Armed Man Arrested at Fla. Military Base

AP | JUL4/03 | Asso Press

[MindBender26]

Armed Man Arrested at Fla. Military Base By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:13 p.m. ET

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A man with a loaded handgun and a knife was arrested Friday after he allegedly tried to get through the gate of a military base while asking to see Gen. Tommy Franks.

Todd Christian Wiegler, 31, pulled up in his car to a security checkpoint at MacDill Air Force Base around 8:40 a.m., said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin.

He apparently told MacDill security guards that he wanted to see Franks, who oversaw the war in Iraq as head of MacDill-based U.S. Central Command.

The guards asked Wiegler to get out of his car and found a loaded Glock handgun on the dashboard, Durkin said. Wiegler also allegedly carried a concealed knife in a sheath.

Tampa police arrested Wiegler on charges of carrying a concealed firearm, a felony, and carrying a concealed knife, a misdemeanor, Durkin said. He was taken to jail pending a court appearance Saturday.

Wiegler did not have a listed phone number. It could not be immediately determined whether Wiegler had a lawyer.

Military officials would not say whether Franks was at the base Friday.

[MindBender26]

Another American Taliban?

[MindBender26]

KniFe

[Arkinsaw]

Another "peace" activist wanting to kill somebody probably, like the Fortuyn killer in the Netherlands.

[MindBender26]

No phone listing in US that name.

[Prince Caspian]

What kind of an idiot would put his loaded handgun on the dash before driving up to the gate? I don't get it.

[MindBender26]

If stupid enough to think he could get into MacDill.....

[MindBender26]

or stoned

[angkor]

"found a loaded Glock handgun on the dashboard ... Tampa police arrested Wiegler on charges of carrying a concealed firearm."

Hard to believe that a gun "on the dashboard" is "concealed."

And the Florida Supreme Court has ruled on that very question in the past.

[cherry_bomb88]

Does anyone else see the irony???? Some liberal whacko has a gun (usually the whackos that get the guns are liberal, not conservative) and now their own will start saying "see, see...guns are bad".

I suppose if his heros are the extremist muslims that promote "peace" he's following their teachings!

[MindBender26]

It's an AP story written by some kid 3 months out of J school, or some old hack between drying-out sessions at Bay Pines! They screwed it up! Nothing new.

[MindBender26]

Oswald, Squeaky Froame, Sara Jane Moore; Liberals all

[holyh2o]

Yep, just request to see America's top brass without any supporting documents and not on the list of visitors,and expect to get in. Sounds like Brother Franks needs to open a can of interrogative whoop ass.

YEEEEHAWWWWWW!!!!!
Semper Fi

[Maria S]

COUNT on TomPeterDanMattetal to put special emphasis on pronouncing this guy's middle name. "Todd Christian Wiegler"

[MindBender26]

Didn't get past the front gate.

Semper Gumby (Always Flexible)

[bruoz]

"Hard to believe that a gun "on the dashboard" is "concealed."

A handgun that is carried in the passenger compartment of a vehicle in Florida must be "securely encased" and not on your person. Unless you have a permit to carry, you can be charged with carring a concealed firearm.

[widgysoft]

don't kill 'No Hands'

[BagCamAddict]

Wiegler, at age 31, looks like he might live with his DAD, Gerald Wiegler. No phone number listed for either of them that I could find.

[Forseti]

Probably just a nutcase (the mentally disturbed kind, not the political kind). Anyone with full control of their falculties would know you can't just drive up to a militry base and ask to speak to a general.

[John H K]

It's not a "dry run" if you call attention to yourself and get arrested.

Probably about 90% likely this is another mental case.

[cherry_bomb88]

lol...I won't...I may not buy into peta, but I don't believe in animal cruelty either...I have a strong feeling where ever the picture originally came from, it was superimposed

[Servant of the Nine]

Another American Taliban?

More likely just a whack job.

So9

[tazman3]

KniFe

I take it that's pronounced Ka-nife-fay. French?

[Dave S]

What kind of an idiot would put his loaded handgun on the dash before driving up to the gate? I don't get it.

What kind of idiot would ask to see Tommy Franks? The guy has to be mentally ill. Seems like he may have chickened out of "suicide by cop".

[Cultural Jihad]

More likely just a whack job.

Needless to say, the Democratic-Libertarian-Greens-Socialist axis, which has been lambasting the military as "racist-sexist-homophobic-imperialistic," will shun all culpability in this incident it could well have provoked.

