Your faulty argument is based on the false premise that there is an equal amount of hate speech and violence coming from both sides. Please consider this short list so that you may disabuse yourself of that false equivalency.<br>
<br>-Reggie<br><br> <strong>July 27, 2008</strong>—Jim Adkisson shoots and kills two people at a progressive church in Knoxville, Tennessee, wounding two. Adkisson calls it “<a href="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/knoxville-church-shooters-manifesto">a symbolic killing</a>” because he really “<a href="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/knoxville-church-shooters-manifesto">wanted to kill…every Democrat in the Senate & House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg's book</a>,” but was unable to gain access to them.<br>
<br> <strong>September 18, 2008</strong>—Dick Heller, the plaintiff from the case of <em>District of Columbia v. Heller</em>,
provides testimony to the D.C. Council regarding firearm-related
legislation. Heller’s written, submitted testimony states, in part: "‘<a href="http://www.csgv.org/storage/documents/HELLER%20TESTIMONY%209-18-08.pdf">We
the people,’ armed, are TRULY what the Writers of the Constitution
intended for us to be in Art. 1, Sec. 8, para. 15, and that is the
CITIZEN MILITIA. If suicide terrorists DO attact our city, ARMED
CITIZENS could be the First to counter these hostilities in our
individual neighborhoods</a>.”<br> <br> <strong>September 22, 2008</strong>—The National Rifle Association launches its <a href="http://www.gunbanobama.com/">GunBanObama website</a>, which predicts that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, “<a href="http://www.gunbanobama.com/Default.aspx?NavGuid=99ac1df3-2e0b-454c-a039-dffd66849533">if elected…would be the most anti-gun president in American history</a>.” The website is part of a $15 million NRA campaign to discredit Obama.<br>
<br> <strong>December 9, 2008</strong>—FBI
teams investigating the murder of white supremacist James Cumming, 29, a
resident of Belfast, Maine, find supplies for a crude radiological
dispersal dervice and other explosives in his home. Cumming's wife, who
shot him to death after being abused by him repeatedly, explains, "<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2022516,00.html">His
intentions were to construct a dirty bomb and take it to Washington to
kill President Obama. He was planning to hide it in the undercarriage of
our moter home</a>."<br><strong><br></strong><strong>February 5, 2009</strong>—FOX commentator Glenn Beck hosts an hour-long special on Fox called “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKKUfmFL3Cs">We Surround Them</a>,”
a “grassroots effort to wake up our Nation's leaders and let them know
what many, if not most, Americans truly believe in and stand for.”<br> <br> <strong>February 20, 2009</strong>—FOX commentator Glenn Beck hosts a program that games a 2014 civil war scenario called “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8La5xLYo2-s">The Bubba Effect</a>.” It involves citizen militias in the South and West taking up arms against the U.S. government.<br>
<br> <strong>March 3, 2009</strong>— FOX commentator Glenn Beck interviews NRA celebrity spokesman Chuck Norris. During the interview, Beck states that, “<a href="http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/22220/">Somebody
asked me this morning, they said, ‘you really believe that there's
going to be trouble in the future?’ And I said, ‘if this country starts
to spiral out of control and, you know, and Mexico melts down or
whatever, if it really starts to spiral out of control, before America
allows a country to become a totalitarian country … Americans will, they
just, they won't stand for it. There will be parts of the country that
will rise up.’ And they said, ‘where's that going to come from?’ And I
said, ‘Texas, it's going to come from Texas</a>.’”<br> <br> <strong>March 9, 2009</strong>—NRA celebrity spokesman Chuck Norris writes in an editorial published at WorldNetDaily: “<a href="http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=91103">How
much more will Americans take? When will enough be enough? And, when
that time comes, will our leaders finally listen or will history need to
record a second American Revolution?</a>”<br> <br> <strong>March 11, 2009</strong>—NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre speaks at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference and announces that “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqAWQ-TMF3I">Our Founding Fathers understood that the guys with the guns make the rules</a>.”<br>
<br> <strong>March 21-22, 2009</strong>—Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) states that she wants residents of her state to be “<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/23/michele-bachmann-i-want-p_n_178156.html">armed
and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight
back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then
is a good thing,’ and the people—we the people—are going to have to
fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country</a>.”<br> <br> <strong>April 4, 2009</strong>—Neo-Nazi
Richard Poplawski shoots and kills three police officers responding to a
911 call to his home in Pittsburgh. His friend Edward Perkovic tells
reporters that Poplawski feared “<a href="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/pittsburgh-shooter-poplawski-didnt-o">the Obama gun ban that’s on its way</a>” and “<a href="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/pittsburgh-shooter-poplawski-didnt-o">didn’t like our rights being infringed upon</a>.” Perkovic also commented that Poplawski carried out the shooting because “<a href="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001115/">if anyone tried to take his firearms, he was gonna’ stand by what his forefathers told him to do</a>.”<br>
<br> <strong>April 7, 2009</strong>—The
Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis
releases an assessment of right wing extremism in the United States. The
Department notes that “<a href="http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf">the
economic downturn and the election of the first African American
president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and
recruitment</a>.” Recalling the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh, the Department speculates, “<a href="http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf">The
possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of
military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their
communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups
or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks</a>.”<br> <br> <strong>April 15, 2009</strong>—Daniel Knight Hayden, 52, is arrested by FBI agents after he openly states on <a href="http://twitter.com/citizenquasar">Twitter</a>
that he is going to turn the upcoming Oklahoma City “Tea Party” into a
bloodbath. Two months earlier, Hayden had written online, “<a href="http://www.jackbloodforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=22193&p=123690#p123690">The
only thing that is keeping the New World Order from destroying this
nation is the presence of over 100,000,000 guns in civilian hands. When
guns are outlawed, only criminals will have guns. Since we are already
criminals in the eyes of the New World Order, and they intend to enslave
us all, and to kill those of us who will NOT submit to their slavery, I
say to IGNORE gun "laws" and keep your guns (AND ammo) handy</a>.”<br> <br><strong>April 19, 2009</strong>—The <a href="http://oathkeepers.org/">Oath Keepers</a>,
an anti-government group made up of current and former law enforcement
and military personnel, holds its first "muster" in Lexington,
Massachusetts, the site of the opening shots of the Revolutionary War.
The groups' members pledge to disobey ten different orders that they
deem "<a href="http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2009/03/03/declaration-of-orders-we-will-not-obey/">unconstitutional</a>" and "<a href="http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2009/03/03/declaration-of-orders-we-will-not-obey/">immoral</a>," the first of which reads, "<a href="http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2009/03/03/declaration-of-orders-we-will-not-obey/">We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people</a>."<br>
<br><strong>April 25, 2009</strong>—Joshua
Cartwright, 28, a member of the Florida National Guard, shoots and
kills two Okaloosa County sheriff's deputies attempting to arrest him on
a domestic abuse charge. Cartwright is killed in an enusing gun battle
with police. Cartwright's wife reports that he was "<a href="http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/cartwright-16963-elizabeth-deputies.html">severely disturbed</a>" that Barack Obama had been elected president. Okaloosa County Sheriff Edward Spooner states that Cartrwight was "<a href="http://cbs2.com/national/police.shooting.sheriffs.2.995014.html">interested in militia groups and weapons training</a>."<br>
<br><strong>May 2009</strong>—Data released by the U.S. Marshals Service indicates that <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/24/AR2009052402931.html">threats to the nation's judges and prosecutors have more than doubled in the past six years, from 592 in 2003 to 1,278 in 2008</a>.
