WWU (Bellingham Washington) student accused of plotting bomb attacks

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER ^ | Wednesday, June 11, 2003 | PAUL SHUKOVSKY

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

The FBI has arrested a Western Washington University student on charges that he was planning to bomb a Coast Guard station and an Army National Guard facility in Bellingham.

Paul Revak, a 20-year-old history major who has no criminal history, faces up to life in federal prison if found guilty of threats to use a weapon of mass destruction. A search of Revak's dormitory room did not turn up any explosives and, although the investigation is continuing, it appears that Revak was acting alone.

The native of Snohomish was also charged with solicitation to commit a crime of violence for allegedly seeking the help of another student in his plot.

An attempt to draw another person into his fantasy was Revak's undoing, according to a vivid picture painted by court documents.

Revak sought the help of the fellow student May 9 to join him in the plan to bomb the Coast Guard base, according to a complaint from FBI agent James Powers. Revak, a self-proclaimed anarchist, told the student that the bombing would "make a statement" and "have an impact" on starting a revolution against the U.S. government, according to the complaint.

Revak showed the student a diagram of the Coast Guard station. He drove the student to the station to point out where he would cut the fence and enter with a bomb like the one that devastated the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

He presented the student with a copy of a grandiose manifesto. After a preamble that criticizes the U.S. government, the document lays out the option of "unrest, protest, and if need be, revolution. You need not worry about Osama or Saddam or the boogeyman, but if you are part of this empire, you should fear us. Our will is strong, our message is just, and we will prevail."

The alarmed student sought to dissuade Revak, and "when it became apparent that Revak was not going to be talked out of his plan," the student began working with the FBI.

Last Thursday, Revak and the student met with an undercover agent at the student's apartment, where the FBI secretly made audio and video recordings. Revak asked that the special agent help him obtain a powerful military explosive called C-4. He also wanted hand grenades. Revak told the agent that he had recently driven by an oil refinery at Cherry Point near Bellingham and had found it to be "so friggin' tempting."

Revak asked the agent whether he had heard of the abolitionist John Brown, whose raid on an Army arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Va., in 1859 was a step on the road to the Civil War. He then raised the specter of a possible assault on the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island with "all those EP-3s sitting there on the tarmac. I would be like a kid in a candy store."

On Monday, when agents tailing Revak spotted him emerging from a store with a pellet gun that is a replica of a semiautomatic pistol, they arrested him. He was ordered jailed, pending a bail hearing Friday.

A shocked family member said last night that "he has always been a good kid" and has not shown any signs of mental illness.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Evidently the anarchists have branched out from Eugene Oregon and moved north to Bellingham.

For those of you not familiar with Western Washington University it is a liberal arts school, known for its School of Education and it's very liberal campus. It sits like a liberal ulcer in the middle of conservative farming country.

[MEG33]

I can't understand what he wanted except a sense of power.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Good grief. I used to live in Snohomish, a fairly conservative town. My daughter's ex husband is teaching at WWU, the last I heard, and he is certifiably nuts!

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Here is the Seattle version of the story. Nothing new in this article.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Pingaling please.

[Dead Dog]

You can't pin this one on Eugene, this guy is homegrown (no pun intended). Probably a Huskies fan.

I doubt many of the Eugene anarchists are from there anyway. BTW, there are no statues of Stalin in Eugene.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Here is a thread with the Bellingham paper's version of this, not much more info here.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/926983/posts?page=3

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

They said he was an anarchist and so many of those clowns are from Eugene. It wasn't meant as a slap at you Oregon fans and for your information I'm neither a Husky or a Coug.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Why couldn't he be satisfied with stupid slogans and giant puppets? :)

[Steve_Seattle]

It's not just WWU. My daughter is attending Bellevue CC and several of her profs are self-proclaimed leftists or crypto-leftists. The other day her political science instructor told the class not to watch Fox news. Earlier in the semester he was complaining about people who eat meat. So the whole Washington State higher education system is a spawning ground for these self-proclaimed "anarchist" freaks.

[Steve_Seattle]

"probably a Huskies fan."

Highly unlikely. A person like this probably thinks college football is a metaphor for our patriarchal, militaristic, violent society, and would like to see college football banned.

[MEG33]

They are giving seminars on more violent protests.This guy was serious and one day would have carried out a bombing or shooting.Perhaps his younger brother was the family favorite or his girlfriend dumped him!

[thulldud]

A search of Revak's dormitory room did not turn up any explosives

No WMD's found? Government malfeasance! Free Revak!

(Wonder if I can get off my next speeding ticket if no WMD's are found in my car? Of, course, if a .50 cal rifle can be classified as an "assault weapon", then anything goes, right? Celine Dion CD's? Big Macs? <shudder> )

[Dead Dog]

I'm kidding actually.

Eugene has a bad rap for good reasons, and it's their own dammed fault. The Anarchists took over the Whitaker neighborhood, and the city gov. won't let the cops clean house. In fact the city is more on the side of the Anarchists. Just run a google search Majeska Seese Green, and you will get an idea of what they are up to. She seems to be the professional agitator.

Truth is, I've taken more credits at the UW then I did at the UO. I do like the UO campus much better.

[Dead Dog]

Highly unlikely. A person like this probably thinks college football is a metaphor for our patriarchal, militaristic, violent society, and would like to see college football banned.

Your absolutely right, but it was fun getting in a dig on the Fuskies. Had he been a Husky fan, he would have been down at the track.

[Dead Dog]

Your=You're

[Eva]

I would add that this school is also known for it's graduate school of Environmental Studies, The Huxley institute and it's large, visible gay student population, which increased dramaticly after Marijane Cammemeyer (I don't think that's the right first name) ran for Congress from this district.

The Western Washington campus dominates city politics and have managed to drive out the largest city employer, Georgia Pacific pulp mill.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I think she went by Margaret but spelled it Margareth. She should have gone by Bill or John because she was more man than most guys I know.

[Samizdat]

YOu forgot to mention that they even have a section called red square and an environmental whacko school too.

[Eva]

That's the name, it was on the tip of my tongue and I just couldn't pull it up. The lesbian presence in Bellingham increased dramaticly during her campaign and hasn't receded at all.

The anti-war/anarchists were extremely active for a while, but after the war started the city started requiring permits for any protests or marches and fining those who ignored the ruling. I think that this idiot was thoroughly brainwashed by the Watermellon faculty at this school.