5 anarchists nabbed in plot to blow up Cleveland bridge

[IDemo]

Last edited Tue May 1, 2012, 10:27 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: msnbc.com

Federal agents have arrested five people who were plotting to blow up a bridge in Cleveland, Ohio, an incident not connected to the anniversary of former al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden's death, officials say.

The five were nabbed in what amounted to an FBI sting, and agents had them under extensive surveillance for a long period of time.

"There was never any danger," one federal official said.

Federal officials say three of the five men charged with plotting to blow up the bridge describe themselves as anarchists who considered a series of evolving plots over several months.

Read more: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/01/11485641-5-anarchists-nabbed-in-plot-to-blow-up-cleveland-bridge?lite

[slackmaster]

1. More agents provocateurs?

[independentpiney]

4. Very possible

I'm reading a book now on the Spanish Civil War, and how the right wing did everything they could to paralyze the Republic politically much like our current republicans, and pulled off all sorts of false flag operations to prove that the progressives couldn't provide safety and stability. I'm finding the similarities really ominous.

[snooper2]

41. Well if (huge IF rofl) they are, they REALLY got the look down

I mean, whoever they are paying to do the makeup and attire and hair is doing a fabulous job!

I mean, they should at least get a 100% bonus..Look at this work!

[independentpiney]

43. Yikes! Those are some 'dos nt

[yurbud]

72. those guys look like they couldn't form a plot more complex than carpooling to their meth dealer

[may3rd]

75. They said they were employee's of OWS in Cleveland.... so, wonder how much that pays,

they should have opening posted if that's the case. These guys are going on extended sabbatical

[HereSince1628]

11. Anytime a report about anarchists is released on May Day and says 'infiltrated'

we must leave open the possibility that the plot was actually directed by an agent and part of a larger strategy to discredit some group or cause.

The targets of these co-conspirators somehow grew from attacks on corporate signage to blowing up a bridge on federal land.

Think about that. The choice of action escalated from vandalism to multiple federal felony offenses.

The 'infiltrator' or 'infiltrators' was/were apparently involved at a time when the 'target' was being determined.

[Telly Savalas]

58. Given that the anarchist movement has zero traction in the US

why would anyone need to go out of their way to discredit the group?

There are more moderate elements (and I mean like Kucinichy types and the Green Party) that have considerably more likelihood of exercising any influence over public opinion. Why not target them instead?

[yurbud]

73. this does target them by tainting the brand and while the NAME doesn't get any traction, some of the

ideas are gaining: horizontal democracy instead of hierarchy, especially in the work place, the open source software movement, even things like Wikipedia are anarchist and cooperative at their core.

As an idea, anarchism is more dangerous than centralized communism to the financial elite. If you have one dictator or a junta in a communist country, the rich can use their standard tricks to corrupt or coerce those at the top (at least from the outside). If power is truly shared, that's a lot harder to do.

Case in point: cooperatively run businesses versus corporations. Can you do a leveraged buyout or outsource all the jobs of a company where the employees have at least as much voice as investors?

That is so disturbing to the rich that one of the conditions NATO imposed on the dismembered Yugoslavia was that they privatize the last of their collective industries even though they were doing just fine in that mode.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. I've seen agents provocateurs in action

They definitely exist.

Most of them are so clumsily obvious that older members of Occupy and other groups can easily spot them.

But I can see how young and stupid activists could be persuaded.

[iamthebandfanman]

33. nah, im thinking just morons.

i think some of you are too quick to blame a conspiracy when it comes to these things..

[BadtotheboneBob]

37. Have to agree with you...

... after looking at the pictures of the accused. All five have that moronic look in their eyes. Plus, provocateurs usually make good their escape. These guys are going down hard.

[WCGreen]

55. They have a defiant look about them...

They are probably on the outside looking in every where they go except when the are together and they feel as if they are part of something...

They probably have dead end jobs, are just lurching from one scheme to another trying to find someone to blame for their failures in life...

I worked in a blue collar bar when the future was being let out of their lives when the big auto plants around here started to scale back...

They have no place to go, no place to feel is their own so they are easily talked into doing something stupid.

Planning to do a little theatrical vandalism on the Hope Bridge is a far cry from blowing up the turn pike bridge over the Cuyahoga Valley.

[Posteritatis]

46. Agents idiotiques strikes me as more likely. (nt)

[joshcryer]

50. Yes, they were under surveillance for a "long time."

You don't have long term surveillance without having a mole, and likely one who goads idiots into saying and doing things they wouldn't otherwise do. Somehow this is "legal." The entire Green Scare was trumped up crazy with a young woman who wound up entrapping the entire group.