Federal officials blame a number of parties, including the "sovereign
citizen" movement—an unorganized grouping of tax protesters, white
supremacists, and others who don't respect federal authority. <br><br><strong>May 21-22, 2009</strong>—<a href="http://www.wethepeoplefoundation.org/">We The People</a> Chairman Bob Schultz hosts a gathering of 30 "freedom keepers" in Jekyll Island, Georgia. The meeting plays "<a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/spring/midwifing-the-militias">a key role in launching the current resurgence of militias and the larger anti-government 'Patriot' movement</a>." One of the participants, former Texas militia leader Jon Roland, claims the federal government has "<a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/spring/midwifing-the-militias">been engaging in warlike activity against the American people</a>."<br>
<br> <strong>May 31, 2009</strong>—Scott
P. Roeder shoots and kills Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider, in
the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas. The FBI
lists Roeder as a member of the Montana Freemen, a radical
anti-government group. In April 1996, he had been pulled over in Topeka,
Kansas, for driving with a homemade license plate. Police found a
military-style rifle, ammunition, a blasting cap, a fuse cord, a
one-pound can of gunpowder, and two 9-volt batteries in his car.<br> <br> <strong>June 3, 2009</strong>—Hal
Turner, a New Jersey resident and white supremacist blogger/radio host,
is arrested on charges of inciting injury after calling for the deaths
of two Connecticut state legislators on his blog because they sponsored a
bill that would have transferred financial power in Roman Catholic
parishes from priests and bishops to lay members. “<a href="http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/northbergen/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1244183127151340.xml&coll=3">While filing a lawsuit is quaint and the 'decent' way to handle things</a>,” he wrote, “<a href="http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/northbergen/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1244183127151340.xml&coll=3">we
at TRN (Turner Radio Network) believe that being decent to a group of
tyrannical scumbags is the wrong approach. It's too soft. Thankfully,
the Founding Fathers gave us the tools necessary to resolve tyranny: The
Second Amendment. TRN advocates Catholics in Connecticut take up arms
and put down this tyranny by force ... If any state attorney, police
department or court thinks they're going to get uppity with us about
this, I suspect we have enough bullets to put them down, too</a>.”<br> <br> <strong>June 10, 2009</strong>—James W. von Brunn, a convicted felon and a “<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/10/dc.museum.shooting.suspect/">hardcore Neo-Nazi</a>,”
walks into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and
shoots and kills a security guard. Von Brunn believed that Western
civilization was going to be replaced with a “<a href="http://www.salon.com/news/primary_sources/2009/06/10/von_brunn/index.html">ONE WORLD ILLUMINATI GOVERNMENT</a>” that would “<a href="http://www.salon.com/news/primary_sources/2009/06/10/von_brunn/index.html">confiscate private weapons</a>” in order to accomplish its goals.<strong><br>
</strong><br> <strong>June 24, 2009</strong>—Hal
Turner, a New Jersey resident and white supremacist blogger/radio host,
is arrested again after calling for the murder of three
Republican-appointed jurists on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals who had
issued a June 2 decision upholding handgun restrictions in
Chicago. Writing on his blog, Turner says, “<a href="http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/06/hate_blogger_hal_turner_arrest.html">Let me be the first to say this plainly: these judges deserve to be killed</a>,”
and includes photographs, phone numbers, work addresses, and room
numbers of the judges, as well as a map of Chicago’s federal courthouse
which points out its “anti-truck bomb” pylons. <br> <br> <strong>July 13, 2009</strong>—<a href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7db_1247676436">Gilbert Ortez, Jr. kills a police deputy in Chambers County, Texas, with an assault rifle</a>. Police
were responding to reports that Ortez or his wife had fired shots at
utility workers in the area. Police searching Ortez’s mobile home after a
10-hour standoff find more than 100 explosive devices; Nazi drawings
and extremist literature; and several additional firearms.<strong><br><br>July 15, 2009</strong>—Katherine
Crabill, a Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in
the state’s 99th District makes headlines by calling on Americans to
resist the course President Obama has set for the country. Appearing at
a “Tea Party” rally, Crabill quotes a 1775 speech by Patrick Henry and
then states, “<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071604070.html">We
have a chance to fight this battle at the ballot box before we have to
resort to the bullet box. But that's the beauty of our Second Amendment
right. I am glad for all of us who enjoy the use of firearms for
hunting. But make no mistake. That was not the intent of the Founding
Fathers. Our Second Amendment right was to guard against tyranny</a>.” This thought is reinforced on Crabill’s campaign website, where she states the Second Amendment “<a href="http://www.catherinecrabill.com/catherine_crabill_for_del/issues/">was clearly intended for self defense as well as, and more specifically, to keep the government on notice of an armed citizenry</a>.”<strong><br>
<br>July 31, 2009</strong>—On WWJB-AM in Hernando County, <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article1026150.ece">Florida, talk radio host Bob Haa takes a call from a listener who mentions ammunition, target practice, and Barack Obama</a>. Haa
tells him not to waste his ammunition on targets, to save it for the
administration. Haa is later visited by an agent for the Secret Service.<strong></strong><strong><br><br>August 11, 2009</strong>—William
Kostric is filmed openly carrying a handgun outside of President
Obama's health care reform town hall meeting in New Hampshire. Kostric
holds a sign that reads, "IT IS TIME TO WATER THE TREE OF LIBERTY!" a
reference to the following Thomas Jefferson quote: "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-horwitz/thomas-jefferson-and-the_b_273800.html">The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants</a>."<strong><br>
<br>August 17, 2009</strong>—Chris
Broughton openly carries a handgun and AR-15 semiautomatic assault
rifle to a health care rally in Phoenix, Arizona. Simultaneously,
President Obama addresses a VFW Convention across the street. In a video
recorded that day, Broughton states, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63GiXzpfGhA">What
do you think we did in the revolution, in the American Revolution? The
British weren't stealing money from us for health care. They weren't
taxing us the way they are now back then. And what did we do? We
forcefully kicked them out of our country, and <strong>we will forcefully resist people imposing their will on us through the strength of the majority with a vote</strong></a>.”<br>
<p><strong><br> </strong><strong>August 25, 2009</strong>—During a GOP
barbecue in Twin Falls, Idaho, an audience member asks Rex Rammell, a
candidate in the 2010 Idaho Republican Primary, a question about "Obama
tags" during a discussion about state-issued tags for wolf hunting.
Rammell responds, "<a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2009/08/28/880461/idaho-gop-leaders-condemn-rammell.html">The Obama tags? We'd buy some of those</a>." In a subsequent press release, he adds, "<a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2009/08/28/880461/idaho-gop-leaders-condemn-rammell.html">Anyone
who understands the law knows I was just joking, because Idaho has no
jurisdiction to issue hunting tags in Washington, D.C.</a>"<br><br><strong>August 26, 2009</strong>—At a secessionist rally on the state capitol steps in Austin, Texas, gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina states that, "<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show#32635648">We
are aware that stepping off into secession may in fact be a bloody
war. We are aware. We understand that the tree of freedom is
occasionally watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots</a>.”<br> <strong><br> September 9, 2009</strong>—With
President Barack Obama at the U.S. Capitol to address a joint session
of Congress on the subject of health care reform, Joshua Bowman, 28, of
Falls Church, Virginia, attempts to drive his Honda Civic into a secure
area near the building. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/10/josh-bowman-man-with-gun-_n_282397.html">U.S. Capitol Police stop him and, searching his vehicle, find a rifle, a shotgun, and 500 rounds of ammunition</a>. He is arrested on weapons charges.<br>
<br> <strong>September 25-26, 2009</strong>—Kitty Werthmann, a speaker at the “How to Take Back America” Conference in St. Louis, tells her audience, “<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/28/werthmann-nazism-socialism/">If
we had our guns [during the time of the Nazis’ reign in Germany], we
would have fought a bloody battle. So, keep your guns, and buy more
guns, and buy ammunition. Take back America. Don’t let them take the
country into Socialism. And I refer again, Hitler’s party was National
Socialism. And that’s what we are having here right now, which is
bordering on Marxism</a>.”<strong><br> <br> September 28, 2009</strong>—Rep.
Paul Broun (R-GA), the Chairman of the Second Amendment Task Force in
the U.S. House of Representatives, calls House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a “<a href="http://blogs.onlineathens.com/node/1425">domestic enemy of the Constitution</a>” at a health care reform town hall meeting.<br> <br> <strong>September 29, 2009</strong>—An <a href="http://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/pdf/newsmax-20090929-perry_coup.pdf">editorial</a> at the Newsmax website calls for a military coup to oust President Obama. <br>
<br> <strong>September 30, 2009</strong>—The
Michelangelo Signorile Show, a talk radio program on Sirus, takes a
call from “Jim” from Oklahoma, who claims that he and 200 others are
meeting weekly to stage a coup against President Obama. Jim says they
want to restore their "a right to bear arms" and bring the country back
to where it was 400 years ago, before slavery was abolished.<br> <br> <strong>October 18-19, 2009</strong>—Reports emerge that <a href="http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/new-report-find-secret-service-overwhelmed-by-increased-threats.php">the Secret Service has received an unprecedented number of death threats against President Obama</a>. Ronald Kessler's account of presidential security, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Presidents-Secret-Service-Behind-Protect/dp/0307461351">In the President's Secret Service</a></em>,
states that there has been a 400% increase in such threats in
comparison with Obama’s predecessor. Another source of these reports is
an August 5, 2009 study by the Congressional Research Service which
finds: “The [Secret] Service’s protection mission has increased and
become more ‘urgent’ due to the increase in terrorist threats and the
expanded arsenal of weapons that terrorists could use in an
assassination attempt or attacks on facilities.”<br> <br> <strong>October 21, 2009</strong>—<a href="http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/nation/newark-security-guard-john-brek-arraigned-on-3-charges-for-threats-against-president-obama">John Brek, a 55 year-old Newark Airport security guard, is arrested for making terroristic threats against President Obama</a>. Authorities
find 43 firearms while searching his home, including a stolen rifle.
Brek, a National Rifle Association member, is also found to be in
possession of illegal hollow point bullets.<br> <br> <strong>November 2009—</strong>Billboard
is erected on I-70 in Lafayette County, Missouri, that promotes "a
citizens guide to REVOLUTION." It urges Missourians to "LIVE FREE OR
DIE" and "PREPARE FOR WAR" with a corrupt government. The billboard is
highlighted at the <a href="http://lafayettecountyrepublicans.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-i-70-billboard-replaces-famed.html">Lafayette County Republicans website</a>.</p>
<p><strong>November 11-22, 2009—</strong>More than 100 delegates from across the country attend a "Continental Congress" hosted by <a href="http://www.wethepeoplefoundation.org/">We The People</a>.
Attendees include Neo-Confederate secessionists, "Common Law Court"
enthusiasts, adherents of the "Sovereign Citizens" movement, militia
backers, and other radicals. Planned at an earlier May meeting in Jekyll
Island, the Congress issues a document entitled the "<a href="http://www.alamogordo2atf.com/AOF_20100128.pdf">Articles of Freedom</a>" which declares that the federal government "<a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/spring/midwifing-the-militias">now threatens our Life, Liberty and Property through usurpations of the Constitution</a>."<strong><br>
<br></strong><strong>November 29, 2009—</strong>Conservative web publisher Andrew Breitbart tweets, "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200911290004">Capital punishment for Dr James Hansen. Climategate is high treason</a>."
