When Is A Terrorist Not A Terrorist? (Part II)

When he’s a white guy who’s a member of a far-right anti-government militia in Alabama:

Simultaneous raids carried out in four Alabama counties Thursday
turned up truckloads of explosives and weapons, including 130
grenades, an improvised rocket launcher and 2,500 rounds of ammunition belonging to the small, but mightily armed, Alabama Free Militia.

Six alleged members of the Free Militia also were arrested by federal
authorities and are being held without bond.

Investigators said the DeKalb County-based group had not made any
specific threats or devised any plots, but was targeted for swift
dismantling because of its heavy firepower. The militia, which called
itself the Naval Militia at one point, had enough armament to outfit a
small army.

“We classify these groups as violent and anti-government,” said Jim
Cavanaugh, who supervises the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives operations in portions of the South. “They
stockpile things and live off a fear, a paranoia they’re going to need
weapons and explosives because some event is going to happen when they will need them.”

“Any time you have a self-appointed colonel or a self-appointed major
and they’ve got weapons and explosives, it is a recipe for tragedy,” Cavanaugh said.

[…]

In Jefferson County, authorities said they had to rent a truck to
handle the bomb-making material from Bobo’s home, as well as 2,500
rounds of ammunition and 12 guns.

Bobo was living with his adoptive parents in the Lancshire Brentwood
neighborhood in Trussville, a fairly new subdivision near the Cahaba
Project with tree-lined streets and brick homes that cost upward of
$600,000. He worked for his family’s pest control company.

His red pickup truck, usually parked at the house, displays bumper
stickers such as “Welcome to the South, Now Go Home,” “The Second
Amendment: `You do not know you need it until they come to take it
away’ – Thomas Jefferson” and “Work Harder, Millions on Welfare Depend on You.”

If these guys had been a black street gang or a group of imams armed only with prayer books who got sassy with Homeland Security staff, it’d be on the national evening TV and drive-time radio news. As it is, if you’re not from Alabama, chances are that this blog will be the first (and only) place you’ll see mentioning this story.

(h/t Mahablog)