Racists Thwarted
ADL helps track alleged plotters
of murder spree.
New York
T
he Anti-Defamation League
congratulated law enforcement
for uncovering and prevent-
ing "potentially the most deadly racist
shooting spree in many years, including
an assassination attempt on presiden-
tial candidate Barack Obama."
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the
Crockett County, Tenn., Sheriff's Office
opened an investigation that resulted
in the arrest on Oct. 22 of Daniel
Cowart, 21, of Jackson, Tenn., and Paul
Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark.
The white supremacists were charged
with suspicion of possessing an unreg-
istered firearm, conspiring to steal
firearms from a federally licensed gun
dealer and threats against a major can-
didate for the office of president.
"The arrests of these dangerous
white supremacists prevented what
could have been the most serious act
of domestic terrorism in recent years:'
said Abraham Foxman, ADL national
director. "This case shows how extreme
ideologies easily lead to extreme
actions."
Foxman praised the federal and
local law enforcement officers whose
actions prevented the potential violent
acts. "We congratulate the officers and
agents with Crockett County and the
ATF whose vigilance exposed a terrorist
plot and saved lives."
Though the two suspects had only
known each other for about a month,
both suspects were known to experts at
ADL's Center on Extremism, which had
been tracking their white supremacist
activities.
Cowart had recently been involved
with Supreme White Alliance, a
hardcore racist skinhead group with
members from several states, mostly
in the Midwest. In April, Cowart even
attended a Hitler's Birthday celebration
held by the group in Cincinnati. The
previous month he handed out racist
fliers in front of a local store.
ADL, which regularly conducts train-
ing sessions for law enforcement on
extremism and extremists, provided,
on request from ATF, information on
the two suspects, their associates and
contacts, and on the Supreme White
Alliance and its membership.
Schlesselman and Cowart allegedly
informed officers they were planning
a "killing spree" that would involve
killing 88 people and beheading 14
African-Americans. Both numbers have
symbolic significance to white suprem-
acists. The number "88" is code for
"Heil Hitler;' while "14" is a reference
to the "14 Words:' a white supremacist
slogan: "We must secure the existence
of our people and a future for white
children."
Court documents indicate the two
suspects discussed a multi-state killing
and robbing spree, to include target-
ing a predominantly African-American
school. The murder spree would alleg-
edly end with an attempt to assassinate
presidential candidate Barack Obama
with a high-powered rifle.
The lead ATF Special Agent in charge
of the investigation, Jim Cavanaugh,
is a graduate of AM's high-level law
enforcement trainings: the Advanced
Training School held in Washington,
D.C., and the National Counter-
Terrorism Seminar held in Israel. ❑
Hate Crimes Down Slightly
New York/JTA — Hate crimes in
the United States declined slightly
last year. The FBI annual report
on hate crime data documented
7,624 hate crimes in 2007, corn-
pared to 7,722 in 2006.
Crimes directed against gays
and Hispanics increased, however;
with the rise due to sexual orienta-
tion at nearly 6 percent. Religion-
based crimes fell to 1,400 in 2007
from 1,462 in 2006. Anti-Jewish
crimes were about the same — 969
in '07 and 967 the previous year.
"While we welcome the fact that
reported hate crimes declined
slightly in 2007, violent bigotry
is still disturbingly prevalent in
America, with nearly one hate
crime occurring every hour of
every day of the year," said Anti-
Defamation League National
Director Abraham Foxman.
Foxman said the ADL will work
with the president and Congress
on ways to combat the problem,
including the passage of legisla-
tion that would expand the federal
government's ability to assist local
authorities in investigating and
prosecuting such crimes.
WHAT'S NEW AT
THE NEW DIA.
To prepare for the DIAts Arts Alive! gala, the museum will adjust
programming and offer visitors half-price tickets to Monet to Dali:
Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art on Friday,
November 7, and Saturday, November 8.
The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday,
and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, but there will be no special
programming on either day.
The museum is expected to return to regular use on Sunday, November 9.
Now on view:
Monet to Dal': Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art
Sponsored bii: Bank of America
/r/lt'' Programs are made possible with support from the Michigan Council for Arts
1 /i i i
and Cultural Affairs and the Citg of Detroit.
DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
5570 Monroe Street • Sylvania, ON
CORRECTION
The website for Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
on page A36 of last weeks Jewish News was incorrect.
The correct website is: www.michiganjewishsports.org
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November 6 2008
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