The men had a deadly plot to lure government forces into a trap, federal officials say, and were amassing a stockpile fit for war.
There were Kevlar helmets and body armor, pipe bombs and handmade grenades, large amounts of gunpowder and dozens of rounds of ammunition for a military-grade sniper rifle.
Federal officials say three North Carolina men — Walter Eugene Litteral, 50; Christopher James Barker, 41; and Christopher Todd Campbell, 30 — spent months compiling their cache, much of it purchased through a military surplus store owner who became so concerned about the plot that the person became the FBI’s informant.
The men were arrested Saturday and charged with conspiracy and amassing weaponry allegedly to combat what they believe is the government’s plan to impose martial law through (among other things) the controversial multi-state military exercise known as Jade Helm.
Weird.
Yep.
Hello! Media created it!
Meanwhile undetected the military propaganda machine does Operation Dragon Spear live yesterday in the Mojave desert, waste of taxpayer money, show and tell.
like you never heard the tea party crazy rw Texas #JadeHelm15 talk.
Come on now everybody was laughing at Gov Abbott and Texas.
There is an American terrorist group and it is not Obama.
Without a doubt we have weird people out there roaming around, and if the reports are accurate as read in the AP article, I give kudos to the Federal officials who used the informants information in a positive manner to protect lives.
People seeking self preservation as a life style may because of distrust in Government these days. All the recent clashes between those involved stem for the core of no respect for authority. Baltimore or Ferguson serve as examples of the unrest and distrust in America.
And as a result of action required to quell rioting people and you restrict the police from using enforcement as needed on duty, you end up with increased crime and murders, such as Baltimore today.
Are these people using rioting as the result of ineffective governing? You could muster a case and begin to suspect that current Government failures have been the catalyst for current unrest.
When those elected to Govern us turn a blind eye to crimes such as, illegally entering the country, or terrorist activity that results in deaths on our soil, not just limited to our military and its installations, but the murders of unsuspecting citizens out for a stroll or trying to be a good Samaritan.
If you think so, then it is time to take a hard look at those you support politically and make some urgently needed changes.
Some of PS posters suggest that they’ll never vote for a incumbent again, and there are good reasons these days to do so.
For many, its time to abandon the hope and change BS coming out of the failures from this current administration, and even begin to doubt their parties sincerity by wanting to back a similar thinking czar for office, like Clinton, (if only because of name recognition) that could result in a win, no matter the cost to America.
We are defiantly on the wrong path when the current elected breed distrust and hatred that seems to be spawning the activities such as these 3 men, who as reported were plotting against our own.
This conspiracy theory seems to have originated from the Tea Party. I was glad to see this blog never gave it any credibility. Ted Cruz legitimized these conspiracy theories in public many times. Of course neither he nor the Tea Party at large is responsible for this, but I do think they have helped create a climate where crazy conspiracy theories flourish.
Dewey if there’s one thing I’ve learned while publicly communicating about politics and current events it’s that one man’s “crazy” is another man’s common sense.
You don’t display a lot of common sense.
Harold: “People seeking self preservation as a life style may because of distrust in Government these days”
Exactly! One of the reasons conspiracy theories in politics sometimes have legs is that they are within the realm of possibility given the atmosphere created by leadership.
Chris: “neither he nor the Tea Party at large is responsible for this, but I do think they have helped create a climate where crazy conspiracy theories flourish.”
And it doesn’t occur to you that an administration that flaunts our laws and our system of government isn’t as responsible?
Climate:
Government spying on citizens personally targeting some.
IRS targeting of private citizens
taxation and regulation that is targeted to put businesses out of business and cause energy prices to “necessarily” be high.
Administration officials failing/refusing to respond to court orders.
A president and AG that gin up racial tensions.
I could go on and on but I have to go to work
Chris: “Ted Cruz legitimized these conspiracy theories in public many times. Of course neither he nor the Tea Party at large is responsible for this,”
please provide sources to back up your statement. I’ve not heard of Ted Cruz or the Tea Party groups being connected with militant extremist.
There are weird people out there, but to try and make a connection to honest people who love their country is wrong and so Saul Alinsky.
Tina, when people spread false rumors about other people, I hold them solely responsible, not their targets, even if I don’t particularly like the target. When Andrew Sullivan spread the rumor that Palin’s grandson was really her son, I blamed Andrew Sullivan, not Sarah Palin, despite the fact that she herself spread a lot of nasty conspiracy theories as well.
Some of the sins of this administration you mentioned are valid; some are unproven or subjective. None of them would cause a rational person to believe that the military is invading Texas for the purpose of martial law. I don’t care how much you think Obama sucks; that is completely outside the realm of plausibility for any rational person.
So no, I don’t believe the administration is equally responsible, any more than the Bush administration was responsible for 9/11 truthers. The scam artists who promoted the Jade Helm theory, such as Alex Jones, Chuck Norris, the staff of World Net Daily, etc., are the responsible parties here. Not the people they were lying about.
