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The 2008 Barack Obama assassination scare in Tennessee was an alleged plot by Paul Schlesselman and Daniel Cowart to assassinate Senator Barack Obama, the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nominee (and later President-elect of the United States).

The two men, both of whom held strong white supremacist beliefs, spoke of killing Obama during a planned murder spree of 88 African Americans in Tennessee, many of whom were to be young students at an unidentified, predominantly black school. Schlesselman and Cowart were arrested October 22 and found to be in possession of several weapons. The men told authorities of their planned assassination and killing spree, and said they intended to rob a gun store for additional weapons and perform home robberies to help fund the murders. Although the United States Secret Service said they were taking the plot seriously, authorities said they have not yet determined how capable the duo were of carrying out the alleged plot.

Investigation and arrests

Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas, and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee, allegedly plotted to assassinate Senator Barack Obama, the eventual President-elect of the United States, during his candidacy based on their convictions in Aryan race white power and the skinhead ideology. Schlesselman and Cowart were introduced to each other via the Internet in September 2008 by a mutual friend who shared their white supremacist beliefs. Within a month they began planning to kill Obama by driving their vehicle toward him as fast as they could and shooting at him from the windows. The murder was planned as the "final act of violence" of a killing spree in which the duo planned to kill 88 African Americans by gunfire, mostly children at an unidentified, predominantly black school. They planned to behead 14 of the 88 victims; the numbers 88 and 14 were chosen for their special significance in the white power movement.

Schlesselman and Cowart chatted on the Internet about how to carry out the spree; Schlesselman suggested using a sawed-off shotgun because it would be easy to maneuver and said he planned to steal a gun from his father. Prior to their arrest, the men decorated their car with a Swastika and drew the numbers 88 and 14 on their hood using window chalk. The numbers have special significance in the white power movement: 88 is a slang term for "Heil Hitler" since H is the eighth letter in the alphabet, and 14 represents the 14-word white supremacist mantra, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." Authorities believe the duo may have planned to move from state to state to choose their victims. They also planned to wear white tuxedos and top hats during the assassination attempt.

On October 22, Schlesselman and Cowart shot at a glass window on the front door of the Beech Grove Church of Christ in Brownsville, Tennessee, which has a congregation of about 60 African American members. Nobody was present at the church when the shot was fired; the bullet and shattered glass were found when church members arrived for Bible study later in the evening. Church officials said it was the first such attack against the church in its 120-year history. The two men bragged to a friend about the shooting; the friend told her mother, who notified the Haywood County Sheriff's Department. Investigators traced the shell casings to Schlesselman and Cowart, and notified the Crockett County Sheriff's Department, who took the pair into custody after spotting the swastikas, slurs and 88 and 14 numbers on their car.

Police seized a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and three pistols from the men at the time of the arrest. They were detained in Bells for a few days before being moved to another facility. During interrogation, the duo told authorities of their plan to kill Obama. The United States Secret Service became involved in the investigation once the supposed assassination plot was discovered. Both men were charged with illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, conspiracy to rob a firearms dealer and making threats against a presidential candidate. Additional charges may be filed pending an active investigation. Authorities have found no evidence that anyone besides the two men were involved in the plot, but authorities are still investigating the possibility.

Both Schlesselman and Cowart acknowledged that they would be killed as a result of the murders and insisted they were willing to die. Jim Cavanaugh, a special agent in charge of the Nashville field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said of the men: "They said that would be their last, final act. ... They seemed determined to do it. Even if they were just to try it, it would be a trail of tears around the South." Authorities said they planned to break into a gun shop to steal more weapons for their attack, and also bought nylon rope and ski masks at Wal-Mart to use in a robbery or home invasion to fund the spree. The duo asked a friend to drive them to a house they planned to rob, but they cancelled the robbery after getting spooked by a dog and two vehicles in the driveway.

Assessment of threat

Secret Service and other authorities said they were treating the plot very seriously, but acknowledged it did not appear to have moved to an advanced stage. Authorities said there did not appear to be any formal assassination plan and said they were unable to assess how capable the duo was of carrying out the attack. Federal authorities told the Associated Press they did not believe Schlesselman and Cowart had the means to carry out their threat. Barack Obama did not have any campaign appearances planned for Tennessee. One federal law enforcement officials told the AP plans did not include Obama's schedule or a specific time and place for the assassination because, "I don't think they had that level of detail." Authorities said they made several mistakes during their planning, including drawing too much attention to themselves with their car markings. Authorities also felt the duo's failure to carry out a home robbery together indicated they would be unable to assassinate Obama. When asked whether the alleged threats were real, Daniel Cowart's laywer, Joe H. Byrd, told reporters, "White top hats and tuxedos? You tell me."

Fred Fielder, police chief in Helena-West Helena, said the alleged plot in Tennessee particularly concerned him due to the fact that 66 percent of the city's 12,200 population are African American; he said to reporters, "Predominantly black school, take your pick." Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, described the plans and weapons arsenal as frightening, but said, "With the part about wearing top hats...it gets a bit hard to take them seriously." An editorial in The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, said the plot emphasized a dark undercurrent of racism still alive in the United States, but said their chances of actually killing Obama were "almost nil. Their plot was so disorganized they appear to be candidates for 'dumb criminals,' not calculating assassins."

