A less heroic--but probably more effective--response might have involved investigating Anthony "Tony" Warner before he set off his huge bomb. Red State has an article this morning, citing seemingly reliable public sources, in which the claim is made that the state and local police had been warned a year ago that Warner was building bombs in his RV:
Nashville Bomber’s Girlfriend Warned Police He Was Making Bombs Last Year
Despite the F.B.I.’s claims to the contrary, law enforcement was warned about Anthony Q. Warner’s disturbing activities more than a year before he set off a bomb in downtown Nashville. The new information might shed light on the alleged bomber’s motive.
The Tennessean reported that “sixteen months before Anthony Quinn Warner’s RV exploded in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, officers visited his home in Antioch after his girlfriend reported that he was making bombs in the vehicle.”
Shortly after the bombing, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation stated that Warner was “not on our radar” before the attack. However, a Metro Nashville Police Department report from August of last year shows that “local and federal authorities were aware of alleged threats he had made,” according to The Tennessean.
It does not appear that law enforcement took any action against Warner despite the warning. On Aug. 21, 2019, his girlfriend told Nashville police that he “was building bombs in the RV trailer at his residence.” The officer then sent the information to the F.B.I.
Weird, isn't it? One wonders what local, state, and federal LE officials were so busy with that they had no time to do a bit of digging into complaints of a tech savvy guy building bombs.
In fairness to the FBI, they did take action when the information was relayed to them:
Nashville police sent the report to the F.B.I. the next day so they could check their databases.
Aaron said, “the FBI reported back that they checked their holdings and found no records on Warner at all.”
So are we now to learn that only repeat offenders, or those who otherwise show up in federal databases, get investigated by the FBI--or, for that matter, by the ATF which, in my understanding, has primary responsibility for bomb related matters? We're not told whether the FBI informed ATF. Weird. At least we know now what it takes for a bomber to get "on the radar" of the Feds: The bomber must first set off a bomb, so he can be certified as a bomber. Or something like that. I guess there's an inner logic to it all, but it's a logic that's not immediately apparent to the non-bureaucrat.
The article offers a further glimpse into that inner logic:
The F.B.I. told The Tennessean that the police called [Warner's attorney] Throckmorton during the week of Aug. 26, 2019. [MNPD spokesman] Aaron claimed that the attorney did not allow Warner to give consent to officers to search the RV.
Throckmorton contradicts this claim. He told the news outlet that “while he represented Warner in a civil matter several years ago, Warner was no longer a client of his in August 2019. He disputes that he told police they couldn’t search the RV.”
“I have no memory of that whatsoever,” Throckmorton said. “I didn’t represent him anymore. He wasn’t an active client. I’m not a criminal defense attorney.”
The attorney believes that the police could have done more to stop the bombing from happening. “Somebody, somewhere dropped the ball,” he said.
“At no time was there any evidence of a crime detected and no additional action was taken,” Aaron said. “No additional information about Warner came to the department’s or the FBI’s attention after August 2019.”
The position of LE seems to be that if no evidence is in plain sight, then no investigation is initiated. Wait for the bomb. Or, out of sight, out of mind. We serve and protect.
The girlfriend needed to find herself an ex MI6 operative to tell her story to if she wanted the attention of the FBI.
ReplyDeleteBingo! I can't believe I missed that!
DeleteRedState’s Charles left this out of his distillation of The Tennessean’s report:
DeleteAccording to the police report and Throckmorton, the woman was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time. Officers called their mobile crisis division, and after talking with the woman, she agreed to be transported by ambulance for a psychological evaluation, Aaron said.
The Tennessean goes on to report that the police went to Warner’s home after leaving the woman and no one was at home. The rest is at the Tennesseean link in the posted RedState article.
Throckmorton was her attorney at the time. Not Warner’s (although he had represented Warner in a civil matter a few years before).
Compare this:
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Anthony_Walker#Arrest_and_imprisonment
The "bubba" garage pull down cord/noose at NASCAR sure got a faster more efficient response from the FBI, I forgot how many showed up for that one.
ReplyDeleteAnd how many comprised Roger Stone's SWAT Team?
DeleteThe entire FBI was in Michigan entrapping 6 geezers with ambitions of taking down the Governor.
DeleteLater, one left to entrap some college kids, one of whom had a flag in his room.
But hey!! No dead bodies in Nashville, so ya'know, insurance covers it, just like with BLM and Antifa Peaceful Riots!
Very interesting testimony at the Georgia Judiciary Subcommittee on Elections from Jovan Hunter Pulitzer. There is a link at CTH and GWP.
ReplyDeleteIt was not just technical evidence but a moving speech in support of people’s right to a fair vote.
Jovan is charismatic and can sell you shoes even if you have no feet.
DeleteWhy did he not provide evidence in real time and live?
I am not saying he is wrong, but I would be wary of such testimony.
Jovan Philyaw, aka Jovan Hutton Pulitzer, did not invent the Japanese QR code. He, along with his Dallas, TX NetTalkLive and Digital Convergence pal Dave Mathews does have numerous patents, but not on the QR (quick response) code.