Hansen, who heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is a
noted researcher on the effect of greenhouse gas emissions and an
activist who has called for public policies to mitigate the effects of
global warming.<br><strong><br>December 23, 2009</strong><strong>—</strong>Warren
"Gator" Taylor takes three people hostage at a federal post office in
Wytheville, Virginia. He is armed with four guns, including a
.40-caliber Glock pistol, despite a criminal record that includes
convictions for lewd and lascivious beheavior with a 13 year-old and
attempted second-degree murder (Taylor shot his ex-wife three times in a
parking lot in 1993). Taylor fires at least three rounds before the
stand-off ends, including one at the station's fleeing postmaster. One
of Taylor's hostages reports that he was angry about taxes and "<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091225/ap_on_re_us/us_hostage_situation_post_office">the government taking over the right to bear arms</a>."<br>
<br><strong>January 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>A
group of nearly 200 "extremely concerned citizens" in Ravalli County,
Montana, demand that local elected officials fill out a "<a href="http://ravallirepublic.com/123/militia_petition/petition.pdf">questionnaire</a>"
pledging to form a local militia, prohibit mandatory vaccinations,
allow citizens to bear any type of firearms they choose (including fully
automatic machine guns), and require federal government employees to
get written approval before approaching "any Citizen" in the county. The
questionnaire is organized in part by Celebrating Conservatism, a group
with <a href="http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/IndyBlog/archives/2009/08/18/conservatismor-extremism">direct ties to the militia movement</a>.<br><strong><br>January 2, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>More than 300 people attend a rally in Alamogordo, New Mexico, organized by the local Otero Tea Party Patriots and <a href="http://www.alamogordo2atf.org/">Second Amendment Task Force</a>.
The purpose of the rally is to protest health care reform, and many of
the rally's participants openly carry handguns and/or rifles. One
attendee states that his handgun is a “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqjVWifq4Kc">very open threat</a>” to the “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqjVWifq4Kc">socialist communists</a>” in the Obama Administration. “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqjVWifq4Kc">The government fears the people, and a disarmed people are slaves</a>,” he says. “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqjVWifq4Kc">Political power comes from the barrel of a gun ... They’re pushing us to our limits</a>.”<br>
<br><strong>January 12, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Mark
Campano of Cuyhaoga Falls, Ohio, pleads not guilty to charges of
possessing destructive devices not registered with the federal
government. Law enforcement are called to Campano's apartment in
November 2009 after he accidentally detonates a pipe bomb and loses
parts of two fingers. They find 30 pipe bombs, 17 rifles and handguns,
and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the dwelling. Campano's
next-door neighbor states, "<a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/law_enforcement_investigating.html">He
was always trying to get me and another neighbor to listen to
anti-government tapes and watch anti-government videos ... He was some
kind of radical, and he didn't believe in the government</a>."<br><br><strong>January 12, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Charles Allan Dyer, 29, a former Marine with ties to Tea Parties and far-right-wing organizations like <a href="http://oathkeepers.org/oath/">Oath Keepers</a>,
is arrested at his home on charges of raping a 7 year old-girl.
Sheriff's deputies find several firearms inside Dyer's home and a Colt
M-203 40mm grenade launcher, which was stolen from a military base in
Fort Irwin, California, in 2006. Dyer had been an organizer of militia
groups in Oklahoma and told one interviewer, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CNNiGwUDJs">I'm
going to use my training and become one of those domestic terrorists
that you're so afraid of from the [Department of Homeland Security
(DHS)] reports</a>." In another video, Dyer states, "<a href="http://www.irehr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43:tea-partying-militia-leader-arrested-for-rape-possessing-a-grenade-launcher&catid=9:news&Itemid=23">With
DHS blatantly calling patriots, veterans, and constitutionalists a
threat, all that I have to say is you’re damn right we're a threat.
We're a threat to anyone that endangers our rights and the Constitution
of this republic</a>."<br><br><strong>February 9, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Gregory
Girard of Manchester, Massachusetts, is arrested for weapons charges
after police find 20 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and
explosive devices in his home. Girard's wife says that her husband
recently told her, "<a href="http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_041222314.html">Don't talk to people, shoot them instead</a>." In a January 30 post at a popular website affiliated with the Tea Party movement, Girard stated: "<a href="http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2734278%3ABlogPost%3A154819&commentId=2734278%3AComment%3A154896&xg_source=activity">We
have been in a state of war and state of emergency of some time for
decades uninterupted ... The entire body of these War Powers and
'continuity of gov't' plans render our concept of a Constitutional
Republic to be little more than thin veil of civility and justice
layered over a monsterous, diabolic dictatorship that would break out of
political cage but for Americans vigorously exercising their 2nd
Amendment rights ... As it stands today at start of 2010, there is never
a time that our gov't would find itself without some excuse, no matter
how perverse, as the justification for unleashing their murderous 'War
Powers' monster upon the public, in an attempt to subject us to tyranny</a>."<br><br><strong>February 13, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>An
unidentified speaker at an event organized by the Lewis and Clark Tea
Party Patriots in Asotin County, Washington, tells the audience, "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/17/idaho-tea-party-speaker-h_n_466261.html?ref=fb">How
many of you have watched the movie "Lonesome Dove"? What happened to
Jake when he ran with the wrong crowd? He got hung. And that's what I
want to do with [Democratic U.S. Senator] Patty Murray</a>."</p>
<p><strong>February 18, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Joseph
Stack of Austin, Texas, flies a single-engine plane into an office
building containing nearly 200 IRS employees, killing one and wounding
13. In a suicide note, Stack lays out his grievances with the federal
tax agency, stating, "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/joe-stack-statement-alleg_n_467539.html?page=1">The
law 'requires' a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one
can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that's
not 'duress' than what is. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian
regime, nothing is ... Violence not only is the answer, it is the only
answer</a>."<br><br><strong>February 19, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Johnny
Logan, Jr. of Louisville, Kentucky, is arrested and charged with making
threats against the president after his poem titled "The Sniper" is
found on the website NaziSpace/NewSaxon.org by the U.S. Secret Service.
The poem reads, in part: "<a href="http://www.wlky.com/download/2010/0219/22615404.pdf">As
the tyrant enters his cross hairs the breath he takes is deep. His
focus is square on the target as he begins to release. A patriot for his
people he knows this shot will cost his life. But for his race and
their existence it is a small sacrifice. The bullet that he has
chambered is one of the purest pride. And the inspiration on the casing
reads DIE negro DIE. He breathes out as he pulls the trigger releasing
all his hate. And a smile appears upon his face as he seals that
monkey's fate. The bullet screams toward its mark bringing with it
death. And where there was once a face there is nothing left. Two blood
covered agents stare in horror and dismay. Looking down toward the
ground where their president now lay</a>."<br><br><strong>February 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Pvt. 1st Class Lee Pary, an active duty soldier at Fort Drum and member of <a href="http://oathkeepers.org/oath/">Oath Keepers</a>,
tells a reporter that he and five fellow service members at the Army
base are preparing to take on the U.S. government when it declares
martial law, and will turn their guns on their fellow soldiers should it
become necessary. "<a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/oath-keepers">I know their tactics</a>," says Pray. "<a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/oath-keepers">I
know how they...work their convoys—if we attack this vehicle, what the
others will do ... If the government continues to ignore us, and forces
us to engage, I'm willing to fight to the death</a>."<br><br><strong>March 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) announces that 2009 saw a dramatic
increase in the number of new anti-government "Patriot" groups in the
United States. Specifically, <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/spring/rage-on-the-right">the number of Patriot groups jumped from 149 (including 42 militias) to 512 (127 of them militias) in 2009<strong>—</strong>a 244% jump</a>.<br>
<br><strong>March 2, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>FOX News commentator Bill O'Reilly, speaking about the <em>McDonald v. Chicago </em>case before the Supreme Court, declares that plaintiff Otis McDonald's inability to own a handgun in Chicago amounts to "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/research/201003030001">tyranny</a>." Predicting that four justices on the Court will side with the city of Chicago, O'Reilly states, "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/research/201003030001">It's
interesting that in America today the far Left that wants the
government to call the shots, not the folks. In the past, Right-Wing
extremists like Hitler and Mussolini were in the forefront of state
control. But with the exception of Burma, today's totalitarians are
primarily on the Left</a>."</p>
<p><strong>March 4, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>John Patrick Bedell, a
California resident, travels to Arlington, Virginia, and opens fire on
police officers at the entrance to the Pentagon. Bedell is armed with
two semiautomatic firearms and "many [ammunition] magazines." Bedell
injures two officers before he is killed by return fire. Reports reveals
Bedell to be a Truther who believed that the U.S. government had been
taken over by a criminal organization in a 1963 coup. In an Internet
posting, he writes, "<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iCKwXk17aAr3T_8Z9nN4iUwQPnngD9E8KP283">This
organization, like so many murderous governments throughout history,
would see the sacrifice of thousands of its citizens, in an event such
as the September 11 attacks, as a small cost in order to perpetuate its
barbaric control</a>."</p>
<p><strong>March 19-22, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>During
consideration of health care reform legislation by the U.S. House of
Representatives, vandals attack Democratic offices in Pleasant Ridge,
Ohio; Wichita, Kansas; Tuscon, Arizona; Niagra Falls, New York; and
Rochester, New York. Mike Vanderboegh, the former leader of f the
Alabama Constitutional Militia, takes credit for the violence after
posting a blog on March 19 that states, "<a href="http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2010/03/to-all-modern-sons-of-liberty-this-is.html">If
we break the windows of hundreds, thousands, of Democratic party
headquarters across this country, we might just make up enough of them
to make defending ourselves at the muzzle of a rifle unnecessary</a>." Several Democratic members receive death threats, including Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), who is told snipers will "<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34907.html">kill the children of the members who voted YES</a>"; Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), who receives a message saying, "<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34907.html">You're dead; we know where you live; we'll get you</a>"; and Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO), whose staffer is told by a caller, "<a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/markey-got-threatening-phone-calls-before-vote.php">Better hope I don't run into you in a dark alley with a knife, a club or a gun</a>." House Minority Leader John Boehner, speaking about Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH), says he "<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34907.html">may be a dead man</a>."<strong><br>
<br>March 21, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>As
the U.S. House of Representatives enters a final round of debate over a
controversial health care reform bill, Conservative blogger Solomon
"Solly" Forrell calls for the assassination of President Barack Obama
on his Twitter account. In two separate postings, Forrel writes, "<a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/the-secret-service-is-investigating-a-conservative-bloggers-oba/19408303/">ASSASSINATION!
