The FBI killed a Utah man who issued numerous death threats. Far-right figures are now claiming the Biden administration is coming to kill conservatives.
The FBI killed a Utah man who issued numerous death threats. Far right figures are now claiming the Biden administration is coming to kill conservatives.
This commentary is reminiscent of the radical right’s reactions to the Ruby Ridge incident of 1992, an 11-day standoff in Idaho between federal agents and the family of Randy Weaver, a Christian fundamentalist affiliated with the far-right white separatist movement. The standoff resulted in the deaths of Weaver’s wife, son, and a federal marshal.
Dude... Ruby Ridge was a big deal because the FBI shot Randy Weaver in the back while he was lifting the latch to his shed to see his son's body, and then kept shooting at him as he and his family was running back to his cabin, hitting and killing his wife while she was holding their baby. It was a huge deal for a lot of people, Randy Weaver was found not guilty of any "siege-related charges" and awarded $3 million in damages, and the DOJ extensively revised their policies as a result.
Craig Deleeuw threatened to kill the president, and then according to the FBI and I see no reason to doubt them, was pointing his weapon at the FBI when they shot him. Whatever Randy Weaver did to create the Ruby Ridge confrontation, I don't think it's fair to compare the reaction to that to the reaction to this.
The guy that said federal agents wouldn't dare arrest him "because they'd get a .45 in the face"? He pointed a gun at the FBI?
Say it ain't so
Still, the Ruby Ridge and Waco comparisons are frightening. This is where the radical right really started to emerge. There was a great podcast series that I listened to about it. Here it is: Long Shadow (Apple) or Spotify link
Craig DeLeeuw Robertson was an American retiree from Provo, Utah who allegedly threatened online to assassinate President of the United States Joe Biden and other government officials and was subsequently shot and killed by agents of the FBI on August 9, 2023 when they attempted to execute search and arrest warrants.
He allegedly referenced the president's scheduled Thursday visit to Utah and threatened to dig out camouflage gear and a rifle.
In other posts, Robertson identifies himself as a “MAGA TRUMPER” and describes one of his rifles as a “DEMOCRAT ERADICATOR.”
The complaint included screenshots from Robertson’s profile where he threatened to shoot (New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting a criminal case against former President Donald Trump) in a courthouse parking garage. But when FBI agents confronted Robertson, he said it was a dream, according to the complaint.
Days after FBI agents spoke with Robertson on March 19 and told him they were investigating his social media posts, Robertson started posting content addressed to the FBI itself. He often said he knew they were watching what he was posting, and that the agents who spoke to him came close to being shot.
Additional info from: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2023/08/10/what-we-know-about-provo-man/
So they didn't march in and assassinate him; they've been trying to get him to calm down since March and he still posts threats...
Far right figures will always claim this and stoke stochastic terrorism. So go vote in 2024. Actually, go vote in every local election. We got a lot of terrorism fixing to do.
It is amazing how they are always the badass and victim in their own story.
Some FCC licensed corporate shill expresses a viewpoint slightly to the right of average and at the same time they are a radical freethinker truthteller who is being threatened, censored, and attacked.
Yeah buddy you arent special. You work for the man same as the rest of us. If you cross a line that costs them money they will fire you.
It is amazing how they are always the badass and victim in their own story.
This is fascism. Just pointing it out for everyone scrolling by. Not "everyone I hate is a Nazi". No, that contradiction is a key part of fascism. We cannot play nicely with those who aren't intent on even playing the same game.
We need to do more than just voting
I would worry. If the Biden administration wanted you dead they would
Step 1: conduct polls on the matter
Step 2: send a begging letter to the GOP asking for permission
Step 3: open negotiations with the GOP and gives them whatever they want.
Step 4: spend ten months at Town hall meeting to convince the liberal base
Step 5: get approval from Congress
Step 6: fight the court battles
Step 7: lose in the Supreme Court when Roberts vomits all over it.
Step 8: repeat the process with a watered down version, maybe not kill me, maybe just give me a head injury and let god decide.
.....
You would be fine for at least 20 years and then get a letter saying "you are a bad person.". Not even a !
“you are a bad person.”
Nah, that's too spicy for Democrats. Their letter would accuse them of having no "shame", or "honor", as if any Republican gives a shit about those concepts.
This is what cracks me up:
The Democrats are both ominously powerful and painfully ineffective at the same time. Even of the January 6th rioters, only the criminally stupid died, and most got a slap on the wrist.