His is the CRQ (See Our Que) via the CueCat or the Q (Cue sound) on the show.
I still suspect that Warner was a patsy. He was used to cover up another explosion.
ReplyDeleteThe initial explosion was across the street from the RV.
Link goes to a tweet by this person, who is theorizing he was a scapegoat, etc.
DeleteLooks like he is a scapegoat for a more nefarious false flag.
Teresa M
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or the FBI DID ACT on the info, and Warner became another of their shills available when needed...just sayin????
ReplyDeleteNo evidence in plain sight seems to be the phrase of 2020. Valid for bomb makers and election thieves alike.
ReplyDeleteTragedies like this can be a lure to authoritarianism. I get that in hindsight we want to call for something more to have been done, but similarly I don't relish the thought of a federal (secret?) police investigation for hearsay.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the above (the quotes) I see 1) no record of other criminal activity, 2) no pattern of reporting from more than one person, 3) no result from their earlier investigation. Yes bombs are serious stuff and even weak suspicions should be investigated appropriately; but we must avoid a "guilty until proven innocent" approach which we KNOW our betters will abuse. There must be balance.
Perhaps she presented multiple reports and/or enough evidence that serious investigation was warranted. I may be completely wrong in the specifics of this case.
I am not defending the demonstrated incompetence of the bureau (15 agents for Bubba's "noose"?!! Anemic response to vote fraud) but I also know I don't want friends and family searched and "investigated" because of a complaint from some neighbor for having wrongthink or insufficient submission / obedience / wokeness.
The whole narrative about this incident stinks. Too many missing facts and little interest to dig in from our "betters". (reminds me of 'Vegas)
I realize this comment will be unpopular, but cherish the right to post it. As always thank you for your herculean efforts Mark!
-- MR
You expressed what I was thinking quite thoroughly. I also have not seen any mention of anything rising to the level of probable cause for a search warrant.
DeleteWhat both of you are expressing "quite thoroughly" is a failure to distinguish between the long established--in America, since the Constitution, but really much longer--standards for obtaining warrants versus conducting investigation short of that. Probable cause is also the standard for obtaining an arrest warrant. Do you really think that the standard for investigating should be the same as the standard for investigating?
DeleteCORRECTION: Do you really think that the standard for investigating should be the same as the standard for OBTAINING AN ARREST WARRANT?
DeleteReasonable suspicion is the standard to investigate. A tip may or may not be enough to get to that very low bar depending on the credibility of the tipster, which in this case appears credible.
DeleteProblem, though, is that this is not enough to get you a search warrant as Mark noted with probable cause. You have to develop it or see it in plain view.
What this means, in reality, is that if all that was provided to law enforcement was that he was building a bomb or bombs with nothing else to support the assertion, the investigation will be hard to go further.
We don’t know much else other than this. Local and federal law enforcement knows more, but are not forthcoming and that may be damning against law enforcement or not.
Replace bombs with drug dealing. A tip that a person is dealing drugs can be supported by observation that lots of foot or car traffic goes to the house in question, but before it even goes to that point, you need the tipster to support it a bit more to even assign resources for a proper investigation.
If the tip is supported by trash runs (getting people’s trash and getting evidence of suspected dealing), or some other independent way such as busting someone on a drug charge, even as low as a drug paraphernalia, and they implicate the dealer and/or residence, then even more investigation can be justified to the point of search/arrest warrant.
In this case, we just do not know what happened or did not happen on the law enforcement end.
I'm all for following established honest investigative procedure in terms of search warrants, opening investigations, arrest warrants, etc. (Even if that is a thing of the past.) What I am whining about is events like this being used as justification for "special considerations" for "certain crimes" where otherwise weak complaints or anemic probable cause are used.
DeleteI guess this all comes back to the undermined confidence from the last decade combined with memories of the "Janet Reno" years where things like a US flag sticker on your car were DoJ stated reasons for "suspicion" and "potential extremist".
This is all true. In this case, ATF monitors purchases of bomb related materials, so in addition to physical surveillance, further interviews of persons who might have some knowledge, there could also be the question of his purchases. And possibly other steps that I wouldn't be familiar with. It appears none of those steps were taken by the FBI or--if they were informed--ATF. For example, the lawyer could have been interviewed about Warner in so far as the interview didn't touch on his past representation of Warner and only on what he knew (perhaps) from his contacts with the girl friend. There were a lot of simple things that could have and should have been done. Again, refer to the link to the John Walker case in my comment above. An alcoholic and incoherent wife, but eventually she got through and the FBI persisted through some investigative setbacks. We are talking about a bombing here.
Delete@ MR, so potential violations of the Migratory Bird Act should be handled with the same urgency as potential terror bombings? Or vice versa? No "special consideration" for "certain crimes"?
DeleteThinking more in terms of "special considerations" for things like deep investigations of conservatives based upon anonymous sources vs. discretionary non-investigation of leftists when presented with hard evidence.
