Trump Fan Convicted In Anti-Muslim Terror Plot Asks Judge To Consider Trump's Rhetoric

[marble falls]

Trump Fan Convicted In Anti-Muslim Terror Plot Asks Judge To Consider Trump’s Rhetoric

Patrick Stein’s attorneys also said he learned about the Quran “from the internet and conservative talk-show hosts such as Sean Hannity and Michael Savage.”

By Ryan J. Reilly

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kansas-terror-plot-trump-anti-muslim_us_5bd742ebe4b055bc948ef751

WASHINGTON ― Attorneys for a President Donald Trump supporter who was convicted in a domestic terrorism plot aimed at slaughtering Muslim refugees asked a federal judge to factor in the “backdrop” of Trump’s campaign rhetoric when deciding their client’s sentence this week.

Patrick Stein was one of three right-wing militiamen found guilty in April of a conspiracy to kill Muslim refugees living in rural Kansas. Ahead of the 2016 election, Stein and two others plotted with an FBI informant and an undercover agent to bomb an apartment complex that housed Muslims in Garden City. Stein went by the handle “Orkin Man” and referred to Muslims as “cockroaches” he wanted exterminated.

At trial, defense attorneys referred to the defendants as “knuckleheads” who were engaged in “locker room talk,” and Stein’s attorney argued his client was a victim of a “chaos news” environment that had him thinking a civil war was coming.

<snip>

A jury convicted Stein and his co-defendants, Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright, on weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights charges. They are scheduled to be sentenced Friday, a week after another Trump supporter was arrested for mailing bombs to the president’s critics and a right-wing extremist killed 11 Jewish Americans inside of a Pittsburgh synagogue.

<snip>

“2016 was ‘lit.’ The court cannot ignore the circumstances of one of the most rhetorically mold-breaking, violent, awful, hateful and contentious presidential elections in modern history, driven in large measure by the rhetorical China shop bull who is now our president,” they wrote.

“Trump’s brand of rough-and-tumble verbal pummeling heightened the rhetorical stakes for people of all political persuasions,” they added. “A personal normally at a 3 on a scale of political talk might have found themselves at a 7 during the election. A person, like Patrick, who would often be at a 7 during a normal day, might ‘go to 11.’ That climate should be taken into account when evaluating the rhetoric that formed the basis of the government’s case.”

<snip.

Stein’s attorneys said their client got caught up in the anti-Muslim information he was devouring online. His knowledge of the Quran, his attorneys wrote, “came directly from the internet and conservative talk-show hosts such as Sean Hannity and Michael Savage. Patrick himself had never read the Quran, nor had he participated in a comparative study of any religion.”

Stein, his attorneys wrote, was “the perfect, vulnerable target” for the FBI, and had relapsed into alcoholism and “had used methamphetamine regularly,” including after he met FBI informant Dan Day. They said that Stein’s crimes “demonstrated an extreme level of hatred and fear, but they also demonstrated an utter lack of sophistication.”

They argued that 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release would “adequately reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law and provide just punishment.”

Ryan Reilly is HuffPost’s senior justice reporter covering the Justice Department, federal law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs. Have a tip? Reach him at [e-mail] or on Signal at 202-527-9261.


A large collection of hate literature these guys used and passed around are at the link. Dismal crap.

[Blue_true]

1. How about this.

Bury them and build a new jail on top of them. Dangerous people like that should never see freedom again.

[marble falls]

4. Works well for me. Ignorance and low wattage intellect is no defence for hate crime ...

especially if mass murder was their goal.

[blueinredohio]

2. Trumps hateful rhetoric should definitely be considered.

Also right wing talk shows and Fox News.

[vlyons]

8. I completely disagree

I've been exposed to Trump's hate rhetoric, yet I never plotted to kill Muslims. He's a grown man with a mind that he failed to use to reason that murder is morally wrong and criminally punishable. Has he expressed any sincere remorse. He has earned a long prison sentence.

[blueinredohio]

16. I'm not saying let him off the hook

Some people who are not really stable fall for the garbage he spits out. Just like the pizzagate guy after he got there with his gun then finds out its not true. Normal people wouldn't believe that stuff.

[ck4829]

23. Considered, discussed... and then Stein gets put away for a very long time

[calimary]

27. Consequences. If there aren't any, or aren't too many, then there is no lesson learned.

For the offender OR any of those watching who may be considering taking matters into their own hands - who MIGHT be motivated to think twice about what they’re tempted to do.

[riversedge]

3. I do believe the RW hate vile internet content did brainwash him......but

goodness, he has to accept responsibility. On the other hand, this brainwashing IMHO is also responsible for converting some folks to do crazy things. ---like shoot people in a church or send bombs in the mail.



