Census worker lynched

[jimmy olsen]

Wow. That's crazy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_census_worker_hanged

AP source: Census worker hanged with 'fed' on body

By DEVLIN BARRETT and JEFFREY McMURRAY, Associated Press Writers Devlin Barrett And Jeffrey Mcmurray, Associated Press Writers – 16 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.

The law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, did not say what type of instrument was used to write the word on the chest of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and teacher. He was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky.

The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether the death was a slaying or a suicide, and if a slaying, whether the motive was related to his government job or to anti-government sentiment. An autopsy report is pending.

Investigators have said little about the case. FBI spokesman David Beyer said the bureau is assisting state police.

"Our job is to determine if there was foul play involved — and that's part of the investigation — and if there was foul play involved, whether that is related to his employment as a census worker," said Beyer.

Beyer declined to confirm or discuss any details about the crime scene.

Lucindia Scurry-Johnson, assistant director of the Census Bureau's southern office in Charlotte, N.C., said law enforcement officers have told the agency the matter is "an apparent homicide" but nothing else.

Census employees were told Sparkman's truck was found nearby, and a computer he was using for work was found inside it, she said. He worked part-time for the Census, usually conducting interviews once or twice a month.

Sparkman has worked for the Census since 2003, spanning five counties in the surrounding area. Much of his recent work had been in Clay County, officials said.

Door-to-door operations have been suspended in Clay County pending a resolution of the investigation, Scurry-Johnson said.

The Census Bureau is overseen by the Commerce Department.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our co-worker," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with William Sparkman's son, other family and friends."

Locke called him "a shining example of the hardworking men and women employed by the Census Bureau."

The most deadly attack on federal workers came in 1995 when the federal building in Oklahoma City was devastated by a truck bomb, killing 168 and injuring more than 680. Tim McVeigh, who was executed for the bombing, carried literature by modern, ultra-right-wing anti-government authors.

A private group called PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, tracks violence against employees who enforce environmental regulations, but the group's executive director, Jeff Ruch, said it's hard to know about all of the cases because some agencies don't share data on instances of violence against employees.

Ruch said that after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, "we kept getting reports from employees that attacks and intimidation against federal employees had not diminished, and that's why we've been tracking them."

"Even as illustrated in town hall meetings today, there is a distinct hostility in a large segment of the population toward people who work for their government," Ruch said.

___

McMurray reported from Lexington, Ky. Associated Press writer Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.

[Ed Anger]

Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky.

Revenuers ain't welcome there.

[MadImmortalMan]

"Our job is to determine if there was foul play involved

Well, good luck with that...

[Barrister]

That's monsterous - the man was serving his country.

[Vince]

Reminds me of one of the cases I read when I worked during the last census.  The census worker went to a remote house in the Adirondacks and it had several aggressive rottweilers chained up with a skull & crossbones sign on the house that read "the dogs are in case I miss you with my gun".   

Years later I wondered if that might have been MB's vacation home.

[Josquius]

Obama has already begun to result in people's deaths

[jimmy olsen]

Obama has already begun to result in people's deaths

The census is required by the constitution, blame Madison.

[MadImmortalMan]

So has the census begun already? It's supposed to be next year.

[Monoriu]

So has the census begun already? It's supposed to be next year.

In HK at least, the census department does all sorts of surveys every year.  The 10 year ones are just much larger in scale. 

Otherwise, how can they justify their existance and budget 

[Fireblade]

The blame for this rests straight on Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachmann's crazy ass shoulders.

They should both be arrested for 2nd degree murder.

[Fireblade]

By the way, FUCK YOU, goptards. You whine and whine about left-wing radicals, but at least left-wingers don't fucking lynch people or shoot up holocaust museums.

[KRonn]

The blame for this rests straight on Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachmann's crazy ass shoulders.

They should both be arrested for 2nd degree murder.

Baloney. All the venom spewed on Bush, the extreme nasty crap, hate and vitriol. And should we have blamed the various left wing pundits and news for it? Go find better talking points. Sheesh...

[Josephus]

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Census worker found hanging from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment.

Those Feds are smart. 

[Valmy]

Baloney. All the venom spewed on Bush, the extreme nasty crap, hate and vitriol. And should we have blamed the various left wing pundits and news for it?

And why not?  They are why this sort of thing is only going to increase in this country.  It seems only logical those people calling for social conflict are blamed when it comes about.

[KRonn]

Baloney. All the venom spewed on Bush, the extreme nasty crap, hate and vitriol. And should we have blamed the various left wing pundits and news for it?

And why not?  They are why this sort of thing is only going to increase in this country.  It seems only logical those people calling for social conflict are blamed when it comes about.

Most of them aren't calling for social conflict, but reporting on what they see or giving commentary. The left and right of political punditry and reporting do it.