Police: Alleged freeway shooter was targeting ACLU

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – A California man known for his anger over
left-leaning politics said after a freeway shootout with CHP officers
that he had been planning an attack on the ACLU and another nonprofit
group, police said Tuesday.

Byron Williams, 45, a parolee with two previous bank robbery
convictions, wanted to "start a revolution" by killing people at the
American Civil Liberties Union and Tides Foundation, Oakland police Sgt.
Michael Weisenberg said in court documents.

The weekend shootout occurred in a 24-hour span in Oakland when a sniper
shot at police officers from a high-rise building, and a Virginia man
who had a job interview in the San Francisco Bay area was fatally shot
in downtown Oakland by robbers who got away with just $17.

The spate of violence came just a week after Oakland laid off 80
officers and is facing criticism for slower response to calls.

The Oakland Police Department is leading the investigation into the
shootout, but no city police were involved in the incident that occurred
on Interstate 580.

Officer Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman, said the two groups were
targeted because of their politics. The ACLU is a civil rights group,
while the Tides Foundation says on its website that it works to advance
progressive social change.

Williams was arraigned Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court after
being released from a hospital when he was treated for gunshot wounds to
his arms and legs. He did not enter a plea to four counts of attempted
murder on peace officers, plus weapons and body armor enhancements.

No CHP officers were seriously injured in the shootout.

Williams was wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with three guns as he
traveled to San Francisco late Saturday night in his Toyota Tundra,
police said. He is accused of opening fire on California Highway Patrol
officers who approached his truck after pulling him over.

Williams surrendered and was arrested after a 12-minute gunbattle with
12 officers, most of whom responded to a call for backup, police said.

Weisenberg said in his probable cause statement that Williams had "made
a decision that he would not be arrested and that he was willing to
shoot and kill the officers," the statement said.

During a police interview at the hospital, Williams said he had planned
to camp out in San Francisco on Sunday night then begin his attack when
the ACLU and Tides Foundation opened Monday, Thomason said.

Christine Coleman, spokeswoman for the Tides Foundation, said the
organization had taken additional security measure to protect its staff.

"We had never heard of this man before," Coleman said. "We cannot
speculate about the incident while the investigation is going on."

Phone calls to the ACLU of Northern California were not immediately
returned.

Williams also told investigators he was upset because he had not been
able to find a job and because of the poor economy, Thomason said.

Williams' mother, Janice Williams, told the San Francisco Chronicle her
son had been angry with "the way Congress was railroading through all
these left-wing agenda items."

A phone message left for Janice Williams by The Associated Press was not
immediately returned.

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Gosharoonie...he's the next Tea Party hero!