Just 2 Seconds (62 page)

733.
Date: August 5, 1997
Target: Military officials at the Pentagon
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Details: A man walked into the Pentagon lobby, demanded to see the "admiral in charge," and pointed a 9mm Beretta at security guard Christopher Freeman, who disarmed the man and forced him to the ground. The man had 130 rounds of 9mm ammunition in his knapsack.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

734.
Date: August 9, 1997
Target: Chelsea Clinton (President Clinton's daughter)
Location: Elizabeth, New Jersey
Details: A man was arrested after agents found he had stored a .380 pistol and 156 rounds of ammunition in a safety deposit box at a bank one block from the White House. The man had been trying to contact Chelsea for some time by writing her disturbing letters. Agents had also arrested him in 1996 in northern Virginia.

735.
Date: August 21, 1997
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Hillsborough, North Carolina
Details: A man was arrested after he shot and wounded two people. He told police that he had taken his .308 caliber rifle to a hillside overlooking the Raleigh-Durham Airport the previous September, during Clinton's visit there. He planned to shoot Clinton as he got off Air Force One, but security was too tight and the man couldn't reach his desired position.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

736.
Date: September 4, 1997
Target: Diplomats
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Police deactivated a car bomb packed with 440 pounds of explosives near an army base where ministers from 60 Non-Aligned Movement members were meeting.

737.
Date: October 25, 1997
Target: President Jules Wijdenbosch
Location: Paramaribo, Suriname
Details: Police raided a mechanic shop, arresting 11 people who were plotting to overthrow Wijdenbosch and topple his government. Some of the suspected coup leaders were soldiers.

738.
Date: October 27, 1997
Target: President Fidel Castro
Location: Miami, Florida
Details: Four Cuban exiles were arrested in their boat while traveling to Venezuela in a plot to kill Castro, who was scheduled to attend an Ibero-American summit on November 6-8. Police seized two .50-caliber assault weapons, 70 rounds of ammunition, night vision goggles, radios, and satellite navigation equipment. A federal grand jury acquitted the men in December 1999.

739.
Date: October 28, 1997
Target: President Frederick Chiluba
Location: Lusaka, Zambia
Details: Forces loyal to Chiluba quashed a coup attempt by disgruntled military officers, arresting nine men including the captain who said an angel told him to overthrow the government. Gunfire erupted around Chiluba's residence in the State House and a broadcast center was seized, but the soldiers were quickly captured. In the months that followed, as many as 84 people were detained, many from opposition parties.

740.
Date: January 1, 1998
Target: President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara
Location: Niamey, Niger
Details: Police thwarted a plot to assassinate Mainassara, arresting five commandos who were planning the attack. They also arrested two well-known opposition leaders, including a former prime minister, for leading the plot.

741.
Date: January 6, 1998
Target: Governor George W. Bush
Location: Sulphur Springs, Texas
Details: A man walked into a driver's license office and demanded to see Bush. He carried a fake bomb, consisting of a cigar box with a toggle switch. A Texas Ranger and two troopers attempted to talk to him and evacuate the building. When the man pulled a pistol from his waistband, the Ranger shot and killed him.

742.
Date: January 12, 1998
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Details: A man began trial on charges that he had threatened to kill Clinton on several occasions. When arrested, agents found eight knives, two rifles, five handguns (including a laser-sighted pistol), and 250 rounds of ammunition. The man used several different social security numbers, including Elvis Presley's. He was convicted on January 23.

743.
Date: February 23, 1998
Target: SPLC Leader Morris Dees
Location: Southern Illinois
Details: Police arrested members of a white supremacy group, known as "The New Order," plotting to kill Dees and a federal judge. They also planned to bomb the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) by firing a LAW rocket through the front door. Police seized guns, a pipe bomb, and hand grenades. The group also planned to commit bank robberies to finance the plot, and use cyanide to contaminate a large water supply.

