Traffic Stop or Sting? Were Cops Instructed by FBI to Get Video of Idaho Suspect Bryan Kohberger's Hands?

Police bodycam footage

The news that Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of a quadruple homicide of University of Idaho students, was pulled over not once, but twice on his way from Idaho to Pennsylvania was weird enough. But then footage was released from the body cams during the stops. That footage showed two different stops with two different police officers chatting with Kohberger about driving too close to another car and, in a very strange twist, discussing a “SWAT shooting” in the state of Washington that had happened that morning.

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The suspect brought up the shooting to the first officer and his father brought it up to the second. Neither police officer ran his license and, even stranger, the second officer, when told Kohberger had previously been pulled over for tailgating, said he won’t give him a ticket since he’s already been warned.

I don’t think that’s how any of this works! Isn’t a warning your warning? If you get pulled over again for the same thing, isn’t the next officer supposed to ticket you for the thing you didn’t stop doing?

Here’s the first traffic stop that shows Bryan Kohberger seeming to want to change the direction of the conversation between his father and the officer. “You were right up on that van, man,” says the Indiana officer. Kohberger looks confused, and when asked where he is going, replies, “Going to get some Thai food.” His father jumps in and tells the officer they’re traveling from WSU. Each time the senior Kohberger tries to speak to the officer about their plans and whereabouts, the younger Kohberger appears to try to change the subject.

RELATED: Daughter of Serial Killer BTK Says Idaho Murder Suspect Might Have Been in Contact With Her Dad

The footage left a lot of us questioning the authenticity of the stops in the first place. How the heck does someone get pulled over twice for tailgating? Fox News is reporting a theory that makes a lot more sense than the official story.

Federal Bureau of Investigation surveillance team tracked Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger and his father on a cross-country road trip from Washington State to Pennsylvania and asked Indiana police to pull him over, a law enforcement source told Fox News.

The law enforcement source told Fox News that the FBI surveillance team was seeking video images of Kohberger as well as his hands.

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It should be noted that a gag order was issued on police and lawyers involved in the case, restricting them from speaking to media. If Fox’s source is real, the individual is in violation of that court order.

If the source is accurate, however, it’s a pretty slick move by law enforcement.

The first video didn’t capture much of Kohberger’s hands because the officer was on the opposite side of the vehicle, and zooming in makes the image blurry. Perhaps the FBI was able to clear it up with their technology, but I could not see any marks on his hands that would indicate wounds on this video. Since that video wasn’t great, did the FBI send another Indiana policeman to try again? Imagine the FBI’s reaction to footage of the second stop. Honestly, sir. You had one job. Get his hands, not the car door handle!  It’s a complete bust. I can almost hear the groaning of the feds as this footage plays.

The officer is heard saying, “You were a little too close to that semi,” as soon as he approached the Hyundai Elantra, indicating that the offense is once again tailgating. Other news outlets have reported this stop as a speeding infraction, but it’s clearly not. The officer even gave Kohberger a lesson in how far away he should be from traffic. “It depends on how fast you’re going, okay? If you’re going 10 miles an hour, you only need one car length. If you’re going 70, you need seven car lengths,” said the officer.

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“I’m not going to give you another ticket or warning if you’ve already been stopped,” the officer said, before asking if they’d ever heard of airplanes, probably because the drive is so long.

Neither footage appears to show any wounds on Kohberger’s hands, face, or neck, but the quality of the film isn’t great. Some think they see redness on his right wrist, but it could be a shadow.

Kohberger was flown from Pennsylvania to Idaho on Wednesday after his extradition hearing, with internet sleuths and media tracking his every move.

Kohberger landed on Wednesday night in Idaho and was taken to the Latah County Jail and booked into the system.

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Kohberger will attend a hearing sometime on Thursday morning when his arrest affidavit will become public.

The judge overseeing the hearing has ordered that cameras be allowed in the courtroom. I will carry it live on my Rumble and YouTube channels at the link below. The time of the hearing has not yet been announced, but court insiders say lawyers can’t get through security until 8:30 a.m. MST. The live stream will begin at 10:30 a.m. ET.

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