Four men in Georgia intended to use an online novel as a script for a real life wave of terror and assassination using explosives and the lethal toxin ricin, according to court documents. Federal agents raided their north Georgia homes November 1 and arrested them on charges of conspiring to plan the attacks. The four men are scheduled to appear in court November 3. Relatives of two of the men said the charges were baseless. Court documents accused the men of trying to obtain an explosive device and a silencer to carry out targeted attacks on government buildings and employees.
Two of the men are also accused of trying to seek out a formula to produce ricin, a biological toxin that can be lethal in small doses. One suspect discussed ways of dispersing ricin from an airplane in the sky over Washington D.C., court records state. Another suspected member of the group intended to use the plot of an online novel as a model for plans to attack U.S. federal law officers and others, authorities said. Court documents state the 73 year old man told others he intended to model their actions on the online novel Absolved, which involves small groups of citizens attacking U.S. officials. Investigators said the four men took several concrete steps to carry out their plans. One suspect is accused of driving to Atlanta with a confidential informant to scope out federal buildings that house the IRS and other agencies. He and another suspect also arranged to buy what they thought was an explosive device and a silencer from an undercover agent.
The men were arrested days after a lab test confirmed they had trace amounts of ricin in their possession, authorities said. Court records indicate at least two of the suspects are former federal employees. Prosecutors say one suspect said he would like to make 10 pounds of ricin and simultaneously place it in several U.S. cities.