[may3rd]

80. Bomb plot suspect leases Occupy warehouse in Ohio

One of five men arrested in an alleged Ohio bridge bombing plot signed the lease for the warehouse that's home to about a dozen protesters from the Occupy Cleveland movement, which is working to get the man's name removed from the lease, a group spokesman said.

The $600 monthly rent for the warehouse was paid to a landlord, not to suspect Anthony Hayne, group spokesman Joseph Zitt told The Plain Dealer.

"We needed a name on the lease, and he agreed to be it," Zitt said.

Hayne, 35, is among the five suspects accused of trying to bomb a highway bridge south


Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_cuyahoga/bomb-plot-suspect-leases-occupy-warehouse-in-ohio#ixzz1uE6vC37K

[liberal N proud]

2. Link only goes to a photo

But looking around, that is all the News Channel 5 is posting.

[IDemo]

3. I'm seeing the story as well

Just verified the link is working from my browser, anyway.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. Sounds like right wing militia types.

According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office, these three were arrested Monday evening and charged with conspiracy and attempted use of explosive material to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce:

- Douglas Wright, 26
- Brandon Baxter, 20
- Anthony Hayne, 35

These two men were also arrested, but charges are pending:

- Connor Stevens, 20
- Joshua Stafford, 23

[Baitball Blogger]

9. They must be white or they would have called them terrorists.

[xtraxritical]

21. Stuff your racist bullshit.

[Baitball Blogger]

30. I'm watching you.

[snooper2]

42. Is this your theme song?

[Baitball Blogger]

48. LOL!

Love it!

[Honeycombe8]

47. The article said they were "self described anarchists." It goes w/o saying they're also terrorists.

If they have a cause. You have to have a cause to be considered a terrorist, I think.

In other words, you can be both an anarchist AND a terrorist.

[Ford_Prefect]

6. Hutaree Redux?

[IDemo]

7. Updated with a less Fox-y source /nt

[mn9driver]

8. At least a couple of these names/ages are associated with Occupy Cleveland.

It will be interesting to see just exactly what they are accused of, and how the FBI got its evidence.

[Common Sense Party]

13. They are? Who? And how do you know?

[mn9driver]

28. Google. Example:

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/brandon-baxter

[joshcryer]

52. They likely got them talking crazy talk and then at least one of them...

...was goaded into seeking out supplies.

[Fuddnik]

12. Bullshit plot.

I'm familiar with that bridge. I almost bought a couple of houses below it about 30 years ago. It's a BIG fucking bridge.

And it would take trained demolition professionals and a lot of explosives to do any real damage to it.

[SnowCritter]

14. Oh, heck, just give it time!

If the Republicans have their way it'll just fall down by itself due to lack of maintenance. Lord knows they don't want to fund maintenance, repairs and improvement of infrastructure.

[villager]

17. An "FBI Sting?" So actually, the idea was the FBI's plant, who probably pushed the others

...to go along with it, so they could make their arrests...

[tcaudilllg]

19. I agree: this was all about discrediting May Day.

And OWS. And intimidating people into not participating in the rallies.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

45. This seems to be a common FBI pattern.

Involving an undercover informant or agent, always a sting operation, usually a device that won't work and a perfect press release saying " We saved you once again, were on top of it."

But think about it, how many actual attacks by groups have really occurred in the USA?

[joshcryer]

53. Exactly. Green Scare 101.

And they probably didn't get very far, probably late night drunken musings and then someone was sent to seek out supplies, and pow.

[may3rd]

70. Meet the FBI's Informant in the Bridge Bombing Case; Shaquille Azir

Seems his reality check bounced

has prior convictions for cocaine possession (1990), robbery (1991), and four convictions for passing bad checks between 1991 and 2011, according to the bombing complaint. No mention is made, however, of Azir’s two pending criminal cases.

[snip]

Azir’s first indictment this year came on January 12, when he was charged with knowingly passing a bad check for $1471.87 to a home décor company. On January 24, he was named in a second felony indictment accusing him of defrauding a Cleveland-based credit union through the issuance of a bum check for $2165. The two cases have been consolidated and Azir is next due in court on May 10.

Azir is also facing a probation violation hearing in Lorain County, where he has been convicted of passing bad checks.
http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2012/05/03/meet-the-fbis-informant-in-the-bridge-bombing-case

[villager]

76. One imagines the MSM will somehow emphasize this less than the arrests...

n/t

[Marzupialis]

18. Whose idea was it to blow up the bridge at first?

Did these people discuss blowing the bridge before the FBI agent got involved? or did the FBI agent offer to blow up the bridge before the men considered doing it at all?

[tcaudilllg]

20. Apparently the FBI put them up to it.

They were planning on just throwing down some bank/hedge fund signs, but then the FBI plant played a little 1984 with their heads.

