charges, including the arrest of two people
carrying both drugs and weapons, Fielder said. The police
chief said the officers in the field carry military-style
M-16 or M-4 rifles, some equipped with laser sights. Other
officers carry short-barrel shotguns. Many dealing crack
cocaine and marijuana in the city carry pistols and
AK-47 assault rifles, he said.
Crime-ridden Arkansas town - Helena
After the 24-Hour Curfew
We've had people call us, expressing
concern for their children, Fielder said. They had to
sleep on the floor, because of stray bullets.
Fielder said officers had not arrested
anyone for violating the curfew, only questioned people
about why they were outside. Those without good answers or
acting nervously get additional attention, Fielder said.
However, such stops likely violate
residents' constitutional rights to freely assemble and
protections against unreasonable police searches, said Holly
Dickson, a lawyer for the ACLU of Arkansas who addressed the
council at its packed Tuesday meeting. Because of that,
Dickson said any convictions coming from the arrests likely
would be overturned.
The residents of these high-crime areas are
already victims, she said. They're victims of what are
happening in the neighborhoods, they're victims of fear. But
for them to be subject to unlawful stops and questioning ...
that is not going to ultimately going to help this
situation.
The council rejected Dickson's claims, at
one point questioning the Little Rock-based attorney if
she'd live in a neighborhood they described as under siege
by
wild gunfire and gangs.
As far as I'm concerned, at 3 o'clock in
the morning, nobody has any business being on the street,
except the law, Councilman
Eugene Red Johnson said. Anyone out at 3 o'clock shouldn't be out on the street,
unless you're going to the hospital.
The curfew is the second under the mayor's
watch since the rival cities of
Helena
and
West Helena
merged in 2006. That year, Valley set a nightly citywide
curfew after a rash of burglaries and other thefts.
Police in Hartford, Conn., began enforcing a
nightly curfew for youths after recent violence, including a
weekend shooting that killed a man and wounded six young
people.
Helena-West Helena, with 15,000 residents at
the edge of Arkansas' eastern rice fields and farmland, is
in one of the nation's poorest regions, trailing even parts
of Appalachia in its standard of living.
In the curfew area, those inside the homes
in the watch area peered out of door cracks Tuesday as
police cruisers passed. They closed the doors afterward.
Go home or go to jail! Those are the
only two options for people living
in one Mid-South neighborhood ....
White
signs on large blue barrels warn
those passing by that the area
remains under curfew by order of
Mayor James Valley. The order was
scheduled to end at 3 p.m. Tuesday,
but
Valley said the city council's
vote would allow police to have the
same powers across Helena-West
Helena.