America, we survived the #Assassinations of #Lincoln & #Kennedy.
We'll surely get over a bullet 2 #BarackObama's head! ... The next
#American with a #Clear #Shot should drop #Obama like a bad habit</a>."<br><strong><br> March 21, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Russell
Laing, 52, is charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic
threats after a four-hour standoff with police at his home in
McCandless, Pennsylvania. Officers were responding to a 911 call after
Laing called a friend and said he couldn't walk. When police responded
to the call, Laing pointed an assault rifle at them and cocked the
weapon. After Laing was arrested, officers recovered approximately 150
guns and 15,000 rounds of ammunition from Laing's one-bedroom apartment.
"<a href="http://www.wpxi.com/news/22903086/detail.html">I can't explain it. In my 40 years, I've not seen that type of collection</a>," said McCandless Police Chief Gary Anderson.<br><br><strong>March 23, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>After
Mike Troxel of the Lynchburg Tea Party and Nigel Coleman of the
Danville Tea Party post the home address of the brother of Rep. Tom
Perriello (D-VA) and urge supporters to "<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34843.html">drop by</a>," someone <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35040.html">deliberately cuts</a>
a propane gas line at the house. Rep. Perriello is targeted by the Tea
Party activists because of his vote in favor of health care reform.
Perriello's brother and his wife have four children under the age of
eight.<br><strong><br>March 24, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>After voting for health care reform legislation, <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/stupak-receives-threatening-fax-with-drawing-of-noose.php">Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)</a> and <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/clyburn-says-photo-of-noose-faxed-to-his-office-after-hcr-vote-video.php">Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)</a> receive <span class="jce_file">faxes</span> with drawings of nooses.<br>
<br><strong>March 25, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Rep.
Anthony Weiner (D-NY), who voted for health care reform legislation,
receives a package containing white powder and an angry letter telling
him to "<a class="jce_file" title="drop dead" href="http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/White-Powder-Package-Sent-to-Congressman-Weiners-Office-89136827.html">drop dead</a> ."<br><br><strong>March 26, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR), who voted for health care reform legislation, receives a letter stating, "<a href="http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=121037.54928.133165">It
is apparent that it will take a few assassinations to stop Obamacare.
Militia central has selected you for assassination. If we cannot stalk
and find you in Washington, D.C., we will get you in Little Rock</a>."<br><br><strong>March 26, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>NRA Board Member Ted Nugent makes the following comment on FOX News' "Your World" program: “<a href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/4125942/nugent-new-independence-day-in-november?category_id=86858">I’m
the expert on the health care bill because I kill pigs and a just shot a
monster big pig here in Texas and seeing as how this is a pig bill
created by pig bureaucrats to help out American pigs … We gotta’ kill
the pig</a>.”<br><br><strong>March 29, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>A
Northeast Philadelphia man, Norman Leboon, is charged with threatening
the life of Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA). Leboon, 38, is arrested by
the FBI after posting a YouTube video in which he referred to Cantor's
family and threatened,"<a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/03/how-the-fbi-busts-youtube-terrorists-in-under-a-day.ars">bulllets...will be placed in your heads</a>."
Leboon made hundreds of YouTube videos with anti-government themes, and
threatened others, including President Barack Obama, the Democratic
Leadership in Congress, and the Pope. Leboon has a long history of
mental illness, but <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20100329_Phila__man_charged_with_threatening_GOP_congressman.html">was able to obtain a concealed handgun permit in Pennsylvania</a>, which alarmed his family.<br>
<br><strong>March 29, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Nine
members of the MIchigan-based "Hutaree" Christian militia are arrested
and charged with seditious conspiracy and attempting to deploy weapons
of mass destruction. The group had allegedly plotted to kill a law
enforcement officer and then detonate improvised explosive devices
(IEDs) during the officer's funeral procession. The group targeted
federal officials, members of the law enforcement "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032901541.html">brotherhood</a>" and other participants in the "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032901541.html">New World Order</a>."<br>
<br><strong>March 30, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Dozens of sitting governors receive letters from an extremist anti-government group called the <a href="http://guardiansofthefreerepublics.com/front-page.html">Guardians of the Free Republics</a>. The letters demand that the governors leave office within three days or "<a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/2136993,extremist-group-governors-removal-040210.article">they will be removed</a>" from office. A page on the group's website entitled "Rationale" reads, "<a href="http://guardiansofthefreerepublics.com/rationale.html">For
those who are concerned about opening the door to satanic forces,
permit me to reassure you. The Guardian Elders deliberated with great
sobriety the wisdom of sitting on our hands while the march to World
War III continues</a>."</p>
<p><strong>April 1, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>CNN commentator Erick
Erickson, questioning the legality of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American
Community Survey (ACS), makes the following comment on WMAC-AM radio: “<a href="http://www.macon.com/2010/04/06/1084164/erickson-draws-fire-for-gun-comment.html">We
have become, or are becoming, enslaved by the government ... I dare ‘em
to try to come throw me in jail. I dare ‘em to. [I’ll] pull out my
wife’s shotgun and see how that little ACS twerp likes being scared at
the door. They’re not going on my property</a>.”<br><br><strong>April 1-20, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Walter Fitzpatrick, a member of <a href="http://americangrandjury.org/">American Grand Jury (AGJ)</a>,
attempts to effect a citizen's arrest on grand jury foreman Gary
Pettway at the Monroe County courthouse in Madisonville, Tennessee, and
is arrested. Nineteen days later, on the day that Fitzpatrick is
scheduled to face trial, <a href="http://oathkeepers.org/oath/">Oath Keepers</a>
member Darren Huff is pulled over by Tennessee state troopers as he
attempts to drive to the courthouse to arrest county officials he calls "<a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/right-wing_extremists_take_on_local_law_enforcemen.php?ref=mp">domestic enemies of the United States engaged in treason</a>."
Huff is armed with a Colt-45 handgun and an AK-47 assault rifle with
300-400 rounds of ammunition. He is indicted on federal charges of
traveling in interstate commerce with intent to incite a riot and
transporting in commerce a firearm in furtherance of a civil disorder.<br><br><strong>April 6, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Authorities
charge Charles Alan Wilson of Selah, Washington, with threatening a
federal official after Wilson makes several phone calls to the office of
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). Wilson, a concealed handgun permit holder in
Washington, was angry about Sen. Murray's vote for health care reform
legislation and told her she had "<a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/417979_murray06.html">a target on her back.</a>" He also told Murray, "<a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/417979_murray06.html?source=mypi">Since
you are going to put my life at risk, and some bureaucrat is going to
determine my health care, your life is at risk, dear ... I hope somebody
puts a...bullet between your...eyes</a>."<br><br><strong>April 7, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Gregory
Lee Giusti, 48, of San Francisco, California, is arrested for making
threatening phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Giusti
allegedly called Pelosi dozens of times, recited her home address, and
told her that if she wanted to see it again, she should drop her support
for health care reform legislation. Giusti had a "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201004070058">history of mental health problems</a>" and his mother indicated he was influenced by "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201004070058">Fox News and all of those that are really radical</a>."<br>
<br><strong>April 7, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Brody
James Whitaker, 37, is apprehended and arrested on charges including
two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer,
aggravated fleeing, and attempting to elude. The charges stem from an
incident on March 25, 2010 in which police attempted to pull Whitaker
over for a traffic violation on I-75 in Sumter County, Florida. Whitaker
led officers on a high-speed chase, fired shots at them from a 9mm
handgun, and escaped capture. During his arraignment hearing, Whitaker
questions the authority of the judge and states, "<a href="http://articles.courant.com/2010-04-07/business/hc-manhunt-winsted-0406_1_troopers-state-police-bail">I am a sovereign. I am not an American citizen</a>." <br>
<br><strong>April 10, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>At a "Second Amendment March" organized by the <a href="http://www.ccdl.us/">Connecticut Citizens Defense League</a>, Martha Dean, the Republican-endorsed candidate for Attorney General in Connecticut, tells those in attendance, "<a href="http://aconnecticutlawblog.com/2010/06/martha-deans-land-of-screwy-habits/">If
government is legitimate and truly is the voice of the people, it need
never fear the people themselves when they’re armed. Only a government
that uses secrecy and force to impose improper laws [to] which the
people do not consent need fear the wrath of its law-abiding citizens at
the ballot box or, ultimately, with arms … Our right of free speech and
to back it up with arms if necessary if our government becomes
tyrannical and unjust as King George’s was to the colonists are the most
essential of the rights we as Americans have ... I will oppose all
efforts to create nonsensical distinctions that are nowhere supported by
our constitutions between different types of firearms. Nowhere in the
Constitution does it say that the government gets the effective firearms
and the people the ineffective ones. Nowhere in our Constitution does
it say that the government gets the modern firearms and the citizens
only get the antiquated ones</a>."<br><br><strong>April 13, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Reports
surface that state Sen. Randy Brogdon (R-OK) and Rep. Charles Key
(R-OK) have met with Oklahoma Tea Party groups to discuss the formation
of a new "<a href="http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0412/oklahomas-rightwing-lawmakers-aim-create-antifederal-militia/">volunteer militia</a>"
to defend against what they see as improprer federal infringements on
state sovereignty. Brogdon states that the Founding Fathers "<a href="http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0412/oklahomas-rightwing-lawmakers-aim-create-antifederal-militia/">were
not referring to a turkey shoot or a quail hunt. They really weren't
even talking about us having the ability to protect ourselves against
each other. The Second Amendment deals directly with the right of an
individual to keep and bear arms to protect themselves from an
overreaching federal government</a>." One Tea Party leader involved in
these meetings, J.W. Berry of the Tulsa-based OKforTea group, has called
for the Militia to "<a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_TQvZwccGEcJ:www.okfortea.com/documents/NewsLetterNo4.doc+site:okfortea.com+militia&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">launch a thousand guerrilla attacks on the plans that these people have to ruin us and our country</a>."<br>
<br><strong>April 19, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Pro-gun activists conduct two rallies in the Washington, D.C. area to demonstrate their opposition to an "<a href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36108">oppressive, totalitarian government</a>."
