12/4/99 -- 1:26 PM

FBI arrests militia members for alleged bomb plot

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Federal agents have arrested two anti-government militia members in connection with a plan to blow up a massive propane installation in Elk Grove, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The Sacramento Bee, citing unidentified sources, said the arrests Friday by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force came after a nearly yearlong investigation into the alleged plot against Suburban Propane. Federal officials told the paper that the threat to the plant, where 24 million gallons of liquid propane are stored, had been eliminated even before the arrests.

FBI spokesman Nick Rossi referred all inquiries to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment this morning.

Authorities believe the alleged plan was designed to exploit Y2K fears among the nation's hate groups.

``We think we stopped a terrorist attack,'' a source close to the investigation told the Bee. ``Can we be certain they would have carried it out? We don't know. We had to behave as though they were going to do it.''

Authorities said the two men, whose names were not disclosed, were arrested on weapons charges and held while federal agents searched their El Dorado County homes for evidence. Storage lockers and homes in Reno, Nev., and Carson City, Nev., also were searched.

Both were members of a San Joaquin County militia group and had been stockpiling large amounts of illegal weapons, law-enforcement sources said. One is a convicted felon with firearms violations; the other is unemployed and has no past criminal record, but sources said he is knowledgeable in bomb making, and a large amount of explosives were found at his property.

-- catch (them@now.please), December 04, 1999

Answers

is this the same bomb oil-gas-pipeline group or is it a new one?

-- hate groups? (more@propaganda.sigh), December 04, 1999.

Link, please?

-- nemo (***@__.-), December 04, 1999.

Four weeks and no Andy, You don't suppose he was involved in this. Hopefully not, but if he was I guess we will all have to chip in and bail him out.

-- Butt Nugget (catsbutt@umailme.com), December 04, 1999.

---could be real, could be "strawdogs". If real, I commend the agents involved, good job! if not real, remember, this is the same soup agency that "didn't fire a shot" at waco. lot more examples, too, just do the research. Liars a-plenty over there. Oh ya, vince foster shot himself, then drove himself over to a park and dumped himself off, too........

grain of salt zog

-- zog (zzoggy@yahoo.com), December 04, 1999.

"I suspect the culprits are probably Tinfoils that are well known here. "

Welcome back "Y2K Pro".

NOT!

-- not_tellin' (not_tellin@either.com), December 04, 1999.

Fox News reporting every 1/2 h same story. Seems slightly strange, year long investigation, huge plot, arrests of only 2 individuals. One while year investigating. Something just doesn't seem right.

-- claurann (claurann@aol.com), December 04, 1999.

The Nazis put some prisoners in Polish Army uniforms, shot them, dumped their corpses at German radio station near the Polish border, as part of a sham Polish attack on German assets.

This was followed by frenzied campaign in the German press denouncing Polish aggression.

Get it?

-- M1A Fan (not@thisaddress.com), December 04, 1999.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/news/local01_19991204.html

Here is what the local paper reported. County supervisors approved a regional mall 3,500 feet from those potential fireballs. Fire and police officials argued hard against it, but the county supes had been well paid and it is going ahead.

Kinda glad I am stuck in the suburbs about 5 miles upwind of those tanks.

-- Margaret J (janssm@aol.com), December 04, 1999.

I think is was something like 3 years ago when six militia types led by Brad Glover of Towanda, KS were arrested outside of Fort Hood, TX with large amounts of ammo, etc. Story line was they were going to attack Fort Hood. Have some fun with this one Billy-Boy.

Well after the arrest the story was not covered any further by the press that I am aware of. I would wager that Brad Glover is now living in a warm oceanfront enviroment thanks to a fat bonus check from Uncle. Brad was in the employ of the FBI.

-- Ed (ed@lizzardranch.com), December 04, 1999.

Whatever did happen to those mass graves with hundreds of thousands of dead bodies killed by those evil Serbs in Kosovo?

-- claurann (claurann@aol.com), December 04, 1999.

Here's the link: Pair arrested in alleged terror plot: Sources say Elk Grove propan facility targeted

In the "dead tree" version yesterday, it said the names of the 2 were not divulged.. which seemed odd. But I notice on the web version today their names are released: Kevin Ray Patterson, 42, of Camino and Charles Dennis Kiles, 49, of Placerville.

Lots in there about beefing up security at the propane plant... and one possibly odd tidbit. In the accompaning photo it showed the huge tanks fenced, with barbed wire on the top.... facing in.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), December 05, 1999.

Neighbors Nervous Over Bomb Inquiry

By Steve Lawrence, Associated Press Writer, Sunday, Dec. 5, 1999; 7:40 p.m. EST

ELK GROVE, Calif.  Mary Wilcox just finished moving into her home a half-mile from a huge propane storage facility, and now she wonders if she should pack up and leave because of the possibility of a terrorist attack.

Two men were in custody Sunday on federal weapons charges while authorities investigated whether they were plotting to blow up the Suburban Propane fuel storage center. Court appearances were scheduled Monday for Kevin Ray Patterson, 42, of Camino, and Charles Dennis Kiles, 49, of Placerville.

They were arrested following a yearlong FBI investigation into a potential threat against Suburban Propane and other Sacramento-area targets, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. It did not identify the other threatened sites.

The men arrested have militia connections, a source familiar with the probe told The Associated Press.

Ms. Wilcox, a retired Sacramento County sheriff's deputy, said she wants the plant shut down or plant security beefed up.

"We just got rid of our moving boxes," Ms. Wilcox said. "I don't want to fill them up again."

Suburban Propane has hired off-duty sheriff's officers and toughened its security system, spokesman John Fletcher said.

Federal investigators released few details on the men and no motive for the reported threat.

The arrests didn't provide much peace of mind for Ms. Wilcox's neighbor, Leah Robinson, a retired state Department of Corrections investigator.

"Even though they have arrested two people, are they the only ones in the plotting?" she asked.

The storage site has tanks holding about 24 million gallons of liquified propane. The closest home is a farmhouse several hundred yards away.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department has provided around-the-clock security at the facility since September because of a heightened threat, Sheriff Lou Blanas said.

Blanas would not elaborate. There was no additional comment Sunday from the FBI or U.S. Attorney's office; calls were not immediately returned.

-- don't light match (gas@dangerous.explode), December 05, 1999.

claurann: "Insufficient evidence to determine the causes of death or the perpetrators.". Yes, I know.

-- Colin MacDonald (roborogerborg@yahoo.com), December 06, 1999.

Ed, To Quote Ed McMan Ypou SIR are CORRECT sir!!! I remember that time well. Things went to a level B redieness on post, and everytime you went into any of the "Command Buildings" they searched all bags, books packages ectect. Pucker factor of 6 on a 10 scale for nerves. We were told they wanted to lay some anthrax on the dependant housing areas...not nice folks. And I wouldn't doubt if their leader was a .fed. I don't trust anyone any more.

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan101st@Aol.com), December 06, 1999.