We are all domestic terrorists
It explains their concern...
Haha the far right have been threatening to kill liberals for a few years now and are itching for an real civil war. Most of the threats I read about are made in their Telegram channels, but they all say how they're stocking up on guns and ammo and waiting for the go-ahead.
Fortunately the relevant authorities are well-aware of the threat.
Orwell on Hitler:
It is a pathetic, dog-like face, the face of a man suffering under intolerable wrongs. In a rather more manly way it reproduces the expression of innumerable pictures of Christ crucified, and there is little doubt that that is how Hitler sees himself. The initial, personal cause of his grievance against the universe can only be guessed at; but at any rate the grievance is here. He is the martyr, the victim, Prometheus chained to the rock, the self-sacrificing hero who fights single-handed against impossible odds. If he were killing a mouse he would know how to make it seem like a dragon.
Like the cop who beats up his wife, then cries because she made him do it, and convinces himself he's really the victim of the whole debacle.
well, if they’re shifting the definition of “conservative” to what others call a “domestic terrorist who made death threats against the President and then had a shootout with the FBI rather than surrender,” then yeah, those people should watch out.
They are
The guy was going into detail about what it would like to see his victims dying. I haven't seen info on what exactly triggered the shooting.
One guy pointed out his age and "Why did they need all those cops?". I don't care if you are 75, you can still pull the trigger on a semi-auto gun.
He pointed a gun at the FBI agents serving a warrant. This was not an execution, it was an old white guy who's never had his privilege checked before.
These are po dunk cops shooting a dog. These are FBI agents, if they shot him, he pulled a gun on them. They put him under surveillance. They approached him in public and asked to talk to him. Guy went angry old fuck on them and told them to come back with a warrant, so they did. If he was shot and killed, he brought it on himself, by his actions, that warranted being shot and killed.
He was also taunting and threatening the FBI on his social media after he was told that they were monitoring it. Just because it's online doesn't make it not a threat. You're 100% right and I don't understand how anyone doesn't see this.
"Just try to take me coppers!"
Or any gun generally
Keep making direct terrorist threats and watch what happens.
Don't tolerate the intolerant. That's how you protect democracy.
Whatever, they've been claiming that for years. They said the Clintons would come kill them because of Waco.
They're still really sad when Obama took all their guns back in 2012. That's why Republicans are so insecure, because they don't have any guns! The government took them all. I think they sent them to Mexico, or something.
Right??
Just more projection, since conservatives have been getting away with murder openly for decades.
Snake choked on its own tail today.
Fear mongering far right "journalists" terrifying fragile old, broken white men until they threaten the president's life constantly. Then the FBI knocks on their door in seemingly valid response and the fragile, frightened old man likely comes to the door with a loaded AR-15, a grenade belt and a blue lives matter t-shirt. His heroes in law enforcement, who are at the same time infallible super beings and complicit traitors tell him to drop the weapon, he refuses... And no more Walter.
The next day, the same fear mongering far right "journalists" tell the "story" of Walter, an innocent martyr, silenced by the JOE BRANDON!
Con artists and cowards.
What about Freedom of Speech and 2A?
Why can't I buy a ton of guns and ammo and send death threats while drawing detailed maps of each target and how I plan to commit those actions with a detailed agenda?
HOW IS THAT AGAINST THE LAW?!
Of course they are. Their entire political ideology is based on fear. They know their voters are cowards, and they need them to remain that way. If they can be property scared, they can be properly controlled.
Well I mean if they are going to make these claims, who are we to disappoint them???
Im just glad they are coming out of the woodwork before they harm any innocent people.
It will probably take 1 more black president for us to weed out the last of them, that last time drove them nuts.
I think you are missing the idea that there is an endless supply of these people. More people are born every day and more people find out about and join these groups as well. It's not like their membership is locked and once the lot of them get put in the ground or thrown in jail it's over. That's not how things work. Go reead the posts from the last few weeks. They're raising a whole new batch of even more radicalized young males. Shit won't stop because the reasons for them to join these groups hasn't gone away.
Lmao, yep!!
Wasn't the guy killed, outed by people on his own truth social site too? So they threw their own to the wolves and then want to pretend they are being targeted? Lmao.
outed by people on his own truth social site too?
If that's true, why the heck aren't more people making a big deal about that?? The Left should be taunting these clowns with that fact.
