Tennessee Christian terrorism plot uncovered?

Via Roger Ailes (the good one), comes this story: FBI cleans up after ricin discovery by Beth Rucker Memphis Commercial-Appeal/AP 06/03/06. Rucker reports:

FBI hazardous material experts searched a home where police found pipe bombs and a jar containing the potentially deadly poison ricin, federal agents said Friday.

The ricin was found in a baby food jar Wednesday in a shed of the home owned by a man who went to jail last week for violating protection orders taken out by his estranged wife, according to local and federal officials. ...

Ricin is a poisonous protein that can be used as a biological weapon. As little as 500 micrograms, roughly the amount that fits on the head of a pin, is enough to kill an adult, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Our lazy "press corps", following the cues from the Bush administration, has been virtually ignoring the fact that there are rightwing terrorist groups of various levels of threatening out there. And many of them really are "Christian terrorists", working from some sort of Christian Dominionist or Christian Identity outlook.


It's pretty obvious that the mainstream media's interest in the religion of guys like this, discovered with deadly poison that could be used in a "weapon of mass destruction" (or is the official term "weapon of mass murder" now?). The contrast with the treatment of "Muslim terrorists" is obvious.

And the content of the ideologies of rightwingers who might be planning a ricin attack is important, including their religions.

The Nashville Tennessean's coverage of the case includes:

Deadly toxin Ricin found among explosives at Donelson home by Kate Howard 06/01/06

Police find ricin in Donelson shed with bomb materials by Kate Howard 06/02/06

Hazardous-material experts search home by Kate Howard and AP 06/03/06

Howard at least made some inquiries about the suspect's ideology (from the 06/02/06 article):

Associates of Matthews have told police he talked about ricin a year ago, but Aaron said he didn't know the context in which it was discussed. An FBI team specializing in hazardous materials is scheduled to arrive this morning and complete the search of the shed in protective gear, Aaron said.

Matthews isn't a known member of any separatist groups and doesn't have an extensive criminal record, Aaron said. His family told police he was previously employed by the Davidson County Sheriff's Department and most recently by Metro's drug court before entering rehabilitation for substance abuse.

| +Save/Share | |