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no one was joking in spokane washington
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on april fool's day 1996.
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first a bomb went off outside the office
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of a local newspaper then another inside
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a bank
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two armed men entered and robbed the
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bank of fifty thousand dollars
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it was apparently the work of
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well-trained criminals
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but one of the bombers made a crucial
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mistake
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a simple pair of jeans he was wearing
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that day would later reveal his identity
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[Music]
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nestled at the falls of the spokane
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river the city of spokane washington is
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the cultural and economic center of an
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area known as the inland northwest which
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includes parts of washington
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idaho montana and oregon
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[Music]
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the region is known for its beautiful
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countryside
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and for being home to many right-wing
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groups openly hostile to the government
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of the united states
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at 2 36 on the afternoon of april 1 1996
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one of these groups made its presence
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known in spokane
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an employee at a branch office of the
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local newspaper the spokesman review
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noticed a bomb with a lighted fuse just
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outside the building's rear door
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as he ran inside to call police the bomb
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exploded
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shredding doors shattering windows and
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filling the building with smoke
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as employees fled the building police
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rushed to the scene
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they found extensive damage
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but no one was injured
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at 2 47 just 11 minutes after the
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spokesman review bombing police got
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another call
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there had been another explosion this
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time inside a u.s bank branch only 30
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blocks away
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bank surveillance cameras showed two men
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entering the bank
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witnesses said a third man waited
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outside in a getaway van
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the men inside the bank wore parkas and
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ski masks to hide their identities
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they were heavily armed
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at gunpoint they ordered tellers to put
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money in bags
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after that occurred
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and they got apparently the money that
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they believed was available
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one of the robbers left a pipe bomb on
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the counter of the bank
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and lit it and then
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told everybody to evacuate the bank that
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i think the comment was made by one of
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the witnesses that they said get out
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it's going to blow or something similar
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to that
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the bomb
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seen in this surveillance shot exploded
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it tore through the building shattering
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windows counters and doors again
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amazingly no one was hurt
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if the teller had been standing there
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she could have been killed or severely
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injured
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and people inside the bank could have
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been severely injured from the shrapnel
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as it flew
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investigators were now connecting the
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two bombings
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since the blast came so close together
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police were convinced the first bomb was
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a diversion designed to draw attention
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away from the bank robbery
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it was clearly a well-planned and
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well-executed crime
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these people really knew what they were
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doing and also there was no question
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when they went inside that bank these
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were not amateurs
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they had planned this
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letters left behind at both bombings
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left no doubt that they were related the
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letters which promised more violence had
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a symbol at the bottom
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a combination of the letter p
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and the cross
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it was the symbol of the phineas
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priesthood
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a highly armed extremely violent
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right-wing terrorist group that had
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declared a holy war against the united
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states government
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[Music]
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two bombings on the same day in spokane
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washington left massive damage and the
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community that feared there would be
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more violence to come
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as bomb experts dug through the rubble
