Report: Plot to Assassinate Obama Thwarted
Elongated Thoughts: Georgia prosecutors say that former U.S. soldiers were plotting to kill the president.
(The Root) -- When liberals speak about how disturbing and dangerous the perpetual "othering" of Barack Obama is, they're told to calm down. The GOP continues to blow off these concerns and actively mocks Democrats.
Then a story like this comes out.
From the Atlantic Wire:
In a disturbing report out of Georgia, prosecutors say four U.S. soldiers plotted to overthrow the government and assassinate President Obama. Details remain slim about the case, but the AP's Russ Bynum says the soldiers allegedly bought $87,000 worth of "guns and bomb-making materials and plotted to take over Fort Stewart, bomb targets in nearby Savannah and Washington state, as well as assassinate the president." The plot was apparently uncovered in relation to a murder case surrounding the killing of former soldier Michael Roark and his girlfriend Tiffany York in December. On Monday, Pfc. Michael Burnett, one of the accused soldiers, [pleaded] guilty to manslaughter and gang charges in the murder case. "Burnett told a Long County judge that Roark, who had just left the Army, knew of the militia group's plans and was killed because he was 'a loose end,'" reports Bynum
And let me be crystal clear: I'm not blaming the Republican Party for this terrorist plot. But what I do blame them for is creating an environment that breeds this sort of hatred.
When you keep yelling how you want your country back and how the sitting president isn't really American -- how he may not even have a legitimate claim to the office -- can you be that surprised when extremists contort this into plans of madness? Ex-military-personnel groups -- one of which just so happens to include a Birther -- have created campaigns accusing the president of leaking sensitive materials for personal gain while putting soldiers' lives at risk. This is the state of politics today.
As horrified as I am by this whole situation, surprised, I am not.
Elon James White is a writer and satirist and host of the award-winning video and radio series This Week in Blackness. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr.
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Comments
Comments on Twitter