Bank bombers who killed two cops were "constitutionalists"

[Demosthenes]

Court: Suspects spent 15 years plotting Woodburn bank bombing
By KYLE IBOSHI, KGW Staff
KGW-TV
updated 10:16 p.m. ET, Mon., March. 2, 2009

WOODBURN, Ore. -- Court records obtained by KGW suggest the two Oregon men charged in connection with a deadly bank bombing in December often talked about robbing a bank and even practiced a dry-run in Woodburn in 1994.

Bruce Turnidge and his son Joshua Turnidge are facing aggravated murder charges for the December 12th blast that killed a police officer, a state trooper and critically injured a police chief.

According to a police affidavit, a family friend, Ronald Laughlin, stated that he heard Bruce, Joshua and another family member who has not been charged in the case “speak so often about robbing banks that it became like ‘white noise’. Often, Laughlin said, they’d “discuss methods of robbery including diversions.”

Laughlin described the men as Constitutionalists and anti-government.

According to investigators, in the summer of 1994, Laughlin recalled meeting Joshua and Bruce Turnidge for lunch in Woodburn.

According to the witness, Joshua Turnidge said “he had called the bank and told them there was a bomb and they were to deliver $20,000 to $40,000 to a construction Port-a-potty.” Laughlin said he watched police arrive at the bank.

The court papers also indicate Joshua Turnidge was in financial trouble. His girlfriend told investigators, “he is overdrawn by a couple of hundred dollars… they have no money… and were about to lose everything.”

Investigators previously stated they’ve connected Joshua Turnidge to the bombing through surveillance video and cell phone records.

Newly released court papers indicate, investigators found materials used to build the bomb on Bruce Turnidge’s rural property south of Salem.

Investigators claim they recovered matching metal, identical wiring and “empty tubes of DuPont Emulsion... a replacement for dynamite.”

The records describe Bruce Turnidge as acting suspicious shortly after the deadly bombing.

Joshua Turnidge’s defense lawyer said it would be inappropriate to discuss the facts of the case at this time.

Bruce Turnidge’s defense attorney did not return a call for comment.

[LOBO]

My copy of the Constitution must be missing parts. Which amendment gives the right to bomb banks?

[absdes96]

By "Constitutionalists", does this mean they were members of the Constitutional Party (a politically conservative party) or is this the name of some fringe group?

If this article means the legitimate political party (like Libertarian or Green) I fail to see how that has any relevance to the crime they have committed.

Maybe someone here can enlighten me?

[LPC]

I don't place a lot of reliance on what other people call people.

If the defendants had called themselves "constitutionalits," that would be interesting. The fact that a third party (apparently a prosecution witness) calls them "constitutionalists" is not much better than hearsay.

[Nikki]

My copy of the Constitution must be missing parts. Which amendment gives the right to bomb banks?

I think it's part of the one about the militia being composed of armed bears.

[SteveSy]

Man Demo, you love propaganda don't you. So what, they were constitutionalists and? Are you trying to imply all constitutionalists or TP's are on the same level as someone who will bomb a bank and kill cops? Here's one Demo "People who support federal taxes are found to be tax cheats!". See Daschle, Gitner and Rangel. Maybe "Madoff accused of one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history pleads guilty to all charges. He is only rivaled by the Federal Government's Ponzi scheme dubiously titled Social Security. All attempts to stop the on going fraud to the tune of trillions of dollars have failed. In an ironic twist this entity was put in charge of the prosecution Madoff"

Just wondering, what does this have to do with taxation?

[Demosthenes]

Hmmm. I wonder what an anti-government "constitutionalist" who hates banks and doesn't pay taxes has to do with this forum...

[Demosthenes]

Friend says 2 accused in Woodburn bombing talked of robbing bank for years
by Helen Jung, The Oregonian
Friday February 27, 2009, 8:38 PM

Two suspects charged in the Woodburn bank bombing last December had talked so much about robbing banks that it became "white noise," a friend told police.

And one of the suspects, Joshua A. Turnidge, had even called in a fake bomb threat against a Woodburn bank in 1994, according to an affidavit from investigators relaying the friend's account.

Joshua A. Turnidge and his father, Bruce A. Turnidge, face aggravated murder and other charges stemming from the bomb blast at a West Coast Bank that killed two police officers and seriously injured a third. They have pleaded not guilty, and a pre-bail hearing is scheduled for next week.

The recollections of the friend, Ronald Joseph Laughlin, were made public as part of investigators' request for a search warrant in the ongoing investigation.

Laughlin, a longtime friend of Joshua Turnidge, contacted investigators through a tip line, the affidavit said.

Laughlin said that in 1994, he met Joshua Turnidge for lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken on the Newberg highway. Joshua Turnidge told him of his bomb threat to a nearby Woodburn bank, and his demand that workers deliver $20,000 to $40,000 to a construction site port-a-potty. Laughlin recalled watching as police arrived, the affidavit said.

He also told investigators that the Turnidges -- as well as another family member, Pat Turnidge of Salem, talked extensively about robbing a bank and how to do it. Laughlin said he remembered a specific idea they had to blow up a propane tank on Commercial Street in Salem to divert law enforcement while they robbed a bank on the other side of town.

Laughlin told police "He would laugh at some of the dumb plans and never thought the Turnidges were serious about their robbery plans," the affidavit by Salem Detective Mike Bethers said.

Pat Turnidge, who is Bruce Turnidge's brother, has not been implicated in the crime.

Laughlin had been friends with Joshua Turnidge from the eighth grade, when they attended Salem Academy. They remained friends and in 2003, became business partners in a cell phone tower company, Rosh Construction Co. in Washington.

But Laughlin, the affidavit states, told investigators that "Joshua was foolish with his money and not a good business partner," and the two stopped working together in 2005. The split was amicable, the statement said, and Joshua Turnidge last communicated with Laughlin in November about large batteries used in cell phone towers.

He also told investigators that Joshua Turnidge was a Constitutionalist, although "he didn't believe that Joshua knew what that meant," the affidavit states.

Constitutionalist is a name taken by many far-right critics of the U.S. government. The term, defined in dictionaries as one who adheres to constitutional principles, was co-opted in the 1990s by self-professed patriot and militia organizations whose members felt the government was not following the Constitution.

Laughlin also said he believed that Joshua Turnidge was influenced by his father's beliefs and that the two were "anti-government although not specifically against police." They had talked in front of him "about sniping police officers who responded to a hoax incident with a high-powered rifle."

[LPC]

"Self-professed patriots" love the Constitution in much the same way that pedophiles love children.

[absdes96]

"Self-professed patriots" love the Constitution in much the same way that pedophiles love children.

Wow. My goodness. I know from time-to-time I have said that fringe groups tend to have "what goes beyond a proper zeal" for the supreme document, but I think your statement really nails it.

[The Observer]

Yeah, but now I feel the need to take my copy of the Constitution and strap a chastity belt on it.