Extremist group demands governors resign
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/02/art.gibbons.gi.jpg caption="Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons received a threat letter on Monday, his office said."]Washington (CNN) - A domestic extremist group has sent letters to more than 30 U.S. governors demanding they resign, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI said in an intelligence note.
The letters told the governors to vacate their posts within three days, the note said.
DHS and the FBI said there do not appear to be credible or immediate threats of violence attached to the letters.
The group behind the letters has a "Restore America Plan" that calls for the removal of any governor who fails to comply, the intelligence note said.
While DHS has no information that the removal refers to a specific plan for violence, "law enforcement should be aware that this could be interpreted as a justification for violence or other criminal actions," the note said.
Other steps in the group's plan include "establishing bogus courts, calling of 'de jure' grand juries, and issuing so-called 'legal orders' to gain
control of the state," the note said.
States that have received the letters include Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Arkansas, Maine, Colorado, Rhode Island, and Nevada.
Gov. Jim Gibbons of Nevada received one Monday, and three more Wednesday, one of those by fax, his Chief of Staff Robin Reedy told CNN.
The group behind the letters believes there should be no federal government, Reedy said.
The letters were not handwritten, but did have some handwritten signatures, Reedy told CNN Thursday.
The office had been warned in advance to be on the lookout for the letter, she said.
Gibbons' office stepped up security at the capitol in Carson City after receiving the letters. Everyone had to enter through one entrance, and an X-ray machine and metal detector were brought in. Boulders were placed in front of the capitol so vehicles could not drive close to the building.
The governor had not seen the letters himself, because he had been in Las Vegas for a few days, Reedy said Thursday.
-CNN's Jeanne Meserve and Carol Cratty contributed to this report.
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These people are domestic terrorists and should be treated as such. I hope DHS and the FBI are keeping a close eye on these people.
Good God, look at what Rush and Palin have wrought. Now there are militias trying to kill police, and citizens threatening to remove governors if they don't vacate their offices. If this is Palin's America, we are all in trouble. I worry much more about their armed nuts than anything the President may believe in. And will we hear one word from the right denouncing this? Of course not.
Why should we be worried about Al-Queda when we have our own homegrown terrorists right here.
Okay... When is all of this "Anti-American" stuff gonna let up. These are the same folks that called anyone, who asked why we were bombing another country for no reason, unpatriotic?
And now, they're plotting to overthrow the government, because it decides to spend some tax money on helping some of us right here at home?
You're true colors are showing...
Hmmmm. This group believes there should be no federal government yet they choose to send their letters to state officials.......
Track these insects down and throw away the key every one need to work together on this fox news wil blame the dems
I'm praying for the safety of all government officials and employees. This is really getting out of hand.
Absolutely absurd. I believe I heard on your air that Gov. Perry of Texas is on there...I don't like the man much, but I don't think he should be called to resign. If he or any of the other 29 governors leave, it should be by a movement of the people.
Would it be possible to see a map on here of the map highlighting which states/governors they were calling on to resign?
where's the threat? Whats the big deal? Politicians are crooks and deserve all the heat their actions bring down on them.
Everytime the Dems get into power all the nutjobs come out of the woodwork. Restore America? To what? To White, wealthy, landowners, robber barons? Sharecropping? Just another Teabrain idea.
Is this what democracy means?? Write the way you want, speak the way you want while threatening others?????
I hope FBI will do their work as required.
Far right, and far left extremist are exactly what is wrong with America. Middle working class America thinks a little left, and a little right. Common sense is in the middle.
The Democratic party has been hijacked by the very over the edge left, and the Republican party has to fend off these kinds of controversial loons.
It goes both ways people. I am getting to a point to were I believe it's time for a third party, or something in this country.
Those governors should not waste their time reading anything from this group or any other extremist group. I wonder who does these people think they are? They do not represent the majority of any group of people.
Since the tea party got so much attention, every self ordained group in America will try the same thing. These people need to go home and listen at both sides, then make an educated decision about their adverse actions.
A lot of this is only smoke and ashes.
Treason and sedition are well covered in our laws and how to deal with such people. Threats of this nature must be dealt with swiftly and and harshly, threats of this nature are not protected under the freedom of speech nor can we be expected to ignore them.
Google "restore america" and "reclaim america". You get some very, very scary far right wing organizations. Palin, Beck, Bachmann, Rush, etc...Please stop feeding the nutjobs!!! It will be your fault if anyone else gets hurt.
We can thank Sara Plain, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest of the extreme right wing radio idiots who have spewed hatred and venom through the airwaves for the morons behind these threats.
These guys get letters from nut jobs all the time. Why are they so much more worried about these?
This is a common idea running through a lot of militia and other extremist groups dating back to the 80s. Usually the gold standard, the IRS and taxes are illegal, black helicopters, free market are rolled up in their crank manifestos. But tea party and other media attention has made them more 'normal'. Blame the right wing nuts with all their 24/7 radio.
I was wondering if this was a Tea Party tactic until I read that Georgia was on the list. The Georgia governor (Perdue) said he would work on repealing the Health Care Law if the attorney general didn't (and the attorney general already said he wasn't challenging it - thank goodness), so now I'm thinking that it wasn't the Tea Party since Perdue is doing what they want.
So which group of nincompoops is making threats against elected officials and since today is Friday, the fourth day, what are they planning to do to remove the governors?
Unbelievable, another wacko or wackos wanting their 15 nano-seconds of fame. It would probably be more credible if they included California. Maybe they're afraid of our Governator!
The problem with crazy stuff islike this is it compounds the problems We the People are facing. The result of such news making negative ploys is that it numbs the publoc from wanting to hear different points of view from even those people who make positive efforts and work hard to improve are government. Sometimes I think these crazies are just another arm of those who are the problem and are working only to muddy the waters of change with their dirty deeds.
this group pales in comparison to the size of the group that wants Obama and his administration to resign...
Oh how ignorant these extremists are. I almost want them to wage war against America so they will know just how stupid their so called ideals are!
They obviously do not believe in our form of government.
Why don't these guys move to Somalia if they don't a government and no taxes? It's the perfect place for them...