By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Federal authorities believe they may have prevented a right-wing extremist from carrying out a mass shooting in Austin, Texas, this month.

Steven Thomas Boehle, 50, was arrested after Austin police raided a North Austin residence where he had been staying, MyStatesman.com reports. 

The FBI turned up three guns and about 1,100 rounds of ammunition.

An affidavit says a confidential source told the FBI that Boehle “exhibits sovereign citizen extremism ideology.”

Boehle has been charged with making a false statement about trying to buy a firearm. He is barred from buying firearms because of a previous assault conviction in Connecticut.

Steve Stephens, via Facebook.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The Cleveland man who posted a video on Facebook depicting him killing an elderly man in broad daylight on Sunday afternoon “could be a lot of places,” the FBI said.

The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service joined what has become a nationwide manhunt after Steve Stephens is accused of shooting a 74-year-old man and bragging about killing a dozen others on Sunday afternoon.

The FBI also is offering a $50,000 reward for information about Stephens’ whereabouts.

An aggravated murder warrant has been issued for Stephens, who has not been seen since posting the video.

“Obviously this individual is armed and dangerous, and quite frankly, at this point he could be a lot of places,” said Stephen D. Anthony, special agent in charge of the FBI in Cleveland. “He could be nearby, he could be far away, anywhere in between.”

The FBI has erected billboards of Steve Stephens as far away as Salt Lake City.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

By Attorney General Jeff Sessions
USA Today

Violent crime is surging in American cities. To combat this wave of violence and protect our communities, we need proactive policing. Yet in some cities, such policing is diminishing — with predictably dire results.

In Chicago, arrests have fallen 36% since 2014 to the lowest level in at least 16 years. Last year, they fell in every major crime category, and they fell in every single district in the city. To put that in perspective, out of more than 500 non-fatal shootings in early 2016, only seven resulted in any sort of arrest. That’s 1%. Not surprisingly, as arrest rates plummeted in those years, the murder rate nearly doubled. Meanwhile in Baltimore, while arrests have fallen 45% in the past two years, homicides have risen 78%, and shootings have more than doubled.

Yet amid this plague of violence, too much focus has been placed on a small number of police who are bad actors rather than on criminals. And too many people believe the solution is to impose consent decrees that discourage the proactive policing that keeps our cities safe.

The Department of Justice agrees with the need to rebuild public confidence in law enforcement through common-sense reforms, such as de-escalation training, and we will punish any police conduct that violates civil rights. But such reforms must promote public safety and avoid harmful federal intrusion in the daily work of local police.

To read more click here.

Southwest Airlines

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A pilot for Southwest Airlines was arrested Monday after security at Albany International Airport said they found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag.

The TSA said Erick Gibson, 55, of New Orleans, was charged with a misdemeanor count of possessing a weapon.

The .380-caliber handgun, which was loaded with six bullets, was spotted at a security checkpoint.

The TSA said Gibson was released on $200 bail, and the flight to Chicago was delayed by four hours.

It wasn’t immediately clear why Gibson had the gun.