voodoo
26-11-2008, 09:43 AM
Skinheads plead not guilty in alleged Obama plot
By Woody Baird
Updated Nov 25, 2008, 08:23 am
Paul Schlesselman (l) and Daniel Cowart
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Two White supremacists pleaded not guilty to federal charges in what authorities say was a plot to kill President-elect Barack Obama and dozens of other Black people.
Daniel Cowart, 20, of rural West Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of Helena-West Helena, Ark., were indicted Nov. 5 on charges of threatening a presidential candidate, possessing a sawed-off shotgun, taking firearms across state lines to commit crimes and planning to rob a licensed gun dealer. They entered not guilty pleas the next day.
The two were arrested late last month and are being held in federal custody without bond. Their arrests were made public on Oct. 27. No trial date has been set.
Wearing black-and-white striped prison uniforms and with chains around their wrists, waists and ankles, suspects Cowart and Schlesselman spoke only to say “not guilty” during a brief hearing before a federal magistrate in Memphis.
The charges in the seven-count indictment carry a maximum punishment of 50 years in prison and fines of $540,000.
Court records say Mr. Cowart and Mr. Schlesselman, whom authorities say are White supremacist skinheads, told investigators they planned to conduct a national crime spree that would include a string of armed robberies and the murders of 88 Black people.
The number has significance for White supremacists. “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet and 88 is skinhead code for “Heil Hitler,” authorities said.
The killing spree, the records said, was to culminate with a suicide attack on Mr. Obama, which Mr. Cowart and Mr. Schlesselman would launch from a speeding car while wearing top hats and white tuxedoes.
Joe H. Byrd, Mr. Cowart’s lawyer, refused to talk about the charges, but when asked if the alleged threats were real, he told reporters, “White top hats and tuxedoes? You tell me.”
Prosecutors and Mr. Schlesselman’s public defender have declined comment.
Mr. Schlesselman and Mr. Cowart were arrested about 70 miles north of Memphis after an acquaintance told sheriff’s deputies they had shot out a window of a rural Black church. After questioning the two men, local authorities notified federal investigators.
—Associated Press
Related link:
By Woody Baird
Updated Nov 25, 2008, 08:23 am
Paul Schlesselman (l) and Daniel Cowart
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Two White supremacists pleaded not guilty to federal charges in what authorities say was a plot to kill President-elect Barack Obama and dozens of other Black people.
Daniel Cowart, 20, of rural West Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of Helena-West Helena, Ark., were indicted Nov. 5 on charges of threatening a presidential candidate, possessing a sawed-off shotgun, taking firearms across state lines to commit crimes and planning to rob a licensed gun dealer. They entered not guilty pleas the next day.
The two were arrested late last month and are being held in federal custody without bond. Their arrests were made public on Oct. 27. No trial date has been set.
Wearing black-and-white striped prison uniforms and with chains around their wrists, waists and ankles, suspects Cowart and Schlesselman spoke only to say “not guilty” during a brief hearing before a federal magistrate in Memphis.
The charges in the seven-count indictment carry a maximum punishment of 50 years in prison and fines of $540,000.
Court records say Mr. Cowart and Mr. Schlesselman, whom authorities say are White supremacist skinheads, told investigators they planned to conduct a national crime spree that would include a string of armed robberies and the murders of 88 Black people.
The number has significance for White supremacists. “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet and 88 is skinhead code for “Heil Hitler,” authorities said.
The killing spree, the records said, was to culminate with a suicide attack on Mr. Obama, which Mr. Cowart and Mr. Schlesselman would launch from a speeding car while wearing top hats and white tuxedoes.
Joe H. Byrd, Mr. Cowart’s lawyer, refused to talk about the charges, but when asked if the alleged threats were real, he told reporters, “White top hats and tuxedoes? You tell me.”
Prosecutors and Mr. Schlesselman’s public defender have declined comment.
Mr. Schlesselman and Mr. Cowart were arrested about 70 miles north of Memphis after an acquaintance told sheriff’s deputies they had shot out a window of a rural Black church. After questioning the two men, local authorities notified federal investigators.
—Associated Press
Related link: