The Terror Attack You Probably Didn't Hear About

WASHINGTON ― Usually, when the FBI arrests a terrorist and the Justice Department charges them, it’s a big deal. Combatting terrorism is one of the Justice Department’s top priorities, and terror cases are a great way for federal prosecutors and agents to make names and build careers. The press and the public are very interested. Officials will typically blast out a press release, and, if it’s a big takedown, might even hold a press conference.

The Justice Department didn’t do any of that when federal prosecutors unsealed terrorism charges last week against Taylor Michael Wilson. The 26-year-old white supremacist from St. Charles, Missouri, allegedly breached a secure area of an Amtrak train on Oct. 22 while armed with a gun and plenty of backup ammunition. He set off the emergency brake, sending passengers lunging as the train cars went “completely black.”

The attempted terrorist attack took place aboard an Amtrak train that started off in California and was making its way through a part of Nebraska so remote that it took an hour for the nearest deputy to arrive on the scene. Wilson was found in the second engine of the train, “playing with the controls,” according to the FBI affidavit.

As passengers waited in dark train cars that smelled of burning rubber, Amtrak workers kept the man pinned down. “I’m the conductor, bitch,” Wilson allegedly said to Amtrak personnel while subdued. They say Wilson had tried to reach for his front waistband, where he was storing a fully loaded handgun.

Source

So back in October a neo-Nazi commandeered an Amtrak train theoretically with the intent to derail it. Thanks to the quick thinking and action of Amtrak employees they were able to subdue the culprit before he was able to do more than just pull the emergency brake. Even then, due to the remote location the passengers waited in the dark for an hour before local law enforcement were able to arrive on the scene.

At the time the case received minimal mainstream attention. This is probably due to the fact that Wilson was initially charged with felony criminal mischief and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. In fact possible terrorism was so far from the minds of local law enforcement that it took them a full day to even notify the FBI of the arrest.

Fast forward to December. Wilson still hasn't been charged with terrorism. On December 11 he posts bail and is released from jail. He isn't picked back up until December 24, the day after terrorism charges are officially filed against him. But even then, the media is silent about the case. Why? Because no one knows about it. Usually in terrorism cases the DoJ will put out a press release to announce they got their man, making the department look good. But in this case it took a local reporter checking the court docket to discover that charges of terrorism were brought up against Wilson.

Now, one could argue that the reason the DoJ didn't want to draw attention to this case is because it doesn't fit the narrative of the Trump administration. I think if one tried they could make a pretty compelling argument that is the case. Instead, I'm going to take the same position as my source article. The reason why this case was seemingly swept under the rug is not because it doesn't serve an agenda. It's because law enforcement in this country don't take domestic terrorism seriously enough.

As we learned in the aftermath of Charleston and Charlottesville there aren't actually any domestic terrorism statutes on the books. The only reason the Feds are able to charge Wilson with terrorism is because he went after Amtrak. Attacks on trains are explicitly labeled as terrorism under federal law. The lack of terrorism statutes for domestic cases is so surprising that even the accused was shocked when papers simply described him as a man with a gun that pushed a button.

Despite the fact that domestic terrorism has been responsible for more deaths than foreign terrorism it seems like law enforcement has been conditioned to not see it as a major threat. Does anyone else see this a major blind spot when it comes to American safety?

a reply to: Xcalibur254

So back in October a neo-Nazi commandeered an Amtrak train theoretically with the intent to derail it.

Its not 'terri'fying if it can't be 'properly' connected to Islamic Extremist Jihadist rhetoric.

White Super Racers would revolt anyway if the main scream lied about who he was.

Was it a whack job gone meth head high speed nutter, or was there a political / religious motive involved?

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Key words ... white supremacists.

Kinda hard to handball it to middle eastern terror ...

Really !??

a reply to: Xcalibur254

He was charged.... right?

Is the DOJ a publicity agency or a law enforcement agency?

If they had given him a pat on the back and sent him home... that would be a real problem.

I guess when you have a Justice Dept that doesn't hire MS 13 hitmen, you have to nitpick to find fault.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

As far as I'm aware there were no drugs found in his system. Also, the fact that he had the business card for the National Socialist Movement on him at the time makes it seem like he wanted his actions to be tied to that group. He had also stated in the past that he had an interest in killing black people.

So yes, I would say there was a political motive involved and apparently the FBI found enough evidence to agree with that view.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Despite the fact that domestic terrorism has been responsible for more deaths than foreign terrorism it seems like law enforcement has been conditioned to not see it as a major threat. Does anyone else see this a major blind spot when it comes to American safety?

Entirely untrue. Ask any cop which is the bigger threat and the answer will be domestic terrorism.

Homegrown terrorists, white supremacists, sovereign citizens, etc. are all recognized as the bigger, and more likely, threat.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

For some weird reason, it reminds me of the tv show the Black List (For those of you that don't know, it's a show starring James Spader and it's about an international criminal working with the FBI to take down criminals that are off the radar. One of the plots involves trying to prevent a train attack).

a reply to: butcherguy

If he had been Middle Eastern you can be sure that it would have been all over the news. But it's not even the lack of publicity that is the problem. The lack of publicity is simply an indicator that domestic terrorism is not taken as seriously by the DOJ as foreign terrorism. I mean the fact that there aren't even any domestic terrorism statutes is ridiculous.

