Initial Report:
A security guard has been shot at the Holocaust Museum by a gunman. Information is still coming in that at least 2 people have been shot, one is law enforcement.
That area of DC has been sealed off. Rumors are circulating that the gunman is in custody.
Is there any end to hate crimes? A doctor, a soldier, who else will be mowed down because some people feel they have the right to take matters into their own hands.
More information as the story unfolds…
Update: According to DC police, 2 people have been transported to Georgetown Hospital in serious condition.
Update 2: The alleged shooter has been identified as James Von Brunn. He is an anti-Semite and has been convicted of crimes related to his white supremist beliefs. There some confusion about his age at this point. If he is who police believe him to be, he is a WWII veteran and is quite elderly.
The gunman is in critical condition. The security guard is in grave condition.
This act seems to be terrorism and a hate crime at this point.
James Von Brunn is the shooter. Just google his name and look at his website. What a sick bastard.
http://www.holywesternempire.org/bio.html
Anyone for another dose of Fox News generated false outrage over the fact that the Department of Homeland Security was (and hopefully still is) taking steps to protect us from domestic terrorism?
My thoughts exactly, Witness. Where is that false outrage? Is that what I hear being called ‘blow-back?’
Whomever stopped this crazed hater is a hero. It sounds like the guard just saved countless lives and maybe sacraficed his own.
DHS was clearly not out of line in looking at home grown terrorists.
Very sad.
Supposedly this guy is a member of MENSA. Do a google search and you will find his hateful paranoid rantings about the “JEWS” being at fault for “liberalizing” America. He believes this country is becoming a third world nation due to our acceptance of diversity.
James W. von Brunn holds a BachSci Journalism degree from a mid-Western university where he was president of SAE and played varsity football.
During WWII he served as PT-Boat captain, Lt. USNR, receiving a Commendation and four battle stars. For twenty years he was an advertising executive and film-producer in New York City. He is a member of Mensa, the high-IQ society.
From the above link…
I also heard on the radio on the way home about his website full of rantings against Jews. This guy also was arrested sometime back for going to the Federal Reserve building with a gun, and served time. Unfortunately he was not put away long enough.. The guard at the Holocaust Museum did his job well, it is unfortunate though he took a bullet in the shootout. Let’s hope this guy is locked away for the rest of his life – shouldn’t be hard – I heard he is 88 years old, unless I heard that wrong on the radio on the way home today. A truly disgusting event.
I tried that website link that silver fox posted – at least for me it doesn’t come up. Maybe someone pulled it down, or maybe it is blocked by my ISP. Probably just as well, I’m sure what is there is pretty sick stuff.
I see it was in 1981 that he was convicted for running towards the boardroom of the Federal Reserve with a shotgun!
An update – if the news is to be believed, unfortunately the security guard has died of a gunshot wound to the head. However, this is a news alert and I don’t always trust them, as sometimes they prove to be not true. In this case, I really hope it isn’t true, but I know the guard was in critical condition. Supposedly Von Brunn was only in “serious” condition – it should have been the other way around – or actually the security guard should not have been shot at all. This whole thing is very sad…
One of the guards gave his life to protect the hundreds of people inside. He passed away at GW Hospital.
Indeed, there seems to be confirmation that unfortunately the guard did die of a gunshot wound to his head. That is very unfortunate.
How very sad. The guard really was a hero. All he did was get up and go to work.
This is the third recent killing with political motivation. So much for scoffing off home grown terrorism. A doctor, a soldier, a Holocaust Museum guard. When does it stop?
People still don’t understand why hate speech and scapegoating lie right under the surface of all of these tragic events.
I don’t think anyone scoffs at homegrown terrorism. The problem with the Napolitano/DHS report was that it targeted “right-wing extremism.” Where would the Muslim-convert shooter in Little Rock–who says he was protesting U.S. actions in the Middle East—fit within THAT category?
Unfortunately, we will always have lunatics among us. Sometimes, they act out.
