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Deadly Plot Thwarted
The 2002 Winter Olympics seemed to have gone on without a hitch. But behind the scenes, Ogden police were dealing with some serious threats from a white supremacist group.
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(May. 29, 2002)------Eyewitness News has learned the Ogden-Weber Metro Gang Unit was forced to keep a close eye on some white supremacists who were apparently developing a plot to kill a group of people during the Olympic games.
Crime Specialist Karen Scullin has this exclusive story.
Last summer the Ogden-Weber Metro Gang Unit began to see an influx of white supremacists in the area and their message of hate seemed to be getting louder.
But thanks to a tip from what police consider a reliable source, it seems the gang unit foiled a serious attempt to kill Jewish visitors, and specifically Jewish athletes here for the 2002 games, saving an unknown number of lives.
No one visiting Utah for the 2002 Winter Games ever knew there were serious death threats. But Eyewitness News has learned that police in Ogden may have saved a dozen or more lives, and helped to avoid an international incident.
Lt. Draper: THEY PRETTY MUCH SUPPORT ADOLPH HITLER'S THEORY. THEY'RE NAZIS AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE ONE OF THEIR MAJOR TARGETS.
In early January, detectives got word white supremacists gangs called the "Soldiers of Aryan Culture" or "SAC" and the Krieger Verwandts which means "Kindred Warrior" in German ---were making pipe bombs and planned to bring them to a location in Salt Lake City and then deliver them to their intended target.
Lt. Draper: FROM THE INFORMATION WE RECEIVED WE WERE THINKING IT WAS ATHLETES, BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING TO DO THE JEWISH CONTINGENCY AT THE OLYMPICS.
And as detectives looked into the accusation, they got enough information to convince them the plot to kill was very real.
WE TALKED TO SOME OFFICERS THAT WERE WORKING IN SALT LAKE AND THEY HAD RECEIVED SOME OF THE SAME INFORMATION, THAT SOME THINGS WERE GOING TO TAKE PLACE IN SALT LAKE.
As the gang unit frantically tried to build a case against the two main players, Lt. Draper says they notified Utah Department of Public Safety and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee of the threat.
But the games were getting closer, and the detectives believe the risk of someone or many people being killed was growing fast.
Lt. Draper: YOU CAN PUT ENOUGH IN A PIPE BOMB TO BLOW UP THIS BUILDING-- BLOW THIS ROOM UP, YOU CAN BLOW A CAR UP.
Karen Scullin/Eyewitness News: WITHOUT CONCRETE EVIDENCE THOUGH, OGDEN DETECTIVES DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE AN ARREST. BUT, POLICE SAY, THE TWO MASTERMINDS BEHIND THE PLOT TOOK CARE OF THAT PROBLEM BY SEVERELY BEATING A MAN, WHICH VIOLATED THEIR PAROLE AND GAVE POLICE THE AUTHORITY TO PUT THEM BACK BEHIND BARS.
And detectives say it was just in time.
Lt. Draper: WE ARRESTED ONE A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE THE OLYMPICS AND WE GOT THE SECOND ONE TWO DAYS INTO THE OLYMPICS.
The two accused remain in prison and are not considered an imminent threat.
