They Call It Stochastic Terrorism

Have we so normalized Trump’s madness we just shrug off the presumptive GOP nominee endangering another former president

STUNNING: In a court filing yesterday, prosecutors identify Trump as the source for how a man stalking Obama’s DC home with a gun-filled van knew where they lived.

In the detention memo requesting no bail DOJ wrote that defendant Taylor Taranto began live-streaming Obama’s neighborhood shortly after sharing a social media post from Donald Trump that revealed Obama’s address:

“On June 29, 2023, Former President Donald Trump posted what he claimed was the address of Former President Barack Obama on the social media platform Truth Social. Taranto used his own Truth Social account to re-post the address, then stated, ‘We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell.'”

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Stochastic Terrorism: The use of mass public communication, usually against a particular individual or group, which incites or inspires acts of terrorism which are statistically probable but happen seemingly at random.

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Author: craigcrawford

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47 thoughts on “They Call It Stochastic Terrorism”

  1. Attribution: Protected Disinformation by Kevin Siers, The Charlotte Observer, NC

     

    kinda consistent with and sorta follows the same logic the GOPers use when they say you need to get a gun because it’s unsafe out there with so much gun violence.

  2. a rather chilling side story in that taranto case is this incident described in Man arrested near Obama’s house with guns threatened others, prosecutors say – The Washington Post

    In court filings and arguments, prosecutors said the FBI had been monitoring Taranto’s online activities because of his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol when the agency discovered his live stream June 28 as he apparently was driving to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a Commerce Department agency in Gaithersburg, Md., about 15 miles north of Washington. In the live stream, Taranto allegedly made several statements indicating he intended to blow up his van at the facility, claimed that he had a detonator, was on a “one way mission” and that his vehicle was self-driving so he could be far away when it “went off.”
    The FBI immediately began searching for Taranto, and prosecutors the next day obtained a warrant for his arrest on four misdemeanor counts of trespassing and disorderly conduct at the Capitol more than two years ago, the government said. But the agency had not found Taranto or his 2000 black Chevrolet van before he began another live stream near Obama’s house that same day, June 29, the government said.

  3. Old Berman
     
    One of Trump’s stochastic terrorists went to Barack Obama’s house to assassinate him. Anybody else notice this, or was it just me? And that a Washington judge was having a hard time last night finding an excuse to hold him without bail? Hold the WOULD-BE ASSASSIN without bail? And that Trump had doxxed Obama and finally found a sucker willing to do his bidding for him? AND park his van full of ammo and weapons a few blocks from Obama’s home. AND livestreamed himself threatening Jamie Raskin and Kevin McCarthy and oh he was going to take his van to Maryland to a federal facility containing a nuclear research reactor and blow up the van and the nuclear reactor and… I mean am I the only one seeing this anywhere?
    Trump – crazier and more dangerous by the minute – is finally clearly and inextricably linked to a guy ready to answer Trump’s constant drumbeat to try to get one of his cultists to kill, without TELLING them to kill and thus leaving himself open to prosecution FOR killing or incitement-to-kill, and the Department of Justice remains asleep at the switch. The US Magistrate Judge in DC, Zia M. Faruqui managed to avoid having to release Trump’s figurative flying monkey – his name is Taylor Taranto – by keeping him in stir overnight and putting the onus on the government to answer the judge’s question: if the original charges against this would-be political murderer Taranto were simply left over trespassing accusations from January 6th, and the government wanted him held without bail because he’s a flight risk, what if the Judge finds he’s NOT a flight risk? Is it enough that threatening key Democratic and Republican congressmen and talking about going to a government nuclear reactor and blowing up your van next to – oh and responding to one former president’s publishing of another former president’s address by going there with a van full of weapons of death – is THAT quote “clear convincing evidence” of a danger to the public and even if it is, does that mean the judge can really hold him in jail?
    Yeah, you guys let Taranto loose while the lot of you argue over how many angels can dance on the head of this proverbial pin, and, you know, if he goes back to Obama’s neighborhood or, I dunno, tries to ram the White House with his van while screaming “TRUMP IS GOD” as he does so, maybe then prosecutors can indict him for various vehicular and parking offenses.