May the security guard RIP and prayers to his family. May today’s shooter rot in h@
Here we go.
Links from his website…
The Works of Revilo Pendleton Oliver (Revilo Oliver)
Adelaide Institute (Frederick Töben)
IHR (Institute for Historical Review)
FAEM (First amendment Excercise Machine)
The Birdman (John Bryant)
Focal Point Publications (David Irving)
Zündelsite (Ernst Zündel and Ingrid Rimland)
Public Action.Com — Waco Holocaust Museum (Carol Valentine)
Jew Watch
USS Liberty Homepage
Stormfront
Ichee
Yggdrasil
Aren’t ‘stormfront’ links often posted over on bvbl.net?
Don’t tell ShellyB, but it wasn’t me down at the museum today.
Isn’t Southern Poverty Law Center the organization that has a file on Greg Letiecq?
This is from a cnn report…
“He is in our files going back way into the 1980s,” said Heidi Beirich, a researcher for the Montgomery, Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center.
I did get the link to that website to come up after all. What a bunch of racist spew on there. I skimmed his “tale” about the Federal Reserve incident – of course he presents a very distorted view of what happened, although I suppose the actual telling of the incident itself may be accurate enough. He is one of these crazy conspiracy people, who have tied the Jews in with the so-called Illuminati which if history is to be believed were a large group of anti-Church scientists and other powerful people. Anyway, his rantings – at least those that I’ve read so far, are just that – rantings. Unfortunately he chose to act on them twice now. He claims the time at the Federal Reserve his guns did not have any ammo in them – but who knows if that part is true. He was sentenced to 11 years in jail for that – it is unclear if he served the entire 11 years or not. Even if he did, that would have put him out of jail in 1994 (he was convicted in 1983 but the incident appears to have occurred in 1981).
Anyway, his website is disgusting, with a lot of racist talk on it. I’m a little afraid to follow any of his links of “suggested reading”.
The Holocaust Museum will be closed tomorrow in honor of the guard who died. Originally they were saying it would be open tomorrow as usual – but that was before the death of the guard.
Emma, I am not sure I would classify the muslim shooting as left wing or right wing– How about just terrorism. I just consider the guy a religious nut. Where on the political spectrum do we place religious nuts? How about the Taliban? I can’t answer that.
I just don’t see why everyone got so knotted up up over it. I thought it was a warning based on intelligence gathering.
Thanks for the summary Gainesville…. how old is he anyway? Not sure I want those links on my computer. Goodness knows who tracks visitors to those sites.
Agree completely with the homegrown terrorism. It is overlooked. However, I would consider the US a moderately violent society so perhaps that is why. We are used to it. We notice foreign criminals more. Funny we don’t think foreigners that are killed hurt as much as our own people. The media has no problem putting photos of dead foreigners in the paper or on TV. But the media never shows photos of our own citizens that are dead.
Actually, I recall a photo in the Post a few months ago that showed a man lying dead under a truck, and a priest standing nearby administering last rites. It was in very poor taste and I’m sure traumatic to his family. Life is becoming like a videogame to some people, and perhaps the violence seems almost cartoonish anymore, and not so shocking, no matter how graphic.
Juturna – he apparently really is 88 years old! According to his disgusting website – he claims he was in his early 60’s when he walked into the Fed Reserve building with guns back in 1981. So if that statement is true, then it seems he is indeed 88 years old, which is what several news organizations are reporting. I guess it won’t be too hard to lock this jerk away for the rest of his life…. Too bad he only got 11 years for that stunt back in 1981 – but that’s only because he didn’t shoot off the guns, I guess. He claims he had no ammo on him last time – but who knows if that claim is true or not. His version of the story on his website, and his subsequent conviction – of course has a very twisted slant to it. Just to give a taste of it – he blames his conviction on the Jewish judge and the Jewish prosecutor, and the black jury… As if an all-white non-Jewish judge, prosectuor, and jury wouldn’t have convicted him just the same…
Wow. That is a very long time to be so angry.