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they found letters the bombers had
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purposely left behind
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to experts on domestic terrorism the
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letters spoke volumes
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they contained symbols that identified
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the bombers as members of the phineas
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priesthood
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the priesthood's creed is an unusual
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combination of biblical prophecy and
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violence a radical right-wing view of
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america combined with a strictly
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conservative interpretation of scripture
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the result
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a fanatical hatred of government and the
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rationale for violence
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they want to destroy america to save it
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they don't believe in reforming america
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they believe that the whole system is
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rotten and needs to be basically torn
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down so that we can start over again
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[Music]
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david nyworth studied the phineas
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priesthood for his book
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in god's country
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he says the group takes its name from an
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old testament story about a man named
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phineas who kills an interracial couple
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the essence of the phineas priesthood is
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that
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people who violate god's laws
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deserve to be killed
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news that the priesthood had targeted
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spokane terrified the city and had
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everyone including law enforcement
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preparing for the worst
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this was the most serious crime probably
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that's ever happened in spokane from a
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danger to the entire community obviously
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you have serial murders and a lot of
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murder cases and so on but this case
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had you know people
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in fear they were terrorized
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[Music]
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police now knew the name of the group
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but not the names of the bombers
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fbi analysts went over images from the
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bank surveillance cameras
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the images were shot once every second
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making for a disconnected sequence but
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when frozen and enlarged
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the individual images were
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extraordinarily clear
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these pictures
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were some of the best that i've ever
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seen in the laboratory because they were
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high quality 35 millimeter black and
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white photographs
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and the individual in question was
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standing so close to the camera
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that he filled a large part of the frame
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vorder brugie an fbi photograph analyst
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attempted to measure the bomber's height
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he used a process known as perspective
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analysis in which the tiles on the
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bank's floor
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the position of the surveillance camera
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and the height of the teller counters
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were all used to measure the dimensions
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of everything in the image
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analysts concluded the robber was
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approximately five feet six and a half
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inches tall
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this information was relayed to officers
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in spokane
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but then on july 12th just three months
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after the first attack there was another
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bombing
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this time the target was this planned
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parenthood clinic
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witnesses said they saw two men in
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ponchos throw a lighted pipe bomb in the
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clinic's front door before driving away
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[Music]
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this particular one was covered with a
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buckshot
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to produce
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more shrapnel apparently in a in an
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effort to make it even more deadly or
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devastating than it uh it would normally
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have been
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the bomb tore through the clinic and was
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clearly designed to kill
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only luck kept it from claiming lives
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nobody was hurt it was
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unbelievable there was nobody there
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had they been they would have been hurt
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people inside the planned parenthood
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there's no question somebody would have
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been killed because this bomb blew a
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hole in a four inch concrete floor
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then just 15 minutes later
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the same u.s bank branch office robbed
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on april fool's day was hit again almost
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a carbon copy of the first robbery in
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bombing after the bomb went off at the
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planned parenthood
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van pulls up again at the same u.s bank
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on sprague avenue
