Alex Constantine - April 1, 2010
Norman Leboon: According to blogger John Brownlee, "This isn’t just a crank we’re discussing here: this guy is full-on loob. In one video, called 'YouTube employees will ALL lose there [sic] first born sons,' LeBoon identifies himself as The Messiah: “I am the former god with the name of Zeus and Zion and Ra. ... In the video which got Leboon arrested, Leboon railed against Cantor’s 'cupcake evil wife' and then called Cantor 'a liar… a lucifer… a pig… an abomination.' He then began to talk about bullets that would be 'placed in your heads.'”
By Harry Hamburg, AP | Mar 29, 2010
The office of Rep. Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican who is his party's No. 2-ranking House leader, has confirmed reports that a man has been arrested for making threats on the lawmaker's life.
Here's the just-issued statement:
Over the weekend, Congressman Cantor was notified by law enforcement that a threat was made against his life. Law enforcement officials informed Congressman Cantor that the threat was determined as credible and they were responding accordingly. The Congressman was later notified that an arrest was made and a suspect was in custody.
At this time, the Congressman will have no further comment on this threat or the investigation, and asks that inquiries be directed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Congressman is deeply grateful for, and would like to dearly thank all local and federal law enforcement involved, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Attorney's Office in Virginia and Philadelphia, U.S. Capitol Police and the Henrico Police Department in Virginia.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the suspect in custody is a Philadelphia man who made anti-Semitic threats against the congressman. Cantor is Jewish.
The arrest is the latest development in the escalating nastiness following the enactment of President Obama's health care initiative.
Update, 3:26 p.m. ET: The FBI's Philadelphia office has identified the suspect as Norman Leboon, 33, of Philadelphia. The FBI said that Leboon "created and then transmitted a YouTube video to Google over the Internet, in which he threatened to kill Congressman Cantor and his family." The federal investigators did not indicate any links to an earlier complaint by Cantor about gunfire outside his district office.
Update, 5:57 p.m. ET: Leboon told an officer that he's "the son of the god of Enoch," according to an affidavit released by the Philadelphia U.S. attorney's office. Warning: the document contains some offensive language