Plot to kill Obama thwarted

By Agencies

Two white supremacist skinheads were charged with threatening to kill US presidential candidate Barack Obama, even as opinion polls showed the Democrat’s lead slipping to four points against rival John McCain.

The two skinheads had also planned to shoot 88 black people and decapitate 12 others, according to American police.

The Illinois Senator, who leads in all major national polls, however urged against complacency.

"Don’t believe for a second this election is over. Don’t think for a minute that power concedes. We have a lot of work to do. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does," said the Democrat.

Coming just five days to the United States presidential elections in which Obama is on the verge of victory, the threats were shocking though American police said the plans did not appear sophisticated nor at an advanced stage.

The suspects, Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman, were charged in a criminal complaint with making threats against a presidential candidate, illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun and conspiracy to rob a gun dealer.

According to documents filed in court, "the individuals began discussing going on a ‘killing spree’ that included killing 88 people and beheading 14 African Americans".

The suspects met over the Internet about a month ago, said Brian Weaks, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in an affidavit.

The men are said to have stolen guns from family members, and planned to target a predominantly black school, going state to state while robbing individuals and continuing to kill people, Weaks said.

"They further stated that their final act of violence would be to attempt to kill/assassinate presidential candidate Obama," he said.

They then wrote racially motivated words and symbols on the exterior of Cowart’s vehicle, including a swastika and the numbers "14" and "88" on the hood of the car.

And a source close to the investigation added: "We’re unsure of their ability or if they have the wherewithal to carry out any of their threats".

Obama, whose father hailed from Kenya, would be the first black president in US history if he defeats Republican McCain in the November 4 election.

Concerns about Obama’s safety led the Secret Service to provide round-the-clock protection from early in his campaign.

In August, three men with suspected links to white supremacist groups were arrested with rifles and a telescopic sight amid fears of a plot to assassinate Obama during the Democratic National Convention.

It was reported that one of the suspects had told authorities they were "going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle ... sighted at 750 yards". When one of the suspects "was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama", a police source said, "He responded in the affirmative".

John F Kennedy

But there were no charges in connection with any assassination plot and the authorities later indicated that the men were drug addicts and petty criminals who had no plans to kill anyone.

The civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King, was assassinated in the southern US city of Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 where he was to lead a march of sanitation workers protesting against low wages and poor working conditions.

He was shot in the neck as he stood on a hotel balcony and died in hospital soon afterwards.

Five years earlier, John F Kennedy was hit in the head and throat when three shots were fired at his open-topped car in Dallas, Texas.

The numbers 88 and 14 are significant to white supremacists because of the American white nationalist leader, David Lane, who died while serving a 190-year prison sentence for murder, racketeering, and conspiracy in May last year.

During his incarceration he wrote an essay entitled ‘88 precepts’ in which he put forward his plan for establishing a white society.

The essay is used by white supremacist groups as the basis of their beliefs.

Lane’s ‘88 precepts’ was an expansion on his 14 words that he said summed up his views. Lane said: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children." He added that this was necessary "because the beauty of the White Aryan woman must not perish from the earth".

It is also thought that the number 88 is also used by white supremacists to represent "Heil Hitler", because "H" is the eight letter of the alphabet.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the skinheads planned to wear white tuxedos and top hats during the assassination attempt, which would have involved driving as fast as they could toward Obama and shooting him from the windows of the car.

They planned their first house robbery for last Wednesday but ended up leaving without breaking in. Instead they bought ski masks, food and rope to use in their robbery attempts.

Cowart and Schlesselman were arrested later that day in Crockett County in western Tennessee and made initial appearances in federal court in Memphis on Monday.

They remain in custody and are scheduled to return to court tomorrow for a detention hearing, the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper reported on its website.

"The US Secret Service takes all threats against presidential candidates seriously and is actively investigating the allegations," said Richard

Harlow, a special agent in charge of the Secret Service-Memphis Field Office.