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two robbers go in one's carrying a
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25-pound propane tank the kind that we
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use for our barbecues with something on
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top
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they're both armed
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as in the first robbery the men took
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over the bank and made off with 35 000
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in cash
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they left the propane tank bomb on the
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floor and fled in a white van
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but this bomb
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which was rigged with an electric taser
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detonating device failed to go off
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a matchbook left behind at the planned
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parenthood bombing contained the
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priesthood logo it cited two biblical
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passages one psalm 139 contains the
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verse
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killed the wicked
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a few days later the bombers sent this
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letter to planned parenthood it said
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sorry we missed you on july 12th
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we'll do better
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next time
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after their branch office in spokane
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washington was targeted in two separate
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bomb attacks u.s bank officials put up a
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130 thousand dollar reward for any
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information on members of the phineas
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priesthood the group that claimed
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responsibility for the attacks
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meanwhile analysts examined the pipe
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bomb that nearly destroyed spokane's
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planned parenthood clinic that bomb
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caused unbelievable damage to the
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planned parenthood the director of
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planned parenthood from new york came
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out and said this was the worst bombing
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that had ever happened of a planned
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parenthood clinic
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the bomb was wrapped with buckshot
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this made it more deadly but also more
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identifiable
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most buckshot is made from recycled car
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batteries which makes for a lot of
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impurities all of which can be
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identified
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fbi analyst kathleen lundy took shavings
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from the buckshot found at the bomb site
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these shavings are dissolved in a
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neutral chemical solution
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this solution is then vaporized at
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extremely high temperatures
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the rate of vaporization is then fed to
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a computer which identifies the
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buckshot's basic chemical components
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compared to my years of experience
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the buckshot in this case had extremely
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high levels
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of these impurities and
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the
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chemical or elemental makeup of this
00:12:22
buckshot was i'd say distinctive
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compared to others that i've analyzed
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if this buckshot could be traced
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investigators might get a lead on the
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bomber's identities
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but then
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a solid lead came from informants
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anxious to receive the reward
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one of the people that the
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phineas priests or that this gang of
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people had tried to recruit uh into
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their gang
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decided that he wanted that money and
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contacted authorities and and pointed
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out the men to them
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the informant identified three men
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vern j morrell
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robert berry and charles barbie all
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living in sand point idaho
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the informant had one more piece of
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information the trio was planning their
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next bank hit for october 8th the target
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a u.s bank branch in portland oregon
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the fbi immediately began background
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checks and surveillance on the three men
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they found that morel 51 trained as a
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nuclear engineer left his career and
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moved to idaho to devote all his time to
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the phineas priesthood
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barry 42 owned a struggling truck repair
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shop and spent most of his time and
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money on anti-government activities
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barbie 44 had quit his job at atnt years
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earlier
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investigators suspected he might be the
00:14:03
bomber in this surveillance image
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records indicated barbie was five feet
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six and five-eighths inches tall
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fractions away from analysts estimate of
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the bomber's actual height
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on october 8th the men who were being
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watched by investigators using long
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distance surveillance equipment loaded
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their vehicle with automatic rifles and
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grenade launchers and left for portland
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before the trio arrived in portland
