One of the elderly ‘fringe militia’ members arrested on Tuesday for allegedly plotting a ricin attack against U.S. citizens and federal employees was a frequent commenter on a right-wing blog and thought a novel written by the blogger that allegedly inspired his plot was likely to come true.
Former Alabama militia member turned “Sipsey Street Irregulars” blogger Mike Vanderboegh said in a post that he never corresponded with 73-year-old Frederick Thomas, the man the feds considered the ringleader of the group. But he did say he believed “Ahab” was Thomas’ screen name that he used to leave comments on the website.
When Vanderboegh posted the first chapter of Absolved in October 2009 — describing how an elderly man killed 52 federal agents raiding his home — Thomas weighed in.
“I understand, indeed, that what you’ve written is a fictional account; however, it is far from fantasy,” Thomas wrote under the user name Ahab. “The likelihood a scenario like you’ve presented would come to pass is extremely high.”
“There are more agencies that are thuggish in our government now than ever before, not just the ATF,” Thomas wrote. “How about the IRS? Are they not just as destructive of Americans and our prosperity as is the ATF destructive of our God given rights to life itself?” He continued:
There is no question that this Congress and this administration need replaced, en masse! If we rebell against them outside the ballot box, and we are successful, they will be hung from lamp posts up and down Constitution Avenue, which is proper for the wrongs they’ve committed against the people; but, who will guarantee we can roll back all the damage they’ve done, restore America to the Constitutional Republic that was founded with the signing in 1787? Will there be an America left when the blood stops running?
In a follow up post, Thomas allegedly wrote that he’d “feel really badly about having to shoot American servicemen/women in self defense; but, make no mistake, I WILL shoot. I’m a 30 year veteran of the U.S. Navy, have sworn the oath many times, consider the U.S. Constitution to be a holy document, and I will not take another step backward. Take note, you statists: a lifetime of service to the nation has honed this fighting man into a weapon that yes, you really should fear.”
Vanderboegh, (no fan of TPM) says he was “frankly writing as much a cautionary tale for the out-of-control gun cops of the ATF as anyone.”
“For that warning to be credible, I must also present what amounts to a combination field manual, technical manual and call to arms for my beloved gunnies of the armed citizenry,” Vanderboegh wrote. “They need to know how powerful they could truly be if they were pushed into a corner.”
Vanderboegh has given interviews on the novel to the Associated Press, Reuters, and Fox News.
“The federal government has been pushing the limits of liberty back in this country for many, many years, and my point was, at some undetermined moment in the future, someone is going to determine that they’re not going to be pushed around anymore,” Vanderboegh told Fox News. “It is what it is … it’s a terrible description of what might happen if people continue to be victimized in this country.”
Captain Bob Kolenda, director of the Kansas City Regional Terrorism Early Warning Group (KCTEW), told Media Matters that his group had warned that Absolved could have dangerous consequences.
