Anti-Obama Skinhead Plot Thwarted
Liza Porteus Viana
Contributor
Posted:
10/27/08
Two skinheads are being charged in a plot to assassinate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate 102 black people in Tennessee, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said today, 
AP reports.
In court records unsealed Monday, ATF agents said they disrupted plans to rob a gun store and target an unnamed, predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads - one from Arkansas and one from Tennessee. National Public Radio confirmed the report. Political Machine has not yet heard back from the ATF's Nashville division, and we were on hold for about 15 minutes with the Washington office.
Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville field office for the ATF, said the two men planned to shoot 88 black people and decapitate another 14.
The men also wanted to go on a national killing spree, with Obama as its final target, Cavanaugh told the AP.
"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."
In white supremacist code, 14 stands for the "14 words" slogan coined by David Lane: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." 88 means "Heil Hitler," as H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
Lane was a member of The Order, a white supremacist terrorist group that carried out armed robberies, assassinations and other crimes during the 1980s, who was serving a 190-year sentence for his part in the murder of a Jewish talk show host when he died.
The men being accused of the plot are Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn. and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark.. They were officially charged in a federal complaint, Friday, Oct. 24. The complaint charges the two with the illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a federal firearms dealer, and making threats against a major candidate for the office of president.
The investigation is continuing, and more charges are possible. AP says the court records say Cowart and Schlesselman were going to rob houses to fund their state-to-state spree. Court documents also show that the two "planned to drive their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows."
Citing the U.S. Attorneys Office in Western Tennessee, WBTV.com says that according to the complaint, about a month ago, Cowart and Schlesselman met via the internet through a mutual friend and both claim to have very strong beliefs regarding "White Power" and "Skinhead" philosophy. Talk soon turned to going on a "killing spree," and they discussed robbing a gun shop to obtain weapons and ammunition.
On Oct. 20, Cowart allegedly traveled from Tennessee to Arkansas to pick up Schlesselman to carry out the plan. They then talked in more detail about how their killing spree would include targeting a predominately African American School, and the culmination of their violence would be to assassinate Obama.
"The United States Secret Service takes all threats against Presidential Candidates seriously and is actively investigating the allegations," said Richard Harlow, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service-Memphis Field Office. "The Secret Service does not comment on this type of investigation."
The complaint says Cowart and Schlesselman wanted to die trying to kill Obama.
After getting a female friend to drive their car, between 11 p.m. on Oct. 21 and 2 a.m. on Oct. 22, the men made plans to rob a house but were scared off by a dog and two cars at the location. They dropped the woman off at home then went to a local retail store to purchase nylon rope and two ski masks.
They were arrested Oct. 22 by the Crockett County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee, which contacted the feds.
Cowart and Schlesselman had their Initial Appearances in Federal Court today and are scheduled to be back in court on Thursday in Memphis, Tenn.
Authorities in August investigated whether a man arrested with rifles, ammunition and drugs in his truck during the Democratic convention in Denver made statements threatening Obama, but they said he never posed a "credible threat."
Officials arrested three men and a woman suspected of plotting to shoot the Democratic presidential nominee as he gave his acceptance speech for his party's nomination.
AP reports.In court records unsealed Monday, ATF agents said they disrupted plans to rob a gun store and target an unnamed, predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads - one from Arkansas and one from Tennessee. National Public Radio confirmed the report. Political Machine has not yet heard back from the ATF's Nashville division, and we were on hold for about 15 minutes with the Washington office.
Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville field office for the ATF, said the two men planned to shoot 88 black people and decapitate another 14.
The men also wanted to go on a national killing spree, with Obama as its final target, Cavanaugh told the AP.
"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."
In white supremacist code, 14 stands for the "14 words" slogan coined by David Lane: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." 88 means "Heil Hitler," as H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
Lane was a member of The Order, a white supremacist terrorist group that carried out armed robberies, assassinations and other crimes during the 1980s, who was serving a 190-year sentence for his part in the murder of a Jewish talk show host when he died.
The men being accused of the plot are Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn. and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark.. They were officially charged in a federal complaint, Friday, Oct. 24. The complaint charges the two with the illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a federal firearms dealer, and making threats against a major candidate for the office of president.
The investigation is continuing, and more charges are possible. AP says the court records say Cowart and Schlesselman were going to rob houses to fund their state-to-state spree. Court documents also show that the two "planned to drive their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows."
Citing the U.S. Attorneys Office in Western Tennessee, WBTV.com says that according to the complaint, about a month ago, Cowart and Schlesselman met via the internet through a mutual friend and both claim to have very strong beliefs regarding "White Power" and "Skinhead" philosophy. Talk soon turned to going on a "killing spree," and they discussed robbing a gun shop to obtain weapons and ammunition.
On Oct. 20, Cowart allegedly traveled from Tennessee to Arkansas to pick up Schlesselman to carry out the plan. They then talked in more detail about how their killing spree would include targeting a predominately African American School, and the culmination of their violence would be to assassinate Obama.
"The United States Secret Service takes all threats against Presidential Candidates seriously and is actively investigating the allegations," said Richard Harlow, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service-Memphis Field Office. "The Secret Service does not comment on this type of investigation."
The complaint says Cowart and Schlesselman wanted to die trying to kill Obama.
After getting a female friend to drive their car, between 11 p.m. on Oct. 21 and 2 a.m. on Oct. 22, the men made plans to rob a house but were scared off by a dog and two cars at the location. They dropped the woman off at home then went to a local retail store to purchase nylon rope and two ski masks.
They were arrested Oct. 22 by the Crockett County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee, which contacted the feds.
Cowart and Schlesselman had their Initial Appearances in Federal Court today and are scheduled to be back in court on Thursday in Memphis, Tenn.
Authorities in August investigated whether a man arrested with rifles, ammunition and drugs in his truck during the Democratic convention in Denver made statements threatening Obama, but they said he never posed a "credible threat."
Officials arrested three men and a woman suspected of plotting to shoot the Democratic presidential nominee as he gave his acceptance speech for his party's nomination.