European-American Socialist People's Front

Unity is the path to our victory against the Zionist enemy and the United States Government and Ruling Classes!

The following news story, attributed to Eileen Sullivan of the Associated Press, was printed on page A14 of the Saturday, 15 November 2008 edition of the Arizona Republic.

--Kevin Walsh, European-American Socialist People's Front (EASPF)

OBAMA GETS MORE THREATS THAN PAST PRESIDENTS-ELECT

Anything New Can Trigger Hostility, Security Consultant Says

Washington-- Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho, law-enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before.

The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the November 4 election, law-enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

Earlier this week, the Secret Service looked into the case of a sign posted on a tree in Vay, Idaho, with Obama's name and the offer of a "free public hanging." In North Carolina, civil-rights officials complained of threatening racist graffiti targeting Obama found in a tunnel near North Carolina State University.

And in a Maine convenience store, an Associated Press reporter saw a sign inviting customers to join a betting pool on when Obama might fall victim to an assassin. The sign solicited $1 entries into "The Osama Obama Shotgun Pool," saying themoney would go to the person picking the date closes to when Obama was attacked. "Let's hope we have a winner," said the sign, since taken down.

In the security world, anything "new" can trigger hostility, said Joseph Funk, a former Secret Service agent-turned- security consultant who oversaw a private protection detail for Obama before the Secret Service began guarding the candidate in early 2007.

Obama, of course, will be the country's first Black president, and Funk said that new element, not just race itself, is probably responsible for a spike in anti-Obama postings and activity. "Anytime you're going to have something that's new, you're going to have increased chatter," he said.

The Secret Service also has cautioned the public not to assume that any threats against Obama are due to racism.

The agency investigates threats in a wide range. There are "stated threats" and equally dangerous or lesser incidents considered of "unusual interest"--such as people motivated by obsessions or infatuations, or lower-level gestures such as effigies of a candidate or an elected president. The agency has said it does not have the luxury of discounting anything until agents have investigated the potential danger.