Posts Tagged ‘Anson Chi’

Anson Chi Update

Monday, May 11th, 2015

Remember Plano pipeline bomber Anson Chi? Having already plead guilty (twice) for the attempted bombing, Chi, acting as his own attorney during the penalty phase of the trial, now claims his confession was tortured out of him.

Given the overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence against him (like the fact he managed to do more damage to himself than the pipeline), I think that idea is exceptionally unlikely. I suspect that the gulf between Chi’s self assessment of his legal skills and his actual skills are as vast as those between his conception of himself as an eco-avenging terrorist and his actual skills therefore…

Plano Bomber Anson Chi Pleads Guilty (Again)

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

Remember Anson Chi, the Ron Paul/Occupy follower accused of trying to blow up a gas pipeline in Plano?

Now he’s apparently plead guilty to charges he already plead guilty to before:

Anson Chi, 35, pleaded guilty to two of the four counts he was facing at trial – the same two counts he pleaded guilty to during a hearing last year. The difference with this plea agreement is that the prison sentence is essentially open-ended. Chi will be able to argue issues related to sentencing and will have the opportunity to appeal in some cases. The sentence will be imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell. No date has been set for sentencing.

I’m not going to pretend to understand the legal reasoning behind the double guilty pleas to the same charges.

“Chi represented himself at trial after firing his defense attorneys earlier this year.”

That’s pretty much universally a wrong move, but the whole “trying to blow up a pipeline and only injuring yourself” does suggest he’s not the sharpest tine on the rake.

Previous Anson Chi coverage here.

Thoughts On the Boston Bombing

Monday, April 15th, 2013

I assume you’ve heard about the atrocity de jour. A few random points

  • As Dwight points out, nobody knows nothing yet about who did it.
  • I’ve seen people say “Al Qaeda couldn’t have done this because it’s too small-scale and sloppy.” Too which i would like to point out that: 1.) Al Qaeda has bungled plenty of attacks, and 2.) As the Ft. Hood and UNC attacks showed, there’s no shortage of freelance Jihadis willing to kill Americans.
  • As for it possibly being “tax protestors” (it being April 15 an all), maybe. Suspected Plano pipeline bomber Anson Chi fit under that description. (Of course, he was also a pro-organic food, pro-WTO, pro-Occupy, anti-GMO type, so he doesn’t fit neatly in any left-right schema.)
  • And speaking of Occupy, don’t forget that three of them pled guilty in a bombing plot.
  • Iowahawk (via Twitter) would like us to remember Richard Jewell.
  • As for the possibility that Tea Party members might be behind the bombing, lets examine the record, shall we?

  • And here’s footage of the bombing itself, just so this seems more like a real post:

    Anson Chi Denied Bail (Plus Additional Information, Including His YouTube Videos)

    Sunday, July 8th, 2012

    Accused Plano bomber Anson Chi was denied bail at a hearing at which he testified on his own behalf. I don’t see anyone placing any sort of credibility on his claims that some of his wounds were due to being tortured by police while in the hospital. Various testimony adds a lot more to the “walking time-bomb” file:

    [FBI agent Brian] Carroll described Chi as “anti-government, anti-technology, anti-big business, pro-environmentalist (and) slightly anarchist.”

    “He said he was tired of armchair activists and wanted to have this in the bank to prove he was a real activist,” Carroll said.

    One wonder what sort of “activism” Chi thought he was displaying. Anti-gas-pipeline activism? I fail to see how blowing up a pipeline would fight the Federal Reserve, the IRS, or genetically modified food (all noted Chi concerns).

    Testifying for the defense, Chi’s parents said they were OK with him living at home if the judge agreed to release him and would notify police immediately if he broke any rules.

    But the testimony also seemed to backfire.

    His father, Swia Chenn Chi, said he often fought with his son and was so afraid of him he once called the police.

    “If we don’t agree, he usually goes wild,” the father testified. “I was so afraid he would take the gun and point it at me … I wished the police would (have taken) his gun away, but they never did.”

    The FBI said agents recovered two pistols and three shotguns from the family’s Plano house, in addition to bomb-making chemicals and hardware in a search hours after the explosion.

    Chi’s father said he was upset with his son because he hadn’t worked for several years.

    “He’s such a grown-up man,” Swia Chenn Chi said of his 33-year-old son. “He’s not handicapped but he doesn’t work so he makes me disappointed.”