Apparently this guy has a long history of hatred of Jews and African Americans. It pre-dates even his raid of the Federal Reserve, which he felt was dominated by Jews and was leading the country in the wrong direction. Also, another tidbit in regards to his age – apparently he graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1943. So that would also put him at about 88 years old. From his rants on his website – he actually tells his story about growing up and some encounters he had with various Jewish people that allegedly proves his theories about Jews. Anyway, it is disgusting stuff, I don’t wish to repeat it here. Let’s put it this way, he’s been angry at Jews and blacks way before 1981, and probably it appears from a very young age – at least in his 20’s. So he’s had this anger for a good 60 years!
You can see how scapegoating one group of people for all your country’s ills can push the wrong people into a paranoid dangerous state of mind that is bound to end in violence. This very sick man, Von Brunn, has many qoutes as “proof” that the “JEWS” are at fault for all the ills of the world.
Why is it when there is democrat as President there seems to be a rise in home grown terrorism?
This guy has been sick for a long, long time. What a tragedy.
Peace to the victim and his loved ones.
“Why is it when there is democrat as President there seems to be a rise in home grown terrorism?”
Maybe because in general, Democratic Presidents show weakness in the face of terrorism. It took the election of Ronald Reagan to get the hostages freed from Iran. Bill Clinton basically ignored the first World Trade Center bombing, the attack on the American embassy in Africa, and the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. They talk tough, but they don’t respond in any meaningful way, so many Americans feel less safe. Just a theory.
It took Obama THREE DAYS to bother to respond to the soldier shootings in Little Rock, and there was virtually no coverage in the national media. Apparently, domestic attacks on our soldiers are no big deal to him. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that the shooter was a black Muslim convert, which I suppose put Obama in a huge dilemma as far as condemning the attack.
Ah guys – talk about a leap!
What leap? The Little Rock shooter doesn’t fit the profile of the angry white right-wing extremist, so there is no outrage, no worry about a “growing domestic rage. How else do you explain the differing response?
Emma,
Do you recall “wag the dog”, where the Republicans accused the President of bombing the factories to get the attention of his sex scandal? Do you remember that the Republicans were more entranced with every freakin’ “gate” fiasco they could think of because they were so mad that a man from a state like Arkansa could usurp a war hero like President Bush?
Clinton had NO support from the likes of Newt Gingrich and undeservedly so I might add. It’s one thing to disagree over policy, but there was a clear hatred of Clinton from the very beginning that to this day has only slightly ebbed due to their hatred of Obama.
By the time the concrete evidence came in on the Cole, it was Bush’s term and HE did nothing, don’t blame that one on Clinton.
Furthermore, having done a little research, the motives behind the murder of the army recruiter seem to be less clear until HE admitted it in court. How can you can codemn an act as terrorism until you at least have an idea of what motivated the person. Some acts are instantly obvious, like the murder of Tiller and the Holocaust Museum.
I call the last sentance a leap.
Does the occurance of killer hurricanes rise when there are Republican presidents?
I’ve been a member of the Washington Mensa chapter for over ten years, taught an investment workshop at the Mensa Regional Gathering just last month, and recently hosted a Mensa networking function at my office in Gainesville. The local web site is http://www.mwm.org. Moreover, the DC group has lots of activities with the Maryland group. I’ve never seen this guy around any Mensa activities. Moreover, he would not fit in. People join Mensa largely to meet and exchange ideas with an incredibly diverse group of people. According to American Mensa, membership by religion is 49% Christian, 3% Unitarian, 9% Jewish, 7% agnostic, 3.6% atheist and 9% no religion.
According to the Washington DC Mensa web site,
“The word ‘Mensa’ means ‘table’ in Latin. The name stands for a round-table society, where race, color, creed, national origin, age, politics, and educational or social background are irrelevant.
“Officially, Mensa’s stated purposes are ‘to indentify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence; and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.
“Mensa takes no stand on politics, religion or social issues. Mensa encompasses members from so many different countries and cultures, and with many different points of view. For Mensa to espouse a particular view would go against its role as forum for all points of view.”
