This attempted bombing of a Parade in Martin Luther King's honor in Spokane very alarming. This attempted bombing appears to an attempted attack by Domestic Terrorists against a parade celebrating diversity in a city that's 87.8% White.
FBI: Bomb found on MLK march route
The FBI said a suspicious backpack was found about 9:25 a.m. PST on Monday on a bench at the northeast corner of North Washington Street and West Main Avenue in downtown Spokane.
A bomb disposal unit was called in and neutralized the device. The FBI said in a statement on Tuesday that "the backpack contained a potentially deadly destructive device, likely capable of inflicting multiple casualties."
The FBI has not established an official motive, but Harrill told NBC News "the timing and placement of the backpack (along the march route) is inescapable."
"At that point, it falls directly in the realm and sphere of domestic terrorism," Harrill told the Associated Press. "Clearly, there was some political or social agenda here."
No threats or warnings were issued before the march.
The FBI undoubtedly has some evidence for calling this domestic terrorism that they aren't sharing with the public.
Contract workers found the suspicious back pack and alerted Spokane Police. The bomb was equipped with a remote detonator.
Television video on "The Rachel Maddow Show" showed the backpack sitting upright on a metal bench backed by a waist-high brick wall. In the interview with Maddow, Spokesman-Review reporter Clouse said sources told him the device was placed to direct the blast outward toward the marchers.
"The three contract workers in the area who were there are unsung heroes," the FBI spokesman said.
These terrorists were out to maximize the number of causalities among parade participants and spectators. A chilling cold blooded mass murder.
From the Spokane Spokesman-Review:
FBI says backpack on Spokane parade route was a bomb
Frank Harrill, special agent in the charge of the Spokane FBI office, would not discuss what specifically made the bomb so dangerous but said the investigation has become a top priority..
The bomb was discovered in a Swiss Army-brand backpack that was placed on a park bench at 9:25 a.m. at the northeast corner of North Washington Street and West Main Avenue.
Two T-shirts were located in the bag. One reads "Stevens County Relay For Life June 25th-26th 2010" and another shirt reads "Treasure Island Spring 2009." The FBI is working with other federal agencies and virtually all local police agencies with the investigation as part of the Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Stevens is one of three large rural economically depressed counties to the north of Spokane County. These three counties have the highest unemployment rates in the State by a wide margin. The unemployment rate in Stevens County (where my Grandfather was born) is 12.5%.
This is the second attempted bombing in Spokane in 10 months.
The previous bomb last April targeted Spokane's Federal Court House. Another politically symbolic target.
Harrill said agents have conducted interviews, but said he could not discuss any potential suspects.
Meanwhile, federal investigators continue to investigate an explosive device that was discovered March 23 alongside the Thomas S. Foley U.S. Courthouse. Harrill said agents have not made an arrest in that previous case.
Here's a video news report on the Spokane Martin Luther King Day Parade the terrorists were trying to attack:
White Supremacists have long been active in this region. Just last year the leader of the Aryan Nations Paul Mullet (no snark) came sniffing around the region to re-establish its headquarters in the Pacific Northwest, (fortunately for us) the Aryian Nations settled on a new home in Chillicothe, Oh. Sorry Ohio.
Mullet keeps busy – outside Grant County
From Crooks and Liars:
Just another 'isolated incident': Lethal bomb at MLK Day parade in Spokane spotted and disarmed before it can go off
My family's roots go back to Eastern Washington and Spokane where my Father was born and attended grade school, and my Grandmother was Miss Spokane and one of the first women in town to drive a motorcar. So this hits close to home for me.
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UPDATE
Spokane bomb casualties could have been severe, FBI says
Reporting from Los Angeles —
A "potentially deadly" explosive device that could have caused severe casualties was found along the intended route of a Martin Luther King Day march in Spokane, Wash., half an hour before the event was to begin, the FBI said Tuesday.
Spokane to build Martin Luther King Jr. Way
SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Spokane City Council has approved a contract to build a downtown street to be named Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
The Spokesman-Review says the $3.7 million contract will extend Riverside Avenue several blocks east of Division Street near the Washington State University-Spokane campus. It also will create a small park.
2nd UPDATE
Bomb at MLK parade was sophisticated
According to a person familiar with the case, the device was sophisticated, with a remote detonator, and could have caused many casualties. The official described it as the most potentially destructive bomb he had ever seen.