    An adult refusing to look for a job fits the Occupy mold a lot more than your typical Ron Paul supporter. It also fits in with Chi’s posting the “Disappointed Asian Father” images on his Facebook page, like this one:

    It also ties into the themes in his novel.

    Anson Chi’s mother, Fai, testified her son had no real friends and added she had no idea what the chemicals were inside their home.

    “I didn’t know what he was doing,” Fai Chi said. “When I ask him questions, he says I’m nosy.”

    She said she thought the chemicals were ingredients for him to make soup.

    “I always thought he was baking and cooking,” she said.

    Asked if she ever saw him eat anything he baked, she said, “Last year he did eat a loaf of bread.”

    She also said her son would sometimes compare himself to Jesus.

    “He said, ‘Jesus cannot save the world. I can save the world,'” she said.

    Comparing yourself to Jesus is a pretty clear sign you’ve gone off the deep end.

    More information from The Dallas Morning News:

    In addition to the bomb-making materials and instructions, agents found three shotguns and two 40-caliber semi-automatic handguns at the Chi home. They found books on domestic terrorism and technological slavery. They also found $2,000 hidden in a spray can with a false bottom, as well as euros and Asian currency.

    Carroll detailed Chi’s extensive travel in recent years, including trips to Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Records show that Chi crossed into Mexico 20 times on foot and that he was denied entry into Canada last year, Carroll testified.

    More information continues to come out about Chi, including some information I was unable to locate between the time I figured out he was the likely bombing suspect and the time the Dallas media revealed who he was.

    Here’s Chi, in a video with badly synched audio:

    I’m not a big fan of the IRS, and as a fan of small government I have a bit of sympathy for tax protestors. But that sympathy is tempered by the fact that the theories by which they deduce the federal income tax is unconstitutional range from the almost certainly wrong to the completely ludicrous. And further evidence that they’re mistaken is the frequency with which they end up in prison.

    Chi also posted a copy of this well-known video depicting soccer fans overwhelming police over their excessive use of violence. I’m all for exposing and punishing police brutality, but when Chi comments “Watch the police (pigs) get what they deserve—oink!” once again he gives that Occupy-tainted whiff of throwback 1960s radicalism. Not everyone who called police pigs in the 1960s built bombs, but virtually 100% of the 1960s bomb builders (The Weatherman Underground, etc.) would be found among their ranks.

    He also links to a 9/11 Truther video, which does not speak well of his credulity.

    Plano Bombing Suspect Anson Chi Wanted on Weapons Charge in California

    Thursday, June 21st, 2012

    According to this DSM story. The other material in that story should be familiar If you’ve been reading this blog.

    On reason I’ve kept on this story is that once I uncovered the Ron Paul connection, it was obvious the MSM would run with Chi as a “Right Wing Extremist.” Which is already happening in the comments for various stories. But, as I showed, it’s not that simple. Chi is also on record as supporting organic food and opposing religion, corporations and genetically modified food, all of which are hardly typical Ron Paul positions. I wanted to get the facts out there before the MSM clouded the issue.

    NEWSFLASH: FBI Confirms Anson Chi as Plano Bombing Suspect

    Thursday, June 21st, 2012

    “In a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court Wednesday, the FBI identified Anson Chi as the suspect accused of setting off a bomb while tampering with a gas main earlier this week.”

    But the MSM is only reporting what I concluded on Tuesday .

    More Plano Bombing Tidbits (Including Possible Motivation for Suspect Anson Chi)

    Thursday, June 21st, 2012

    For those just joining in, on Monday an explosion seriously injured a man near a gas pipeline in Plano. Police investigating the incident concluded that the man hadn’t been hit by a car (as he claimed) but that an explosive device had detonated (possibly early) near a gas pipeline. The police bomb squad also disposed of a device taken from the suspect’s house. Using information in the various news stories and public records, I deduced that an Anson Chi was the likely suspect. Today I posted some background on Chi, in that he seems to be both a Ron Paul supporter, and an opponent of religion, corporations, and genetically modified food.

    Now, the latest news: The FBI was back at the suspect’s home today, carrying out another search.

    I’ve been skimming through Chi’s novel (actually, based on length, more of a novella) Yellow on the Outside, Shame on the Inside: Asian Culture Revealed, which you can download for free. As you might deduce from the title, it’s largely about the pressures of being expected to succeed as an Asian in America.

