Mailbox Bomb Suspect Is Minnesotan

WCCO.com ^ | 5/7/02

[GeneD]

(WCCO) (LUBBOCK, Texas) May 7, 2002 11:07 am US/Central The FBI issued an all-points bulletin Tuesday for a 22-year-old Pine Island, Minn., man sought in connection with a wave of pipe-bombs found in rural mailboxes, police in Texas said.

The suspect, Luke John Helder, is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, the university said Tuesday.

U-W Stout spokesman John Enger said the FBI notified the school Tuesday about the suspect.

Enger said the suspect is a junior majoring in art with an industrial design concentration. The campus directory lists the man's hometown as Pine Island.

Helder plays guitar and provides vocals for a band based in Rochester, Minn., called Apathy.

Late Tuesday morning, Apathy's Web site was inundated with message postings -- many of them obscenity-laden -- from people who apparently had just heard that Helder was being sought by authorities, and did an online search for his name.

"This is the worst music I've ever heard, but you have a great publicist!" one person wrote.

"Please post your dates for the 'Mailbox 2002' tour," another one said.

That site and another Apathy site were unavailable off and on Tuesday as more and more people did searches and discovered the sites.

(snip)

[GeneD]

This topic has been posted before, but the WCCO story adds a few details. It's the lead on Drudge.

I couldn't connect to the links either.

[Quilla]

After reading the first thread on this with over 300 posts, I haven't figured out how the FBI concluded this is the bomber. Do you know why they suspect him?

Thanks.

[order_of_reason]

He probably left a petition to save the Twins in each mailbox.... < /sarcasm>

[DBtoo]

Last night, before there was a suspect, CNN had on a "hate expert" who said the bomber was most probably a right-wing militia anti-government type who may have had anti-semitic feelings. I wish I knew how to contact CNN to ask them why they are lying about that when the letter clearly appears to have a left-wing tone and has all that strange stuff in it about death. The hate expert's name was Dan Levitas I believe, I may look him up and write him an e-mail. He's probably with the ADL.

[Technocrat]

Bad LuteFisk.

[DallasDeb]

"This is the worst music I've ever heard, but you have a great publicist!" one person wrote.

"Please post your dates for the 'Mailbox 2002' tour," another one said.

Must have been freepers.

[DallasDeb]

CNN had on a "hate expert" who said the bomber was most probably a right-wing militia anti-government type who may have had anti-semitic feelings

From the start I thought this was a crazy assumption. A "right-wing . . ." type would never attack rural America. It's a ridiculous thought.

[Lokibob]

I listened to the noon news in Salt Lake City, and apparently the kid was seen in Cedar City yesterday. My impression was that everyone south of Provo was running around like chicken little.

[Sonny M]

Art design, young college student, attacking conservative rural areas, in a band. This kid seems to have to early beginings of a liberal profile. Minnesota is also known as a left leaning state (for god sakes, the only damn state that went against Reagan in re-election). If this kid is it, I'm going to laugh my ass off at the media.

[headsonpikes]

"Mailbox 2002 Tour" bump!

[Dave S]

Do you know why they suspect him?

They have description of his car and license plate number. I think I heard someone spotted his car with out of state plate near mail box and wrote it down.

[DBtoo]

It looks like we were both right. I heard the FBI profile of the guy, and they said he was most probably an older guy. I didn't think so. I sensed some immaturity in the letter among other things which led me to think it was a strange young man. And right-wingers don't complain that 1% of the population has 99% of the money! How they got that right-wing business and even anti-semitism out of all that, I'll never know.

[Willie Green]

From the start I thought this was a crazy assumption. A "right-wing . . ." type would never attack rural America. It's a ridiculous thought.

I predict: pampered offspring of ultra-liberal American parents. A well-educated eco-terrorist. The type that sits up in a tree for three years to stop the loggers!

34 posted on 5/3/02 4:34 PM Pacific by Willie Green