Obama 'target of assassination plot' by two white supremacists

Obama 'target of assassination plot' by two white supremacists

SECURITY concerns about the safety of Barack Obama are growing after US federal authorities yesterday charged two white supremacists with plotting to assassinate the Democratic presidential candidate.
Prosecutors in Tennessee charged the two men, Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman, 18, with planning to kill Mr Obama as part of a "killing spree" targeting African Americans.
Both men were arrested following an abortive robbery last wee
k, after which authorities found details of their plot which included plans to shoot or decapitate 102 black children at a state high school.
The case follows the arrest of three white supremacists in late August near the Democratic National Convention in Denver, with weapons including a high powered sniper rifle they had planned to use to kill Mr Obama during his football stadium acceptance speech.
Jim Cavanaugh, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the two men planned to rob a gun store, then target a predominantly African American high school, killing 88 and decapitating 14.
Mr Cavanaugh said: "They said that would be their last, final act – that they would attempt to kill Senator Obama. They didn't believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying."
He added that authorities took the threats very seriously. He said: "They seemed determined to do it. Even if they were just to try it, it would be a trail of tears around the South."