Terrorists in our midst?
by digby
Dave Neiwert reports on that isolated incident at the MLK Day parade in Spokane Washington:
Well, there’s been a break in the case:
A significant break in Martin Luther King Day backpack bomb investigation in Spokane occurred this morning when an FBI SWAT team executed a search warrant and reportedly made one arrest Wednesday morning in the small northeastern Washington town of Addy. FBI officials weren’t immediately available for comment, but indicated the name of the suspect would be forthcoming in a news release. The case has been investigated as a case of domestic terrorism. Addy is a community in Stevens County, in the northeastern corner of Washington state, bordering Canada. The county has long been a hotbed of extremist and Christian Identity activity. The arrest was being reported by Spokane media, including The Spokesman-Review and KXLY-TV.
Of course, in Spokane, no one was calling this an “isolated event.
Maybe somebody ought to alert Peter King about the radicalization of Christian Americans. He could hold a hearing.
An ex-soldier with ties to the white supremacist movement has been taken into custody in connection with the planting of a backpack bomb along the planned route of the Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown Spokane, authorities have confirmed.Kevin William Harpham, 36, of Colville, could face life imprisonment on charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered explosive device, according to documents on file in U.S. District Court. An initial court appearance is scheduled for this afternoon.Harpham was arrested this morning during a raid at his home at 1088 Cannon Way near Addy, Wash., by dozens of federal agents who had been assembling in Spokane during the past few days.The Southern Poverty Law Center confirmed that Harpham in 2004 was a member of the National Alliance, which is one of the most visible white supremacist organizations in the nation. It was founded by the late William Pierce, who authored “The Turner Diaries,” a novel about a future race war. That book was believed to be the blueprint behind the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh…Harpham also appears to be a member of the Vanguard News Network, a racist Website featuring essays, blog posts and message boards on topics such as “resettlement and construction of local communities for Whites” and “How to Live White.”
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