BUZZ
Allegedly were talking about ICE ‘kidnapping individuals’ and that they ‘needed to do something about it’
A Virginia assistant principal and his brother were arrested Nov. 19 for “planning to carry out attacks” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to law enforcement.
According to a statement by the Department of Homeland Security (which worked together with the Virginia Beach PD on the case), John and Mark Bennett allegedly discussed plans to “kill police officers and ICE agents” and “to meet with likeminded individuals in Las Vegas […] to purchase firearms with explosive rounds” for their attack.
John, an assistant principal at Kempsville High School in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools system, and Mark allegedly were overheard talking about their plans at a Virginia Beach restaurant by an off-duty Norfolk cop, according to Fox News.
Attorneys for both men adamantly deny the charges and say they are based on the hearsay of one cop.
The officer, known as “B. Thorpe,” claimed the Bennetts were complaining about ICE “kidnapping individuals” and that they “needed to do something about it,” The Virginian-Pilot reports.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said it’s “chilling that a human being, much less a child educator, would plot to ambush and kill ICE law enforcement officers—offering such specifics as to getting a high-caliber rifle that would pierce the law enforcements’ bullet proof vests.”
The brothers officially were charged with conspiracy to commit malicious wounding, a felony in Virginia. They were released on $25,000 bond and are on house arrest.
John, employed at Kempsville High School for the last 16 years, currently is on leave but remains listed on the school’s administration page. Ironically, he was a cop for the Virginia Beach Police Dept. between 2012 and 2013.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the Kempsville High School student body is 45 percent white, 26 percent black, and almost 15 percent Hispanic, with 42 percent classified as “economically disadvantaged.” The school’s test scores are very good: 91 percent proficiency in reading and 89 percent in math.
Mark’s attorney, Happy O’Brien, said his client actually was flying to Nevada “for a F1 (Formula One) motorsports event with his child.” O’Brien and Kristin Paulding, John’s attorney, said the only evidence against the brothers is the word of the Norfolk officer.
“I’m not trying to be flippant, but it’s frightening that we’re here based on a hearsay statement in a restaurant a few booths away,” O’Brien said. He furthered made a comparison to the 90s comedy “Seinfeld,” saying the government’s case “was based on a few lines taken out of context of an hour-long conversation ‘about nothing.’”
The Bennett’s next hearing will be held in late January.
MORE: Asst. principal records self at BLM protest: ‘F*** the police!’ ‘They can f*** right off’