  4. Ohwhee life is changing fast in the last week.  Yesterday FB/Instagram/Threads was turned loose.  Millions joined, many millions are joining today. May turn into twit with pictures, may turn into something else.  Bluesky is still beta, and from what i read of the tech team skeets, it is still early beta. But, many are joining as soon as they can.  Many are using Mastodon, which is hampered by the insistence of the developers to not have easy search and links.  Post is used but the price is more than zero to read many posts so it is not going fast.  There are several more apps, like Slink, that are trying to get a piece of the “goodbye twit” crowd. 
     
    The twit is working hard to destroy twit, and it is working.  Several news media have shut down on twit and moved to Bluesky, Post, Mastodon, and I expect rapidly, Threads.  The big question is which app will become dominant, and which will be trailing.  In the background is that all the apps are now working together.  Soon you will be able to use one and communicate to the others.  This will probably mean a sorting of users as the apps become specialized for use, news media, social media, science, and such.

  5. Craig quote from yesterday

    When the Founders agreed to lifetime appointments the average life expectancy in 1787 was just under 40 years old.

    You can’t compare life expectancy then to life expectancy now.  It has always been the biblical three score and ten except that then maternal mortality and deaths in childhood were much higher due to state of medical knowledge.

    Global population trundled along at about one billion until 1800 when various advancements in medicine started to kick in i.e. George Washington inoculating troops against small pox.  It’s been going steadily crazier since even with birth control entering around 1960

    World population graph hi-res stock photography and images ...

  6. Bronc

    Threads looks interesting but is only available to Iphone users at present.  I tried Mastodon, but as you mentioned it was hard to find people and subjects.

    Still waiting for something as convenient as Twitter even with my growing antipathy towards the content that is being allowed by the madman on high.

     

  7. I’m glad my job isn’t trying to control Twitter.   
    Hard enough trying to control sawdust.

  8. Jamie – Threads is a version of Instagram and is on IOS and Android.  It needs to have a Windows desktop app too.  What I wrote above is now outdated.  It is a gigantic waterfall of media and people joining.  Just now Huffpost went live on it, and others are joining.  I do smell the twit killer as it is easy to use and is (so far) stable.  It still needs a desktop app.

  9. Threads vs. Twitter: What’s the Difference? – WSJ

    If you’re wondering what it’s like to use the new Threads app, just close your eyes and picture Twitter but with a lot less Elon Musk—and that’s exactly the point.
    Meta META 2.92%increase; green up pointing triangle—owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp—on Wednesday launched its latest service, called Threads. While linked to Instagram (you even need an Instagram account to sign up for Threads), the new app’s primary focus is sharing short snippets of text. Users can post up to 500 characters or share videos up to five minutes long.
    Mark Zuckerberg’s new Metaverse. No virtual-reality spectacles or legless 3-D avatars here. Just good ol’ fashioned words…in a good ol’ fashioned social-media feed…on your good ol’ fashioned smartphone.
    “There’s a hunger for something new,” Connor Hayes, Meta’s vice president of product, said in an interview. He added that public figures and creators have specifically been looking for an alternative to Twitter that “feels more productive and positive.”
    Since Musk took over Twitter in October, the company has had numerous technical issues, changed its blue-check-mark verification policies and faced criticism from users and advertisers for how it moderates content. This past weekend, Musk limited how many posts users could see, saying he wants to combat “extreme levels of data scraping.”
    That’s left a potential opening for competitors. There’s MastodonBlueskySpill. Is Threads any better than those? Are there privacy concerns—as with other Meta apps? Can Twitter actually be beaten?
    […]
    What is Threads? And how do I use it?
    Threads is Meta’s latest social-media app, and this one directly takes on Twitter with short missives you can share with followers. It lets you post text, photos, links and videos.
    Thanks to some serious Twitter copying and pasting, Threads is simple to use. Download the iOS or Android app and you’ll be prompted to log in with your Instagram account and fill out your Threads profile. You can choose to keep following the same people you follow on Instagram or pick just some of them—or none at all.
    The Home tab includes a feed of posts. Tap the button with an abstract-looking paper and pen to compose a new Thread, and tap the paper clip icon to add a photo or video. You can mention other people by using the @ symbol in front of their usernames and “repost.” 
    The app is available in more than 100 countries, though not in the European Union.

