A white supremacist from Tennessee pleaded guilty on Monday to plotting to assassinate US President Barack Obama as part of a killing spree aimed at black Americans, prosecutors said.
Daniel Cowart, 21, was arrested just days before Obama was elected the first black president of the US on Nov. 4, 2008.
Cowart and fellow skinhead Paul Schlesselman told police that they planned to kill 88 people, beheading 14 of them, and then die in a blaze of glory as they drove toward Obama dressed in white tuxedos and firing out the windows.
Several other people have been convicted of plotting against Obama, but none of the cases were considered to be serious threats. However, the intense and often ugly debate over Obama’s healthcare reform has led to an increase in threats and even violence against politicians in recent weeks.
In related news, the number of extremist groups and armed militias that advocate radical anti-government doctrines and conspiracy theories nearly tripled last year to 512 from 149 in 2008, said a recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks the activities of hate groups.
Schlesselman pleaded guilty on Jan. 14 to one count of conspiracy, one count of threatening to kill and inflict bodily harm upon a presidential candidate, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Schlesselman faces 10 years in prison under the plea agreement and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 15.
Cowart faces at least 10 and as many as 75 years in jail after pleading guilty on Monday to eight charges including threatening to kill and inflict bodily harm upon a presidential candidate, conspiracy and intentional damage to religious real property.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number