Plot to kill Obama?

(Note: I've lightly re-written this story to correct typos and to include a few more facts.)

This story is disturbing, and I should have commented on it earlier. You probably already know the basics: A 28-year-old ne'er-do-well named Tharin Gartrell was driving a rented pick-up truck in Denver around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning when he was subjected to a "routine" stop and search of his vehicle. The cops found two high-powered rifles, a scope, ammo, wigs, walkie-talkies, fake driver's licenses, a bullet-proof vest and some meth.

Law enforcement sources tell Maass that one of the suspects "was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative."

How very cooperative! Tharin then obediently led the cops to his accomplice, the swastika-bedecked Shawn Robert Adolf, who broke his ankle while jumping out of a sixth-floor hotel window in an attempt to escape arrest. The cops also picked up two other helpers, staying at still another hotel...

A third man -- an associate of Gartrell and Adolph, Nathan Johnson, 32, was also arrested. He told authorities that the two men "planned to kill Barack Obama at his acceptance speech."

Johnson, along with his girlfriend, Natasha Gromek, are also under arrest on drug charges.

The trio -- or the foursome, if you count Natasha -- are said to be connected to a biker gang called the Sons of Silence; the group denies any linkage. Incidentally, Natasha may be the same natasha_gromek@hotmail.com who appears here.

Although a more coherent narrative may soon emerge, right now, little about this story makes sense. Do the cops stop every pick-up truck in Denver as a matter of routine? (Another story mentions erratic driving.) If the conspirators made such elaborate efforts to get away -- the fake licenses, the disguises -- why would Tharin volunteer the information that he hoped to kill Obama? And why would he give up his comrades?

Also, why did Tharin show his real Driver's license, which was expired? Why not use one of the fakes? If he didn't consider the fakes convincing, then why have them at all?

To make matters even more bizarre, the authorities are now saying that there was no actual assassination plot:

...the U.S. Attorney's Office deemed that there was insufficient evidence to charge them with conspiracy, making threatening statements, or other national security-related crimes.

"Please understand that the law recognizes a difference between what we call a true threat -- that's one that can actually be carried out -- and the reported racist rantings of drug abusers," Eid said. "The jargon for this sometimes is, 'It was more aspirational than operational.' In this particular case, there's insufficient evidence that there was any kind of plot or conspiracy."

In jail, Johnson was asked by a reporter if he felt there was a plot to kill Obama.

Johnson said, "Looking back at it, I don't want to say yes, but I don't want to say no."

Fake licenses, wigs, high-powered rifles...? Sounds like a serious plot to me. Johnson certainly sounds serious in the interview here. Both Johnson and Adolf were staying in fairly nice hotels -- not four-star accommodations, perhaps, but certainly not the kind of fleabag motels one would associate with these lowlifes.

Why were they in Denver? What was their source of money?

(Added note: A readers reminds us that the trio had to book well in advance to get any kind of rooms in Denver at this time. Johnson says that he was privy to, but not part of, the plot. Then why did Tharin finger him? And what were Johnson and Gromek doing in that city?)

Tharin's story reminds me of those bizarre incidents in which Lee Harvey Oswald (or a double) is said to have made himself as obnoxious and memorable as possible.

The men are also suspected of taking pot shots at Federal buildings in Denver. (Scroll down.)

Let us recap.

We have three armed knuckleheads outfitted for murder and equipped for either a getaway or a shoot-out with the cops. The youngest of these knuckleheads is stopped and, knowing that he is already in trouble for weapons and drug charges, gets himself into even hotter waters by needlessly confessing to an assassination plot, and divulging the names and locations of his accomplices. That confession brings the feds into the situation. And yet, faced with what appears to be overwhelming evidence of a conspiracy, authorities chuckle and say "Boys will be boys."

The Washington Post reveals that Johnson and Gromek were staying at the Cherry Creek Hotel, where delegates and media representatives were staying. (So was Georgia10 of Kos fame. I still think fondly of her.)

You will recall that key Clinton delegate Bill Gwatney was murdered in the office of the Arkansas state Democratic party by another young ne'er-do-well named Timothy Dale Johnson, who sped off in a pick-up truck. Johnson is said to have been a disgruntled loner, angry after being fired from his job. But Gwatney (a former state senator) was no random target -- Johnson asked for Gwatney by name.

The Gwatney precedent suggests an alternative explanation for the Denver mystery.

Consider this notion: Perhaps Tharin and his comrades were actually intended (by unseen puppet masters) to target delegates, not the candidate. After learning of Tim Johnson's fate, Tharin got cold feet and decided that he didn't want to play the patsy role. Thus, he intentionally got himself arrested. Better a nice, safe jail cell than to end up as Tim did.

Let me emphasize: The scenario I have proposed is speculative and incomplete. I encourage others to poke holes in the theory and to offer their own suggestions.

Stranger still: Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, a 29 year old Muslim from Canada -- originally of Somalia -- was found dead in a Denver hotel room. Also in the room: Enough cyanide to kill hundreds of people. Dirie had no passport. The authorities have not revealed whether cyanide killed him.

Local reporters in Denver are talking about a "cover-up" in Dirie's death. The authorities in Denver say that they do not suspect terrorism, although the presence of so much cyanide sure has me thinking that way.

Omar Jamal, the head of something called the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, has taken it upon himself to act as a spokesperson for Dirie, whom he did not know. Jamal was convicted of using a fake passport and making false statements to get into the United States. So why is he walking around free? (For what it is worth, Jamal's nephew apparently had a strong connection to Al Qaeda.)

Is there a pattern here? Young men who make perfect "central casting" patsies -- swastika-adorned racist meth heads on one hand, and a "scary" Muslim on the other -- make their way to Denver and show definite signs of being up to no good. Yet the authorities downplay any suggestion of impending violence or an organized plot.

I have an uneasy feeling.