    [continues]

  10. Bronc

    I do all my posting on my desk top computer and rarely the Kindle as the phone is too hard for me to use.  Please send up a flag with a link when they have a desk top version. 

     

  11. I think I like the SCOTUS term limit bill now in Congress, addresses other issues such as forcing Senate to act on a nomination or lose its role (prevents McConnell’s Garland fiasco scam):

    H.R.5140 – Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act

    SUMMARY: This bill establishes staggered, 18-year terms for Supreme Court Justices and limits the Senate’s advice and consent authority in relation to the appointment of Justices.

    Specifically, the bill requires the President to appoint a Supreme Court Justice every two years. If the appointment of a Justice would result in more than nine Justices on the Court, then the nine most junior Justices shall make up the panel of Justices exercising judicial power in cases and controversies. Further, any Justice who has served a total of 18 years is deemed retired from regular service and may continue to serve as a Senior Justice. Senior Justices may continue to perform judicial duties assigned to them by the Chief Justice. However, no Justice appointed before the date of enactment shall be counted towards such panel, nor shall they be required to retire from regular active service.

    In the event of a vacancy on the Court, the Chief Justice must assign the Justice most recently designated as a Senior Justice to serve on the Court until the appointment of a new Justice.

    Additionally, the Senate’s advice and consent authority is waived if the Senate does not act within 120 days of a Justice’s nomination.

    — introduced by Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17)

  12. Make no mistake: a large proportion of American conservatives are actively attempting to collapse the republic, and if something like undermining the legitimacy of linchpin institutions like SCOTUS will achieve that, they’re happy to do it
     
    i read a completely serious article from a right-wing British rag, yesterday, that discussed the advantages of the US adopting a “constitutional monarchy” as its form of government, these fascists are salivating at the opportunity

  13. Yep Bink, it’s simple demographic math. White supremacists aren’t giving up without a fight, realize they can’t keep power in a Democracy.

  14. Not only the desire to collapse it all,!but thousands of people working diligently to achieve  this goal.   

  15. The monster who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband was also triggered by Republican propaganda. 

    tRUMPsky has often-mentioned the wife/children of those he wants to target. 
    A mob boss is, as a mob boss does. Here’s hoping Georgia leads to RICO charges against him.  

    It still leaves the question of all of the anti-American, fascists infecting the Republican party.  

    I think we only have one or two years/elections to save our democracy.   That little stunt in Ohio, holding a special election in August to institute the requirement for 60% of the vote, will become the newest tool of the white, so-called Christian nationalist party aka Republicans.  They are the minority, but ants at a picnic are small and capable of ruining everything for everyone else. 

    I don’t really want to stay in this country, if that’s the outcome.  I can see a lot of wealthy and famous folks actually taking their wealth elsewhere.  In Denmark, at least you get something for your taxes.

  16. https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/07-6-2023/mtg-freedom-caucus-ouster/

    “A member of the House Freedom Caucus on Thursday confirmed that the conservative group has voted to boot Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — a vote first reported by POLITICO last week.”

    “A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she’s done,” said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.).

    “Details: The Maryland Republican declined to say how he voted, but called the decision to remove her “an appropriate action.” Pressed if that meant Greene is formally out, Harris, who noted he is on the group’s board, added: “As far as I know, that is the way it is.”

    “…the formal vote came shortly after Greene and fellow caucus member Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) got into a heated clash on the House floor — details of which were quickly leaked to reporters.”

    “I think the way she referred to a fellow member was probably not the way we expect our members to refer to other fellow, especially female, members,” Harris said on Thursday, appearing to refer to Greene reportedly calling Boebert a “little bitch.”

    “Asked if Greene breaking from the group on the debt bill or her support for McCarthy were factors, Harris said, “I think all of that mattered.”

    “I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was publicly saying things about another member in terms that no one should,” he said.

  17. …only she is surprised a bunch of frustrated old codgers sided with the pretty girl 😆 

  18. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/06/europe/prigozhin-lukashenko-analysis-intl/index.html

    “Just as we were learning that Prigozhin was in Russia, not Belarus, Russian state media released images from a reported police raid on Prigozhin’s office and residence in St. Petersburg. The footage — described by presenters as “scandalous” — shows what is described as a stash of gold, money and wigs, along with weapons and several passports apparently belonging to Prigozhin under different aliases.”

