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 40111111V November 6 2008 A27