[Marzupialis]

22. I've seen this type of "plot" very often recently

Many people who do not bother to read the whole details will probably picture this in their minds as a heroic life-saving act by the fBI. That's why the FBI does it: to congratulate itself via their loyal messenger: the uncritical MSM.

[tcaudilllg]

24. There is someone in there who is playing with a KGB-style deck.

[Kolesar]

23. RWers have figured out that the men were part of Occupy Cleveland

They protested the foreclosure of a home.
I am not going to send web-traffic to them by posting their url.

[stockholmer]

25. typical FBI-run bullshit false flag op

A person has to be a true fool to believe anything remotely like this anymore.

[Common Sense Party]

44. A person has to be a true fool to listen to some stranger who says,

"Hey! I'll give you some explosives if you go blow something up!" and then actually go with that person.

Why these mugs didn't hightail it out of there, I have no idea. If someone is too stupid to smell an obvious FBI sting, then they deserve jail.

[may3rd]

69. "Hey! I'll give you some explosives if you go blow something up!"

And then after they assemble the fake explosives as instructed,
they pressed the buttons fully expecting to not kill people on a state route bridge ? The story is a Judas was paid $6,000 to keep these loonies on the path over the past year.
These guys had a lot of time to report him to the FBI for wanting to destroy property built by the gas tax those motorists used to cross that bridge.

moot point now.
How many of these 'sting' operations actually ended up with people turning the tables on the stool pigeon ? Those are statistics that will never be revealed

[msanthrope]

26. Idjits. nt

[redqueen]

27. Reminds me of something I read on DU a while back.

How can you tell which member of a group is the mole?
It's the one who wants to blow things up.

[Odin2005]

29. "Sting Operation" = Entrapment.

They got an agent to convince bunch of naive idiots to do something stupid so they could arrest them and play the "Scary Leftist Radical" card on May Day. Fuck them!

[onehandle]

31. No tangible details in the article, whatsoever.

So I assume Faux will 'fill in the blanks' for us.

Right now we're supposed to imagine the 'dirty hippie anarchists' from the Dirty Harry movies.


Need more info, Feds.

[Kolesar]

32. Get to Know Your Cleveland Anarchist Wannabe Bridge Bombers

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2012/05/01/get-to-know-your-cleveland-anarchist-wannabe-bridge-bombers

[iamthebandfanman]

34. yikes. too me, this looks like the act

of bored people with way too much time on their hands.
besides, they say the FBI agent was with them undercover for a long time.. no telling how they pushed or poked people to move forward.

[nobodyspecial]

40. No matter how much I was poked or proded, I would *never* go along with such a plan

and would be the one alerting police on the idea.

I love how absent any evidence, that so many discredit any involvement. I do believe plants exist, but I don't think you truthfully can say one way or another until you have more evidence.

[joshcryer]

54. The FBI couldn't have run such a long operation without a plant.

Usually what actually happens is there was someone who called the police, alerted the police on the idea, and they were the ones who turned and became the plant. So a late night drunken crazy talk session about doing something stupid becomes a long term affair where idiots actually start to think their friend is all for it.

[may3rd]

67. On Brandon Baxter's (alleged) Face book profile, he lists his political views as "anarcho-communist,"

A visit to the OWS cleveland FB page shows they have distanced themselves while unions that planned to rally on the square on mayday canceled their official plans.

interesting article you linked

[flamingdem]

35. Who WASN'T a self-proclaimed anarchist in their early 20s?

These guys don't seem too bright however to get sucked in like that to the FBI operation.
Most of the time it's just an idealistic stage in life and portends the likelihood of becoming
a decent enough democratic-ish Citizen down the line.

No loss to the Occupy movement that's for sure.

[iandhr]

36. My question is how stupid are these people to fall for a sting.

[may3rd]

68. The FBI used one of them to sell out the others

for $6,000
to buy drugs. He has long since returned to jail for other issues

[Turbineguy]

38. Breitbart

describes them as Occupy leaders.

[Psephos]

59. 3 of them said they "worked at #OccupyCleveland" on their FB pages.

For what it's worth.

Can't say anything about BreitFart, given that I don't give that site traffic.

[rayofreason]

71. #OccupyCleveland praises Bradon Baxtor on their front page...

Last edited Fri May 4, 2012, 10:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Yes, that correct.

Go to http://occupycleveland.com/ and you will find the statement

May 1, 2012 – Cleveland – While the persons arrested Monday evening by the FBI have participated in Occupy Cleveland events, they were in no way representing or acting on behalf of Occupy Cleveland.

Scroll down a bit to a video. Below the video is this text:

On the morning of March 5th, Occupy Cleveland, in conjunction with labor and community organizations, marched from Public Square to the Justice Center. Every Monday morning, in a room on the first floor, there is a sheriff auction of foreclosed properties. Our aim was to shut it down. 5 very brave young men (Peter, Jonnie, Brandon, James and Ston) waited in the room where the auction was taking place for their cue. (emphasis added)

Well that "Brandon" is none other that Brandon Baxter, as can be seen in the video at 1:32. Just compare to his picture.