Among the featured speakers at the events are current and former
militia leaders and others with ties to extreme, anti-government groups.
The choice of date is significant, as April 19 marks the anniversary of
the first shots being fired in the American Revolution at the Battle of
Lexington/Concord, the fiery conclusion to the 1993 siege at Waco, and
the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City by Timothy
McVeigh. At the "Second Amendment March" in the District of Columbia,
Larry Pratt, the Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, states, "<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/19/second.amendment.rally/">We're
in a war. The other side knows they are at war, because they started
it. They are coming for our freedom, for our money, for our kids, for
our property. They are coming for everything because they are a bunch of
Socialists</a>." Mike Vanderboegh, who made national headlines after
taking credit for several instances of vandalism at Democratic offices
following votes on health care reform legislation, is the featured
speaker at a rally in Fort Hunt National Park in Virginia, where he
tells attendees, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRAJDVEpsdQ">Whenever
the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the
people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put
themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon
absolved from any further obedience ... This is what the other side
doesn’t understand! We are doing backing up! Done! Not one more inch</a>."<br><br><strong>May 4, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>A questioner at a Heritage Foundation event asks speaker Rep. Eric Cantor the question, "<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/05/04/cantor-event-heritage/">In
light of what Obama has done to leave us vulnerable, to cut defense
spending, to make us vulnerable to outside enemies, and to slight our
allies ... What would he have to do differently to be defined as a
domestic enemy?</a>" After smiling and stating that "<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/05/04/cantor-event-heritage/">no one thinks that the president is a domestic enemy</a>," Cantor is booed by several members of the audience.<br>
<br><strong>May 6, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Dr.
Christina Jeffrey, a Republican candidate in South Carolina's 4th
Congressional District, posts a YouTube video where she holds an AK-47
assault rifle and tells viewers, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoHJihLaQBw">Why
do we have the Second Amendment? The Second Amendment ensures all of
our other rights ... The Second Amendment was placed in the
Constitution, plainly, to ensure that our limited government stayed
limited and that we would be able to enforce those limitations if need
be ... We are a sovereign people. A sovereign people is an armed people</a>."<br><br><strong>May 15, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>At
the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Charlotte, North
Carolina, 2012 Republican presidential nominee hopeful Newt Gingrich
tells the audience, "<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/charlottewcnc-15750615/raw-video-newt-gingrich-speech-19869240;_ylt=AqiFpCtr9aIHoXoHhFkjPNuz174F;_ylu=X3oDMTEwazJwMzJvBHBvcwM1BHNlYwNjbGlwcwRzbGsDcmF3dmlkZW9uZXd0">The
Second Amendment is not in defense of hunting. It is not in defense of
target shooting. It is not in defense of collecting. The Second
Amendment is in defense of freedom from the State</a>." He goes on to
make the following reference to Thomas Jefferson's "The tree of liberty
must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and
tyrants" quote: "<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/charlottewcnc-15750615/raw-video-newt-gingrich-speech-19869240;_ylt=AqiFpCtr9aIHoXoHhFkjPNuz174F;_ylu=X3oDMTEwazJwMzJvBHBvcwM1BHNlYwNjbGlwcwRzbGsDcmF3dmlkZW9uZXd0">Anybody
who's historically honest has to admit [the Founding Fathers]
understood the right to bear arms because they routinely carried arms.
These were tough people in a tough time in a tough country doing tough
things and the idea that they would allow some D.C. city government or
some Washington federal bureaucrat to get between them and their
Constitutional rights, they would have said in Jefferson's terms was the
legitimate justification for a political revolution in every generation
which was what Jefferson thought was inevitable to clean out the
corruption, the arrogance, and the obsolenscence that government would
invariably have</a>."<br><br><strong>May 15, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Referring
to a controversial new anti-immigration law in Arizona, FOX News
personality Glenn Beck tells the 2010 NRA Convention, "<a href="http://www.watchglennbeck.com/video/appearances/Glenn-Beck-2010-NRA-Speech/">Let's
talk a minute about a 'well-regulated militia' and why you might need
one because the government isn't doing their job. Let's meet people in
Texas, Arizona and California</a>."<br><br><strong>May 20, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong><a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/kane_west_memphis_arkansas_shootings.php">Jerry
Kane, Jr., 45, and his son Joseph Kane, 16, fatally shoot two Arkansas
police officers with AK-47 assault rifles during a routine traffic stop
on Interstate 40 in West Memphis. The Kanes are killed during an
exchange of gunfire with police in a Walmart parking lot 90 minutes
later</a>. Jerry Kane, an Ohio resident and anti-government activist,
had a long history with police and had recently spent three days in jail
for driving with an expired license plate and no seat belt. Kane
considered himself a "sovereign citizen" and ran a business that
centered on debt-avoidance scams.<br><br><strong>May 27, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>The <em>Washington Times</em> publishes an editorial claiming that a United Nations treaty seeking to curb the international, illicit trade in smalls arms "<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/27/the-un-gun-grabber/">would necessarily lead to confication of personal firearms</a>" in the United States. The editorial goes on to say, "<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/27/the-un-gun-grabber/">Not
all insurgencies are bad. As U.S. history shows, one way to get rid of a
despotic regime is to rise up against it. That threat is why
authoritarian regimes such as Syria, Cuba, Rwanda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe,
and Sierra Leone endorse gun control ... Governments are a bigger threat
to most people than their neighbors</a>."<br><br><strong>May 30, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Sharron Angle, a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator in Nevada, tells the <em>Reno Gazette-Journal</em> that a recent increase in gun sales nationwide "<a href="http://www.rgj.com/article/20100530/NEWS19/5300350/1232/Sharron-Angle-s-conservative-credentials-wins-support-of-activist-army">tells
me that the nation is arming. What are they arming for if it isn't that
they are so distrustful of government? They're afraid they'll have to
fight for their liberty in more Second Amendment kinds of ways</a>." These comments echo ones made by Angle in January, when she told conservative radio show talk host Lars Larson, "<a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/06/sharron_angle_floated_possibil.html">You
know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for
a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against
a tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said it's good
for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. I hope that's not
where we're going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way
it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies
and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll
tell you the first thing we need to do is take [U.S. Senator from
Nevada] Harry Reid out</a>."<br><br><strong>May 31, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong><a href="http://oathkeepers.org/">Oath Keeper</a>
Rex Nichols, a candidate for sheriff in Montana's Lincoln County, makes
reference to federal agents' standoffs at Ruby Ridge in 1992 and Waco
in 1993 and promises to keep them out of the county if elected. "<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBaWAQ_JhXPNbueFC6eg2sV0tYwAD9G1OBU80">I am going to take my deputies and stand in the middle of the road and tell them to get the hell out</a>," says Nichols. "<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBaWAQ_JhXPNbueFC6eg2sV0tYwAD9G1OBU80">And if they want a war, they got it</a>."</p>
<p><strong>June 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Rick
Barber, a Tea Party candidate seeking the Republican nomination in
Alabama's Second Congressional District, runs a campaign ad in which he
dicusses contemporary political issues with America's Founding Fathers.
After Barber states "<a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/alabama-tea-partier-defends-gather-your-armies-tv-ad-video.php?ref=fpa">I would impeach him</a>" and rails about the "<a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/alabama-tea-partier-defends-gather-your-armies-tv-ad-video.php?ref=fpa">progressive income tax</a>," the Internal Revenue Service, and health care reform, a Founding Father replies, "<a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/alabama-tea-partier-defends-gather-your-armies-tv-ad-video.php?ref=fpa">Gather your armies</a>." Several Founding Fathers are depicted as being armed with pistols.<br>
<strong><br>June 9, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Addressing the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress, FOX commentator Glenn Beck says, "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201101220005">Tea
parties believe in small government. We believe in returning to the
principles of our Founding Fathers. We respect them. We revere them.
Shoot me in the head before I stop talking about the Founders. Shoot me
in the head if you try to change our government. I will stand against
you and so will millions of others. We believe in something. You in the
media and most in Washington don't. The radicals that you and Washington
have co-opted and brought in wearing sheep's clothing—change the pose.
