An arrest in Minnesota today pulled back the curtain on anarchist plans for the Republican National Convention here in September, federal authorities said.
Prompted by a hatred of conservatism and Republican leaders who have hamstrung the nation's economy, a 59-year-old man hatched detailed plans to disrupt the convention here in September, according to local law enforcement who found threatening messages in the man's backpack during a routine traffic stop for failure to yield to a luxury vehicle.
More charges await the man, who authorities say has been frustrated by a lack of public good will, no reduction in greenhouse gases and what he perceived as the conservative ruination of the United States.
He is believed to be part of larger anarchist ring, said officials who did not wish to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about convention security measures.
Among the evidence were three incriminating books found in a search of the suspect's house: Bicycles Locked to Poles, believed to be a how-to manual for massive civil disobedience; Letters to Wendy's, a cryptic, vaguely threatening set of messages purportedly written to the hamburger chain on customer satisfaction cards; and something of the suspect's own making that, officials confessed, hardly qualified as book at all — a fan-like object bound with electrical wiring that made references to the London Subway Bombings: We are All Brazilian Electricians.
— "Three Books Provide Chilling Clue to Anarchist's Intentions"
By now you may have heard about the man who brought a shotgun into a Knoxville Unitarian church and murdered two strangers. After firing three rounds, he was overpowered by several unarmed church members. The church may have been targeted because the suspect's ex-wife once attended, and because it was a visible champion of liberal causes.
There are aspects of the narrative that invite speculation: "semiautomatic weapon" (it only held three shells); "shortened barrel" (he sawed it off, apparently in anticipation of the assault); angered by "liberal philosophies and issues pertaining to gays," though his troubles seemed related to the economy and his inability to find a job.
Easiest to jump on were the reports of books by three right-wing fulminators seized from his house: The O'Reilly Factor, by loudmouth Bill O'Reilly; Liberalism is a Mental Disorder, by radio attack dog Michael Savage; and Let Freedom Ring, by patriotic choir boy Sean Hannity.
No doubt the poison spewed by these entertainers helped warp an already troubled mind looking for confirmation that he wasn't responsible for his own troubles. And no doubt the authors are figuring out how to back away from his crime while maintaining the franchise.
Then I thought about the books in my house, and how they might be used to establish my guilt.
What would three books say about you?