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-05-01/justice/justice_ohio-bridge-arrests_1_plastic-explosives-explosive-materials-fbi-sting?_s=PM:JUSTICE

So we have a disclaimer and a bit later this same "brave young" Brandon is being lauded for an Occupy action. What constitutes "representing?" It seems he also organized events. Like last weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/events/386018258086292/


I wonder when someone will notice and start scrubbing?

[may3rd]

74. That's the funny thing about FB

MOST people have accounts and LOVE to have as many friends as possible and the FB formula is a way to run tabs on most anyone you want to look up in their search engine these days Kind of a secret personal tracking record available to anybody who joins FB.
fascinating, no wonder people get upset at prospective employers want to look at their FB page.
TMI .

[Psephos]

77. This loser is antimatter to all that OWS represents.

"Brave young" Brandon indeed - he hung a "kick me" sign on the backs of legitimate protesters.

The correct term for people plotting to blow up bridges in Cleveland is "conspirators to commit homicide." From the same clade as arsonists.

[chrisa]

39. Holy crap those haircuts

The 'Saturday Night Fever throwbacks' combined with 'WoW nerd that still lives with his mom' look.

[marble falls]

49. Sounds like Nixon and Viet Nam in his first year.

[sarcasmo]

51. Makes me think of the Anarchist in the Big Lebowski.

[slackmaster]

60. YM Nihilists, people who care about nothing

"Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism; at least it was an ethos"

- Walter

[sarcasmo]

65. That's right, Nihlists, Thanks. It's been a few since I watched that great movie.

[truthisfreedom]

56. Ok, just a clue for really really stupid people?

Stay away from anarchists. Anarchy doesn't work for stupid people. You have to have a brain to understand the premise. Stick with being republican.

[Zax2me]

57. They look hideous! Shower anyone?!

And how many days before the motley crew is proven to be piss-ass right wing activists?

[slackmaster]

61. To be fair, they WERE revolting

[Zax2me]

63. They ARE revolting. To those of us who shower.

But I BET MONEY they get tied to a RW group within a few days.

[Nine]

64. Haaa!

X-D

[Quantess]

83. I would bet they are meth abusers

They have that worn-out meth appearance. They look a bit rough for their ages. Their mugshots look about 5 to 10 years older than their stated ages.

[grantcart]

62. there are two agonizingly stupid groups of people that are invariably caught

and then astonished at what happens;

1) Unattractive adult males who meet a 14 year old over the internet who are desperate to have their first sexual experiment with them and are astonished to find Chris Hansen at the home instead of the 14 year old.

2) People who want to blow something up and get the bomb from an outsider and then are astonished when they push the trigger and are astonished that a few minutes later they are being read their rights.

How idiotic do you have to be to believe that you can contact somebody and that person is going to delivery a bomb.

If someone says they are bringing you a bomb, they are bringing it from the FBI. You would have a better chance finding a 14 year old in the internet that is dying to meet you.

[lib2DaBone]

66. Beavis and Butthead meet Homeland Security Undercover Agents...

Read in one article they were going to spray graffiti on a bridge.. until they met the FBI undercover Agent provocateur... who gave them phony explosive devices and convinced them that blowing up the bridge was way more fun.

"Hey Beavis.. let's go get some Nachos. ... No.. lets blow up a bridge over the park.. ya ..cool heh heh heh .." heh heh

[marble falls]

78. Or "Beavis and Butthead Meet their Evil Twins"

[may3rd]

79. Bridge bomb suspects plead not guilty; Occupy Cleveland members show up to support suspects

Dozen show up at courthouse to support the self proclaimed anarchists







An undercover informant working with the FBI had provided the group with an inert bomb.
Baxter’s attorney told NewsChannel5 the informant, who has a long criminal record, coached the suspects.

All five suspects will remain in federal custody, as their detention hearing was postponed.

NewsChannel5 will continue to follow this case. Keep checking newsnet5.com for more information.


Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/bridge-bomb-suspects-plead-not-guilty-occupy-cleveland-members-show-up-to-support-suspects#ixzz1uE4iw1mz

[joshcryer]

82. Total entrapment.

[BadgerKid]

81. Hmmm...and on the same day as CIA catches an underwear would-be bomber.

While I'm "pro" catching the bad guys, I have to wonder a little bit about the stream of news lately:

bridge plot foiled by FBI
underwear plot foiled by CIA
FBI saying it needs wiretap-ready web sites NOW!
FBI saying the war against hackers is being lost
Drones allowed to fly the skies

It smacks of a world of increasing surveillance and potentially decreasing privacy.