On April 6, Charles Alan Wilson, a wiry 63-year-old man with sun-spotted skin and graying red hair, was arrested at his home in Selah, Washington. The charges: leaving more than a dozen voice mails for the state’s senior Democratic senator, Patty Murray, in which he allegedly parroted Tea Party talking points and called Murray a “Pike Street whore” who deserved to be killed over her vote in favor of health-care reform. “Somebody’s gonna get to you one way or another and blow your fucking brains out,” Wilson allegedly said. “If I have the chance, I would do it.” While searching Wilson’s property, FBI agents confiscated a pistol they found in Wilson’s Bronco, as well as two .22-caliber rifles from inside his butter-yellow ranch house.

Two days later, on April 8, Kirk Groenig, 54, a leader of the Tea Party Patriots in Yakima, which is located just a few minutes’ drive from Wilson’s home, told me that Wilson “wasn’t a member of our group”—even though, in the charges filed against Wilson, the retired carpenter is quoted describing his participation in a Tea Party protest outside an event Murray held in Yakima on April 1.

“Oh, you were in Yakima last week,” Wilson allegedly said in a message left at one of Murray’s offices on April 4. The message continued, laced with invective typical of the many messages authorities say Wilson left for Murray over the course of two weeks:

How come you didn’t give a big speech to the people outside waiting to see you? Yeah, we were outside waiting for you, hopefully you would come out and explain to us how come this health-care bill that you railed on so highly is going to create the biggest drain in American history. It’s going to cause so much pain and suffering… I want to thank you for the pain and suffering I am having. Fuck you, you fucking slut, you fucking cunt. I wish you the fucking pain I am going through. I wish it upon you. I hope that you had the worst fucking Easter of your entire fucking life. We are coming after you, bitch, taking you out of fucking office. We are going to remove you from doing any more damage to the people that you are supposed to represent, not rule. Fuck you, cunt, you fucking Pike Street fucking slut.

On the morning of April 9, James P. Hutton, a federal judge in Yakima, listened as an attorney for the U.S. government argued during a bail hearing that Wilson should be held in custody until a scheduled hearing in Seattle later this month. “The level of rage reported in those phone calls is troublesome,” said the government attorney, Robert Ellis. (Alleged examples of the rage: “We’re gonna take you out” and “There’s people gonna come after you with fucking both fucking barrels, bitch.”)

Judge Hutton, however, ended up siding with Wilson’s attorney, who argued that Wilson wasn’t a flight risk because he had no passport and had barely ever left Yakima County in his life, wasn’t a threat to the community because he had no criminal history save for a 1970 drunk-driving arrest, and therefore should be freed. After agreeing to electronic monitoring, a home curfew, and the posting of a $20,000 bond, Wilson was released.

That afternoon, at his house in Selah, Wilson’s son, Charles Jr., told me the family had no comment on the case. (Murray’s office, too, has had little to say, other than the following April 6 statement: “As this is an ongoing FBI investigation, Senator Murray or her office will not make any additional comments.”)

The morning after his release, in a public square not far from the Yakima federal courthouse where Wilson’s bail hearing took place, Tea Party leader Groenig and about 100 members of the movement gathered for a rally. The basic ideas expressed there were nearly identical to those expressed in the voice-mail messages allegedly left by Wilson: The passage of health-care reform represents the end of the world as we know it, people need to take action, lives are in danger, dire times require drastic measures. “I am so worried about our country today,” said Yakima resident Randy Ralph, 60, who then took the crowd on a tour through the history of presidential assassinations and suggested that being killed was the fate of any president who significantly tampers (like Obama has) with the nation’s financial system.

As the blog Gawker noted in a recent post titled “An Annotated Guide to the Talking Points of a Death Threat Nut,” it’s also possible to connect Wilson’s language to people higher up in the Tea Party movement. “Lots of his rhetoric and certain very specific phrases came directly from Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin,” the site noted, citing Wilson phrases such as “You have awakened a sleeping giant” (which is almost exactly what Beck said on his August 3, 2009, show).

Still, Groenig and others in the Yakima Tea Party movement were adamant about putting distance between themselves and Wilson, saying they don’t condone violence and want him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They also point to a voice mail Wilson allegedly left for Murray on March 23 that included the following statements: “I’m not a tea party bagger. I’m an independent U.S. voter. I’m neither Republican nor Democrat.” Further, they say that Wilson wasn’t actually at that April 1 anti-Murray rally in Yakima—an assertion flatly contradicted by Yakima Democratic activist (and former county party chairman) Tony Sandoval, who was at the April 1 event to support Murray and told me he saw Wilson among the Tea Party protesters. “He was there,” Sandoval said.

