{"id":2405,"date":"2015-03-03T17:24:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T17:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/histowiki.com\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2020-09-20T16:44:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T16:44:17","slug":"timeline-tea-party-accusations-of-politically-inspired-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/histowiki.com\/hot-stove-topics\/2405\/timeline-tea-party-accusations-of-politically-inspired-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeline: Tea Party Accusations Of Politically Inspired Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Is the Tea Party the victim of a rush to judgement in our political climate today?<\/p>\n

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September 12, 2009: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nA census-taker was found hanging in a tree at the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. Bill Sparkman, 51, was found dead in a remote portion of the national forest, south of Kentucky. He was a single father of one, worked as a teacher and part-time Census employee. There was a word scribbled on his chest that said \u201cFED\u201d when his body was found. Police later found out that the employee was being investigated by the FBI if he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan: \u00a0“…\u00a0Southern populist terrorism, whipped up by the GOP and its Fox and talk radio cohorts – remains real. We’ll see.<\/a>“Think Progress<\/a>: \u00a0 \u00a0“…Perhaps because some on the right have created an impression that Census employees are terrifying.”Stephanie Miller: \u00a0 “These tea parties, the 9\/12 things the tea party things.<\/a>”<\/p>\n
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February 12, 2010: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nAmy Bishop, a Harvard graduate, working as a neuroscientist shot three faculty members of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. A Biology professor for the said university, she applied for tenure was turned down. She was said to have made an appeal and on the day of the shooting, the decision to her appeal was released \u2013 she was again, turned down. During the afternoon faculty meeting, she shot her colleagues, killing the Chairman of the Biology Department, Gopi Podila, two other professors, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson, and wounding three others.Trueslant.com… \u00a0Race in America: Does racism explain the \u2018tenure shooting\u2019 and Tea Party movement?<\/a><\/p>\n
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February 18, 2010: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nA computer engineer crashed a small plane into an office building of the Internal Revenue Service where almost 200 IRS employees were about to start their work for the day. The pilot was identified as Andrew Joseph Stack III, from North Austin. He died during the crash in an apparent suicide mission, killing another unaccounted person. He was said to have had some issues with the government, and have ranted against the tax system in particular.NYTimes’ : \u00a0The First Tea-Party Terrorist?<\/a>NYTimes’ Frank Rich: “…it would be both glib and inaccurate to call him a card-carrying Tea Partier or a ‘Tea Party terrorist.’ But…”<\/a>Washington Post’s Capeheart: \u00a0“… I am struck by how his alienation is similar to that we’re hearing from the extreme elements of the Tea Party movement.”<\/a><\/p>\n
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March 4, 2010: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nJohn Patrick Bedell fired at two Pentagon police officers at a checkpoint at the Pentagon Station of the Washington Metro Transit System. The officers retaliated with gunshots and hit the suspect hard. Bedell was pronounced dead a few hours after the incident. Reports said that the shooting happened roughly around 6:40pm by the entrance of the Metro Station. Witnesses said that the suspect appeared to be calm as he approached the checkpoint. When the police officers asked for his identification cards, he took out a gun from his pocket and fired away. The suspect was said to have been carrying two semi-automatic 9mms and several loaded magazines. When police authorities found his car parked nearby, more ammunitions were found.Christian Science Monitor… John Patrick Bedell: Antigovernment extremism behind shooting?<\/a>\"bedell\"<\/a><\/p>\n
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May 1, 2010: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nAn attempted car bombing at Times Square was said to have been a part of a terrorist attack. The planned attack was thwarted because of two street vendors who found the car bomb. They immediately reported their discovery to an NYPD police officer. Reports said that the bomb was successfully ignited, hence the smoke coming from the car, buy failed to explode. Bomb disposal units were able to disarm the bomb before it could have cause damage. A Pakistani resident of Connecticut was arrested two days after the failed bombing incident, Faisal Shahzad, aged 30. He later admitted to the crime and he said he was trained in a Pakistani training facility.The Nation’s Robert Dreyfuss: \u00a0“…far more likely to me that the perpetrator of the bungled Times Square bomb plot was either a lone nut job or a member of some squirrely branch of the Tea Party, anti-government far right.<\/a>“Mayor Bloomberg:
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January 8, 2011: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nUnited States Representative Gabrielle Giffords, along with 18 other people were shot during a public meeting at a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Tucson, Arizona. Police said 6 people died from the shooting. The representative from the 8th<\/sup> district of Arizona was said to have been the target of the lone gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, who was immediately arrested at the scene. His motive was unclear; he was later found to be incompetent to undergo trial, citing two medical evaluations.Investor’s Business Daily: DNC Chair Says Giffords Shooting Tea Party\u2019s Fault<\/a>
\nMedia Matters: DNC Chair did NOT blame Tea Party<\/a><\/p>\n
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July 20, 2012: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nGood Morning America: Batman shooter connected to Tea Party