    Take the opening on the first page for example:

    Doctor or lawyer—my only two options. These would be your only two options if you have Asian parents. You would think that you would be able to pick your own career, since you know, it is your own damn life. But not when you have Asian parents. So my only two options: doctor or lawyer.

    It’s partially a first person Roman a clef about growing up Asian, partially an indictment of The Way We Live now, partially rants about status, privilege, and what the protagonist (and presumably the author) sees as a lack of moral compass among Asians. Here’s an example:

    I hate grocery shopping by myself, especially when my parents make me come here to Culver Plaza, the Chinatown of Irvine and ergo Orange County. It’s always crowded with Asian people of course, all looking for a wide selection of cheap Asian goods. Now when I say cheap, I don’t mean just the price; I also mean the quality. Many people are aware of lead toys manufactured in China, but not many are aware of cadmium-laden kitchenware, which has been linked to birth defects and cancer; or chopped up pieces of bleached cardboard in frozen wontons; or contaminated, toxic pet food that has killed a copious number of animals here in the United States; or milk and baby formula laced with melamine, a banned industrial chemical, the same chemical used in the contaminated, toxic pet food; or the extreme levels of formaldehyde normally for embalming dead bodies used in clothing, and unbelievably, also in noodles, which prompted the shutdown of one of the biggest noodle manufacturers in China. Not to mention the complete violation of human rights and the advocacy of slave labor, but of course, Asians don’t care because it’s always about the money, so ethical and moral values go out the window.

    The story concludes when the protagonist and a fellow Asian student friend prepare to commit suicide because they scored too low on the MCAT.

    Not exactly the feel-good book of the year.

    It’s a stark contrast with Chi’s generally cheerful Facebook page, though the same sense of irony can be found in each.

    He even puts in supplemental material at the end of the book, just in case you didn’t get the message:

    Question: Why would you write a book that’s not true?

    My Answer: This book is a didactic novel, aka literary fiction. But I know what you mean. I wrote this book based on my cognizance and on the lives of others, including my own life. There are people who wouldn’t agree with what I say just like I wouldn’t agree with what they say. Life goes on…

    Question: Why did you write this book?

    My Answer: The suicide rate for Asian Americans is astronomically higher than Caucasians, African Americans, and Latin Americans. In fact, Asian Americans have the highest suicide rate among women. Moreover, two million women attempt suicide in China every year, with many more not counted due to saving face. This needs to change, and I believe my book is conducive as a start for that change. I see too many Asian children indoctrinated and conditioned like overachieving robots, here in the United States and in Asia. This won’t stop until we all work together, as I have luminously delineated in the last chapter (Détente) of my book.

    We will refrain from critiquing the literary value of the novel, or the author calling his own work “luminous,” and note that this, combined with his disenchantment with the current state of politics (and possible job issues, since his resume doesn’t list any paying employer since 2006, unless he was on the Ron Paul payroll in 2008), may start to provide possible motivation for his actions.

    Let’s just say he seems to have some issues.

    More Information on Possible Plano Bomber Anson Chi

    Thursday, June 21st, 2012

    Yesterday I noticed a large number of search hits for Anson Chi Plano Bomber, and various combinations thereof. And today a little bird told me that Chi is indeed the hospitalized bombing suspect. So let me post a little bit more about him.

    I’ve been following up on this story because I had initially guessed that the then-unknown bombing suspect might be part of Occupy Wall Street. When news outlets have revealed enough information to deduce that Anson Chi was the likely suspect, and it turned out he’s a Ron Paul supporter, then it seemed only fair to post that, since one of the guiding rules of blogging is to correct your own errors, even if it may temporarily hurt your “side.” The first side you should be on is the truth.

    Now that I’ve been able to round up more information about Chi, my initial guess that he might be part of Occupy is, if not right, somewhat less wrong than it appeared at first. Indeed, he’s posted some pictures from various Occupy encampments around the world. While he’s not a fan of Obama or the IRS, he’s also not a fan of Christianity, genetically modified food or corporations. Chi seems one of those people both deeply interested in, and deeply disenchanted with, contemporary politics:

    That, along with the other images in this post, are taken from Anson Chi’s Facebook page. If Chi is indeed the Plano bomber, he deserves to go to prison from a long time. But his web pages don’t give off the screaming capital letter fanaticism of some nuts; Chi actually comes across as a normal, intelligent, and ironic guy with issues about his own Asian heritage and a disenchantment with politics that, were it not for the bombing angle, would seem pretty normal.

