2 suspects plead innocent in plot to shoot Obama
Posted on Friday, November 7, 2008
MEMPHIS — An Arkansas man and his Internet friend pleaded innocent Thursday to federal charges over accusations they plotted to unleash a murderous rampage on blacks, culminating in the assassination of Barack Obama, now the president-elect.
Paul Schlesselman, 18, of Helena-West Helena, and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., said nothing Thursday other than “not guilty” in answer to charges read to them by U. S. Magistrate Gerald Cohn in a federal courthouse in downtown Memphis.
The seven-count indictment, issued by a grand jury Wednesday, accuses the pair of illegally transporting firearms across state lines, possessing an illegal sawed-off shotgun, plotting to rob a gun dealer and planning the assassination of a major candidate for president.
If convicted on all counts, the pair could face up to 50 years in prison and a $ 540, 000 fine.
Each having waived his right to a bond hearing, the pair will remain in federal custody at a secret location until the case is resolved. If the case goes to trial, Cohn said, it would be handled by U. S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen in Jackson, Tenn.
No new court date was set Thursday. The government now has one week to turn evidence against the defendants over to their lawyers, Joe Byrd, Cowart’s attorney, said after the hearing.
Both defendants were shackled at the hands and feet, wore black-and-white striped prison uniforms and were watched closely by U. S. Marshals th roughout the hearing.
Cowart’s parents, Dana and Philip, sat holding hands during the hearing in the Clifford Davis Federal Building as their son was ushered into the hushed courtroom in chains. The Cowarts declined comment.
Schlesselman’s father and sister were not in the courtroom Thursday. At a hearing last week, a horde of reporters chased them to their car after the hearing ended.
Schlesselman, who before his arrest filled his Internet postings with videos and statements glorifying drinking, and disparaging blacks, treated Thursday’s hearing more seriously than the previous one. Schlesselman smiled, giggled and mouthed phrases to his sister at a hearing last week.
The stocky, goateed teen sat quietly Thursday, speaking only to his lawyer and rarely looking at the crowd.
The indictment alleges that the partners planned their “killing spree” over the Internet during September and into October.
On Sept. 11, Cowart showed Schlesselman a floor plan and photograph of the gun shop they planned to rob in Madison County, Tenn., the indictment said. On Oct. 20, Cowart drove to Helena-West Helena and took Schlesselman back to Tennessee, along with a sawed-off shotgun, a. 357-caliber handgun and boxes of ammunition, the indictment said.
They spent the next two days buying shotgun shells, ammunition for a handgun and a rifle, and two ski masks and nylon rope from Wal-Mart.
Cowart and Schlesselman were arrested Oct. 22 after authorities said they shot out a church window. They had been driving around rural Tennessee in Cowart’s Honda Civic. The pair had painted a giant swastika on the hood and “Honk if you love Hitler” on the bumper.
The authorities said in the original federal criminal complaint that Schlesselman and Cowart said during interviews that they subscribed to white supremacist philosophies. The pair planned to kill 88 blacks, beheading 14 of them, the complaint said. The numbers hold significance to white supremacists, authorities have said.
According to court documents, the last killing would have been that of Obama, who was elected president less than 48 hours before the arraignment.
The pair planned to assassinate Obama in a drive-by shooting, while wearing white tuxedos and top hats, authorities said.
When asked after the hearing whether the plot was serious, Byrd said, “Top hats and tuxedos ? You tell me.”
Doris Holt, Schlesselman’s public defender, did not return a call for comment after the hearing.
Byrd paused for a long time when a reporter asked him why his client pleaded innocent Thursday.
“Because the government’s got a case to prove,” he said.
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