I get it. Chris fell for the left wing conspiracy theory plan to try a discredit those they disagree with politically.
Is Harvard Law Using Ted Cruz to Pander to Conspiracy Theorists?:
“Ben Jacobs at The Daily Beast thinks so.
In case you missed the official announcement:
From now on conspiracy theorists will no longer be receiving their memorandums, instructions, and dispatches (including “red meat” and “dog whistles”) via listservs, talk radio, blogs, or newsletters. Neither will rumors or conspiracy theories be whispered to them at the secret cabal meetings, effective immediately. All members of the vast right-wing conspiracy, the bitter clingers, the “conspiracy nuts” and tea party members have been informed that they will hitherto be apprised of important subversive announcements, apocalyptic instructions, and other missives via the Harvard Law Review.
Yes, you read that correctly.
According to Ben Jacobs at The Daily Beast, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is now using the Harvard Law Review, “bastion of liberal elitism,” to communicate with ”those on the far right concerned about Agenda 21, NAFTA superhighways, or any of a range of other conspiracy theories.” Cruz has apparently signaled this shift in right-wing strategy by penning a 10,000 word essay titled “Limits on the Treaty Power,” inspired by the Supreme Court’s consideration this term of Bond v. United States, a Tenth Amendment case. Jacobs seems baffled that Cruz somehow managed to convince the editors of the esteemed publication to give him space to make the case for limits on the powers of treaties, and implies that there must be some nefarious secret message buried within the essay “replete with 181 footnotes, against the scale and scope of the modern federal government.”
The phraseology Cruz uses, according to Jacobs, “serves as red meat to those on the right concerned about the United Nations, especially those who believe that Agenda 21, a non-binding plan for sustainable development is a Trojan horse for instituting world government.”
[Note: At least the left is now acknowledging that those on the right are literate.]
In the essay, Cruz argues that, “The president cannot make a treaty that displaces the sovereign powers reserved to the states.” Citing Missouri v. Holland, a 1920 Supreme Court case dealing with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, Cruz warns that, “if Justice Holmes was correct [that Congress has plenary power to implement any treaty], then the president and Senate could agree with a foreign nation to undo the checks and balances created by the people who founded our nation.”
Such language is pure “red meat” for the right, according to Jacobs.
And then there are these secret code words embedded in Cruz’s essay: “We must jealously guard the separation of powers and state sovereignty if we are to preserve the constitutional structure our Framers gave us.”
Cruz is blowing a “dog whistle for conspiracy nuts” with this constitutional crazy talk, says Jacobs.
http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/01/15/is-harvard-law-using-ted-cruz-to-pander-to-conspiracy-theorists/
Re Chris: “neither he nor the Tea Party at large is responsible for this, but I do think they have helped create a climate where crazy conspiracy theories flourish.”
That is a despicable slur and wholly at odds with the truth. Typical progressive ***hole think. Go to hell.
Chris: “None of them would cause a rational person to believe that the military is invading Texas for the purpose of martial law.”
Whose talking about rational people!
But to address your thought, a paranoid person that resents the government’s war on guns, war on coal, war on white cops, war on the economy, war on private enterprise might feel he’s in an atmosphere where it’s possible that the administration would send the military to invade Texas “for the purpose of martial law.”
This administration has given rational citizens plenty of reasons to suspect his intentions. In that respect Obama could be said to bear some responsibility for a paranoid nut case or radically suspicious person going off on a tangent. he’s more responsible for creating that atmosphere than any Tea Party group, after all he is the leader of this nation and his voice bears more weight.
Pie at #12: “That is a despicable slur and wholly at odds with the truth.”
Thanks…you say a lot with only a few words.
Peggy, here are Ted Cruz’s comments on Jade Helm:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-02/ted-cruz-says-he-has-asked-the-pentagon-for-answers-on-jade-helm-15
There were many Tea Party sites which promoted the Jade Helm conspiracy theory. Here are links to just a few that came up when I searched “Tea Party Jade Helm.”
http://beforeitsnews.com/tea-party/2015/08/the-meaning-behind-jade-helm-2557602.html
http://www.teapartytribune.com/2015/07/15/volunteer-watchdog-group-dispatches-to-western-states-to-monitor-jade-helm/
http://www.bastropteaparty.org/portfolio-view/jade-helm-15/
http://mobile.wnd.com/2015/05/prep-drill-for-jade-helm-15-includes-children/
To be fair, other right wing articles denounced these conspiracy theories, as have many Republican politicians. I don’t think all Tea Partiers are Jade Helm conspiracy theorists, but I’d wager most Jade Helm conspiracy theorists are Tea Partiers.
Again, I’m not saying Tea Partiers are responsible for this shooting.
So, Tina, let me see if I’ve got this straight:
–Tea Party groups told crazy people that Jade Helm was a military takeover of Texas.