Ever since it began, people—including even Glenn Beck—have expressed fear that some unstable, angry member of the Tea Party movement will take the movement’s rhetoric as a green light to engage in violent behavior. If Wilson is ultimately found guilty of threatening to kill Murray, it seems likely that could have been the situation here.

The milieu alone makes a compelling case: Steve Edwards, a leader of Beck’s 9/12 movement in Yakima, contends that “this is Armageddon as far as the United States is concerned” and then adds, in the same breath, that saying such things “is not inflammatory.” At the Yakima Tea Party rally on April 10, Brad Tidrick, 55, owner of an auto-repair shop, listed for the crowd all the ways in which President Obama is indistinguishable from Adolf Hitler. Afterward, he told me he doesn’t condone violence, but it’s hard to predict what people will do given the times.

“There’s so much frustration going on right now with people not being heard,” Tidrick said. “And we see this country in a spiral downward. People are lashing out in different ways… You take somebody that’s had a bad day and sometimes they may say things they regret later. But until things get straightened out, we don’t have a lot to hope for.”

A poster at the rally depicted Murray wearing what appeared to be a yarmulke above the words: “This old clunker has to go.”

“It’s all about hate and striking out,” Sandoval, the Yakima Democratic activist, said of the local Tea Party movement. “That, naturally, attracts individuals like Wilson.”

Which worries him.

“This is just the beginning,” Sandoval told me. “One of them got caught. There are others.” recommended

Eli Sanders was The Stranger's associate editor. His book, "While the City Slept," was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He once did this and once won...

40 replies on “Mad Haters”

  1. “Judge Hutton, however, ended up siding with Wilson’s attorney, who argued that Wilson wasn’t a flight risk because he had no passport and had barely ever left Yakima County in his life,”

    There you go: barely ever left Yakima County in his life. Get out a little more, mister. Enjoy your life a little more. Don’t get so wrapped up in politics that you think you need to threaten a politician. Get a hobby, find something to take your mind off stuff that probably isn’t really going to affect you personally all that much. Take your grandson fishing or something.

  2. So, basically, there’s no actual proof that he was at the Yakima teabagger’s party, save from a potentially biased source. He stated he’s not a teabagger. I hate teabaggers as much as the next guy, but there isn’t much of a connection, save for the rhetoric.

  4. So, basically, tea baggers Hate America and our Freedoms.

    …

    Why don’t they move to Somalia if they want a truly free market with no taxes?

  5. Have you ever been asked: If you could go back in time and assassinate Adolph Hitler as a child, would you? It seems like a no-brainer: would you take that one life to save 10 Million lives in the Holocaust, another 25 Million or so military deaths, and 40-50 Million civilians who died of the fighting, famine and disease associated with World War II.

    So how can you say that comparing Obama to Hitler doesn’t incite an assassin?

  7. Oh @7 (Billthe Catttt) do you just spew whatever pops into your pee brain? The FED and the STATES have different constitutional roles.

    Did you listen in civics class in high school or were you just high? Get a job and back off the medical weed dude…

    Hold that hit for a sec:

    Do you REALLY the GOP political animal AGs around the country would put their collective reputations on the line if they thought they were going to lose this fight? REALLY?????

    The FED crossed the line according to the US Constitution. This is not even in debate. The question is will it be ignored or will the FED be forced to cease and desist. The Supreme Supremes will decide this in the end; and unless there are about three heart attacks between now and then, the AG’s are going to win…

    The irony is that Obama is billed as a constitutional expert. Obviously from his state of the union speech in 2010 and Obama care, he was over-billed…

    Peace out!

  8. Pot makes for paranoia but Eli, wow….

    So what. There is a nut case that lives in Central Washington? Hell you have bigger freaks working at the Stranger….(Have you seen Dominic Holden ‘s articles in the last year or so?)

    Check out how many leftwing nuts have threatened conservative representatives in the past ten years…. It goes with the territory of being in the public spotlight…dude.

    There are nut cases everywhere in every movement. Honestly the left has more violent ones than the right. Did you remember the economic summit in Seattle?, How about the Earth Liberation Front spikings and bombings? Does Ted Kaczynski bring back any memories? What about those dudes burning churches a few years back? ACT-Up to name just a few?????

