ATF: Skinhead assassination plot targeting Barack Obama disrupted

ATF: Skinhead assassination plot targeting Barack Obama disrupted
By Kenneth R. Bazinet and James Gordon Meek DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Updated Monday, October 27th 2008, 9:59 PM
Brandon/AP
Barack Obama
WASHINGTON - Two alleged skinheads were charged Monday in a far-fetched plot to launch a "killing spree" aimed at beheading black students and then shooting Barack Obama.
The racist teens demonstrated little supremacy in their nutty plan to "dress in white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt," the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said.
A federal official told the Daily News: "It was only aspirational."
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Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., wanted to steal weapons from a gun store and shoot at the black Democratic presidential nominee from their car while driving toward Obama at high speed. They were to bankroll the plot by robbing a house, but got scared off by a dog, court papers said.
The pair was arrested and charged by the ATF with illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun and making threats against Obama.
The Secret Service's Tennessee field office did not notify Obama's protective team of the plot, ABC News reported, indicating it had not posed a serious threat.
Had Obama's life been in danger, the Secret Service would have filed the charges, officials noted.
Cowart and Schlesselman, who had recently met on the Internet, were noticed by local cops after decorating their getaway car with swastikas and racial epithets. The ATF said they discussed shooting 88 people and beheading 14 African-Americans.