This man was able to post bail and walk around free for nearly two weeks. That right there is a big deal. What would have happened if he attempted another attack during that time period? Would that have been enough to convince you that there is a serious problem with how domestic terrorism is treated in this country?

The DOJ got lucky. I don't think that deserves a pat on the back. I think that should be a wake up call that more needs to be done when it comes to domestic terrorism, especially when it comes to educating local law enforcement on how to identify it. Because there is no rational reason that someone who ultimately gets charged with terrorism should be granted bail and able to be back on the street for almost two weeks before getting picked back up.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Just taking a brief glimpse at the FBI’s Terrorism News shows that they take any terrorism quite seriously. There is likely other factors besides nefarious ones that contributed to any mistakes the DOJ may have committed.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Read through those press releases. Most of them pertain to foreign terrorism. It seems like the only ones that don't involve high profile targets like judges or the President.

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Read through those press releases. Most of them pertain to foreign terrorism. It seems like the only ones that don't involve high profile targets like judges or the President.

Yes, most of them are centred around ISIS. The sheer amount of them indicates a far worse threat than anyone in the media would care to admit. I never hear any reporting on the vast majority of those cases. Either way, the majority are by definition domestic insofar as they are committed by US citizens.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

So it doesn't bother you that while there are foreign terrorism statutes (providing material support to a foreign terror organization for example which carries a 15 year sentence) there are none for domestic terrorism? A neo-Nazi can be producing explosives while stockpiling weapons and they'll get maybe 5 years. A person tied to ISIS does the same thing and they're looking at decades in prison.

Why is there this seeming disparity in how we treat domestic terrorism vs. how we treat foreign terrorism when they both have the same capacity to commit violence? That is what is at the heart of all of this. People like Dylan Roof and James Fields will never be charged with terrorism for the sole reason that they aren't tied to a group like ISIS. Taylor Wilson was allowed to walk free for two weeks because even if the local law enforcement thought what he did was terrorism the best they could charge him with was felony mischief.

If it weren't for an observant local reporter this case would have slipped under the radar. How many other cases like this are out there that we have completely missed. While the term domestic terrorism may be in the vernacular, from a legal standpoint it doesn't actually exist. Which is absolutely shocking considering it presents a much greater threat to the American people than groups like ISIS.

a reply to: starwarsisreal

Reminds me of that movie The Taking of Pelham 123

Or lets just say for a moment that someone or ones in the FBI/DOJ caught wind and were the type to be greatly angered by the possible racial motivation. Not like normal racist disgust anger but more personal. So they decided to throw the book at him and stretch it to terrorism to really stick it to him. I can see why they wouldn't want to really publicize that too much. Even if we all agree he got what he deserved and we have no care in the world about the guy...having the FBI or DOJ be painted as vindictive over this would not be good for them.

We would really need some actual details from the trial to determine any motivations though.

What's our definition of terrorism? Had they found any political motivation for his acts, or was it simply a serious of extremely stupid decisions and attempted murder and destruction?

If there were no political motives, then it makes sense that it wouldn't be classified as "terror", and therefor wouldn't be widely reported by anyone.

how many of these white nationalist terrorists blow themselves and lots of others up in shopping centres? Shoot loads of people? all the other things that are done to support some doctrine of a foreign agency?

The thing with most of the spree shooters I have seen in the US is they tend to be people who snap,and, without severely curtailing the freedoms of every citizen, there isn't much that can be done to combat this sort of thing.

Foreign derived terrorism though, people doing things in the name of IS and the like, can be combatted without curtailing general freedoms and a significant dent in these ops can be made by judicious use of the current laws.

The question I want an answer to is this, why are you trying to conflate two utterly different forms of crime? One generally has a minimal impact on wider society while the other can be a very real threat to life and liberty for anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you want Islamic terror to be able to kill more people by diverting resources to something that isn't as much of a danger? Because that is what you seem to be pushing for.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Just another victim of the lack of proper insurance available as well as the connectivity to BIG Pharma.

The big suck in of breath as the far left hears the words "connected to" anything that does not fall into the agenda that they and the msm are desperate to push.

a reply to: dothedew

He was carrying business cards for the National Socialist Movement (the neo-Nazi party in America) and the Covenant Nation Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (a church associated with pushing white supremacist beliefs.) I guarantee you he didn't just forget that those were in his pocket. The FBI also found neo-Nazi literature stashed in a secret compartment at his house along with a stockpile of guns and ammo.

Who knows what else the FBI turned up in the two months it took for them to levy a charge of terrorism. Considering Wilson himself was seemingly surprised that he wasn't initially charged with terrorism should be indication enough that he had some kind of political motive behind his actions.

Yes he was mentally unstable, a real nut job, and he did potentially terrorize a trainload of people with the threat of taking over the business of the controls...

^^^^I'm the Conductor!!!^^^

So next time a mentally unstable person goes up to a space launch shouting "I want to be a Paceman!!!" will they then be considered mentally unstable or a terrorist? (Nothing to do with race, age or gender)