Florida killings: Radical Islam & the far right, under one roof
North Country Public Radio
by Marisa Peņaloza and Greg Myre
19 July 2017
The Hamptons condo and apartment complex in Tampa is quintessential
Florida. Lush and modern, the stucco homes are painted in a soft
rainbow of pastels. All around are palm trees, Spanish moss and lily
pads.
"It is a very quiet place. You have a lot of children that live here. A
lot of professionals live here, retirees," said resident Michael Colon,
66.
four condo roommates: two dead, two in jail
But on May 19, that tranquility was shattered in an improbable case that involves four young roommates at the complex.
Two of the men are dead and the other two are in jail.
The story brings together fundamentalist Islam, neo-Nazis, guns and explosive materials—all under the same roof.
And the investigation has morphed to include Tampa police, the FBI, the
ATF, the National Guard, as well as state and federal prosecutors.
From one extreme to another
The case began with a hostage drama.
Devon Arthurs, 18, was holding three people at gunpoint in a strip mall
across the street from the Hamptons complex, according to police.
Arthurs told police he was angry about U.S. military attacks in Muslim
countries.
After 15 minutes, Tampa police persuaded Arthurs to surrender. He then
led them to the apartment he shared with three other young men.
Arthurs said all four once held neo-Nazi beliefs (though some family
members dispute this claim). But here's the twist: Arthurs said he had
converted to Salafi Islam, an ultra-conservative form of the religion.
He told police he shot dead two of his roommates inside the apartment because they disrespected his new faith.
And the story kept growing stranger.
As the police and Arthurs reached the apartment, a man in military
camouflage was sitting outside—and was in tears. He was the fourth
roommate, Brandon Russell, 21. He'd just returned from his job as a
private in the National Guard and had discovered his two dead roommates
inside.
Russell was not involved in the shootings. But as police searched the
bedroom of the National Guardsman, they found, on the dresser next to
the bed, a framed photo of Timothy McVeigh, the terrorist who blew up a
federal office building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
In the garage, police found chemicals that can be used to make
explosives. One was ammonium nitrate—which McVeigh used in his bomb
that killed 168 people.
Russell said the chemicals were for model rockets, but the FBI described them as too volatile for that purpose.
Under questioning by police, Arthurs said that Russell "loved McVeigh.
[Russell] said the only thing McVeigh did wrong was he didn't put more
material inside the truck to bring the whole building down."
Dual threats
The McVeigh case was one of several in the 1990s that focused attention on extreme right, anti-government groups.
Ever since the al-Qaida attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that focus has
shifted to radical jihadists. Yet both types of extremists remain very
active.
"We have a jihadist terrorism problem. But we also have a neo-Nazi, far
right-wing terrorism problem," said Peter Bergen, a national security
analyst and vice president of the Washington think tank New America.
According to New America, far-right extremists have carried out more
individual attacks in the U.S. since Sept. 11 than have radical
Islamists, though the overall death toll in Islamist attacks is higher.
"Most Americans tend to frame terrorism as coming from Muslim, Islamist
militants, and that's fair enough," Bergen added. "But there are other
forms of political violence and we've certainly seen a steady number of
right-wing, neo-Nazi attacks."
Another twist
In the Tampa killings, accused shooter Devon Arthurs was arrested at the scene on May 19.
Brandon Russell, the National Guardsman, was not detained that day, in
part because investigators were still testing the chemicals in the
garage.
So Russell drove to the Florida Keys with a friend. Along the way, they
stopped at a Bass Pro Shops store to legally purchase two rifles and
500 rounds of ammunition, police said.
Russell was detained May 21 in Key Largo, two days after the shootings
in Tampa. A judge initially set bond but reversed himself a few days
later, and Russell remains in custody.
Meanwhile, Arthurs told police that Russell is the leader of a neo-Nazi
group calling itself Atomwaffen, German for "atomic weapon."
Arthurs said he, too, was a member before converting to Islam. He said
group members spoke about possible attacks on synagogues and power
lines. Authorities have not said whether they believe Arthurs' claim is
credible.
The National Guard, meanwhile, said it's also investigating Russell, but so far has not taken any action against him.
Defining acts of violence
It's important to note no one in these cases has been charged with terrorism.
Devon Arthurs has been charged with murder and kidnapping in state
court. Brandon Russell faces federal charges of possessing explosive
material.
Andrew Warren, the Florida state attorney for Tampa, is in charge of
prosecuting Arthurs. He declined to discuss the investigation. But he
did speak in general terms about potential threats.
"Since 9/11, there's been an ongoing discussion within the criminal
justice community about how to best handle terrorism cases," Warren
said. "Those cases are often best handled as criminal cases.
"There are state laws about terrorism and weapons charges here," he
added. "But depending on the nature of the case, we often check with
and then defer to our federal partners here."
Back at The Hamptons apartment complex, resident Michael Colon said he
wasn't expecting such drama when he and his wife retired a year ago and
moved to Tampa from New York.
"9/11 to me was one thing, that was definitely a terrorist attack," Colon said.
He conceded that threats can come from anywhere, and noted correctly that most attackers are homegrown.
"If you look at the major things that have happened here lately, it's
not been the outsiders," Colon said. "I think that what's happening
here is that it has to do with extremism. They worry me more than the
guys that ISIS supposedly are actually sending down."
So where to draw the line between ordinary crime and terrorism? And
which threats are the greatest? This is the challenge for law
enforcement and national security officials trying to keep the country
safe.
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