    Calling the Tea party dudes fringe is nothing less than bad reporting at worse or propagating propaganda at best,

    Trying to associate them with this nut case is just plain lame Eli…..

    Don’t be such a tool….Do better….

  9. I liken our 2-party system to the Yin-Yang symbol. The Rightwing upholds individualism. The Leftwing upholds ‘societal’ interdependence.

    Extreme individualism is a ruse that Rightwing leaders deploy in order to delude conservatives, libertarians and so-called independents into believing their individualism exists in a vacuum.

    We all mature individually, but always within the context of an interdependent ‘society’ made up of family, community, various occupational organizations of production, distribution and service to others, professional institutions and democratically elected regulatory governments, etc.

    In other words, whether Tea Party activists realize it or not, they are essentially “socialists” wrongly led to believe their heads would explode if they knew the truth. Glen Bleck and Rush Limbaugh are rabble rousers inciting violence NOT in the name of Liberty but rather to enable Rightwing totalitarianism.

  10. @9: Hey, weren’t you the one spreading all sorts of propaganda about the negative effects of R-71 and how gay rights activists were like Hitler?

  11. #9 One variety of ad hominem attack is that called “tuquo” (Latin for “you too”) which essentially seeks to deflect the discussion from valid points by alleging that the aggrieved party is guilty of the same offense, and thus that the offense itself is inconsequential. This appears to be the tactic you have used in your post.

    How many plots by the left to assassinate Bush 43 were uncovered by the FBI during the 8 years of Bush’s highly unpopular administration? How many groups of heavily armed left wing militia had their plots to kill police officers and then attack the funeral processions disrupted?

    And, really, calling the KKK racists who firebombed Black churches and homes, assassinated Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and others “leftists” really strains the limits of credibility.

    In any case, the fact that both sides may be guilty of excesses does not make the excesses of one side or the other any less unconscionable.

  12. Yes, the tea-baggers are such a threat that it is necessary to attack them at every opportunity. Hell, They make up shit about US, so why can’t we do it to them? Hate rules!

  13. #6
    Probably for the same reason that people don’t debate Dr. Phil or Osama bin Laden. I’m just guessing, of course; but I have watched people attempting to have a reasonable exchange of ideas with Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly and noticed how fast-talking right-wing commentators and pundits tend to abuse the forum by yelling, interrupting, and through verbal bullying and intimidation — (a lot like in your post, as a matter of fact)– so I fail to see what such a venue would accomplish, save to stoke the fires of reactionary self-righteousness and paranoid fury.

    And, really, comparing Barack Obama is Adolf Hitler plays directly to such nonsensical stereotypes and is so blatantly over-the-top that I cannot help admiring your chuzpah in so doing. Unfortunately, it reflects either a total lack of familiarity with actual history or a chilling degree of ideological self-deception. Incidentally, I can curse in four different languages, including Mandarin Chinese, and undoubtedly know some abusive words and phrases which have never even occurred to you, but I don’t really think that using them would substantially buttress my arguments.

  15. @12 I dont think thats accurate…I think the point is that both sides right and left have wing-nuts but that it seems that the right-wing nuts are getting more press attention in this paper. So the point being made is not that the Tea Party doesnt have to be its actions or members which it seems to be if he was a member he has been excommunicated as it were, but that the reporting is biased. Now whether or not this is true or not is a matter of record, which someone can look up and verify either way.

  16. “There’s so much frustration going on right now with people not being heard,” Tidrick said.

    Here’s what I don’t get about the tea baggers. Health Care Reform came to pass because our elected officials DID hear people. WE elected President Obama because WE, the American people, want Health Care Reform. WE want Universal Health Care Coverage. I personally made calls to Senator Murray’s and Senator Cantwell’s offices asking them to move forward with Health Care Reform. And, I WAS NOT ALONE. The people were heard. Got it?

    What makes these tea baggers think that because they make up approximately 18% of the American populace that the voice of American’s were never heard? Get it through your thick-as-cement heads, tea baggers, Americans want Health Care Reform. We want better social programs. We want equality for all. We want our tax dollars spent here, on American citizens.

  17. @17 is right. Obama ran part of his campaign on this health care reform and won by a decent margin, now he’s fullfilling his promise, this is how a representative democracy works.

  18. BTW – We are “forced” to pay taxes for many critical services including the military, police and fire department. Health care is yet another critical service.

  19. @19

    The difference here Todd is that while we pay taxes for health care, military and police programs already, the government doesn’t force us to buy military or police insurance plans.