Mensa membership includes some people who score high enough on an IQ test to qualify and then use their Mensa membership as a resume enhancer but never participate in any of the events or functions. That may be the case with the Holocaust Museum shooter. However, he does not represent anything that Mensa stands for. Just have a look at the Washington Mensa web site. This is not the kind of group where a hate-filled, racist murderer would feel welcome.
Bob Pugh
Thanks for the link! Didn’t know much about Mensa, I must admit.
Bob Pugh – interesting post. Obviously, having a high IQ doesn’t guarantee that one doesn’t have a highly warped brain and is capable of violent acts like this. That is very intresting though on the statistics.
In connection to that – my skimming of Von Brunn’s website – he tells the following story in relation to his joining Mensa (whether or not it is true I don’t know): Upon his conviction in 1983 of the 1981 Federal Reserve incident – when he was admitted to jail he was given some kind of intelligence test, that he flunked or was deemed to be not very intelligent. So he insisted on taking the Mensa exam, which he then claims to have passed with flying colors – as proof that the criminal justice system’s tests were rigged or something.
Anyway, I just thought that anectdote interesting. He was indeed very angry at the prison system rating him as not very smart, and claimed it is all a conspiracy by the system to keep the prisoners feeling dumb or something.
I’m just writing this – I don’t believe any of it, and don’t know if that’s how he really joined Mensa or not. I guess though if true, at the time Mensa accepted applications from, or gave tests to prisoners! I suppose there is nothing wrong with that on the surface. As you said, Mensa is an organization that a lot of people join just to enhance their resume, and don’t actively participate in.
Just out of curiosity, is there a quick summary of what the minimum IQ requirements are for mensa membership? I gather there must be some test to take too. Just curious, since this topic came up of his Mensa membership. He probably is a very intelligent guy, but he puts his mind to use for very twisted beliefs, and has a very distorted view of the world, reading (or skimming) some of his rants on his website.
I should have looked at that link Bob Pugh provided, it answered my questions as to the Mensa requirements.
It sounds to me like the army shooter was another religious fundmentalist. Killing for God, Killing for Allah, I don’t see the difference.
As for Ronald Reagan causing the release of the Iran hostages–I agree with Elena about the tale wagging the dog. That was all contrived. It was to embarrass Jimmy Carter. The Iranians plotted the release down to hour and the minute. Reagan should not ever get credit for that one. It was all about Jimmy Carter.
As far as having a president who does something about terrorism….I certainly hope Emma is not setting up Geroge Bush as an example. Good for Bush for going into Afghanistan. He should have quit while he was ahead. He got bad advice. He over-reached when he went into Iraq. Thnat is nothing to brag about. There is not and never was a connection to 9/11 and Iraq.
Nuff said?
There’s no doubt the Iranians hated Carter and did time the release of the hostages that way. There is also no doubt in my mind that Carter deserves the credit for obtaining that release.
As to the Iraq thing – the real ones to blame are the CIA who got things completely wrong about weapons of destruction, etc. Then again, the CIA was poorly run during the Bush years – and suffered from low morale and many senior CIA members leaving the agency. It remains to be seen if the new CIA director can turn it around – he may not have the right background to do so. Or, maybe someone with a non-spy background is just what the CIA needs – it is hard to tell.
Emma, maybe if you had read the Homeland Security report you’d be less in the dark. Remember, the one you pretended to be so ANGRY and INSULTED about at the behest of Rush Limbaugh? These blowhard brain replacement pundits are survive by selling you anger and paranoia. What would Rush Limbaugh and his thousand clones on the radio be without rage, anger, hatred, paranoia, etc?
That DHS report spoke specifically about lone wolf acts of terrorism as a way of expressing political frustration. Now we have two of them in the span of 2 weeks. But you, at the urging of Rush Limbaugh, pretended to be angry when this report came out. You might even have BEEN angry! Don’t you feel foolish now? I guess not, because instead you go flying off into another ridiculous tangent: having a Democratic president is a good reason for Americans to murder one another because the Iran hostages were not freed until Ronald Reagan was sworn in???? You’ve hit a new low this time, sorry to say.