–Two men started shooting at soldiers at Jade Helm specifically because they believed that Jade Helm was a military takeover of Texas
–Because Obama has done a lot of things you don’t like, it is his fault that these men thought Jade Helm was a military takeover of Texas, not the fault of the Tea Party groups who actually told this lie in the first place.
–Somehow, you still consider yourself in favor of “personal responsibility.”
Simply amazing. What else would you like to blame Obama for? If some nut opens fire on him, are you gonna blame Obama for that too?
Oh, and you forgot to compliment Pie on this line:
“Typical progressive ***hole think. Go to Hell.”
You’re right, he really does say a lot with only a few words. An elegant mastermind, a modern Hemingway he is. But hey at least you always make sure to bleep the a word, because that makes it better.
You are a moral coward.
I mean, what an amazing logical calculus you’ve developed, Tina:
–If a right wing nut shoots people, it’s Obama’s fault.
–If a left wing nut shoots people, it’s Obama’s fault.
How wonderfully convenient!
Welcome to my world… Koche Bros., Bush, Cheney, Tea Party, Pro-lifers, Haliburton, NRA, etc. You pick the crisis and then assign it to one of the above names. It’s how the left has been operating for years!lol
Chris: “Because Obama has done a lot of things you don’t like, it is his fault…”
I’ve asked you before not to put words in my mouth. I did not say it was his fault. You project that thought on to me out of your prejudice.
I said in regard to an atmosphere of uncertainty as to his intentions Obama could be said to bear some responsibility…particularly for someone that’s unstable (paranoid).
“…and you forgot to compliment Pie on this line”
(Laughing my butt off) Chris…I’m not his mother. Pie is completely capable of being responsible for his own words. And by the way Pie “bleeped” the word himself.
I also did not comment when you used similar language toward him recently. I don’t recall if there was any bleeping involved.
“You are a moral coward.”
You are a child that wouldn’t recognize morality if it bit you…you’re too busy putting words thoughts into the mouths and minds of others to get what they’re saying…you’re too busy playing tattle tale.
PS at #18…right on the money!
Ted Cruz quoted by Chris: “…when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don’t trust what it is saying.”
He’s absolutely correct!
This administration promised to unite America but has overtly done just the opposite.
This administration has cozied-up to nations like Russia (flexibility), refusing to adequately meet their threats with a strong response. He has embraced our enemies, failed to fight for American citizens being held in foreign jails, used the power of government (Justice) to spy on FOX reporter James Rosen (Rosen’s parents were also harassed)
This administration has overseen an IRS that purposely targeted conservative organizations and persons to block their participation in the political process or to harass them.
This administration has lied to the American people about Benghazi and failed to respond to court ordered directives.
This administration has used the EPA to ruin one industry (Coal), even though it will cause a loss of jobs, higher energy costs, and will not change the warming factor even by 1%.
This is an administration that has ginned up racial animus, falsely accused white people of “systemic racism,” and judged police officers guilty before the facts were known.
This is an administration that has overseen the worst economic situation since the Great Depression, trying to convince out of work Americans that 2% growth is “the new norm.”
This is an administration that promised we could keep our health insurance and doctors and the average family would save $2500.00 if only they’d support his health care bill. Pelosi/Reed worked behind closed doors offering bribes for votes and the President got his healthcare law…America got the shaft!
Misused the Patriot Act according to the author of it who credits Ed Snowden for alerting him to the abuses going on:
There is much more that this administration has done to create an atmosphere of distrust and resentment.
This isn’t a matter of schoolyard blame. It is a matter of leadership that seems to be hostile to America and at least some of the American people. This is about a leader who fails to act in the best interest of the nation.
So Chris take that notion of “logical calculus” and project it back on yourself.
What I say is illogical to you only because you do not get what I’m saying. There isn’t an ounce of truth in what you’ve asserted.
Ted Cruz spoke the truth.
Ted Cruz just fund raises off all this.
G.W. and Obama and any other establishment Prez will continue this.
Cruz would do the same.
But this crazy fund raising conspiracy created violence. Time to stop the whako squad conspiracies.
—————————-Tina——————-
“This administration promised to unite America but has overtly done just the opposite.”
You can not Unite a Country when you have a self proclaimed “Insurgency” On the Right.
When one Party Leader (Boehner) says “My Way or the Highway” That is dictatorship in the making.
This administration wasted too much time trying to work with the other side. They took back their promises and played chess. The GOP has vowed to block everything this Prez does, how is that uniting?
Now they support the TPP which will destroy us. If these trade bills get through no conservative who did not bother to read the leaks or fight can complain.
The GOP supports ObamaTrade
Tina, again, even if everything you said Obama has done were true (and only about half of it is) that would still not make him even partially responsible for this conspiracy theory. Those who spread the conspiracy theory are obviously much more responsible. You can’t bear to admit this because the people who spread this are mostly Tea Party members.
I can write a list just as long of Bush’s egregious sins. I would not then use that to insist that he bears some responsibility for 9/11 Truthers. I’m willing to acknowledge when my political opponents are being unfairly targeted. You aren’t.