There's a bit too much danger in using a holistic, super-operative "they" in thinking like that.
There are absolutely conservatives out there that have somewhat more logical, level-headed thinking at work, but get freaked out by their "We need death penalty for all liberals, immediately" neighbors. Probably somewhere out there is a conservative neighbor of his that's privately glad the FBI went after him.
The tips to the FBI came from truth social
These fucking police worshippers couldn't get the point if they literally ran into it instead of the figurative they do constantly.
At least conservatives are acknowledging that they're terrorists
....but, but, but they are "true patriots" all at the same time!1!!
Funny thing is that, purportedly, the FBI originally got a tip about him from Truth Social.
Imagine how bad it must have been overall for truth social to turn his ass in...
I mean... you're not wrong per se, but it's definitely sugar coating things. The US was one of if not the most Nazi friendly country outside of the Axis Powers themselves, and it intended to stay neutral in the war. Even after Pearl Harbor, the US only declared war on Japan not the Axis as a whole; it was Hitlers beyond idiotic decision to declare war on the US in retaliation for our declaration on Japan that caused the US to finally enter the war proper.
I think people still remembered the Zimmerman Telegram from WWI as well...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram
I mean that was closer to WWII than we are to 9/11 right now...
But threatening to murder people online is protected by mUh FiRsT aMeNdMeNt rights!
If that makes them shut up, wouldn't it be a win?
The problem is it won't, because they know it's a lie.
They could have intervened at some point before he committed crimes and told grandpaps to calm the fuck down, get off Facebook, and get his head out of his ass, but they didn't do that either.
How do you know that didn't happen and this was the moment where Grandpa decided to fuck around and find out?
Unfortunately, no amount of talking you are able to can truly change someone's mind. That power resides with the individual alone, and many don't want to change.
Days after FBI agents spoke with Robertson on March 19 and told him they were investigating his social media posts, Robertson started posting content addressed to the FBI itself. He often said he knew they were watching what he was posting, and that the agents who spoke to him came close to being shot.
It's hard for me to imagine that a person who would conduct themselves as he did online was NOT a prickly pear in person with family and friends. The FBI might have made life easier for family events. I don't know that for sure, but I can sure imagine it.
Dark Brandon, indeed.
Sing-a-long! "They're coming to take me away!"
Sounds pretty self fulfilling
Authorities killed a terrorist in America
That's the real headline and you'd think these supposed Patriots would be happy
Yes. So please shut up.
I wish lmao
And there is the dilemma... Do you allow a group of people who have casually committed or promoted genocides for hundreds of years continue to grow... or do you become what you hate and stop them?
To be clear, the so called target being discussed has been gleefully:
And more.
At what point do you stop protecting them as a justifiable group of people and treat them for what they are, white supremacist terrorists.
Some reich-winger's tweet quoted in the article:
In Buffalo, a 75 year old man who was trying to turn in lost property during a protest; the police shoved him to the ground so hard that he was bleeding from his head, but they just stepped over his body. Breonna Taylor was sleeping when cops raided the wrong apartment. Charles Kinsey was shot lying facedown in the street with his hands in the air while trying to protect his autistic patient.
They're fine with all the other "poor outcome" police shootings in this country, they only get upset and fearful when one of "their own" is shot.
I get what you are trying to say, but she wasn’t sleeping at the time of the shooting. No need to rely on misinformation to here. The truth is damning enough for police.
Edit: In case y’all need proof.
Courier Journal: Louisville Local Newspaper, Left Leaning
I bet they're the same ones that don't want body cams or investigations into excessive policing...
If only he'd complied...
He did tell them, come back with a warrant, which they did.
Just respond to them that he should've obeyed and he'd be alive
#JUST COMPLY
A 75-year-old with a gun IS Trump's base, and is just as dangerous as a teenager with a gun. Possibly more so because of the sheer delusions this voting base has. Who wants to guess as usual the the alt right is downplaying yet another terrorist event on their side.
Guy was armed and was making detailed death threats. If I was sent in to apprehend him you better believe I'm going in using as much force as I can to guarantee I'll see my family for dinner after.
Yep, never heard these people talk about Michael Reinoehl.
Actually a lot of right-wingers cared about Breonna Taylor. The top post by far on /r/progun is about Breonna Taylor.
They only care as long as it promotes gun rights for white men. They don't care about the disparate impact she and other black women experience.