[Beelzebubba]

No link.

Incorrect title.

[demlosers]

a link:

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/content/news/ap_story.html/National/AP.V4146.AP-BRF-Base-Intrud.html

[Cultural Jihad]

Linked: "Armed Man Arrested at Fla. Military Base"
http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/content/news/ap_story.html/National/AP.V4146.AP-BRF-Base-Intrud.html

[<1/1,000,000th%]

algore in disguise??

[Admin Moderator]

Don't change the title of articles please.

[TankerKC]

Why did Tampa police arrest him instead of base security?

[proudofthesouth]

At the army base where I live, a civilan has to have a special permit from the army to bring a gun onto the post. Just because someone has a concealed permit issued by the local authorities doesn't mean they can bring weapons onto post. If they are stopped at the gate(s) and their car is searched and they do not have the army permit authorizing carrying of weapons on post, the gun or guns will be confiscated.

[Cindy]

TBO.com: "Man Charged After Trying To Enter MacDill"
By TED BYRD tbyrd@tampatrib.com
Published: Jul 5, 2003


"ARTICLE SNIP: "TAMPA - An armed Brandon man was arrested Friday morning after trying to enter MacDill Air Force Base to speak to Army Gen. Tommy Franks, police said.

Todd Christian Wiegler, 31, of 721 Sailfish Drive attempted to enter the Bayshore Boulevard gate to the base about 8:40 a.m., police said. Military guards quickly determined he had no business on the base and asked him to step out of his 1989 red Pontiac Firebird, police said."

http://news.tbo.com/news/MGAO3YDWQHD.html

[TC Rider]

Photo by: ERIC HAUSMANN / WFLA
Todd Christian Wiegler, center, was charged with carrying a concealed firearm, a felony, and a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor.

Guy looks like a 'looser', wonder what his DU name is. Fox had a snapshot of his Glock and knives. Looked like maybe a subcompact Glock 27.

[csvset]

He looks as though he may be a member of the "Very Special Forces".

[DaBroasta]

Oh well...once less vote for the dimwits! Or perhaps 3, the way some lib's vote.

Besides yielding him special voting rights, the commission of at least one felony will look good on his resume when seeking work in the dem political apparatus. However, he could fall victim to the RAT cult's version of affirmative action that gives preference to child molesters and rapists.

[MindBender26]

Why did Tampa police arrest him instead of base security?

Good question. Defense lawyer could argue "no harm, no foul" since he was caught at first checkpoint, at base gate(?) The State concealed weapons charge would "predate" fed charge(?)

From picture, looks more like psycho than serious leftie.

Be well.

[patton]

LOL. We had to abort a jumo once, and one of my buddies freaked. Seems he had never actually landed in a plane, before.

Looking at your creation, I know how he felt.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Paleocon FReeper, more likely.

;)

[patton]

Doh! "JUMP".

[I got the rope]

ROFLMAO! I nearly blew ice tea on my screen. You wouldn't have a yellow humvee would you.

[csvset]

The graphic is from The Onion.

[Cate]

Gee, this goes to show you that the soldiers on duty were doing their job. Way to go guys. My only criticism is that the soldiers showed restraint with the use of their bullets. I am sure the USA has a pretty big stockpile of ammo, go ahead guys, use it up.

[R. Scott]

…his loaded handgun on the dash before driving up to the gate?

Definitely one can short of a six-pack – and he was charged with having it concealed?

[Publius6961]

Another "peace" activist wanting to kill somebody probably, like the Fortuyn killer in the Netherlands.

The undiscussed epidemic: the disproportionate number of certifiable nuts wandering loose under the umbrella of anti-war, "green" and touchy-feelie "environmental".

The only overt evidence of this is the accepted reality that their delusional bumper stickers render their vehicles invisible, whereas any vehicles displaying anything they don't like is a vandalism magnet.

They actually have cowed the numerical vastly superior normal segment of the population into functional silence.

[zip]

and found a loaded Glock handgun on the dashboard, Durkin said. Wiegler also allegedly carried a concealed knife in a sheath.

Tampa police arrested Wiegler on charges of carrying a concealed firearm,

Help me out - on the dashboard then concealed firearm. What kind of dashboard did he have in his car?

[zip]

You were waaay ahead of me. I'm just getting on board with this thread.

[Calpernia]

OMG! That was FUNNY! Bump!