2 men accused of planning massacre, targeting Obama
WASHINGTON -- Federal authorities have foiled an alleged assassination plot targeting Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama that was hatched by two men with reported links to the white supremacy movement, prosecutors said Monday.
The two suspects allegedly began discussing the plot a month ago. They planned a "killing spree" that would first target a predominately African-American school, federal court documents say. They planned to kill 88 people, the documents say, including beheading 14 black victims. The rampage allegedly was to include "a final act of violence" with the assassination of Obama.
Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., were arrested and charged with federal weapons violations and threatening a presidential candidate.
Attempts to contact the suspects' relatives were unsuccessful.
"The allegations set forth in this criminal complaint are serious and will be treated as such," Tennessee U.S. Attorney Lawrence Laurenzi said.
Robert Browning, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, described the plot as "loosely" organized and said authorities are investigating whether the suspects could have carried out such an attack.
The Crockett County, Tenn., sheriff's department arrested the men Wednesday for suspected firearms violations, then contacted federal authorities.
The suspects separately told investigators that they planned to fund the killings through home robberies, the documents say. The alleged plot included the planned robbery of a firearms dealer to get weapons and ammunition.
After the planned attack on an unidentified school, Schlesselman said, they "planned to drive their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama, shooting at him from the windows," documents say. The suspects also told investigators they planned to dress in white tuxedos and top-hats during the attack.
At the time of their arrests, the suspects had two handguns and two rifles, according to court documents.
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