Convention blotter: Obama threat
Posted: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 9:05 AM by Domenico Montanaro
There hasn't been much of a problem with protestors, but last night there was some violence. "Police in riot gear clashed last night with about 300 protesters about a mile from the site of the Democratic National Convention, and some of the demonstrators were hit with pepper spray." In fact, one of us spoke briefly with one bloodied and bruised teenager on the streets, and he was proud of his wounds -- almost a Fight Club mentality. He wasn't even sure what his cause was, and was seemingly still looking for a fight.
Also in Denver, "Federal authorities are looking into reports that a man arrested with rifles, ammunition, and drugs in his truck may have made threats against Barack Obama, officials said yesterday."
"More details emerging from Denver as we write this in the predawn hours on the now suspected plot to assassinate Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama with a high-powered rifle on national television during his outdoor acceptance speech at Invesco Field Thursday night," the LA Times reports. "Authorities have reported a fourth arrest in the unfolding plot that The Ticket first wrote about here a few hours ago at the end of Monday night's Democratic National Convention events at the Pepsi Center."
Police pulled over a pickup truck for swerving, "But in the rented vehicle of Tharin Gartrell, a 28-year-old convicted felon (see photo), they found two high-powered scoped rifles, ammunition, sighting scopes, radios, a cellphone, a bulletproof vest, wigs, drugs and fake IDs. According to Brian Masss of Denver's KCNC Channel 4, under questioning Gartrell implicated two other men -- Nathan Johnson, who is 32, and Shawn Adolph, who is 33 -- and Johnson's girlfriend, Natasha Gromack. Johnson also reportedly confirmed the plot to FBI and Secret Service interrogators."
