The dangerous silence surrounding the accused White House shooter

[bigtree]

By Colbert I. King, Friday, November 25, 8:16 PM

____ Shootings at the White House are rare, so this most recent incident, and the circumstances surrounding it, tend to concentrate the mind wonderfully. There are good reasons to believe that others knew or had reason to suspect that when (Oscar Ramiro) Ortega-Hernandez left his home in Idaho, he was up to no good with respect to the president of the United States.

Ortega-Hernandez, who was arrested Nov. 16 and charged the next day with attempting to assassinate the president, apparently was so obsessed with hatred for Barack Obama that he drove across the country for a chance to act on his contempt. That’s the conclusion to be drawn from the federal arrest warrant and criminal complaint filed against him in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia . . .

Beyond the question of motive is the issue of means.

How did this 21-year-old, who was reportedly on two years’ probation for resisting arrest and obstructing justice stemming from an arrest for possession of drug paraphernalia, get his hands on a Romanian semiautomatic assault rifle with a large scope mounted on it, as the complaint says? Or on the three magazines loaded with 7.62 x 39 mm cartridges, or the several boxes of similar cartridges that federal agents say they found in his car?

Even more intriguing is why Ortega-Hernandez was not brought to the attention of authorities when, as the federal complaint asserts, three witnesses in Idaho knew of his intent to harm the president. Knowing that Ortega-Hernandez had both a motive and the means to endanger the nation’s chief executive, why did they apparently hold their tongues?

The federal complaint sheds light on what they knew . . .


read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-dangerous-silence-surrounding-the-accused-white-house-shooter/2011/11/25/gIQArBp6wN_print.html

[spanone]

1. k&r...

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Having worked along side cops for ten years

why? Because as strange or odd as it sounds this happens more often than not. When X perpetrator has the means and motive to carry out insert crime here, it is rarely reported to authorities. That is why. People really don't believe that they will actually you know, carry it out. Then when it is carried out people are so damn surprised it happened... it is like predictable and shit.

This only resonates because of who the target is. I also suspect the perp will be found to be crazy and remanded for treatment a la Hinkley. Why? He exhibits all the signs and symptoms and when the President is involved they do cross all ts and dot all Is. No, from tapes shown I do not think it is an act. The man actually believes he is Christ and this POTUS is the Anti Christ.

[bigtree]

3. I think King's point resonates

Last election, conservatives, led by Palin and emboldened by McCain's silence, attempted to label Barack Obama as outside the American mainstream -- even as a foreigner. The rhetoric from Palin actually accused Mr. Obama of being associated with terrorists. I can't read Palin's silly mind, but I do know that it doesn't take much for some folks out there who have already become convinced that the government is somehow the 'enemy' to draw a line between their paranoia and the threat she was claiming our Democratic candidate posed the country.

Knowing someone has threatened the President, whether you think they have the means or not, and neglecting to report it can constitute a serious crime. Worse than that, that silence (or, in the conservatives' case, their inflammatory rhetoric) could very well lead to a tragedy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Like 1963

but my point stands. Most people do not report it, regardless of who is the target. It is just not something people do... as a detective once told me, people separate themselves from the outside word where the evil and ugly resides, and their friends. It is a well known dynamic in law enforcement. This is why people are rarely charged... let alone actually prosecuted.

[madinmaryland]

4. What is really messed up is that it sounds like this guy has taken his hatred right

from Glenn Beck. And then we wonder where these people get these crazy ideas from.

** The guy probably never listened to Beck & co., but the stuff that he is spouting sounds like it is from Beck.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Actually I think the I am christ and you are the anti christ

happens at least once per Presidency... no Glenny needed. Most are caught and actually most lack the ability to carry their threats.

Mental diseases is a real issue, and at times you can actually fix it with treatment.

[madinmaryland]

11. Well, I know I AM the ant-christ, because I believe in the FSM, but that aside,

the real question is what is the line between acting on your hatreds and insanity? I think not always is it mental illness, but a matter of a deep seeded hatred of a certain group.

[KoKo]

7. I thought it was "more than odd" when this news broke..

I still think there's much more to come out about this.

[Kurmudgeon]

8. Makes one wonder if he is a dupe, like Oswald perhaps....

[bemildred]

9. Maybe the dog heard the whistle. nt

[KoKo]

10. .....`1