Despite initial concerns about the plot, the Barack Obama campaign was not notified of the alleged plot; an Obama aide told ABC News, "They were given no heads up." Concerns were already strong about possible plots against Obama due to his status as the first African American presidential nominee for a major political party. The senator had been receiving Secret Service protection since May 2007, which was the earliest for any candidate, and authorities had already foiled an alleged assassination plot at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Histories of alleged plotters

Paul Schlesselman was a high school dropout raised by a single father in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, who hated his small Delta region hometown because of its predominantly black population. He never had any problems with the law prior to the alleged Obama plot. Schlesselman was regularly unsuccessful finding work, was often broke and spent most of his time on his computer. He also had a strong affinity for drinking and smoking. His MySpace profile listed his display name was "poop," his occupation as "drinking" and his general interests as "guns and fucking shit up," and also included videos of Schlesselman mocking hip hop culture, ranting about black crime in his hometown and firing a 12-gauge shotgun repeatedly into a creek. Schlesselman publicly claimed whites were the master race and would often "Sieg Heil" and "Heil Hitler." He also spoke out against Barack Obama, saying things like, "Obama would make the world suffer." His sister Kayla, who is two years younger than Paul, often argued with him about his racial beliefs. A few days before his arrest, a neighbor said he heard semiautomatic gunfire coming from an open field behind Schlesselman's house. After his arrest, Schlesselman's family expressed doubt that he seriously intended to carry out the plot; his father, Mike, said, "I think it's just a lot of talk. He would never do something like this." Kayla said she spoke with his brother after the charges were made public, and that Paul "said he's sorry about everything he's done."

Daniel Cowart was raised in Bells, Tennessee, where he was also often preoccupied with computers. He never had any problems with the law prior to his arrest with Schlesselman. Cowart attended Crockett County High School until 2006, but did not graduate. Cowart applied for Jackson State Community College to study computers but, although his family believed he was indeed attending the school, he never provided documentation or pursued other steps to enroll there. Cowart moved to Texas in the spring of 2007 to live with friends he met on the Internet, but he was unable to find work and returned to Bells after one month to live with his grandparents. Before his move to Texas, Cowart worked at a Bells grocery store called the Bells Market Place for one year until May 2007 before moving to Texas for a brief time. Cowart worked and got along with several minority co-workers, who later expressed shock at his eventual arrest. Mitchell Twitty, a black former co-worker of Cowart's, said of Cowart, "He treated me like we were best friends. I never, ever heard him make a racist remark." Twitty said Cowart tended to keep to himself and at times acted "maybe a little strange." Other co-workers described him as hard-working and friendly, but did not have many friends. One family friend thought he was intelligent and full of potential: "I always saw him as a doctor or lawyer, or even a senator. He even had the potential to become what Obama is, running for president." According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Cowart belonged to Supreme White Alliance, an organization which overtly describes itself as racist on its website; Cowart could be seen in a photo on the Alliance's website celebrating the birthday of Adolf Hitler with other skinheads. On the group's social networking site, Cowart described himself as "easygoing and easy to get along with, as long as you are white!" Cowart was allegedly kicked out of the group sometime prior to his arrest. The club's president, Steve Edwards of Central City, Kentucky, resigned due to the negative press following Cowart's arrest; although Edwards acknowledged Cowart's membership in the group, he said the Alliance had no part in the plan and claimed the media exaggerated Cowart's connection to the group.

Charges and trials

On November 6, Paul Schlesselman and Daniel Cowart pleaded not guilty before a federal magistrate in Memphis, Tennessee to federal charges of threatening a presidential candidate, possessing a sawed-off shotgun, taking firearms across state lines to commit crimes and conspiracy to rob a licensed gun dealer. The two were placed into federal custody without bail. The charges carry a maximum punishment of 50 years in prison and $540,000 in fines. No trial date has yet been scheduled. At the request of federal authorities, the duo were placed on lockdown in their Obion County, Tennessee jail cell for their own protection against the other inmates. The two men can leave their cell for only one hour to watch television or use the phone; authorities said they have caused no problems during their time in the jail.

On November 13, 2008, Cowart's attorney, Joe Byrd filed a petition to dismiss the indictment, alleging the grand jury had 2 white members, while "21 were African-American or of another race or races. It could not under the most modest constitutional scrutiny ... be considered fair, impartial and unprejudiced."

Notes and references

1. ^ Jordan, Lara Lakes. "Feds disrupt skinhead plot to assassinate Obama." Associated Press, October 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
2. ^ Baird, Woody and DeMillo, Andrew. "Authorities say skinhead plot wasn't fully formed." Associated Press, October 30, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-04.
3. ^ Date, Jack. "Feds thwart alleged Obama assassination plot." ABC News, October 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
4. ^ Lichtblau, Eric. "Arrests in plan to kill Obama and black schoolchildren." The New York Times, October 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
5. ^ Baird, Woody. "Skinheads plead not guilty in alleged Obama plot." Associated Press, November 6, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-07.
6. "Editorial: Foiled plot revives pain of racism." The Daily News Journal, October 30, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-07.
7. Stephanopoulos, George. "Obama not told about alleged assassination plot." ABC News, October 27, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
8. ^ Krupa, John. "Teen in plot lists drinking as his job." Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, October 29, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-07.
9. Martin, Mariann. "Image of Daniel Cowart not familiar to those he knew in Bells." The Jackson Sun, October 29, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-07.
10. ^ Martin, Mariann. "Minority coworkers say Cowart was always friendly, respectful." The Jackson Sun, October 30, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-07.
11. "2 accused of threatening Obama kept on lockdown." Associated Press, November 9, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
12. ap.google.com, Man charged in Obama plot says grand jury skewed

• Assassination attempts
• Barack Obama
• 2008 in the United States
• Terrorism in the United States