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July 21, 2011 in City
Prosecutors: Harpham photographed self at MLK march
MLK bomb suspect Kevin Harpham’s booking photo from the U.S. Marshals Service.
(Full-size photo)
Federal prosecutors for the first time today revealed that domestic terrorism suspect Kevin W. Harpham took pictures of himself at the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March, where he is charged with leaving a bomb along its route.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Rice said in court that Harpham, 37, also photographed young black children gathering for the march and a Jewish man who was wearing a yarmulke.
“Whether rightfully or wrongfully, how the defendant sees the world,” Rice said of Harpham, “he intended to target those individuals.”
Rice also indicated that federal agents located a second bomb in a gravel pit near Harpham’s rural Stevens County home. However, that device used potassium nitrate as the explosive versus black powder found in the device discovered Jan. 17 just moments before the march was to begin.
The hearing provided the first public discussion of evidence prosecutors obtained after U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush ruled in April that documents supporting the indictment and all evidence should remain secret until the trial, which is scheduled for Aug. 22.
Later Thursday, Quackenbush heard from two FBI agents who interviewed Harpham after his arrest on March 9. However, Quackenbush closed the courtroom and did not publicly indicate how he ruled on those statements obtained from Harpham.
“If I rule it’s not admissible, it should not be disclosed until after … this case is over,” Quackenbush said before the closed hearing.
Harpham was arrested at 8:45 a.m. on March 9 as he was leaving his home near Addy, Wash. But federal agents apparently did not provide Harpham his Miranda warnings until he was taken to the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office at about 11 a.m. that same day.
Quackenbush indicated that he’s not likely to allow any statements Harpham made before he received his Miranda warning.
Earlier Thursday, Quackenbush indicated that he will allow the government to present evidence from blog posts they say Harpham made on the racist website Vanguard News Network.
Attorneys went through 47 pages of postings under the pseudonym “Joe Snuffy” and Quackenbush allowed any racial statements to remain, but ordered federal prosecutors to delete any references to anti-Christian or anti-Semitic views.
“I don’t think there is any evidence that this device was placed based on religious prejudice,” Quackenbush said. “I just think the specific references to people of the Jewish faith … generates more heat than it does light.”
Rice said federal agents obtained evidence from Harpham’s personal computer that confirmed his use of “Joe Snuffy” and argued in vain that the government should be able to show that Harpham’s postings against persons of certain religions.
It’s then Rice said that Harpham had taken the picture of himself at the march, along with a photo focusing on a group of black children and a Jewish man wearing the yarmulke. Agents found the camera in his home and were able to retrieve some images that had been deleted.
Kailey Moran, of Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington, did not dispute the images from the camera, but she argued that the indictment includes nothing about allegations of targeting anyone of a certain religion.
“So evidence about religion would be a variance that would have to go back to the grand jury and delay this case,” she said.
Harpham faces up to life in prison if convicted. He was indicted in March on the felony charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Federal prosecutors then obtained a second indictment, charging Harpham in April with committing a hate crime and using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
The charges followed an intense investigation of which no details have yet been released about how federal investigators focused on Harpham. The bomb found in the backpack had a welded blast plate and shrapnel laced with rat poison, apparently designed to prevent wounds from clotting.
Rice said federal investigators found a copy of the “The Anarchist Cookbook,” which includes instructions on how to build explosive devices. Quackenbush said he would allow prosecutors to show jurors a handful of pages that Rice said were relevant to the case.
“The defendant having a book about how to make bombs seems to me to be relevant,” the judge said.
In a search of Harpham’s father’s home, in Kettle Falls, federal agents found a copy of “The Turner Diaries,” the book reportedly used by Timothy McVeigh as the motivation for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
In one of the “Joe Snuffy” posts, Harpham “contends that it does not contain instructions for a bomb and he was disappointed,” Rice said. “It shows he intended on seeking bomb-making information.”
