Obama Assassination attempt foiled
 

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(CBS/AP) The FBI is looking into reports in Denver media outlets that a man under investigation for drug and weapons violations may have made threats against Barack Obama, officials said Monday.

"It's premature to say that it was a valid threat or that these folks have the ability to carry it out," said a U.S. government official familiar with the investigation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Law enforcement sources told CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver that one of the suspects "was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative."

One of the suspects told authorities they were "going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle ... sighted at 750 yards," reported KCNC.

Overnight, U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said in a prepared statement that the case was under investigation, but that he was "absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate, the Democratic National Convention, or the people of Colorado."

Obama will be in Denver this week to accept the Democratic nomination for president.

FBI spokeswoman Kathy Wright confirmed the FBI was investigating the reports but declined to elaborate. The Joint Information Center - a command set up by Denver, state and federal authorities to field media inquiries during the Democratic convention - had no immediate comment.

Aurora Police Detective Marcus Dudley said that 28-year-old Tharin Robert Gartrell was arrested early Sunday in a routine traffic stop in the Denver suburb of Aurora. He is being investigated for possible methamphetamine and firearms violations, officials said

Subsequently, KCNC reports, authorities went to the Cherry Creek Hotel to contact an associate of Gartrell's, 33-year-old Shawn Robert Adolf.

Adolf, who police said was wanted on numerous warrants, jumped out of a sixth floor window of the Denver area hotel. Law enforcement sources said he broke an ankle in the fall and was captured moments later. Those sources say he was wearing a ring with a swastika, and is thought to have ties to white supremacist organizations.

A third man - an associate of Gartrell and Adolf was also arrested. Nathan Johnson, 32, also taken into custody at a hotel in suburban Denver, told authorities that the other two men "planned to kill Barack Obama at his acceptance speech."

Johnson, along with his girlfriend, Natasha Gromek, were also under arrest on drug charges.

Law enforcement in Denver was trying to find out whether the reported threats to Obama were valid. "It could also turn out that these were nothing but a bunch of knuckleheads, meth heads," the U.S. government official said.

link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n4383593.shtml

Why do people think that in this day and age, in the US....it's almost that possible to pull somethign like that off at that 'close' of a distance?

Something else doesn't 'feel' right...a 6th floor window and only a broken ankle?...I wonder what broke the fall.

Musta been the drugs.

and how many asses are there in assassination? heh!

That's terrible, but unfortunately, it's not that surprising. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other attempts that never made it out into the public. There are way too many crazies out there.

probably has been since LAST year....

Mug shots are never flattering, but those two . . .wow.

They look like Vanilla Ice gone bad and Gollum.

The drugs broke the fall? :p

A white supremacist named Adolf? I never would've seen this coming.

The most dangerous place for a presidential candidate is during a meet and greet along a rope line…close proximity, direct contact with a candidate etc. Personally I don’t think these two had the skill or the know how to actually pull off this attempt. An assassin needs to have the ability to blend in and judging by the mug shots it was amateur hour.

Hm, so, does Moron Alert sound plausable?:rolleyes:

Possibly. I've seen on Discovery Channel (a series about the human body) that this guy was picked up by a tornado and carried a good distance and dropped. No injuries other than minor scrapes and bruises. It was because he was unconscious, so his body was limp and more able to absorb shock than a tense one, which is prone to injury. Maybe a similar situation?

Yeah, they don't look like they belong...

When I worked on adult inpatient psych units, every time a President was coming to town, we'd inevitably get a visit from the Secret Service because one of our patients had threatened him at some point.. every President, every time. We had to notify them if the person happened to escape before/during the Presidential visit. I had forgotten all about that, it's been so long. Fun times...

You would know huh?

Can we get that here on Greek Chat?!

I'm not surprised. I've expected many more attempts...Obama is the first African American to have such a platform. I'm sure there are a handful of naive and backward Americans who aren't quite happy about such a "change." Sad.

Yep. I think this isn't the first or the last. This is just the first one at this stage in the game that has been exposed.

You're right, any kind of change poses a threat and sparks violence to curb the change and keep the status quo. Add an African American Presidential hopeful to the mix and it's multiplied.