You will get the ends. You've been using them? They believe in
communism. They believe and have called for a revolution. You're going
to have to shoot them in the head</a>."<br><br><strong>June 9, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Justine
Haynes, 31, of Phoenix is charged with threatening to kill a federal
official after making two calls to the office of U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva
(D-AZ). Haynes was incensed over Grijalva's opposition to Arizona's
controversial new immigration law and threatened to come to the
Congressman's office and “<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36281.html">blow everyone's head off</a>."<br><strong><br></strong><strong>June 27, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Rick
Barber, a Tea Party candidate seeking the Republican nomination in
Alabama's Second Congressional District, runs a campaign ad in which he
compares taxation and "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn14RwuJJRg">the tyrannical health care bill</a>" to slavery and the extermination of Jews in Nazi Germany. "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn14RwuJJRg">We live in perilous times ... We are all becoming slaves to our government</a>," Barber warns. The "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn14RwuJJRg">army of voters</a>" depicted in the ad includes individuals who are openly armed with guns. In a follow-up editorial in the <em>Washington Post</em>, Barber makes reference to "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070904257.html">the possibility of evil conducted on a grand scale</a>" and states, "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070904257.html">Totalitarianism doesn't come all at once ... The road to serfdom is a long one, but I fear that we are well on the way</a>." <br>
<br><strong>July 2, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>The Wyoming Department of Revenue suspends sales tax collections at the state's gun shows because of "<a href="http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_8ca58b45-3fd5-5dec-9ed4-8552bf189280.html">increasing animosity</a>"
toward field tax agents. Dan Noble, director of the department's Excise
Tax Division, cites one particular incident at a gun show that "crossed
the line" and says, "<a href="http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_8ca58b45-3fd5-5dec-9ed4-8552bf189280.html">We
tend to have more trouble at gun shows than any place ... I have 10
field reps throughout the state, and every one of them has experienced
some animosity ... I don't want to put my people at risk</a>."<br><br><strong>July 3, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Joyce
Kaufman, a conservative radio hosts on WFTL in Florida, tells a crowd
of supporters at a Fort Lauderdale Tea Party event, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB7g3y597fs">I
am convinced that the most important thing the Founding Fathers did to
ensure me my First Amendments rights was they gave me a Second
Amendment. And if ballots don’t work, bullets will. This is the
standoff. When I say I’ll put my microphone down on November 2nd if we
haven’t achieved substantial victory, I mean it. Because if at that
point I’m going to up into the hills of Kentucky, I’m going to go out
into the Midwest, I’m going to go up in the Vermont and New Hampshire
outreaches and I’m going to gather together men and women who understand
that some things are worth fighting for and some things are worth dying
for</a>.”<br><br><strong>July 6, 2010</strong><strong>—</strong>Herb Titus, a lawyer for <a href="http://gunowners.org/">Gun Owners of America</a>, tells <em>Religion Dispatches</em>, "<a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/2910/gun_ownership%3A_%E2%80%98an_obligation_to_god%E2%80%99/">If
you have a people that has basically been disarmed by the civil
government, then there really isn't any effectual means available to the
people to restore law and liberty and that's really the purpose of the
right to keep and bear arms—is to defend yourself against a tyrant</a>." Titus goes on to cite the "<a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/2910/gun_ownership%3A_%E2%80%98an_obligation_to_god%E2%80%99/">totalitarian threat</a>" posed by "<a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/2910/gun_ownership%3A_%E2%80%98an_obligation_to_god%E2%80%99/">Obamacare</a>" and "<a href="http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/2910/gun_ownership%3A_%E2%80%98an_obligation_to_god%E2%80%99/">what Sarah Palin said about the death panels</a>."<br>
<br><strong>July 11, 2010—</strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAGdoBcnjWQ">Supporters
of Tea Party candidate Joe Miller openly carry assault rifles and
handguns during a community parade in Eagle River and Chugiak, Alaska,
while young children march alongside them</a>. Miller, who is running
against Senator Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary, was endorsed
by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who described him as a “<a href="http://community.adn.com/node/151885">true Commonsense Constitutional Conservative</a>.” <br><br><strong>July 18, 2010—</strong>California
Highway Patrol officers arrest Byron Williams, 45, after a shootout on
I-580 in which more than 60 rounds are fired. Officers had pulled
Williams over in his pick-up for speeding and weaving in and out of
traffic when he opened fire on them with a handgun and a long gun.
Williams, a convicted felon, is shot several times, but survives because
he is wearing body armor. Williams, a convicted felon, reveals that he
was on his way to San Francisco to "<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/21/MNMN1EHB37.DTL">start a revolution</a>" by killing employees of the ACLU and Tides Foundation. Williams' mother says her son was angry at "<a href="http://www.alan.com/2010/07/19/oakland-police-stop-suspected-right-wing-terrorist-who-was-angry-at-left-wing-politicians/">Left-wing politicians</a>" and upset by "<a href="http://www.alan.com/2010/07/19/oakland-police-stop-suspected-right-wing-terrorist-who-was-angry-at-left-wing-politicians/">the way Congress was railroading through all these Left-wing agenda items</a>."<br>
<br><strong>July 26, 2010—</strong>A
proposed ordinance that would prohibit residents from firing air rifles
and other low-powered weapons within 500 feet of a building (unless
fired in a target range) is pulled from consideration in Exeter
Township, Pennsylvania, after the Board of Supervisors receives a number
of angry and threatening phone calls from gun owners. Citing a National
Rifle Association "Action Alert" that claimed Exeter supervisors were "<a href="http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=237176">consider[ing] a broad and overreaching attack on our Second Amendment freedoms</a>," Exeter Township Police Chief Christopher Neidert says, "<a href="http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=237176">This
was totally false information that was put out. The anger was building,
and I was concerned that someone might actually get hurt</a>."<br><br><strong>July 28, 2010—</strong>U.S.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) shuts down his district office in Yuma after
staff members discover a bullet hole in one of the office's windows.
Authorities also <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40423.html">report</a>
that U.S. Judge Susan Bolton receives hundreds of threats at her
Phoenix offices after issuing an injunction on Arizona's controversial
new immigration law.<br><br><strong>July 29, 2010—</strong>Jack Dailey,
the founder of the Appleseed Project (which is dedicated to teaching
every American how to fire a bullet through a man-size target out to 500
yards), explains that Americans should own an AR-15 assault rifle "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/magazine/01Appleseed-t.html?pagewanted=all">because they want to tell us what to do. And we don't want them to tell us what to do</a>." James Faire, an Appleseed trainer, states that, "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/magazine/01Appleseed-t.html?pagewanted=all">the government has quite literally become tyrannical. It is fulfilling the principles outlined in <em>The Communist Manifesto</em>.
It's completely out of control from city to state to federal to
international law. All predicate their existence on plundering the
individual and his rights. The only thing to do now is to organize
citizens into a militia to abolish this government</a>."<br><br><strong>July 30, 2010—</strong>Camp
Hill prison guard Raymond Peake, 64, is charged with robbery and the
murder of Todd Getgen. Peake allegedly shot Getgen to death at a local
shooting range and stole Getgen's custom, silenced AR-15 rifle.
Investigators follow Peake to a storage unit when they find three
firearms: Getgen's AR-15 rifle, a scoped Remington rifle that had been
reported stolen from the range in May, and a second AR-15 rifle. Thomas
Tuso is also arrested and charged with conspiracy, receiving stolen
property and other crimes. Peake tells police that he and Tuso had been
stealing guns "<a href="http://www.whptv.com/mostpopular/story/UPDATE-Guards-charged-in-shooting-suspended/T7TywdSx-0efWskrT3nupg.cspx">for the purpose of overthrowing the federal government</a>."<br><br><strong>August 14, 2010—</strong>Former
Arizona sheriff Richard Mack—who gained fame in anti-government circles
by joining a mid-1990s lawsuit against the federal government over the
Brady Bill requirement that state law enforcement agencies conduct
background checks on gun purchasers—tells those in attendance at the
American Policy Center's 2010 Freedom Action Natonal Conference, "<a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/-willing-to-kill-in-gatherings-over-t">My
dear friends, I pray for the day that the first sheriff in this country
is the one to fire the shot heard 'round the world and take out some
IRS agents!</a>"<br><br><strong>August 17, 2010—</strong>Patrick Gray
Sharp, 29, opens fire on the Department of Public Safety in McKinney,
Texas, and unsuccessfully attempts to ignite gasoline and ammonium
nitrate in a trailer hitched to his truck. Sharp is armed with an
assault rifle, a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, and a 12-gauge
shotgun. He is killed after an exchange of gunfire with police arriving
on the scene. Miraculously, no one else is hurt. Sharp's roommate, Eric
McClellan describes him as "<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100818/ap_on_re_us/us_police_station_shooting">a great guy</a>" and states, "<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100818/ap_on_re_us/us_police_station_shooting">We're Texans. We have a right to bear arms</a>."<br>
<br><strong>August 19, 2010—</strong>Josiah Fornof, 30, of Pasco County, Florida, is arrested after threatening to "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAcwXt1-hso">bear arms against</a>"
local law enforcement officers who were trying to serve him with a
warrant. Authorities recover a letter that Fornof had tried to serve the
deputies with, which reads, "<a href="http://suncoastpasco.tbo.com/content/2010/aug/19/feds-pasco-man-vowed-bear-arms-against-deputies/">I
have the right to bear arms against such unlawful entities, up to and
including the President of the United States, that are coming against me
unlawfully, lethally, and genocidally</a>."<br><br><strong>August 23, 2010—</strong><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/facing-foreclosure-man-br_1_n_692749.html">Thomas Pidgeon is arrested after he attempts to bring a fully loaded .45-caliber handgun into a Cook County courthouse</a>.
