The saga of convicted domestic terrorist Brett Kimberlin is not over. In fact, it’s still twisting and making headlines. The Other McCain has been following the twists.
As a matter of fact, with a key court date approaching Tuesday — when Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Richard B. Potter will hear several motions in the Virginia case of Walker v. Kimberlin, et al. — the story is now more newsworthy than ever. Furthermore, the possibly related incidents of “SWATtings” (which have targeted conservative bloggers including Patrick “Patterico” Frey) recently gained notice in the mainstream press:
- Nov. 8: “SWATting, a Deadly Political Game,” L.A. Weekly – A lengthy examination of Patterico’s July 1, 2011, SWATting, placing this potentially deadly hoax in its proper context, an act of revenge for Patterico’s blogging about the Anthony Weiner scandal.
- Nov. 27: “Celebrity ‘swatting’ problem may be tough to swat,” Los Angeles Times – Relating the SWATting phenomenon to a series of hoaxes against Miley Cyrus, Asthon Kutcher and other celebrities, as well as Patterico and Walker, the question is raised of what law enforcement can do to apprehend and prosecute those responsible.
So here we have a story with a celebrity angle and nationwide significance, related to the Anthony Weiner scandal, and also involving Brett Kimberlin, the infamous “Speedway Bomber” who gained notoriety for claiming to have sold drugs to a youthful Dan Quayle. In addition, this story involves the late Andrew Breitbart because, as I explained Nov. 24, Aaron Walker first came to Kimberlin’s attention after Walker was CC’d on an e-mail that liberal blogger Seth Allen (who had been sued by Kimberlin) sent to Breitbart last year. And, if all of that is not enough to make the story sufficiently interesting:
- Kimberlin’s associate Rauhauser is suspected of having provoked the bizarre online meltdown of former “Anonymous” spokesman Barrett Brown, who was arrested in September after threatening an FBI agent.
- Rauhauser and his associates Matt Osborne and Matt “Shoq” Edelstein were also involved in the conflict that disrupted the left-wing boycott campaign against Rush Limbaugh.
- Kimberlin, who served 17 years in federal prison, is the principle figure in two tax-exempt 501(c) organizations that have collected some $2 million in contributions since 2005, including donations from foundations connected to Barbra Streisand, George Soros, and the wife of Sen. John Kerry.
- Most recently, one of Kimberlin’s non-profits was mentioned in relation to a bogus claim that hackers had prevented Karl Rove from stealing the presidential election by taking down the Mitt Romney campaign’s “Orca” vote-counting operation. The key phrase “tidy little package” indicates this claim originated with Rauhauser.
The strange relationships between all these incidents and individuals could scarcely be sorted out and explained in a single blog post, but as confusing as it may be, the point is — as Patterico told L.A. Weekly‘s Simone Wilson — this isn’t just “a blogger war.”
Indeed. More and more, it just resembles a plain old war.
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