Here Is Your Tea Party Poster Child

I've been following the news about the Tea Party gathering this weekend the same way that I'd watch a poisonous snake convention slither across my backyard. They're not heading towards the door yet, but I'm still keeping my machete handy until they slither away.

After seeing the ignorant and racist signs these folks displayed at their rallies last summer, I've thought long & hard about how closely connected they are to the fringe "white power" militia groups. Having grown up in the era of political assassinations, coming of age in the time of the murders of JFK, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy, my concerns for President Obama's safety are never far away.

So this bit of news caught my attention. Have you ever wondered what kind of people are in the Tea Party movement? Here are some highlights about one in particular: Charles Alan Dyer, whose nom de plume "July4Patriot" is now being furiously scrubbed from every wingnut site on the internet. Remember that name, Charles Alan Dyer: a domestic terrorist, pervert, and traitor to his country.

Thanks to The Field Negro for bringing this to my attention:

(CINCINNATI) - Former Marine Sgt. Charles Alan Dyer, continually featured on patriotic videos supporting the Teabagger and Oathkeepers movements is currently jailed for sodomy with a 7-year old.

Dyer, “bigger than life” enemy of “socialist” President Obama and major supporter of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the GOP, the darling of YouTube videos featuring weapons demonstrations and endless violent threats is now trying to raise $50,000 dollars for his bond.

It is reported that Dyer faces federal charges for possession of a 40mm grenade launcher and state charges for sexual abuse of a minor.

One of the most massive internet cleansings in history is going on as Oathkeeper, Militia and Teabagger websites are searching for the hundreds of entries “July4Patriot” had made. Dyer’s following among domestic “resistance” and “militia” movements may number in the tens of thousands.

It has been confirmed from multiple sources that death threats have been made against any news agency that reports Dyer’s arrest.

I especially loved the part about death threats. Bring it, I say. But that's not all! Apparently, Dyer was serious about his threats to use his military training to become a domestic terrorist:

When police searched Dyer's home for evidence on that charge, they found a grenade launcher that matched the description of one of three that were reportedly stolen from an Army post in California.

More incriminating evidence against Dyer has surfaced in a YouTube video. The video shows Dyer, a former U.S. Marine, talking proudly about domestic terrorism. "Join the military?", said Dyer. "Depends on what you want to do with it. Me? Im going to use my training and become one of those domestic terrorists that you're so afraid of from the DHS reports."

The video of Dyer on YouTube shows him with some friends at a paintball facility in California. Dyer's comments in the video are not only powerful but disturbing and show his contempt for authority.

"I'm certainly not going to be hiding from my command anymore. I'm not hiding from ATF. Not hiding from FBI. Any organization. If they want to come get me I'm not going to be afraid," Dyer said. "Patrioits we are not overpowered. If we united under one banner and fight for our children's liberity and the constitution, our resolve is invincible to any standing army," Dyer said.

Dyer is charged with first degree rape and now faces charges for possession of an unregistered destructive device in a U.S. District Court.

If this guy was brown-skinned with a non-European-sounding name, you'd never hear the end of the screams from the right-wing media. A military veteran, political radical, and soi-disant domestic terrorist, arrested on charges of sodomizing a 7-year-old child, AND felony weapons charges too? If he was on the left, Fox would dedicate a whole week to "exposing" this guy, his accomplices, and their connection to ACORN and President Obama. Being a wingnut, however, gets him a pass from Fox Noise and the rest of the wingnut media.  Where's Glenn Beck on this?

Jack and Jill Politics:

Despite the warning signs that Dyer showed, he only got any media attention or the attention of law enforcement, after he was accused of raping a 7-year-old girl. He proclaimed himself a domestic terrorist on YouTube and attempted to recruit ex-military and police men into his movement. Despite the horrible crime he was accused of and his role in the popular Right-Wing Tea Party, he has received little attention from the mainstream media. Dyer was clearly influenced by Fox News, as he did a video segment on Fox News resident lunatic birther, Dr. Orly Taitz.

While Fox has been extremely anti-terror when it comes to Muslims, they turn a blind eye to the potential right wing terrorists in the in the mold of Timothy McVeigh that associate with the Fox News sponsored Tea Party events. McVeigh and Dyer were motivated by the same factors that are motivating the Fox news endorsed Tea Party movement: racism, a desire for guns, and a hatred for taxes and anything they perceive as socialism.

 The biggest terrorist threat to this country is not Muslim Arabs or Africans, but crazy, wingnut white guys with guns. No one is as good at blowing up people as a redneck with high explosives. Let's make no mistakes about this: Dyer is no patriot, but an alleged terrorist, sexual offender, and traitor. He should be locked up and the key thrown away.