Pidegon was supposed to attend a foreclosure hearing that day. His home
was to be sold to a lender in North Carolina after New York-based BNY
Mellon filed an action against him in the county.<br><br><strong>September 1, 2010—</strong>James
Jay Lee, 43, takes hostages at the Discovery Communications building in
Silver Spring, Maryland, while armed with two starter pistols and four
improvised explosived devices. After pointing a gun at one of the
hostages, he is shot and killed by police. Lee, a radical environmental
activist, had previously issued 11 demands through a <a href="http://savetheplanetprotest.com/">webpage</a>
that Discovery was to meet "immediately." The demands involved the
content of programming on the Discovery Channel. Lee had also declared
on his MySpace page, "It's time for REVOLUTION!!!"<br><br><strong>September 13, 2010—</strong>Police
stop Richard Scott McLeod, 48, for a traffic violation in Webberville,
Michigan, and upon searching his vehicle, discover bumper stickers
quoting Adolf Hitler, a picture of President Barack Obama, a loaded
handgun, a bullet-proof vest, and bomb-making materials. McLeod is
arrested and charged with illegally carrying a concealed weapon and
unlawful possession of body armor. McLeod tells officers that he is a
member of the Michigan Militia. The group denies any relationship with
McLeod<br><strong><br>September 16, 2010—</strong>Patricia Stoneking, the President of the Kansas State Rifle Association, tells Fox News, "<a href="http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/16/second-2nd-amendment-kansas-initiative-would-reaffirm-right-bear-arms">People need to arm themselves, We have the right to put limits on our government, and that's what [the Second Amendment] does</a>." Explaining why America's Founding Fathers drafted the amendment, she says, "<a href="http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/16/second-2nd-amendment-kansas-initiative-would-reaffirm-right-bear-arms">They knew government could become tyrannical. We have the right to defend ourselves from a rogue government</a>."<br>
<br><strong>September 30, 2010—</strong>Kevin Terrell, a self-described "colonel" who founded a group of "freedom fighters" in Kentucky, predicts war with "<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2022516,00.html">the jackbooted thugs</a>" of Washington within a year. Referring to the arrest of Hutaree militia members earlier in the year, Terrell says, "<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2022516,00.html">There
was a lot of citizens out there in the bushes, locked and loaded. It's
only due to miracles I do not understand that civil war did not break
out right there</a>."<br><br><strong>September 30, 2010—</strong>Steve Kendley, a deputy sheriff running for sheriff in Lake County, Montana, threatens "<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2022516-5,00.html">a violent conflict</a>" with federal agents if "<a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2022516-5,00.html">they are doing something I believe is unconstitutional</a>."<br>
<br><strong>October 15, 2010—</strong>Conservative
radio show host Glenn Beck lays out a hypothetical scenario on the air
where the government is considering taking his children because he
refused to have them receive a mandatory flu vaccine. Beck tells his
audience that his response to the government would be "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/blog/201010150025">Meet Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson</a>."<br><br><strong>October 21, 2010—</strong>Pastor
Stephen Broden, the Republican candidate for U.S. Representative in
Texas' 30th Congressional District, tells WFAA-TV in Dallas that the
violent overthrow of the government is an "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqBkWj4YVSs">option</a>" that remains "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqBkWj4YVSs">on the table</a>." "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqBkWj4YVSs">Our nation was founded on violence</a>," states Broden. "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqBkWj4YVSs">I don't think that we should ever remove anything from the table as it relates to our liberties and our freedoms</a>."<br>
<br><strong>October 22, 2010—</strong>Texas
Department of Corrections officers searching for a missing person, Gill
Clements, 69, are confronted by a neighbor while on Clements' property
in Henderson County. Howard Tod Granger, 46, points an AK-47
semiautomatic assault rifle at one of the officers, who recalls, "<a href="http://www.athensreview.com/breakingnews/x1149338339/Former-Gov-son-found-dead">He told us to get off the property or he would kill us all</a>."
Later that afternoon, officers return to Granger's home with a search
warrant and an armored vehicle filled with 13 SWAT members. Granger
opens fire on the vehicle, discharging at least 30 rounds before
authorities shoot and kill him. Police find guns and "<a href="http://www.athensreview.com/breakingnews/x1149338339/Former-Gov-son-found-dead">many rounds of ammunition</a>" in Granger's house. They also find the body of Clements, buried in a shallow grave on Granger's property.<br>
<br><strong>November 2, 2010—</strong>On
Election Night, supporters of Republican congressional candidate Nick
Popaditch shout down and physically confront Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) and
his staff as they exit Golden Hall in San Diego following the
announcment of Filner's victory in the race. "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/an-unbelievable-video-of-...political-madness/69530/">You're a damn liar. You should be ashamed of yourself</a>," Popaditch tells Filner, leading the mob. Other Popaditch supporters yell "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/an-unbelievable-video-of-...political-madness/69530/">You're a scumbag!</a>" "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/an-unbelievable-video-of-...political-madness/69530/">Jew!</a>" and "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/an-unbelievable-video-of-...political-madness/69530/">Don't tread on me, Bob!</a>" Another Popaditch supporter punches a Filner campaign staffer in the face.<br>
<br><strong>November 3, 2010—</strong>James
Patock, 66, of Pima County, Arizona, is arrested on the National Mall
in the District of Columbia after law enforcement authorities find a
.223 caliber rifle, a .243 caliber rifle barrel, a .22 caliber rifle, a
.357 caliber pistol, several boxes of ammunition, and propane tanks
wired to four car batteries in his truck and trailer. Patock former
neighbor in Arizona reported that, "<a href="http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13448240">He hated the president. He hated everything. He said if he got a chance he would shoot the president</a>." <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/04/AR2010110407609.html">Patock tells authorities he is a member of the National Rifle Association</a>.<br>
<br><strong>November 4, 2010—</strong>On
his radio show, conservative host Glenn Beck fantasizes about President
Obama being decapitated during a trip to India, saying, "<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/beck-fantasizes-obama-beheaded-leaving-islam/">If
anybody thinks he was a Muslim over here, well God forbid, they think
he was a Muslim over there because he left his religion for
Christianity, death sentence, behead him</a>.” Beck then tells his listeners that "<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/beck-fantasizes-obama-beheaded-leaving-islam/">God forbid</a>" this should happen, as there would be a "<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/beck-fantasizes-obama-beheaded-leaving-islam/">New World Order</a>" overnight in the United States.<br>
<br><strong>November 4, 2010—</strong>Fox News host Bill O'Reilly fantasizes about killing a Washington Post reporter while on the air, saying, "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110906643.html">Does sharia law say we can behead Dana Milbank?</a>" O'Reilly also tells co-host Megyn Kelly, "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110906643.html">I think you and I should go and beat him up</a>."<br>
<br><strong>November 9, 2010—</strong>U.S.
Representative-Elect Allen West of Florida's 22nd Congressional
District hires conservative radio talk show host Joyce Kaufman as his
Chief of Staff. On July 3, Kaufman told a crowd of Tea Party supporters,
“<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB7g3y597fs">I am convinced
that the most important thing the Founding Fathers did to ensure me my
First Amendments rights was they gave me a Second Amendment. And if
ballots don’t work, bullets will</a>."<br><br><strong>November 9, 2010—</strong>Concealed
handgun permit holder George Thomas Lee, 69, of Walhalla, South
Carolina, is arrested on the town's main street for disseminating and
promoting obscenity by bearing signs "<a href="http://www.independentmail.com/news/2010/nov/17/walhalla-protestor-requests-jury-trial/">laden
with expletives and taking aim at U.S. foreign policy, President Barack
Obama, blacks in general, Jews and the nation of Israel</a>." Officers also seize literature from Lee that details "<a href="http://www.independentmail.com/news/2010/nov/17/walhalla-protestor-requests-jury-trial/">the most expedient means of killing law enforcement officers</a>."
The November 9 arrest follows an October 19 arrest for assault after
Lee kicked and swung his signs at a group of girls between the ages of
12 and 14.<br><br><strong>November 10, 2010—</strong>Public schools in
Broward County, Florida, go into lockdown after an email threat is
received by WFTL 850 AM. The email is sent to conservative radio host
Joyce Kaufman in response to remarks she made at a Tea Party event in
July ("<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB7g3y597fs">If ballots don't work, bullets will</a>"). The email expresses support for her view of the Second Amendment and says that to further "<a href="http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Possible-Suspect-Questioned-in-Massive-School-Lockdown-Threat-107271123.html">their cause...something big will happen at a government building in Broward County, maybe a post office maybe even a school</a>."
