HEY, IF IT'S NOT A "TRUE" THREAT WE'LL MAKE IT INTO ONE TO SELL YOU OUR RAG NEWS PAPER!!
Published: April 2, 2010
WASHINGTON — Governors around the country said Friday that they had received letters from an extremist group warning that they might be forcibly removed from office if they did not step down within three days.
Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that they had sent out an intelligence note with information about potential threats to governors from a group calling itself the Guardians of the Free Republics.
The note was sent to state police officials in the last few days.
A Homeland Security official said the federal agencies were not aware of “any immediate or credible threats.”
“We have no specific information to indicate that violence is intended as part of this plan,” the official said. “These threat assessments are issued regularly out of an abundance of caution.”
Another federal law enforcement official said, “We are working with state and local authorities and continue to assess the matter.”
State officials said they were taking the threats seriously because they came at a time of increased attention to antigovernment groups.
In a federal indictment unsealed on Monday, nine members of a Christian militia group were accused of plotting an uprising against the federal government. The indictment said the group, based in Michigan, was planning to kill a local law enforcement officer and use explosive devices to attack police officers from around the country who would attend the funeral.
Federal officials said that at least 30 governors received the threatening letters this week. State officials in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Utah and Virginia said they were examining the letters. Officials in several states said security for governors had been increased.
On its Web site, gotfr.com, the Guardians of the Free Republics sets forth a plan to “restore America.” It describes the plan as “a bold achievable strategy for behind-the-scenes peaceful reconstruction of the de jure institutions of government without controversy, violence or civil war.”
The federal government told state police officials that the group could provoke violence by others because its members “advocate for their views through the use, support or facilitation of violence or illegal conduct.”
When asked to cite a source for that statement he replied, "Ok, ya got me, I just made that last part up!"
