McVeigh cited again as reason for 'right-wing' warning

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security today again has cited executed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh as a reason that "right wing" interests have to be monitored closely by his agency.

Agency spokesman Sean Smith spoke with Talk-radio host and WND columnist Roger Hedgecock on the issue.

Hedgecock had alerted the nation to the Department of Homeland Security report that warned police across the nation to watch out for those who may have anti-abortion bumper stickers, claim the 2nd Amendment right of personal possession of weapons or express loyalty to U.S. Rep. Ron Paul or third-party political candidates. It also mentions war veterans as suspects and cites McVeigh as an example.

Smith said Americans on the "right" have to be watched because of the country's history with characters like McVeigh.

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"There was a very tragic example of a threat that was realized and materialized in this country, almost 14 years ago to the day, in Oklahoma City," he said. "I'm talking about Tim McVeigh."

He noted the bombing was carried out "by someone who unfortunately was a returning vet."

The audio of the interview is embedded here:

Smith said McVeigh's case affirms the strategy that "sometimes intelligence officers are trained to look at past examples of threats that materialized, and keep an eye on those types of individuals who were driven to those types of actions."

He said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano did not see the report before it became public, but she routinely is briefed on the topic of the report.

When Hedgecock, however, asked whether the DHS had assessed the potential threat from groups such as MS-13, the Nicaraguan gang that claims to have 100,000 members in the U.S., Smith was unfamiliar with the group.

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Smith said the report was generated by the agency's analysts whose job it is to review intelligence, "sort it and make sense of it, to prepare in some cases, instruments like this" report.

When Hedgecock said the report painted those who are conservative with a rather broad brush, Smith agreed.

"I do think there was some language in this document that was unfortunate," he said.

"The gist of the instrument is that we are going to be vigilant … we look at violent extremists of any political persuasion or any origin," he said.