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fbi officials called the u.s bank branch
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and told them to lock their doors
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agents watched as the trio waited
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outside the bank in their van
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they saw people going up to the doors
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shaking the doors
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but nobody was getting in so the the
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bank got a phone call that said are you
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open
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and they said no
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we assume it was from a cell phone
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inside the vehicle
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stymied in their plans the men drove
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away
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agents followed them in the air and on
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the ground
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and when the men stopped for gas in
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yakima washington police swooped in for
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the arrest
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they would have been prepared for
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anything had we tried to stop them on
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the highway and they were going to have
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a shootout
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somebody would have died
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no doubt in my mind
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agents searched the suspect's homes
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in verne morrell's home they found a
00:15:45
hewlett packard inkjet color printer
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consistent with the one that printed the
00:15:50
letter sent to the planned parenthood
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clinic
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in robert berry's truck repair business
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they found what appeared to be
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the same buckshot used in the planned
00:16:01
parenthood bombing
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and in the home of the third suspect
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charles barbie investigators found
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something that the fbi analyst told them
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to be on the lookout for
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an unusual piece of evidence
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a deeply worn pair of blue jeans
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after the arrest of three men in the
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spokane bombings and robberies
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investigators look for conclusive
00:16:31
evidence to tie them to the crimes
00:16:35
the buckshot found in robert berry's
00:16:37
truck repair business was subjected to
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the same analysis as buckshot attached
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to the bomb that destroyed spokane's
00:16:45
planned parenthood clinic
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chemically i couldn't tell the buckshot
00:16:50
recovered from the bombing apart from
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the buckshot recovered from the business
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they were chemically the same
00:16:59
but prosecutors wanted something even
00:17:01
more
00:17:02
conclusive was there a way to use the
00:17:06
bank surveillance images to clearly
00:17:08
identify at least one of the robbers
00:17:14
was it possible that these two images
00:17:17
which were particularly clear were the
00:17:20
suspect charles barbie
00:17:23
the robber was covered head to toe but
00:17:26
his blue jeans were clearly identifiable
00:17:32
almost all blue jeans are made of white
00:17:35
cotton that is then dyed blue
00:17:38
how that blue dye wears off particularly
00:17:41
on the seams can be distinctive
00:17:44
a sort of hill and valley effect is
00:17:47
created
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high parts of the seam turn white
00:17:51
while the lower parts retain their color
00:17:54
the fit of the genes and the posture of
00:17:57
the person wearing them can create
00:17:59
unique patterns almost like a bar code
00:18:02
that appears along these seams
00:18:06
fbi photograph analyst richard vorder
00:18:09
brookie had an agent of barbie's height
00:18:12
where the genes taken from charles
00:18:14
barbie's home
00:18:16
this man was photographed from the same
00:18:19
distance and in the same position as the
00:18:22
bank surveillance photo of the man
00:18:24
thought to be
00:18:26
charles barbie it enables me to get them
00:18:29
positioned in a way that most closely
00:18:31
approximates what the bank robber's
00:18:34
posture was it also enables me to to try
00:18:37
and replicate the draping of the
00:18:40
clothing as closely as possible
00:18:43
in a process called point by point
00:18:46
analysis the photos are broken down into
00:18:49
sections and each section is analyzed
00:18:53
for distinctive features
00:18:55
then the two sets of photos those
00:18:58
showing the genes worn by the bank
00:19:00
robber and those taken from the
00:19:02
suspect's home
00:19:03
are compared
00:19:05
the analysis showed more than 30 areas
00:19:08
where the jeans were identical near the
00:19:11
number five
00:19:12
it is clear the actual seam of the jeans
00:19:15
breaks and is folded over
00:19:20
this is clear in both sets of photos
00:19:23
[Music]
00:19:25
at number seven
00:19:27
ridges can be seen extending above the
00:19:30
hemline
00:19:31
but at the point where the seam meets
00:19:34
the hemline the jeans lose all their
00:19:36
color and go completely white
00:19:40
this is also consistent in both photos
00:19:44
finally at the number two
00:19:46
you can see where a line shooting off to
00:19:49
the left above the hemline and at the
00:19:52
hem a sort of h pattern is created it's
00:19:55
an h with a broad right side and a thin
00:19:59
left side
00:20:00
the same h pattern can be seen in jeans
00:20:03
taken from charles barbie's home
00:20:06
in this case because i was able to
00:20:08
positively identify those pants i could
00:20:10
get on the stand and say
00:20:13
those pants were the ones worn by the
00:20:15
bank robber i can't tell you who the
00:20:17
bank robber was
00:20:19
and so it's very strong circumstantial
00:20:21
evidence
00:20:22
barbie couldn't have known it but the
00:20:25
genes he wore during the first bank
00:20:27
robbery
00:20:28
helped identify him and his fellow
00:20:31
bombers
00:20:32
in march of 1997
00:20:35
the trio went on trial
00:20:37
over 500 items were entered into
00:20:40
evidence but the proceedings resulted in
00:20:42
a mistrial
00:20:44
it was later found that one of the
00:20:47
jurors was sympathetic to the phineas
00:20:49
priesthood's anti-government beliefs
00:20:52
but at the second trial three months
00:20:56
later
00:20:57
the jury returned guilty verdicts
00:21:00
and vern morell
00:21:02
charles barbie
00:21:04
and robert berry were given mandatory
00:21:07
life terms
00:21:10
they claimed to the end
00:21:12
that the trial was political
00:21:14
but investigators disagreed and to prove
00:21:16
it
00:21:17
they were able to present a well-worn
00:21:20
pair of blue jeans
00:21:23
the same pair of blue jeans that were
00:21:25
worn during the bank robbery
00:21:32
i thought the fbi lab did an excellent
00:21:35
job
00:21:36
um by being able to come up and compare
00:21:38
those to the photograph and identify
00:21:41
them positively as the genes the blank
00:21:43
robber wore
00:21:44
and that's the only time i ever knew it
00:21:46
to have been done it may have done some
00:21:48
other case someplace but i'm not aware
00:21:50
of it that was pretty amazing
00:21:52
they were basically robbers they wanted
00:21:54
the money
00:21:55
they're criminals
00:21:56
they didn't believe in our government
00:21:58
that's true they didn't believe in
00:21:59
abortion and that's true they didn't
00:22:01
believe in banks that's true
00:22:04
but they're common criminals they did
00:22:06
these to get money
00:22:09
[Music]
00:22:19
[Music]
00:22:45
you