744.
Date: June 13, 1998
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Details: Prior to Clinton visiting Eugene, advance teams located two bombs in a culvert near the airport where Clinton would arrive, and detonated both bombs. An anonymous phone tip warned police of the devices. The caller was arrested after police played a tape of the threat over the radio station, and relatives of the man recognized his voice.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

745.
Date: June 20, 1998
Target: Joint Chiefs Chairman Henry Shelton
Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Details: Shelton was dining at a restaurant with his wife and several military attaches. An alert bodyguard noticed a suspicious group of men who appeared to have the restaurant staked out. He warned Shelton, and Shelton's group slipped out another entrance, avoiding the men.

746.
Date: June 26, 1998
Target: Attorney General Janet Reno
Location: Newark, New Jersey
Details: A manager of an electronics store was arrested in a plot to assassinate Reno for prosecuting the World Trade Center bombers. The man was from the Middle East and was believed to belong to a terrorist group.

747.
Date: June 27, 1998
Target: U.S. Ambassador
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Details: Thai police and FBI agents arrested four Pakistani nationals who plotted to assassinate the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy. The group had a $27,000 contract from an Iran-based terrorist group.

748.
Date: July 5, 1998
Target: President Ernesto Samper
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: A leftist rebel group planned to assassinate Samper while he visited war-torn Segovia. The attack was canceled because crowds surrounded Samper during his visit.

749.
Date: July 14, 1998
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Brownsville, Texas
Details: Three men linked with the Republic of Texas group were arrested in a plot to shoot Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno, FBI Director Louis Freeh, and other state and local officials. The men reportedly planned to modify cigarette lighters to shoot cactus thorns laced with the AIDS virus, anthrax, botulism, or rabies. They had sent a "Declaration of War" to Clinton and others by e-mail.

750.
Date: July 16, 1998
Target: Defense Minister Dag Jostein Fjaervoll
Location: Oslo, Norway
Details: Police removed a 500-gram bomb from under FjaervoH's car. The detonator was missing and may have fallen off.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

751.
Date: August 10, 1998
Target: President Fidel Castro
Location: Miami, Florida
Details: Police arrested Cuban exiles that were plotting to kill Castro during his trip to the Dominican Republic.

752.
Date: February 1999
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Pakistan
Details: Osama bin Laden reportedly planned to kill Clinton during his visit to Pakistan. The plot failed when Clinton canceled the trip. It was bin Laden's second attempt to assassinate Clinton.

753.
Date: May 3, 1999
Target: Prime Minister Tony Blair
Location: Skopje, Macedonia
Details: The Yugoslav army's chief of staff, General Nebojsa Pavkovic, revealed that he was ordered by Slobodan Milosevic to assassinate Blair during his visit to refugees in 1999. The plot called for Pavkovic's team to shoot down Blair's Puma helicopter as it arrived at the airport, using an Orkan Hurricane multiple rocket launcher system capable of firing 288 bomblets. Pavkovic said he had a similar opportunity to assassinate Hillary Clinton when she visited refugees a few days after Blair. Pavkovic stated they decided not to carry out the attacks for fear of retribution.

754.
Date: May 24, 1999
Target: President Eduard Shevardnadze
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
Details: Police arrested ten people in a plot to assassinate Shevardnadze. The plotters planned to seize the presidential residence, Parliament, and a television station. A large cache of weapons, machine guns, sniper rifles, grenades and grenade launchers was confiscated.

755.
Date: June 16, 1999
Target: Unnamed Judge
Location: Fargo, North Dakota
Details: Jeffrey D. Maasjo was arrested in a courthouse parking lot. He had in his car an assault rifle, 230 rounds of ammunition, a number of smoke grenades, and material for making pipe bombs. Maasjo had been arrested earlier in the month for pulling a knife on a sheriff's deputy who was arresting him for being AWOL from the Marines. Maasjo was upset his knife was not returned to him. He told police he planned to confront the judge who had presided over the case. He also initially told police he had planted pipe bombs around the courthouse, but later recanted.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)