Feds Set Sights on 'Sovereign Citizens'

Right-winger has no connection to mass killer Breivik

(NEWSER) - Mere weeks after a Norwegian massacre left 77 people dead , Norway's police say they have apprehended a right-wing radical who stored weapons and explosives at his Oslo home. There's no apparent link to mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, however. Police are investigating the suspect for "possession of unauthorized weapons, possession of explosives, and making threats," his lawyer said. More»

Most suspects are men with guns, many mentally disturbed

(NEWSER) - Death threats against members of Congress are up 300% this year, the FBI tells Politico , and almost everyone doing the threatening owns guns. Capitol Police say they've had to dramatically step up security efforts, which were also boosted in 2009. “We have about 12 open cases at any given time,” says the Senate's sergeant-at-arms, “but most of them are relatively low threat.” Mental illness is common among suspects, and most have recently lost jobs, become seriously ill, or undergone other life upheaval. More»

Pols told to leave office in 3 days or they will be removed

(NEWSER) - The FBI has warned police around the country that there may be violence in the coming days inspired by ominous letters sent by an extremist group. Thirty sitting governors have received letters telling them that if they don’t leave office within 3 days they will be removed, according to an intelligence note, reports the AP . The letters don’t threaten any violence, but the FBI fears others will use their message “as a justification for violence or other criminal acts.” More»

Far-right critic remains in jail after calling for judges' deaths

(NEWSER) - When three federal judges rejected an NRA lawsuit, Internet radio host Hal Turner got angry. “These judges deserve to be killed,” he wrote on his blog. “Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty.” Then he posted photos of the judges, maps to their courthouse, and info on the building’s “anti-truck bomb barriers.” Now he’s in jail awaiting trial, in a case that will test the limits of free speech, the Washington Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The shootings of George Tiller and a National Holocaust Museum guard came despite a renewed FBI effort to preempt solo acts of political violence, the Wall Street Journal reports. Identifying such extremists—while respecting their civil rights—is a challenge. Both James von Brunn and Scott Roeder expressed their views online, but neither set off any warning bells at the bureau's "Operation Vigilant Eagle," a 6-month-old initiative in response to evidence of stepped-up activity among violent extremists. More»