Quackenbush allowed the inclusion of “The Turner Diaries” but refused to allow prosecutors to introduce a biography of McVeigh found in Harpham’s home. The judge did, however, say prosecutors could introduce a book titled: “Improvised Munitions Black Book Vol. 3.”
Moran argued that allowing just the title of the munitions book would prejudice her client. Quackenbush said he would allow it because it shows Harpham’s “state of mind.”
At no time today did attorneys make mention of the potential alibi defense provided by Harpham’s father, Cecil Harpham, who claimed in a previous interview with The Spokesman-Review and other news outlets that Harpham was home with him on the day of the march.
KHQ-TV reported on June 30 that Cecil Harpham had recanted his alibi for his son.
Rice said three of Harpham’s family members will be called to testify about previous racist comments Harpham made, but he did not identify them in court. Efforts to reach Cecil Harpham Thursday were unsuccessful.
1992 murder trial begins against sex offender 
Shadedmuse on July 21 at 11:20 a.m.
I thought the father told the FBI that his son spent the entire morning with him in Kettle falls? Sounds like the father lied to the FBI and needs to be brought up on charges of lieing to federal officals. unless he is getting imunity in exchange to testify against his son. The father needs to face charges regardless if he testifies, imunitie needs to be taken off the table and the father should still be forced to testify.
rpmarp on July 21 at 11:41 a.m.
The father has already recanted his story and said it was possible that his son could have been in Spokane that day.
wallerrobin on July 21 at 1:44 p.m.
Could this guy be more of an idiot? Another example of stupid criminals.
mikeln on July 21 at 2:11 p.m.
It’s a shame we live in a civiliztion that has people that think this way. It would be nice if we could identify the causes of this type of thinking and work toward changing them. Unfountunatly some of this is rooted in religion and is protected. Most of it is passed from parent to child insuring it continues, like domestic violence. Makes me wonder what intelligent life forms will inhabit this planet after, through utter stupidity, we vanish for good.
jerrysw on July 21 at 8:30 p.m.
Just bright enough not to blow himself up.
nslopeofw on July 22 at 12:13 a.m.
There will always be people that hate other people for their race, religion, political beliefs, etc. Some of it is taught at home, but most of it is caused by this person having some feeling of being less than everyone else, and the need to blame there problems on anyone but themselves.
A lot of these idiots think that their bad luck of not having a great paying job is the result of a certain group that has somehow made it impossible for them to succeed. They can’t except the fact that it is because of themselves that they are poor. Our government enables this feeling, telling them that its not fair that people are successful, or rich, and that they should share in others’ wealth.
drywitt99 on July 22 at 3:45 a.m.
nslopeofw drools:
“Our government enables this feeling, telling them that its not fair that people are successful, or rich, and that they should share in others’ wealth.”
What a freakin’ idiot!!!
So this civil rights parade was full of rich Republicans whose money this racist felt he was entitled to????
I repeat….what a freakin’ idiot!!!!
nslopeofw on July 22 at 10:42 p.m.
dimwitt shrieks:
“what a freakin’ idiot!!!!”
perhaps you should read what i wrote, again.
These losers that hate a group of people do it for their reasons of being slighted by a race or religion. They dont hate, just to hate, they have been conditioned to hate. If you consistently tell someone that they are poor because they didnt get what was rightfully theirs, then they will hate. Poor people are constantly bombarded by the left with this notion. No wonder they hate the right, the rich, and the successful. If this is not true, prove it. So far all you have done is some name calling, showing that hate we were talking about.
nslopeofw on July 22 at 10:45 p.m.
And, the civil rights parade attracted this bombing loser that felt he was entitled to something that had been taken away by the people he hates.
Next time dont try and spin it to your beliefs. The bomber is the bad guy, not me or you. That is what i say all thru my post.
drywitt99 on July 23 at 5:50 a.m.
“The bomber is the bad guy, not me or you.”
Of course…..he is the bad guy.
But you’re attempting to explain (rationalize????) his attempted mass murder by blaming the big, bad government.
The government made him do it!!!
Bullsh*t. (wonder if that is allowed?).