A phone call is then received at the station, allegedly from the
emailer's wife, warning that he is preparing to go to a Pembroke Pines
school and open fire.<br><br><strong>November 23, 2010—</strong>Larry Pratt, the Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, writes an editorial in <em>The Register Citizen</em> in which he calls for state and county sheriffs to organize large, armed "posses" as "<a href="http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2010/11/23/opinion/doc4ceb3b593f453721919056.txt">a check on the unconstitutional exercise of federal power</a>."<br>
<br><strong>November 29, 2010—</strong>U.S.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, circulates a PowerPoint presentation to his
colleagues in which he compares the Obama administration to the Nazi
regime in Germany and likens himself to Gen. George Patton, bragging, "<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/powerful-republican-calls-assassination-president-obama/">Put anything in my scope and I will shoot it</a>."<br>
<br><strong>December 3, 2010—</strong>At
"Roe & Roeper's Miracle on Indianapolis Blvd. Holiday Extravaganza"
promoting "Toys 4 Tots" in Chicago, Illinois, actor R. Lee Emery
(famous for his depiction of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in "Full Metal
Jacket") tells those in attendance, "<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/full-metal-jacket-drill-instructor-apologizes-calling-americans-rise-up-obama/">The
economy really sucks. Now I hate to point fingers at anybody, but the
present administration probably has a lot to do with that. And the way I
see it, they're not gonna quit doing it until they bring this country
to its knees<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">. </span>So
I think we should all rise up and we should stop this administration
from what they're doing because they're destroying this country. They're
driving us into bankruptcy so that they can impose socialism on us</a>."</p>
<p><strong>December 31, 2010—</strong>An anonymous threat is posted in
the "Rants and Raves" section of the Anchorage Craigslist against Andree
McLeod, a citizen activist who has requested—under Alaska’s Open
Records Act—work-related emails that Sarah Palin sent and received while
governor of the state. The threat states, "<a href="http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/death-threat-palin-critic">I
think Andre has used up to much oxygen. So I have my scope cross hair
on her head! She better watch out, the request may have been her last</a>."
The Anchorage Police trace the message to the AOL account of an
Anchorage woman in her 50s, but neglect to verify if she is the one who
is responsible for it.<br><strong><br></strong><strong>January 6, 2011—</strong>John
Troy Davis, 44, is arrested after threatening to set fire to the office
of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and shoot members of his staff. The
threat comes when Davis calls Bennet's office to complain about his
Social Security benefits, telling a staffer that he is schizophrenic and
"<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/john-troy-davis-facing-as_n_806928.html">may go to terrorism</a>." "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/john-troy-davis-facing-as_n_806928.html">I'm just going to come down there and shoot you all</a>," he declares. Davis is charged with assault on a federal employee.<br>
<br><strong>January 8, 2011—</strong>Jared
Lee Loughner, 22, shoots U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 19
others at a "Congress in Your Corner" event at a Safeway supermarket in
Tucson, Arizona. He kills six, including federal judge John Roll, and
wounds 14, including Giffords, who is shot in the head. Loughner has an
extensive history of mental illness and substance abuse, yet is able to
purchase two handguns and a high-capacity ammunition magazine legally at
Sportsman's Warehouse on November 30, 2010. In a YouTube video posted
in December 2010, Loughner states, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Classitup10">You
don’t have to accept the federalist laws ... Nonetheless, read the
United States of America’s Constitution to apprehend all of the current
treasonous laws</a>."</p>
<strong>January 8, 2011—</strong>Fearing violence from tea party
activists, Arizona Legislative District 20 Republican Chairman Anthony
Miller, Secretary Sophia Johnson, First Vice Chairman Roger Dickinson,
and former district spokesman Jeff Kolb resign from their positions. "<a href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/2011/01/11/20110111gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting-resignations.html">I don't want to take a bullet for anyone</a>,"
says Miller, who cites verbal attacks and threatening blog posts from
tea party members upset with the fact that he is a former campaign
worker for U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Miller also reports an incident
in which a detractor made his hand into the shape of a gun and pointed
it at him.<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 12:55 PM, lfalen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lfalen@turbonet.com">lfalen@turbonet.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
Your arguments would have more veracity if you named people on both the right and the left, but you continue to harp on only Palin and the Tea Party. Talk about hate speech, no one has been on the receiving end of it more than Palin. She has been hanged in effigy. Do you condone that? I suspect that if she were to be assassinated there would be very little condemnation of it from the left. Most likely the comments would be "good riddance" or "she had it coming".<br>
Roger<br>
<div class="im">-----Original message-----<br>
From: Joe Campbell <a href="mailto:philosopher.joe@gmail.com">philosopher.joe@gmail.com</a><br>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:12:59 -0800<br>
To: Dan Carscallen <a href="mailto:areaman@moscow.com">areaman@moscow.com</a><br>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] that Jared guy and mental health<br>
<br>
</div><div><div></div><div class="h5">> Dan writes, in regard to the AZ shooting: "This can’t be blamed on rhetoric,<br>
> nor on extremists from either side of the aisle. The blame lays solely on a<br>
> sick man who obviously needs help. And, perhaps, the “blame” lays on the<br>
> freedom we enjoy by being citizens of the United States of America."<br>
><br>
> First, no one on the V at least "blamed" the shooting on rhetoric, or Palin,<br>
> or anyone, or anything. No one that I know who has talked about the<br>
> connection between violent rhetoric (or gun control, etc.) and the AZ<br>
> shooting has used "blame" talk. So let's get that straight.<br>
><br>
> Rather than talk about "blame" for or even "causes" of the shooting, let's<br>
> talk about "explanations" for the shooting. Why did it happen? What can we<br>
> do to prevent shootings like this from happening in the future? Your opinion<br>
> seems to be that we can't do anything, that shootings like this just happen<br>
> for NO reason whatsoever -- or they happen in societies that have the kinds<br>
> of "freedoms" that our society has. That we should accept them because we<br>
> can't do anything about it, unless we want to deprive people of their<br>
> "freedoms."<br>
><br>
> Sorry but that seems a little too fatalistic and cynical for my tastes. I<br>
> think we CAN do something about these kind of shootings. What can we do? I<br>
> don't know. I'd prefer to talk about it, though, see if there are some<br>
> possible solutions. I'm not claiming to have the solution, I'm just claiming<br>
> that we can do something if we put our minds to it and come up with a plan.<br>
><br>
> The claim that violent rhetoric and gun laws and even Palin's poster have<br>
> NOTHING to do with the shooting, that the explanation for the shooting is<br>
> unrelated to the overinflated, violent rhetoric of the right and others, is<br>
> an extreme claim. Issues of explanation are empirical issues. You have to<br>
> back up such an extreme claim -- a claim like the claim that violent<br>
> rhetoric has NOTHING to do with violence in America. Here are a few reasons<br>
> why I think you can't back that claim up.<br>
><br>
> You'll have to explain why there is more violence in American than in almost<br>
> any other country; why the violent rhetoric apparently works when it comes<br>
> to getting people to vote (Tea Party candidates had some level of success in<br>
> the last election; anti-gay propaganda was a huge part of Republican<br>
> victories during the last Bush era) yet has NO other impact on human<br>
> behavior; why a lot of the violence from "lunatics" is directed toward folks<br>
> on the left (as well as gays, Muslims, etc.). Now if you have the<br>
> explanation, please give it -- please explain why you're so certain that<br>
> there is NO connection between violent rhetoric and actual violence. I'm<br>
> pretty sure you have no formal training in psychology or sociology, so I'm<br>
> unsure what your basis is. I don't think the explanation has anything to<br>
> with our "freedoms." I don't think the vision of a society that is both free<br>
> and nonviolent is an absurdity.<br>
><br>
> I think it is clear that there is SOME connection between violent rhetoric<br>
> and actual violence. The real questions are how much of a connection is<br>
> there (what is the nature of the connection) and what can we do about it? I<br>
> refuse to think that "Nothing" is a good answer.<br>
><br>
> On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 7:47 AM, Dan Carscallen <<a href="mailto:areaman@moscow.com">areaman@moscow.com</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
> > Vizzz peeps,<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > We live in a free society. One of the prices we pay for living here is<br>
> > that there are some loonballs running around who could snap at any minute> Should they be? Probably not, but who is to say when and how these folks<br>
> > should be rounded up and treated? Sure, I think all of us can talk about<br>
> > the guy in our neighborhood that seems a little sketchy, but what are we<br>
> > supposed to do? Call the cops and have them haul him in because he doesn’t<br>
> > fit society’s norm? I think there are a lot of folks, right here on the<br>
> > Vizzz even, that don’t necessarily follow the “norm”. But we go along and<br>
> > live our lives in our free society.<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > The media talked to this Jared guy’s neighbors, and they said “yes, he<br>
> > seemed like a nutjob”, but what were they to do? They watched him, kept<br>
> > their distance, stayed as vigilant as they could. Unfortunately, he<br>
> > “slipped through the cracks”. Should he have been prevented from buying a<br>
> > pistol? Maybe, but in a free society, how? He wasn’t a convicted felon, he<br>
> > answered all the questions properly, and he paid his money. It’s not a<br>
> > speedy process, no matter who or where you are. Even with a concealed<br>
> > weapon permit, and a pre-checked background, it’s not quick by any means.<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > This can’t be blamed on rhetoric, nor on extremists from either side of the<br>
> > aisle. The blame lays solely on a sick man who obviously needs help. And,<br>
> > perhaps, the “blame” lays on the freedom we enjoy by being citizens of the<br>
> > United States of America.<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > Your pal<br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> ><br>
> > DC<br>
> ><br>
> > =======================================================<br>
> > List services made available by First Step Internet,<br>
> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br>
> > <a href="http://www.fsr.net" target="_blank">http://www.fsr.net</a><br>
> > mailto:<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>
> > =======================================================<br>
> ><br>
><br>
><br>
<br>
=======================================================<br>
List services made available by First Step Internet,<br>
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br>
<a href="http://www.fsr.net" target="_blank">http://www.fsr.net</a><br>
mailto:<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>
=======================================================</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. <br>
<br>Douglas Adams<br>