MADDOW:
Interrupting our on-going
Japan
coverage for just a moment now to bring you a domestic news story we wanted to make sure we got on the air tonight. Authorities in
Alaska
say they have arrested five people for allegedly plotting to kill multiple
Alaska state
troopers and a
federal judge
. One of the suspects is this man,
Francis
"Schaeffer" Cox, the founder and leader of an
Alaska
militia group
. He's former candidate for
Alaska state legislature
and he is an outspoken guns advocate.
Fairbanks
police chief
says the arrests yesterday targeted members of the Sovereign
Citizens Movement
. It's described by the
FBI
as a domestic terrorist movement. So-called Sovereign citizens are anti- government extremist who believe they're not subject to federal, state, or local laws and many of them preach violent resistance to any form of governmental authority.
Scott Roeder
who killed abortion provider, Dr.
George Tiller
, in
2009
-- he was linked to the Sovereign
Citizens Movement
-- as was
Oklahoma City bomber
Timothy McVeigh
's associate
Terry Nichols
, as was a man named
Jerry Kane
, who along with his 16-year-old son killed two
Arkansas
police officers
and wounded two others last year before they themselves were killed by police. Also, there has been an arrest this week in the
Spokane
,
Washington
,
Martin Luther King Day
bomb, which was feared to be linked to the
white
supremacist movement responsible for other bombings in the
Pacific Northwest
in years past. In
January 17th
this year, what was later described by authorities as sophisticated and, quote, "very lethal bomb," was found on a bench in a backpack along the planned route of the
Martin Luther King Day
parade in
Spokane
. The bomb didn't go off because a handful of local workers found it before the start of the parade and reported it, and the
bomb squad
was able to diffuse the device in time. Yesterday, in rural
Washington
-- excuse me -- two days ago in
Washington state
, about 70 mile s outside
Spokane
, federal agents arrested a suspect in that bombing attempt near his home. This is well north of
Spokane
. You may remember that along with the bomb that ultimately did not go off, two t-shirts were found inside the backpack along the
Spokane
parade route. Those t-shirts were tied to events from the area where the suspect was arrested on Wednesday. The suspect is a 36-year-old man named
Kevin Harpham
. A spokesman at
Fort Lewis
, which is now
Joint Base Lewis McChord
, confirmed to "
The Seattle Times
" this week that Mr.
Harpham
had served in the
Army
and was stationed at
Fort Lewis
between
1996
and
1999
. The complaint against Mr.
Harpham
this week charges that he attempted to use a
weapon of mass destruction
, an
improvised explosive device
, placed prior to along the planned route of the
Martin Luther King Jr.
unity march. This man is also charged with possession of an unregistered
explosive device
. He is facing life in prison. A
federal law
enforcement official speaking about the case anonymously to "
The New York Times
" said it's unclear at this point whether the perpetrator acted alone. The source also said Mr.
Harpham
could eventually face more charges. The arrest documents are sealed but an
anonymous source
described as familiar with the investigation by "
The Seattle Times
" told that paper that authorities were able to link Mr.
Harpham
to purchases of bomb components, including a remote car starter and other electronics. And that at least one purchase was made with a debit card. The source also says
DNA
recovered in the backpack or on the bomb was linked to Mr.
Harpham
. The day after the attempted bombing in January, the
FBI
special agent in charge
of the
Spokane FBI
office told "
The_Spokesman
-Review" that the bomb appeared to have been, quote, "a viable device that was very lethal and had the potential to inflict multiple casualties." But he also talked about potential motive saying, quote, "I think the link to the
Martin Luther King
celebration and march is inescapable. At that point, it falls directly in the realm and sphere of domestic terrorism. Clearly there was some political or social agenda here." That was what the
FBI
was saying about this attempted bombing in its immediate aftermath. Now, with the suspect in custody, federal authorities are saying essentially nothing about any potential motive, racial or otherwise. But, the
Southern Poverty Law Center
, an organization that tracks hate groups, says that its own research shows that the man arrested was a member of a
white supremacists
group called the
National Alliance
in late
2004
. The
National Alliance
is happy for you to know that they are in fact a
white supremacists
group but they are denying that Mr.
Harpham
was ever a member. If you know one thing about this group,
National Alliance
, other than its connection to this case, what you probably know is about its founder.
National Alliance
was founded by a man named
William Pierce
.
William Pierce
is dead now. He is less famous for starting a
white supremacists
group than he is for writing a
white supremacists
novel called "
The Turner Diaries
." "
The Turner Diaries
" describes a violent overthrow of the
United States government
by
white supremacists
. Clippings from "
The Turner Diaries
" were found in the car that
Timothy McVeigh
was driving when he was arrested after bombing the
federal building
in
Oklahoma City
. The book is believed to be part of Mr.
McVeigh
's inspiration for that crime. Although authorities are not commenting on links between the suspect arrested in the
Spokane
bombing yesterday and
white supremacists
organizations, reporter
Thomas Clouse
with "
The_Spokesman
-Review" newspaper said today -- excuse me -- said yesterday that "investigators believe Mr.
Harpham
posted more than a thousand entries talking about a race war and bombs on a racist
Internet forum
." The paper reports that authorities will not publicly confirm it but they believe
Kevin Harpham
was posting to a site called the
Vanguard News Network
. If they're right about him using that site and they're right about what screen name he was using at that site, then this
November 2004
, entry is from him. Quote, "In the
Army
, my lieutenant told me
Timothy McVeigh
read '
The Turner Diaries
' and that there was a blueprint for a
truck bomb
in it. After I was out of the service and was
getting to the point
of advanced antigovernment libertarianism, I bought the book and when I was finished I was extremely disappointed that there was no plans for a bomb inside." When
Kevin Harpham
appeared in court this week, he acknowledged that he understands the charges against him and waived his bail hearing. A grand jury will meet later this month to decide if there's enough evidence to indict him. And in the meantime, he will stay in custody. We were the first news outlet to give this story significant national attention. We will continue to track it and we'll keep you posted. We'll also be right back.
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