(Nope…..it wasn’t).
He is a racist bastard. Pure and simple.
nslopeofw on July 23 at 9:06 p.m.
I’m not blaming the government, I was using it as an example of how people are swayed to think the way they do. If someone is black, and is told all the time that the whites made his life bad, he will believe that. If someone is white and cant find a job, and someone tells them over and over that the black man is taking all the jobs, he will hate them. The government tells the poor that its the rich’s fault that they are poor, so they believe that, and hate the rich. It was an example, with a lot of truth to it. Sorry if i offended you.
And, sometimes, people just hate. Those are the ones that cant be changed. The rest can, as the true reasons for their misfortunes are revealed.
drywitt99 on July 24 at 12:47 a.m.
“If someone is white and cant find a job, and someone tells them over and over that the black man is taking all the jobs, he will hate them.”
Why?
Is he that stupid?
Or are ignorant racists REALLY that persuasive??
“The government tells the poor that its the rich’s fault that they are poor…”
Really?
And WHO exactly is telling them that?
And HOW are they doing it?
“Sorry if i offended you.”
Actually….I don’t think you are.
Which is okay…..because I am not.
nslopeofw on July 24 at 4:49 a.m.
Actually, i am. if you are offended by someone explaining his beliefs, then i am sorry for you. If i truly offended you, and your not just trying to tell me how wrong i am, then i’m truly sorry.
If you read up on the skin head movement, you’ll see that its usually some nazi or kkk kook that is able to convince young white kids that the reason they are poor is because of the African Americans stealing their jobs.
If you watch the news, you can miss the fact that the Rev. Wright, Louis Farrakan, Jesse Jackson, et al., are telling AA’s that the white man is the reason they are poor.
The government is constantly telling the “poor” that its not fair that the rich dont pay more than the triple % (more than the poor pay) they already pay. So the poor hate the rich.
This stuff is in the news every day, so if you have missed it, you need to watch something other than liberal news.
I know you are not sorry, as that is how the liberals roll.
drywitt99 on July 24 at 10:43 p.m.
Hey chucklehead…..once again I ask….who EXACTLY is this GOVERNMENT you keep blathering about!!
Gimme a NAME…..WHAT WAS SAID……WHEN WAS IT SAID.
And since they are CONSTANTLY saying this…..gimme 50 or 100 SPECIFIC EXAMPLES.
Ignorant BONEHEAD!
nslopeofw on July 24 at 11:27 p.m.
You obviously have some issues when asked to prove your point. Is that because you cant? Name calling and anger only makes you look ridiculous.
Our current government leader, president Obama has said he wants to redistribute the wealth.
drywitt99 on July 25 at 12:14 a.m.
Redistribution of wealth is NOT the same as telling the poor that the rich are at fault for their poverty.
In fact…..redistribution of wealth is a quite mainstream political/eonomic idea.
This past June Gallup asked the following question:
“Do you think our government should or should not redistribute wealth by heavy taxes on the rich?
2/3 of Americans earning less than $30K said yes
1/2 of Americans earning between $30-75K said yes
1/3 of Americans earning more than $75K said yes
In that same poll 57% of Americans believe money and wealth in the country should be more evenly distributed among a larger population.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/147881/Americans-Divided-Taxing-Rich-Redistribute-Wealth.aspx
Redistribution of wealth…..sems to me the President is merely giving voice to what a 57% MAJORITY of Americans believe.
I’m guessing you’re in the MINORITY on this???
nslopeofw on July 25 at 3:00 a.m.
I doubt i’m a minority on this. Perhaps if you read the article at Gallup, you’d get a different answer. What the poll should have said was “how many of you Democrats think our government should or should not redistribute wealth by heavy taxes on the rich?”
Now your numbers work.
From the poll at gallup:
“Republicans overwhelmingly reject the concept, independents are split down the middle, and Democrats strongly support it.”
