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February 11, 2009

Homegrown Terrorists too Close to Home

It's been a long time since our local paper has been able to surprise me with a headline. As I walked to work, I passed by a newspaper vending machine and saw the following plastered above the fold: "Report: 'Dirty bomb' parts found in slain man's home." Well that's shocking. What's more shocking?

The home in question is less than an hour from where I live. Domestic terrorism, indeed.

BELFAST, Maine — James G. Cummings, who police say was shot to death by his wife two months ago, allegedly had a cache of radioactive materials in his home suitable for building a “dirty bomb.”

According to an FBI field intelligence report from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center posted online by WikiLeaks, an organization that posts leaked documents, an investigation into the case revealed that radioactive materials were removed from Cummings’ home after his shooting death on Dec. 9.

...It says that four 1-gallon containers of 35 percent hydrogen peroxide, uranium, thorium, lithium metal, thermite, aluminum powder, beryllium, boron, black iron oxide and magnesium ribbon were found in the home.

Also found was literature on how to build “dirty bombs” and information about cesium-137, strontium-90 and cobalt-60, radioactive materials. The FBI report also stated there was evidence linking James Cummings to white supremacist groups. This would seem to confirm observations by local tradesmen who worked at the Cummings home that he was an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler and had a collection of Nazi memorabilia around the house, including a prominently displayed flag with swastika.

Belfast is a nice little coastal town that's managed to mostly resist the yuppie swarm and maintain its blue-collar roots. It's one of the last places in the state where I would have expected to see news like this. Yikes.

Posted by slublog at February 11, 2009 08:50 AM

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Posted by: Frank J Witt at February 12, 2009 12:11 PM

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