Obama has more threats than other presidents-elect

[Fuzz]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

Earlier this week, the Secret Service looked into the case of a sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama's name and the offer of a "free public hanging." In North Carolina, civil rights officials complained of threatening racist graffiti targeting Obama found in a tunnel near the North Carolina State University campus.

And in a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into "The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool," saying the money would go to the person picking the date closest to when Obama was attacked. "Let's hope we have a winner," said the sign, since taken down.

In the security world, anything "new" can trigger hostility, said Joseph Funk, a former Secret Service agent-turned security consultant who oversaw a private protection detail for Obama before the Secret Service began guarding the candidate in early 2007.

Obama, of course, will be the country's first black president, and Funk said that new element, not just race itself, is probably responsible for a spike in anti-Obama postings and activity. "Anytime you're going to have something that's new, you're going to have increased chatter," he said.

The Secret Service also has cautioned the public not to assume that any threats against Obama are due to racism.

The service investigates threats in a wide range. There are "stated threats" and equally dangerous or lesser incidents considered of "unusual interest" — such as people motivated by obsessions or infatuations or lower-level gestures such as effigies of a candidate or an elected president. The service has said it does not have the luxury of discounting anything until agents have investigated the potential danger.

Racially tinged graffiti — not necessarily directed at Obama — also has emerged in numerous reports across the nation since Election Day, prompting at least one news conference by a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Georgia.

A law enforcement official who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly said that during the campaign there was a spike in anti-Obama rhetoric on the Internet — "a lot of ranting and raving with no capability, credibility or specificity to it."

There were two threatening cases with racial overtones:

_ In Denver, a group of men with guns and bulletproof vests made racist threats against Obama and sparked fears of an assassination plot during the Democratic National Convention in August.

_ Just before the election, two skinheads in Tennessee were charged with plotting to behead blacks across the country and assassinate Obama while wearing white top hats and tuxedos.

In both cases, authorities determined the men were not capable of carrying out their plots.

In Milwaukee, police officials found a poster of Obama with a bullet going toward his head — discovered on a table in a police station.

Chatter among white supremacists on the Internet has increased throughout the campaign and since Election Day.

One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site, stormfront.org, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, "I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how 'messiahs' come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed."

It is not surprising that a black president would galvanize the white supremacist movement, said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who studies the white supremacy movement.

"The overwhelming flavor of the white supremacist world is a mix of desperation, confusion and hoping that this will somehow turn into a good thing for them," Potok said. He said hate groups have been on the rise in the past seven years because of a common concern about immigration.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieEHNx5DYjbyd2Mw1rfU2p5MpTdgD94F32JG0

[DeepBlueDem]

1. Donate to the SPLC.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. This news has been pumped by the media for all it's worth because there's literally a lull in news

No Britney Spears, no scandals, just quiet, calm cabinet and staff selection.

The Obamas chose to stay "as long as possible" in Chicago, so that requires more protection.

And yes, Dem Presidents always have more Republican whackos threatening them.

[Captain Hilts]

3. I believe that. Evidently, during the primaries, Obama and Clinton were unusually high-profile...

for this sort of thing.

[OHDEM]

4. My letter to the editor

I understand that many Americans did not support President-elect Barack Obama. It’s no surprise that those people would feel disappointed or even apprehensive about the election of a man with whom they disagree politically. However, there is a much more disturbing reaction to the election that must be addressed. I have seen numerous outrageous and ridiculous accusations against the President-elect about everything from his citizenship to his religion to his loyalty to his country. Along with these charges are often veiled threats of assassination or civil unrest. This behavior is NOT acceptable! In this free country, you have every right to dissent, but not to threats of violence. Many of these comments border dangerously on treason and sedition. Considering what I am seeing and hearing, I imagine the Secret Service is very busy. I did not like George W. Bush and I feared what his policies would do to the country I love. Sadly, considering the state of this nation, my fears seem warranted. However, I would never dream of making threats against my President or the United States of America. Right-wing media is complicit in this mania and needs to stop stirring up misinformation and irrational fears before they are guilty of inciting violence. I hope that the cooler heads in the Republican Party will work to stop the spread of lies and to quell the threats against our future President and this country. We cannot allow this nation to degrade to the point of violence against opposing political views.

I sent this letter to the Cleveland Plain Dealer today. I encourage others at DU to write their local papers. Maybe it seems old-fashioned or something, but there are still a lot of people that read their local papers - particularly over a certain age! It's easy and you can usually do it right online.

Let's get the message out that threats of violence are not acceptable in this country and we're not standing for it! Call them on it.

[NNN0LHI]

5. Palin and McCain were actively encouraging this behaviour and they knew it

I will never forgive them for that.

Don

[BanTheGOP]

6. The ENTIRE rEPUBLICAN PARTY....

...spawns, and in my opinion directly sponsors, this type of behavior. There is virtually NO republican who is immune from this racist, spewing hatred of our new president. That is why it must be treated as a criminal organization rather than a political party.

[malaise]

7. That's a Rethug shout out

whipping up racists.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. The Internet vastly changes the scope and number of possible threats.