The beauty of statistics and public information officer briefings is that the end user is confronted with a conclusion without the ability to judge the overall context. The FBI is the past master at manipulating information. Rely on the FBI and suddenly Legos and Atomic secrets are on par with one another. In the FBI mindset, the guy with the Legos is in the same league as Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.

https://nypost.com/2021/07/07/fbi-seized-us-capitol-lego-set-from-alleged-riot-leader/

American Indians had a philosophy that one’s worth as a warrior was measured by the enemies he confronted.

J Edgar Hoover detractors maintain that Hoover showed up after the arrest of major criminals. Photos make it seem like he was an active participant in the arrest. I tried to find examples of this on the Internet but was not able to find any. I did find plenty of pictures of J Edgar Hoover posing with criminals. Here he is with a pimp. The pimp’s brother (on the right) may have been implicated in the murder of a famous movie star.

I tried to find stories related to the arrest of three drunks down in South Padre Island. It happened sometime around 2000 or 2002. The story disappeared down the rabbit hole. I got the low down from the FBI case agent (lead investigator). The newly formed Joint Terrorism Task Force, (JTTF) got a tip that three men were plotting to kill the President when he visited South Padre Island. The FBI initiated an investigation and were apparently able to insert an informant into the mix.

The plot took shape. The schemers decided to use poison, specifically Ricin. They found out that they could manufacture Ricin from Castor beans. The plotters ordered the beans. Then they hit a snag. They could get the recipe for making Ricin from the Internet, but they couldn’t print it because they didn’t have a printer. I guess a Big Chief tablet and a number two pencil were too low tech.

The next problem was to come up with a way to deliver the poison. They were in South Texas. What could be more natural than a mesquite thorn? Mesquite thorns are so tough they will penetrate a tire. Okay, dip the mesquite thorn in the ricin. Then what?

These guys were a sophisticated bunch. They concluded that the traditional blowgun (below) might attract undue attention. They needed something more subtle. Something commonly found in many pockets and routinely ignored.

Eureka!

They arrived a solution! The ubiquitous Bic Lighter. Adapt it to shoot the mesquite dart, dipped in Ricin and use the fuel to do it. Brilliant!

The FBI had it. An agreement between three idiots and a confidential informant to assassinate the President of the United States, (Conspiracy). The conspirators possessed the Castor beans, they had the recipe. The mesquite thorns were harvested, ready for dipping. The trail of dismantled BIC lighters demonstrated that they now had a working, sort of delivery system for the ricin infused thorns, (active effort to advance the aims of the conspiracy, beyond mere preparation). The President was on his way to South Padre, (ability to carry out their goal). All they needed was somebody with a driver’s license and a car to take them to the President. The FBI moved in. The toughest part of the arrest was dragging the ring leader out of his wheel chair.

The arrest made a splash in San Antonio for a day. Then disappeared. I guess somebody in DC got a hold of the reports. This was before Legos.

And that is how an FBI agent assigned to the JTTF saved the President and foiled an assassination plot. It is also why that same agent found himself reassigned to working midnights, doing surveillance on a drug conspiracy case. I guess they didn’t need anymore FBI agents in South Dakota.