  21. also, it’s incredibly pathetic and disingenuous for anyone criticizing the governments fiscal expenditures not to mention the $680 billion gorilla in the room…. the frikin defense department. sixty cents of every tax dollar you pay is allocated for military spending. EVERYTHING ELSE (education, NASA, EPA, those federal highway dollars that continue to ‘dwindle’, corporate farm subsidies, housing for poor folks, grants to states, etc.) gets to split the remaining $.40. Of course, theirs is an argument of emotion, facts have no place there.

  25. The Christian Patriot movement (nicknamed “tea baggers” by a mainstream media that is owned by international central bankers whom feel threatened by anyone criticizing their World Bank/BIS/IMF/Agenda 21 infrastructure ) is devoted to protecting the US Constitution. Period. And Period.

    If you think they are doing anything more than that, you have an agenda and it’s likely aligned with the same international central banking families that own our media and who also have great influence (via ad dollars) over local rags, such as the Stranger.

  26. @26 – I still don’t understand how people like you even learn terms like “World Bank” or “IMF” but completely fail to learn the very basics of how corporations and the Republican party work. I can only guess that Glenn Beck must have shouted the words at some point and his viewers thought “Wow, a World Bank? That sounds big and scary! If only Dick Cheney were around, he’d put a stop to that! Well Sarah Palin will definitely put a stop to it! Thank Jesus we have Republican politicians to protect us!”

  27. @26 – Riiiiiight. Defenders of the Constitution.

    I’d bet less than 0.01% of tea baggers have actually read/studied the Constitution. The remaining wouldn’t know what the Constitution was, even if it grew legs and walked over and kicked them in the ass.

    No. They are merely misinformed people that get their news from the likes of Beck, Hannity, et al, and think they’re highly informed on the topics of what violates our Constitution.

    That, and they’re just angry because their party no longer controls the government. Period. And Period.

  31. That’s Mad Haters for you. Dumb, ignorant, and militant on enforcing their violence.

    I’m surprised they don’t have swastika tattoos on their arms. Notice they all have dark sunglasses, too. Hatred breeds cowardice—like rat feces.

  32. @7 – The difference is quite simple really. In the case of car insurance, it’s just the government making you buy insurance. But in the case of health insurance, BLLLLLLLLLLLLLARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH FEAR RAAAAAGE TERROR AARRRGHHH SOCIALISM NOOOO GUNS OBAMACARE GRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH RAAAAAAGGGGGE CONSPIRACY FEAAARRRRR TERRRRRORRR DOOOOOOOM AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

  34. @26- this may be the most soft-headed thing I have ever read. I’m having a hard time believing this isn’t just baiting by someone who knows better.

    Does one start w/ the separation of church and state? or the wealthy banker having been bailed out by the right, rather than the left? Or the concept of everyone who disagrees having an agenda set by a 3rd party, rather than just an honest difference of opinion?

  35. Oh dear, poor mr/s. # 26:

    The World Bank and the IMF are hardly interested in our news media. Really – please do your homework. I know they have big terms like “bank” and “Monetary” in their titles, but they’re hardly interested in the Americans except to make corporations who decidedly vote Republican, to make money through conditional loans to countries that are in desperate need.

    You’ll be pleased to learn that those conditionalities include things like: no public schooling, no or little public health programs, fiscal austerity, small government, no unions, expand free trade, deregulate business, reduce inflation, protect property rights, etc.

    Just thought you might enjoy learning a little before you keep on looking like a bit of an idiot.

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  40. @9

    Wow Baconcat I heard you were dead…some weird accident I believe…glad you are still among the living…
    As for spreading propaganda; well the faults we first see in others we KNOW to be true in ourselves; wouldn’t you agree?

    R71 was rejected in November by almost of the entire state. If it were not for highly ethical King County Elections office, it would not have passed. R-71 was one of the greatest David & Goliath stories in Washington State History yet unsung. It made history. The pro gay side of the equation behaved despicably as we will see when this issue is decided by the US Supreme Court.

    This aside; the Tea Party Crowd is mostly harmless. What is dangerous are those leftwing nuts who damage property during economic summits, spike trees and destroy research labs. Don’t forget to take a look at the violent liberal protesters in Arizona this week and how they were physically assaulting the police. I didn’t see such video with the Tea Party.

    The truth is, the leftwing nuts can do all kinds of violent acts and it is ignored or applauded by the mass media. The rightwing nuts break wind and they are labeled racist hurting the environment. by the same mass media.

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