Reports are surfacing of four U.S. Army soldiers with plans to bomb a public park, take over control at Army Fort Stewart, bomb the vehicles of local, state, and federal officials and then assassinate President Barack Obama in a bid to overthrow the United States government and "give [it] back to the people."
The four soldiers alleged to be involved in the plot are Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, Sgt. Anthony Peden, Pvt. Christopher Salmon and Pfc. Michael Burnett. The group of men called their anarchist group F.E.A.R. (Forever Enduring Always Ready).
Burnett testified against the rest of the group in a court in Georgia on Monday. This enabled prosecutors to accuse the remaining three of allegedly purchasing $87,000 worth of assault rifles, semiautomatic weapons and bomb materials in a bid to "forcibly take over the ammo control point of Fort Stewart to take the post, bomb vehicles of local and state judicial and political figureheads and federal representatives to include the local department of homeland security, (and plotting) to bomb the fountain at Forsyth Park in Savannah," prosecutors argued, according to CNN.
The group has also been accused of allegedly murdering former U.S. soldier Michael Roark and his girlfriend because they knew of the groups plans and had deemed Roark a "loose end." Burnett pled guilty to manslaughter and illegal gang activity in relation to Roark's murder as part of a plea bargain that allowed him to avoid the death penalty.
The four soldiers had been charged for this plot by the military but the charges were dismissed as the case changed hands to civilian courts, according to Fort Stewart spokesperson Kevin Larson.
The F.E.A.R. plot is said to have been bankrolled by Aguigui, who received $500,000 in insurance and benefit payouts from the death of his wife last year. Aguigui, who attended the 2008 Republican Convention as a page, called himself "the nicest coldblooded murderer you will ever meet," in a videotaped interview with military officials.
According to the report from CNN, a group called The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks what it characterizes as "hate groups" around the country, spoke to Aguigui's father Monday night. He told the Center "I served my country for 20 years and I honor that, take pride in that. I don't know what my son's views are, and where they came from."
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