    “Lukashenko, whose fealty to Russian President Vladimir Putin has led many to characterize his as nothing more than a vassal state, doubled down on his friendship with Putin.”

    “Indeed, he said, when it comes to the Russian nuclear weapons that are newly stationed in Belarus, the two countries are joined at the hip.”

    “It is intended solely for defensive purposes,” he said. Were Russia to use nuclear weapons, “I am sure that it would consult with its closest ally.”

    Progi should’ve kept heading to Moscow. He had the momentum. He had the will of the Russian people. Now, he is history.

  19. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/06/politics/taylor-taranto-felony-charges-obama-neighborhood-arrest/index.html

    “Prosecutors say they plan to bring felony charges against man arrested with weapons in Obama’s DC neighborhood”

    “The government said in a detention memo that Taranto made threats against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin. Earlier in June, Taranto and several others entered an elementary school near Raskin’s home, with Taranto live-streaming the group “walking around the school, entering the gymnasium, and using a projector to display a film related to January 6,” according to the filing.”

    “Taranto stated that he specifically chose the elementary school due to its proximity to Raskin’s home and that he is targeting Raskin because “he’s one of the guys that hates January 6 people, or more like Trump supporters, and it’s kind of like sending a shockwave through him because I did nothing wrong and he’s probably freaking out and saying s*** like, ‘Well he’s stalking me,’” the filing said.

    OK, this guy entered a school in June (with others) and was still out walking around. He was known to authorities. Who were the others?

  20. Like all of a sudden decorum is running rampant amongst republican house members. 
    lol

  21. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/jan-6-defendant-livestreamed-in-maryland-school-before-arrest-near-obamas-dc-home/3380144/

    “A “group that advocates for participants of the January 6 insurrection called Make America Safe Again or MASA requested and received a booking for our school’s cafeteria” from 8 to 11:30 p.m. to show a film, Principal Chris Oberdorf wrote. The booking was made through the county’s Office of Community Use of Public Facilities and was in accordance with the office’s procedures, she said. Taranto was not part of the permit request.”

    “A group of people who tried for months to alert local and federal law enforcement to Taranto’s presence, and that of other people facing Jan. 6 charges, recorded Taranto’s livestream in the school.”

    “A tweet from Jan 14, two weeks before Taranto’s arrest near Obama’s home, tagged the FBI’s Washington Field Office.”

    “Just in case you’re interested @FBIWFO you can find Taranto living and sleeping in his van down by the DC jail on #freedomcorner as he has for over 2 months now with other unarrested J6 insurrectionists. Again, just in case you’re interested,” the tweet said.

    Wow!

    “I’ve seen Taylor Taranto multiple times, and it’s only — it’s extremely worrisome that nothing is being done about Taylor Taranto until he actually filmed himself behind Barack Obama, President Barack Obama’s residence,” Eguino said.

    “Eguino, who also serves as an elected D.C. advisory neighborhood commissioner, said she and other residents are very worried about having Jan. 6 defendants in the District.”

    “People sympathetic to jailed Jan. 6 defendants maintain an almost permanent presence outside the DC Jail, in an area that some call Freedom Corner.”

    “After Taranto was arrested outside Obama’s home, federal officials said they previously had been unable to charge him for alleged crimes related to Jan. 6 because they hadn’t been able to find him. As he lived in a van, he was considered to have no fixed address, court documents said.”

    Wow! SMH!

  22. What I also find interesting is that CNN Headline/Breaking News has drivel posted on most of its page.   Archeological finds.  Stories that are days old and mostly of local interest.  Very little of anything substantial, and what there is is buried in their page.  Why, it’s almost like the MSM is in cahoots with the money-grubbers in Congress/SCOTUS.  As TLRich would’ve put it, SHAMEFUL!

  23. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/06/texas-renters-property-tax/

    “Tenants make up more than one-third of the state’s households. They pay, via their monthly rent, one-quarter of the state’s school property taxes — which are among the highest in the nation. Renters’ cost of living surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as the state’s housing boom drove rents sky-high. But this year, GOP lawmakers have all but ignored renters as they tussle over whether homeowners or businesses should get a bigger break on their property taxes.”