............“2016 was ‘lit.’ The court cannot ignore the circumstances of one of the most rhetorically mold-breaking, violent, awful, hateful and contentious presidential elections in modern history, driven in large measure by the rhetorical China shop bull who is now our president,” they wrote.

“Trump’s brand of rough-and-tumble verbal pummeling heightened the rhetorical stakes for people of all political persuasions,” they added. “A personal normally at a 3 on a scale of political talk might have found themselves at a 7 during the election. A person, like Patrick, who would often be at a 7 during a normal day, might ‘go to 11.’ That climate should be taken into account when evaluating the rhetoric that formed the basis of the government’s case.”

<snip.

Stein’s attorneys said their client got caught up in the anti-Muslim information he was devouring online. His knowledge of the Quran, his attorneys wrote, “came directly from the internet and conservative talk-show hosts such as Sean Hannity and Michael Savage. Patrick himself had never read the Quran, nor had he participated in a comparative study of any religion.”

Stein, his attorneys wrote, was “the perfect, vulnerable target” for the FBI, and had relapsed into alcoholism and “had used methamphetamine regularly,” including after he met FBI informant Dan Day. They said that Stein’s crimes “demonstrated an extreme level of hatred and fear, but they also demonstrated an utter lack of sophistication.”

[ck4829]

24. Exactly, if he's that susceptible to propaganda then he's clearly a danger to himself and others

[NCjack]

5. Trump fan should sue Trump and talk show hosts for lying to him and causing him

to become a criminal. Yeah, that's the ticket.

[ck4829]

25. Once he's in prison for a while, sure, get some money in his commissary account

[Solly Mack]

6. SMH

[marble falls]

7. If I rile my pitbull and set him into the street I can get arrested when he runs amok ...

should be the same with minions.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

17. there ya go

Put 'em all in the same cell block and let Hannity and Savage continue to fawn over Trump who continues to keep the minion riled up.

They could be happy for decades like that.

[ck4829]

21. Indeed

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. It might be an explanation but it's no defense.

[Progressive Jones]

11. It's called desperation, and an attention seeking lawyer. nt

[Progressive Jones]

10. This is hilarious.

A douchebag lawyer wants his murderous, morally defective, low class trash client to get some slack because he's was too pathetically stupid to avoid Trump's incendiary talk???
Scum like this needs to be permanently segregated from society for the rest of their worthless lives.
They've proven that they have no value in this society.

[Separation]

12. Not sure how I feel about these types of arrests

Its almost like a thought police. So you get a couple of rednecks up in Kansas talking about how they hate "Mosslems". Then you get a tweaker popped on a meth charge who says, "Oh yea, I know a couple of guys who say they wanna kill Muslims". Now you have an undercover FBI agent not pushing them along to go through with it, but they sure as shit make it a whole lot easier.

Dont sound believable? It's the same way they wrap up American Muslim's who initially are just like them rednecks. . . a whole lotta hate in their heart.

Like I said, I'm not a fan of when it happens to anyone. It's a thought crime, helped along by our own government.

[ck4829]

19. "When we go on operations there's no leaving anyone behind, even if it's a one-year old"

If you talk about shooting babies, and you're getting weapons and you're organizing with other like minded individuals, yeah, you're a danger to the community.

There's nothing thought crime about it.

If it was say "We're going to put up a banner that says '1488'. Take that libs", then we might be talking thought crime... but this, these "crusaders" envisioned themselves as the tip of the spear for a genocide.

[marble falls]

26. This ran deeper than that. This wasn't about the feds leading a naive solo into ...

a "bomb" plot. They were known extremists who let an informer into their plotting. Note they don't deny what they did, they want their sentence lightened because they felt rah rah-ed by a self admitted 'nationalist' POTUS they felt gave them permission.

[Separation]

30. I gotcha

To be honest, this was the 1st I've heard about this, and I know that the ATF, DEA, and FBI will sometimes lead a person down a road they never would have taken on their own. However, if these guys were actively plotting something, then throw the key away for good.

[Cha]

13. Yeah, nail trump's brainwashing, too

[McCamy Taylor]

14. If a Twinkie can make a man kill, Trump can make a man kill.

Trump is much worse than a Twinkie.

[rurallib]

15. so whatever happened to the party of personal responsibility?

[Hermit-The-Prog]

18. not connected; not responsible; tots and pears

Look, over there in the weeds, ILLEGAL middle eastern Democrat voter caravan coming to infect you with leprosy and tofu tacos!!!!!!1

[ck4829]

22. Good question

[ck4829]

20. The original MAGABombers

[Gothmog]

28. From Josh Marshall

Link to tweet

[MyOwnPeace]

29. What the judge should do:

Listen, nod, then add another 20 years to the sentence.
Then, send marshals out to arrest tRump and Hannity as accomplices!