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The Barack Obama assassination plot in Tennessee refers to an alleged plot by Paul Schlesselman and Daniel Cowart to assassinate Barack Obama, who was then the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nominee. 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 young students at an unidentified, predominantly black school. Schlesselman and Cowart were arrested on October 22, 2008, 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 to obtain additional weapons and commit home robberies to help fund the operation. Although the United States Secret Service said they were taking the plot seriously, authorities were unsure how capable Schlesselman and Cowart were of carrying out the alleged plot. Both plotters pleaded guilty to various federal charges; Judge J. Daniel Breen of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee sentenced Schlesselman to 10 years imprisonment on April 15, 2010, and Cowart to 14 years in prison on October 22, 2010. ==Investigation and arrests== Paul Schlesselman, 18, of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee, allegedly plotted to assassinate Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign. Both neo-Nazis, 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 men planned to kill 88 African Americans by gunfire, mostly children at an unidentified, predominantly black school.〔〔 They also planned to behead 14 of the 88 victims. The numbers were chosen for their special significance in the white power movement; ''88'' means "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." Schlesselman and Cowart chatted on the Internet about how to carry out the operation. Schlesselman suggested using a sawed-off shotgun because it would be easy to maneuver; he also 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.〔 Authorities believe the men 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 Allen Baptist Church in Brownsville, Tennessee. The two men bragged to a female 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, Tennessee for a few days before being moved to another facility.〔 During interrogation, the men told authorities of their plan to kill Obama. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives handled the initial federal investigation of the case.〔 The United States Secret Service became involved in the investigation once the supposed assassination plot was discovered.〔 The Federal Bureau of Investigation was also involved in the investigation.〔http://memphis.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel08/me112008.htm〕 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; a superseding indictment additionally charged the pair with civil rights conspiracy and conspiracy, and charged Cowart with destruction of religious property and a related firearms charge.〔 Authorities have found no evidence that anyone besides the two men were involved in the plot, but as of October 2008 authorities were said to be 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.〔 Authorities said the pair planned to break into a gun shop to steal more weapons for their attack, and also bought nylon rope and ski masks at Walmart to use in a robbery or home invasion to fund the spree.〔 Schlesselman and Cowart asked a friend to drive them to a house they planned to rob, but they cancelled the robbery after getting scared by a dog and two vehicles in the driveway.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Barack Obama assassination plot in Tennessee」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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