“Perhaps the most important implication of these data is the extraordinary partisan differences found in responses to both questions dealing with money and wealth distribution in this country. Democrats believe that wealth should be more evenly distributed, and that this redistribution should be accomplished by heavy taxes on the rich. Although Obama has not advocated what he would call “heavy” taxes on the rich, the general sentiment that taxes on high-income families should be increased in order to help provide tax relief for those making less money is a part of his campaign platform.
Republicans fairly strongly reject both the concept that the current distribution of money and wealth is unfair and the idea of imposing heavy taxes on the rich. In this, they certainly reflect the campaign statements and platform of McCain.
Independents, the most crucial group in a close election, are more ambivalent — as one would expect. Independents swing to the Democratic side in their majority (60%) belief that the distribution of money and wealth is not fair and should be more even, but split almost exactly evenly on the concept of heavy taxes on the rich.”
http://www.gallup.com/poll/111655/americans-split-redistributing-wealth-taxing-rich.aspx
So, that pretty much tells the tale on who was polled, doesnt it?
OK, now “spin” some more on your link. LOL what a doof!
drywitt99 on July 25 at 3:05 a.m.
“LOL what a doof!”
:)
drywitt99 on July 25 at 3:17 a.m.
First off…..the poll numbers I referenced were from June of this year.
Your cite was from October 2008.
Think anything might have changed in nearly 3 years???
“I doubt i’m a minority on this.”
Well……yep….your are. 57%-35% as of this June.
I REALLY did like the “doof” reference though.
Shows you are adopting the proper attitude.
Name calling…..the sincerest form of flattery.
nslopeofw on July 26 at 1:56 a.m.
I went to Gallup, and that was the poll cited. Maybe you should go to gallup, and link to this maigic june poll. Name calling apears to be the only way to get you liberals to listen. Its part of the way you do your business.
drywitt99 on July 26 at 2:08 a.m.
I went to the link you provided….and this is what I got…..October 8, 2008. (see below)
Hell…..that was so long ago….Sarah Palin still had a future in politics!!
October 30, 2008
Americans Split on Redistributing Wealth by Taxing the RichMajority do say money and wealth should be more evenly distributedby Frank Newport
PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of Americans (58%) say money and wealth should be more evenly distributed among a larger percentage of the people, although slightly less than half (46%) go so far as to say that the government should redistribute wealth by “heavy taxes on the rich.”
Gallup has been asking Americans periodically for over 20 years whether the distribution of money and wealth in this country is “fair,” or whether they should be “more evenly distributed among a larger percentage of the people.” (The question wording does not include a reference to exactly how they would be more evenly distributed and does not mention the government.)
Across the nine times the question has been asked, a majority of Americans have agreed with the thought that money and wealth should be more evenly distributed. The current 58% who agree is one of the two lowest percentages Gallup has measured (along with a 56% reading in September 2000). Sixty-eight percent agreed in April of this year and 66% in April 2007.
The responses to this question are extraordinarily differentiated by partisan orientation, reflecting a fundamental fissure in Americans’ views on this money/wealth distribution concept.
nslopeofw on July 26 at 7:18 a.m.
Well, if you go to gallup, you will notice that the poll you linked to says “Fifty-one percent of Americans rated current economic conditions “poor” over the weekend. This is up from 43% in early July, reflecting a continued deterioration in many Americans’ views.”
You will also notice that Obama has been president for 2.5 years, so why would they be getting better than in June? Even Obama’s base is turning on him.
RedCedar on July 26 at 7:32 p.m.
federal investigators found a copy of the “The Anarchist Cookbook,” which includes instructions on how to build explosive devices
I guess you can call it “instructions”, but as I recall (I think every teenage boy looked at a copy back when it seemed like forbidden fruit) the instructions were just a hacked-together collections of ideas that the author heard somewhere, probably from other 14 year old boys. Most of them wouldn’t work, be it the explosives or the free phone call contraptions, while the few that had a chance of working would most likely blow up idiot bomb maker along with his mother’s kitchen.
As usual, they only catch the dumb ones. I’m glad this Harpham was one of the dumb ones, rather than smart like that Norwegian maniac.