    So here are a few pieces of information on Anson Chi, gleaned from his various web pages (and some of which are NSFW).

  • He’s the author of the novel Yellow on the Outside, Shame on the Inside: Asian Culture Revealed, which you can download for free.
  • He’s not an Obama fan:

  • He has an online resume that doesn’t seem geared toward seriously finding another job, subtitled “Crap that I’ve done” with sections labeled “Paid Slavery” and “Miseducation,” which reads “Postgraduate Work in Music 2002/University of Texas at Dallas – B.S. (Bullshit) in Business MIS 2000.”
  • He seems to have moved a lot. His Facebook location reads “Lives in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico [a joke?]. From New York, New York.” His resume shows a variety of jobs all over the country:

    IBM – Dallas, Texas 2005 – 2006
    Web Middleware Engineer

    Ameriquest Mortgage Company – Orange, California 2005
    System Engineer II

    Atos Origin – Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan 2004 – 2005
    System Engineer

    Heartland Payment Systems – Frisco, TX 2002 – 2003
    UNIX System Operator

    Loudcloud – Sunnyvale, CA 2001
    NOC Engineer

    Alcatel – Plano, TX 2000 – 2001
    UNIX System Administrator

    The political section of that resume shows “Travis County District 149 Precinct Chairman” and “Ron Paul 2008 Grassroots Campaign – Austin, TX 2007-2008 Campaign Director.”

  • Campaign contribution records also show that he gave $6,479 to the Ron Paul campaign over four separate donations.
  • Among the groups he supports are several environmental and organic groups: California Certified Organic Farmers, Oregon Tilth (an organic group), Organic Consumers Association, and We Are All Green.
  • He posted several times in support of IRS protestor Tom Cryer, who believed the income tax was unconstitutional. Cryer died this month on June 4.
  • He also appeared on an Austin Internet radio show in support of Cryer.
  • He posted this image to his Facebook page February 6:

  • He put up several anti-SOPA posts.
  • The thing that strikes me most about spending an hour wading through Chi’s Facebook page (which was last updated June 16) is how perfectly normal everything he put there was, except for the fact that, as far as I can tell, there’s no description of personal interactions at all (maybe they’re there but set to private so his only friends can see them). But Chi strikes me as someone believing in some ideas on the middle of the far left and the middle of the far right, but not as someone who would blow up a gas pipeline.

    Is Anson Chi the Plano Bombing Suspect?

    Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

    It would appear that the Plano bombing suspect is one Anson Chi, based on the following:

  • The house raided by the bomb squad is reported belonging to Swia and Fai Chi, both in their 60s. “A neighbor described them as ‘hard-working people, blue-collar people’ who shared the home with at least one adult son.”
  • Searching on their names brings up a directory listing for an Anson Chi on Anchor street.
  • His MySpace page would suggest that, far from being an Occupy Wall Street supporter, that Chi is in fact a Ron Paul fan.
  • More details when I have them…

    Added: More details Here. While Chi is not a fan of Obama or the IRS, he’s also not a fan of Christianity, genetically modified food or corporations, which makes him a very atypical Ron Paul supporter.

    More Plano Bomber Tidbits: Occupy Wall Street Related?

    Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

    A few more details are dribbling out about the alleged Plano gas pipeline bomber.

    Among the most interesting:

    1. “Neighbors also said the son who lives there is often out and about and doesn’t seem to hold down a job.”
    2. “They said he typically carried a backpack with him.”
    3. “One neighbor told News 8 the son seemed to change over the last couple of years. He said his neighbor started running at night, saying he ‘was in training.’ That same neighbor said the young man lived a minimalistic life, saying he was against modern technology, but would then talk about spending hours on his computer.”

    No job, backpack, hates technology. Let’s see: Who does that description fit?

    Is it too soon to guess at an Occupy Wall Street connection? Probably. There’s only a few shreds of evidence. And yet, want to guess what the most recent concern on the Occupy Dallas website was?

    Would you believe “Protecting our Community from Gas Drilling”? Indeed it seems to be a continuing concern.

    Certainly other Occupy [Place Name Here] factions have been indicted in bomb plots. And as for the bomb detonating prematurely and injuring the bomb maker, well, let’s just say that such incidents are hardly unknown among the radical left.

    This is all very speculative and tentative, and the bomber could still be a lone nut. But at least the Occupy Dallas connection would explain the bomber’s motivation.