    “Democrats sought to change that Thursday by making tax relief for renters a pillar of a four-pronged tax-cut package. Under the proposal, renters would get a cash refund equalling up to 10% of the rent they paid the previous year.”

    Considering my rent increased over 20% this year alone, it’s the least they can do. The very least.

    “Texas doesn’t give an explicit tax break to renters as several other states do — and none of the GOP proposals for property tax relief include anything that unquestionably benefits renters. Renters don’t own their own homes, so they can’t claim homestead exemptions, the chunk of a home’s value that can’t be taxed to pay for public schools.”

    “Some Republicans and tax policy experts have occasionally argued that renters would see relief from rising rent bills if lawmakers send a certain amount of money to school districts so they can lower their tax rates, a break legislators call “tax rate compression.”

    Ah, the old “trickle down” theory, rebranded here as “tax compression.” Landlords are not going to be generous and pass the savings along to their tenants. Never gonna happen.

    “Renters aren’t the only taxpayers who would see relief under House Democrats’ tax-cut package. Homeowners would see their homestead exemption climb to $100,000 or 25% of their home’s appraised value — whichever is higher, though it would be capped at $200,000. Democrats would set aside money to cut school property tax rates, though not as much as Republicans in either chamber.”

    “The tax-cut proposal put forth by Democrats also would boost the state’s basic allotment — the base amount the state gives schools per student, which currently sits at $6,160 and hasn’t changed since 2019 — by $1,000. That would translate to a “permanent” $4,300 pay bump for teachers, Bryant said.”

  24. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/05/texas-colin-allred-ted-cruz/

    “U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, raised nearly $6.2 million in roughly the first two months of his campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He also transferred an additional $2.4 million from his House campaign account.”

    “The numbers, first shared with The Texas Tribune, mean Allred will report about $8.6 million in total receipts between when he launched his Senate campaign on May 3 and the end of the second quarter, which was June 30. His campaign previously announced raising over $2 million in its first 36 hours.”

    “Allred’s second-quarter fundraising cements his formidability as a fundraiser. Cruz’s last Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, was a fundraising juggernaut at the height of the race, but it took him his first three fundraising quarters — nine months — to raise the $6.2 million that Allred collected in 59 days.”

  25. https://www.thestreet.com/technology/read-the-cease-and-desist-letter-twitter-just-sent-mark-zuckerberg

    “Read the Cease and Desist Letter Twitter Just Sent Mark Zuckerberg”

    “The letter goes on to explain that Meta has spent the past year hiring former Twitter employees and has used those employees to gain access to Twitter’s trade secrets in addition to other “highly confidential information.”

    Elon is not happy. Maybe he shouldn’t have fired everyone at Twitter.

  26. Gee, I wonder who Matt Gates will have at his lunch table now that MTG isn’t in his group anymore.

  27. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/06/politics/trump-strzok-page-deposition/index.html

    “Judge rules Trump can be deposed in lawsuit from ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok”

    “In the lawsuit, Strzok alleges Trump’s political vendetta against him – whom Trump criticized in tweets – led to his wrongful termination, and that the Justice Department wrongfully released text messages he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page. Page is also suing. Trump has denied wrongdoing.”

    “…questions are whether Mr. Bowdich or other pertinent officials at the FBI ever received any direction by the former President to discipline Mr. Strzok or any other expression of the former President’s displeasure about Mr. Strzok’s continued employment, or whether any such official at the FBI acted because of the former President’s public statements.”

  28. https://opoyi.com/usa/who-is-michele-bachmann-former-us-rep-asserts-enslavement-of-millions-of-africans-not-sinful/

    Remember this old school crazy, blast from the past, Michelle Bachman?
     
     

    “Michele Bachmann made statement about the founding of the United States, stating that slavery was not a “sinful” part of the nation’s inception. Bachmann made remarks while speaking on the Christian program Flashpoint on July 4.”

    She said, “Well, I think sometimes when evil comes into the world and when falsehoods come into our nation, people react to that. There’s the 1619 Project that came in, and that is a rewriting of American history, a false view of American history. And a lot of people were absolutely appalled by that.”

    They were appalled by the truth about slavery?

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