Why are these terrorist attacks more likely when a Democrat is President? Because people who are gullible and thoughtless and listen to Limbaugh, Fox News, Lou Dobbs, etc. spend the years of Democratic administrations beside themselves with grief and anger (while the country prospers but they will hardly notice that). During the Clinton years they were completely beside themselves with rage and hatred toward the Clintons. They were led by the nose from one “scandal” to another, until they settled on marital infidelity. But all the while as they tried out “Whitewater” and tossed it aside because there was nothing there, then tried out “travelgate” but tossed that aside again because it was also a partisan fraud, the anger was the constant. The REASON for the anger always switches, but the anger is always there. The pundits and strategists make sure of it.
Now we have a Democratic President who is also half African American. Limbaugh and company have been ratcheting things up since last year when Obama began to win the primary. Just yesterday Limbaugh was wailing about birth certificates. Still wailing about birth certificates? Would he bother if Obama was white? Of course not. Are his listeners still buying it? Well, it just so happens that this terrorist yesterday was also worried about Obama’s birth certificate. Wonder where he got the idea? =
I’m not laying these two terrorist acts at your feet, Emma. I know you wouldn’t kill anyone. But you are a prime example of why it is a BAD idea to mix politics, hate, and mass media. Because some people don’t know how to cope with all of this fictional outrage. Some people don’t know it’s just political dinosaurs trying to hold on to power.
Shelly, your argument might have some merit if any of your false assertions about me were even remotely true.
I am FAR from an angry person.
I don’t listen to Limbaugh nor do I care about his opinions.
I am most decidedly NOT a Republican anymore.
You’re the one who actually seems angry, Shelly, with your knee-jerk ad hominem attacks. Not everyone who disagrees with you is part of some vast, imaginary, angry right-wing, racist conspiracy. People are generally more complex and nuanced than that, at least in the world outside your front door. Believe it or not, people with whom you happen to disagree can think for themselves, too.
It’s sad that when these things happen, the shooter becomes famous and everyone knows his/her name. But not that of the security guard who died. Kind of like the old SNL “Killing of Buckwheat” sketch where “John David Stutts” becomes an instant household name.
The system worked, security guards are there risking their lives to cut down sick people like this. They did their job and deserve credit.
Emma, if you aren’t a Republican, what are you? I also think you sound angry but I am not going to suggest why. Let me rephrase my statement….some days I think you sound angry.
I see a lot of other people here feel that way about the guard(s) also.
I frequently agree with Emma, but not here.
“in general, Democratic Presidents show weakness in the face of terrorism. It took the election of Ronald Reagan to get the hostages freed from Iran.”
The kidnappers did it as a GIFT to reagan, because they hated Carter so much. Subsewuently reagan sent over a planeload of weaponry with a cake and a Bible – the Iranians took the weapons at gunpoint, and said you can keep the cake and the Bible. Tough on terrorism?
Reagan in Iran-Contra was REWARDING the fundmantalists who kidnapped our people, to help pay for the TERRORISTS in Nicaragua who he wanted additional funding for. An astonishingly pro-terrorist action if you ask me.
“Bill Clinton basically ignored the first World Trade Center bombing, the attack on the American embassy in Africa, and the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole. They talk tough, but they don’t respond in any meaningful way, so many Americans feel less safe. Just a theory.”
Richard Clarke would tell you otherwise. My theory is that we have an active intelligence community who work to protect us, and our executive Branch generally supports them as well as they can, but both parties take potshots at each other over the issue of security that are entirely divorced from reality.
Rick, I just heard on TV that Mr. Johns, the security guard, had gone to the door to hold it open for the elderly gentleman, who proceeded to shoot him. It really makes me sick. No good deed goes unpunished.
Does anyone know if Mr. Johns had a family? kids? Wife?