Highway shooter targets liberal non-profits

"Investigators said during interviews with Williams the suspect he told them he wanted to start a revolution." Story you are unlikely to read in Miami Herald where front page news features real estate shopping by 20 year old, multi-millionaire athletes.KTVU.com
Highway Shooter Targeted Tides Foundation, ACLU

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Posted: 11:25 am PDT July 20, 2010
Updated: 11:51 pm PDT July 20, 2010

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Tuolumne County man arrested a shootout with California Highway Patrol officers on I-580 in Oakland early Sunday was reportedly heading to San Francisco to target individuals at liberal nonprofit the Tides Foundation and the ACLU, according to Oakland police spokesperson Jeff Thomason.
Byron Williams, 45, a resident of Groveland, released from the hospital and booked into Santa Rita Jail early Tuesday, Thomason said. He was arraigned Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Alameda County Superior Court.
Williams had been held at Highland Hospital, where he was treated for injuries suffered in the shootout, according to Thomason. He was booked into jail on suspicion of attempted murder.
At the arraignment, Thomason confirmed to KTVU that evidence indicated Williams planned to target the Tides Foundation, a progressive nonprofit organization with an office located in San Francisco's Presidio which -- according to its website -- works promotes social change through its partnerships with groups worldwide.
Thomason said Williams was also headed to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California office in San Francisco.
While Thomason did not have details on the motive behind William's plan, he said it appeared he was heading to those two organizations "with the full purpose of killing people."
“This was his plan. This is what he stated to us,” said Thomason. “And we're just lucky that the CHP stopped him when they did, or he could have killed people.”
Investigators said during interviews with Williams the suspect he told them he wanted to start a revolution. That’s he was traveling to San Francisco to kill people at the two liberal organizations.
Investigators said he didn't have a specific hit list, but indicated his plan was to wait until Monday morning to start his killing spree.
Thomason also said it appeared Williams was acting alone. He said these newly released details were based on evidence collected at the scene and police interviews with Williams.
Williams was in court to be arraigned on four counts of attempted murder, a host of weapons charges and being a felon in possession of body armor, Thomason said.
Until Monday -- when police told the Tides Foundation’s CEO Drummond Pike that his company had been a target -- no one at the foundation had ever heard of Byron Williams.
“All we know we literally learned from the press,” said Pike. “So we are trying to figure out as much as we can and we are obviously paying close attention to security matters going forward.”
The shootout began shortly after midnight Sunday morning when CHP officers saw his white Toyota truck speeding and weaving through traffic on westbound Interstate Highway 580 near the Grand Avenue exit.
During the traffic stop, CHP officers approached the truck and saw firearms inside, authorities said. Officers also allegedly saw the driver arm himself.
The suspect fired at officers as they moved back to their cars, and CHP officers returned fire, Oakland police said.
Two CHP officers were taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries after the exchange.
Williams was shot an unknown number of times and was held at Highland Hospital until being transferred to the jail, Thomason said.
The CHP officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, CHP Officer Sam Morgan said.
The Oakland Police Department's homicide unit is conducting the criminal investigation into the shooting, and the CHP is carrying out an administrative investigation.
The Tuesday arraignment related strictly to the Sunday shootout with CHP. The FBI is also investigating Williams after the discovery of a binder in his vehicle entitled simply "California."
KTVU spoke with an FBI spokesman Tuesday who said at this point the federal government wasn't filing any charges. However, he also noted that could change.
With two strikes on his record for two previous bank-robbery convictions, Williams faces at least 25 years to life in prison as a three strikes felon.
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