Police: Alleged freeway shooter was targeting ACLU

By TERRY COLLINS (AP) – 3 hours ago

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California man arrested after a freeway shootout with authorities was planning to attack people at the American Civil Liberties Union and another nonprofit group, authorities said Tuesday.

Byron Williams, 45, was upset with the ACLU and Tides Foundation for their political views, Oakland police Officer Jeff Thomason said.

Williams told investigators he was on his way to San Francisco late Saturday when California Highway Patrol officers pulled him over on Interstate 580.

Authorities say Williams, wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with three guns, opened fire.

He was arrested after sustaining gunshot wounds to his arms and legs after a 15-minute gun battle with CHP officers.

Williams said during police interviews at the hospital that he wanted to "start a revolution by traveling to San Francisco and killing people of importance at the Tides Foundation and the ACLU," according to a probable cause statement filed with the court.

Authorities said Williams has shown a deep-rooted anger for left-leaning politics.

He was arraigned Tuesday but did not enter a plea to four counts of attempted murder, plus weapons enhancements. He was released from the hospital earlier in the day after being treated for his injuries.

No CHP officers were seriously injured.

The Oakland Police Department is leading the investigation into the shootout, but no city officers were involved in the incident that occurred on Interstate 580.

The FBI joined the case after a binder entitled "California" was discovered in the truck driven by Williams and removed by a bomb squad robot, CHP spokesman Sam Morgan said.

Officer Jeff Thomason, an Oakland police spokesman, said the two nonprofit groups were targeted because of their political ideologies. The ACLU is a civil rights group, while the Tides Foundation says on its website that it works to advance progressive social change.

"It's an unbelievable incident," Thomason said, adding that authorities believe Williams was acting alone. "We're very fortunate in the Bay Area that the CHP was able to stop him."

Sitting in a wheelchair, Williams was arraigned Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court after being released from a hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his arms and legs. He looked down and did not enter a plea as a judge read the charges - four counts of attempted murder on peace officers, plus weapons and body armor enhancements.

The judge also noted that Williams' two previous convictions for bank robbery could make him eligible for life in prison under California's Three Strikes Law if he is convicted in the CHP shootout.

No CHP officers were seriously injured in the incident.

Williams was wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with three guns, including a rifle, as he traveled to San Francisco late Saturday night in his mother's Toyota Tundra, police said. He is accused of opening fire on California Highway Patrol officers who approached his truck after pulling him over for speeding and weaving in traffic.

Williams surrendered and was arrested after a 12-minute gunbattle with 12 officers, most of whom responded as Williams reloaded several times, police said. Morgan said about 150 rounds were fired during shootout.

Williams had "made a decision that he would not be arrested and that he was willing to shoot and kill the officers," according to the probable cause statement filed in court.

During a police interview at the hospital, Williams said he had planned to camp out in San Francisco on Sunday night then begin his attack when the ACLU and Tides Foundation opened Monday, Thomason said.

Christine Coleman, spokeswoman for the foundation, said the organization had taken additional security measure to protect its staff.

"We had never heard of this man before," Coleman said. "We cannot speculate about the incident while the investigation is going on."

Phone calls to the ACLU of Northern California were not immediately returned.

Williams also told investigators he was upset because he had not been able to find a job and because of the poor economy, Thomason said.

Williams' mother, Janice Williams, told the San Francisco Chronicle her son had been angry with "the way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda items."

A phone message left for Janice Williams by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/20/1739301/calif-man-charged-in-freeway-shootout.html#ixzz0uHYwtazb

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btw.. I am curious how he was caught, "on his way?"

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Great, just what we need, a nut job that identifies with the right

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Lucky traffic stop from what I remember.

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btw.. I am curious how he was caught, "on his way?"

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Seriously.   What are the odds.

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his name was bryon williams.

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I find that very hard to believe, its certainly possible, but just a random stop?

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It happens. About a year after I left college a cop pulled somebody over in that town for speeding. Turned out to be a White Surpemacist that didn't take kindly to Johnny Law messing in his business and popped him.

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I guess I find it more likely he was talking to his extremist buddies and said.. I am going to FO.. and one of his buddies, probably goeding him on is actually a fed and reported on him.

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I have a much simpler theory.  He borrowed mom's car after all.

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so just because they say it, it has to be true?

I see some bullshit in this story.

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Lucky traffic stop from what I remember.

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Funny how they always get these guys that way.
 

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Funny how they always get these guys that way.
 

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Great, just what we need, a nut job that identifies with the right

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i find the odds much more likely that someone was tipped off in some fashion, if the guy really had a plan like that.

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He wasn't exactly being inconspicuous:


The confrontation began shortly before midnight Saturday when a pair of CHP officers noticed a white 2006 Toyota Tundra speeding and weaving across lane markers on westbound Interstate 580, police said. The officers pulled the truck over near the Grand Avenue exit, and, as one officer approached the truck, Williams began firing a pistol at both officers, police said.

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For every 1 right leaning, there's 20 that lean to the left.

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What part of a gun battle and admission by the whacknut do you see as Bullshit?

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Great, just what we need, a nut job that identifies with the right

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I don't belive they got him by chance for one. I also think it works much to well in the left MSM's favor.



Might be true though, what do I know?

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so the guy was out of his mind looking to sabotage himself then..

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I find that very hard to believe, its certainly possible, but just a random stop?

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You don't believe that the cops happened to pull someone over who was driving extremely erratically, but rather that it is a conspiracy?
 

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Lucky traffic stop from what I remember.

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Like Timothy McVeigh, right?

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I think the lesson is clear - don't get pulled over on your way to the revolution.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

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Fellow named John Brown tried that once.

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bet it will make the nightly news.

new black panther party.......not a chance.