Update 12/2: the Seattle Times reports that Clemmons told others he was going to kill police:
Clemmons asked Hinton, described as his half-brother, for keys to his white pickup, and told the men they should keep their eyes on the TV because he planned to kill police, according to charging documents and Troyer.
If this is correct, then Clemmons' rampage was clearly pre-meditated. He also did not act alone. According to the Times, witnesses saw Clemmons jump into a white pickup truck after the shooting, which sped away, driven by another man. Many other friends and family helped him move from place to place to evade capture. It would be interesting to find out what the Black Foot Soldiers Network knows about this and how they knew what he was planning before going on the killing spree.
Maurice Clemmons, the alleged shooter in the Sunday murder of four Lakewood, Washington police officers, was killed early this morning by a Seattle police officer.
The blogsite Fire Andrea Mitchell reported that a radical black Muslim group called National Black Foot Soldiers held a protest today outside the Parkland, Washington coffee shop where the murders occurred. The protesters allegedly gathered to celebrate Clemmons as a "Crowned BOW (Black on White) Martyr," calling his attack a "preemptive strike on terrorists..."
The substance of this story was originally announced by a blog called the Last Crusade, which has also claimed that Clemmons converted to Islam while imprisoned in Arkansas. Gateway Pundit picked up the story as well, noting however, that Last Crusade's claim of Clemmons' conversion is unsubstantiated.
A black militant site called "Black Male Felon" seemingly described the protest:
The rally came after a reported emergency meeting held by the [Black Foot Soldiers] movement to to map out plans for a street penitentiary protest and street party that will be held to disrespect tributes, memorials and funerals whites are expected to have for the terrorists.
Whatever the Black Foot Soldiers may be planning, there actually was no "rally." Spokesmen for both the Lakewood and Tacoma, Washington police departments said they had not heard of anything like that going on. The Pierce County Sheriff's office, which is handling the coffee shop shooting investigation, stated unequivocally that there was no such protest.
The truth is actually worse. The Black Foot Soldiers were not protesting, except perhaps online, but they were referring to Clemmons' attack as a protest:
Seattle Black Foot Soldiers say the four people slain in a daring demonstration at the Steele Street Forza Coffee House in Parkland were racist terrorists who caused black citizens to live in fear. (Emphasis added.)
What these groups say is that any killing of whites, including in this case Clemmons' cold-blooded murder of officers Renninger, Owens, Griswald, and Richards, is "a legitimate protest". Black Male Felon celebrates the killings as "Brother Maurice Clemmons' daring stand against white police terrorism." The theme of National Black Foot Soldiers is captured in the slogan: "When whites pay reparations there will be no more black on white crime."
The vitriolic hatred on these sites is enough to turn a person's stomach. The bit of writing contained on these sites is essentially a collage of run-on sentences spewing foul language interspersed liberally with admonitions to kill whitey. They blatantly advocate murder and defend other recent cases of seemingly senseless black on white killings, like the four Oakland police officers killed by Lovelle Mixon, and many, many others.
Many who voted for Barack Obama believed his election would finally put an end to this kind of racist hatred. Indeed, he promised to work toward that end. If anything however, his election seems to have emboldened it. Jeremiah Wright should have been a warning.
It is pointless to argue with the kind of lunatic delusion that motivates these people. They are beyond reaching. It recalls the video of "Professor" Kamau Kambon advocating ing the extermination of white people. The Black Male Felon site defines the terms BOW (black on white) BOB (black on black) WOB (white on black) and WOW (white on white), while the National Black Foot Soldiers objects to black on black killing, but not killing per se, reminding its readers "THERE IS 1 ENEMY. LET US HAVE 1 MIND. [sic]"
It is not known at present whether or not Clemmons was associated with any of these groups, but one post ascribes a quote to Clemmons, in which he says: "Watch the news, I'm gonna kill a bunch of cops."
Whatever the case, it is likely that Clemmons knew he would find police victims at that coffee shop. The Forza Coffee Company was founded by a retired police officer. And while the Steele Street franchise where the shootings occurred had no tie to him, it was apparently a place frequented by local police.
The coffee company has set up a charity for the families of these fallen officers. Learn more by following this link.
Photo: Pierce County Sheriff's Office
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