DeleteI think bird watching vs. terrorist suspicion is a pretty harsh straw man, and our DoJ and FBI have decidedly demonstrated that we cannot "trust their judgement" for fairness or detached professionalism.
So in the current Georgia runoff, they succeeded in breaking into the system.
ReplyDeletehttps://mobile.twitter.com/tracybeanz/status/1344350454218686464
Does anyone think the woman’s “mental health crisis” and willingness to be taken by ambulance for evaluation (see my comment up the thread with quote from Tennessean) might have affected the PD’s attitude toward her accusations? Not trying to let PD or FBI off the hook, but doesn't that sort of issue ever enter into how far LE will go with an accusation?
ReplyDeleteShe didn’t call the police. Her lawyer Throckmorton called them. The original call to PD had to do with the unloaded guns she had with her on her porch. Throckmorton was worried about her.
It never worked when I told my Supervisors that the subject was crazy. They always sent me out to investigate anyway.
DeleteGJS
@Mark Did you mean this maybe?:
ReplyDeleteDo you really think that the standard for investigating should be the same as the standard for obtaining a arrest warrant?
Yes--thanks!
DeleteThe FBI were busy investigating our president.
ReplyDeleteRob S
And this is local police involvement...
ReplyDeletehttps://lidblog.com/bombers-girlfriend-warned-cops/
It includes a terse description of the complaint and result.
Sorry, folks, but in regards to local law enforcement this is the extent of it.
You can’t bust in a door or search a residence on this. Moreover, if this all there was, there is no there ... there.
You pass it up the chain, which was done, and maybe federal law enforcement was notified, maybe it wasn’t, but with this?
A great big investigative nothingburger.
Unless ...
You want long standing jurisprudence on constitutional issues completely overturned.
That will be worse, in my opinion, especially under the almost complete DemoKrat rule.
Did the fbi give a final report on the Las Vegas killings? That is believable.....
ReplyDeleteMy take on the FBI, equality applies and as of 2016 FBI and DOJ policies were set by intent of motive.
ReplyDeleteIf the FBI has no direct knowledge of the individual knowing wanting to intentionally commit a crime, they should walk away without any investigation.
If they are investigating and find no wilful intent by the suspect to commit a crime, they should close the investigation and publicly announce their innocence.
If the are investigating and do find both that a crime occured and that the suspect did so willfully with intent, they should...
A. If the statue of limitations exceeds 5 or more years.
They should prosecute but with an absolute minimal sentence leaning towards no time served and minimum probation not exceeding 6 months.
B. If the statues of limitations do not exceed 5 years.
The case should immediately be classified SCI and held in that status for no less than 6 years.
Because our justice system should be applied equally to everyone PERIOD!
I actually didn't come here to say that I just couldn't let it go... Just wanted to post a link to attorney Ty Clevenger's latest drop on his ligation in the Seth Rich saga.
https://lawflog.com/?p=2433
The republicans will go the way of the Whigs. 75 million will never vote for those hacks. Walmart had a Fox moment. Hope they choke and die on their china schiff.
ReplyDeleteO/T - very interesting Scott Adams vid, on non-kinetic war with China - basically US is already at war - Trump knows that but Biden either doesn't know it, or has been bought off
ReplyDeleteScott goes through a number of different aspects of the economy which need to be controlled
https://twitter.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/1344297273891590146
Frank
In addition, a tweet thread on "EVERY major Western media outlet is compromised by the Chinese Communist Party"
DeleteScott in the vid mentioned above, also describes the probability that everything that happened this crazy year "could be" described as due to CCP influence.
https://twitter.com/RaheemKassam/status/1343975986602389505
Frank
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/12/chinas_unrestricted_war_on_the_united_states.html
DeleteThis was up on American Thinker yesterday.
Tom S.
Wow.
DeleteI continue to be amazed and surprised that the CCP is so openly stating their goals and methods. They must be quite confident, and no wonder.
Once you have the media (and many government officials) in your pocket, how can you lose.
Frank
I remember reading the "Unrestricted Warfare" translation when it was released. They tell us what they're going to do, and we let them.
DeleteAnother interesting document, published a little later, described how a minor intervention in the right place at the right time could bring down practically all of the US electric grid. Summertime, when demand is highest, mid-afternoon or later when solar is below its peak and declining and demand begins its daily peak, seems to be the ideal time. Is this the year we'll see it?
So the bureau had a heads up. The also had a heads up on the Tampa nightclub shooter, failed to act. They had a heads up on the San Bernardino shooters, failed to act. Heads up on Boston bombers, failed to act. How many times have they had a heads up and failed to act. Yet, 16 agents respond to claims by a black NASCAR driver claiming someone left a noose on a garage door pull, better yet, the it seems the whole agency upper echelon played a role in investigating a duly elected president base on allegations from a political opponent. Within law enforcement they were known as F amous B ut I incompetent or more cynically, F'n Bunch of Idiots.
ReplyDelete