Austin bombing asshole thread

[Beau Vine 55836]

I think this was mostly on Shaggy; I searched for a Surly thread and only found one short one started by Hugo, and fuck him, so here's a new one from mystatesman:

Quote

Highlights

Many steps separated the 23-year-old Conditt from his oldest friends and set him on a course of loneliness.

 

Investigators have struggled to find a confidant who could provide a window into Conditt’s life and motives.

 

Forensic searches uncovered evidence that he used Grindr, a dating app, to exchange messages with gay men.

PFLUGERVILLE —

Several years before embarking on a bombing spree that terrorized Austin, Mark Conditt had turned against his family’s devout Christianity and declared himself an atheist.

It was the first of many steps that separated the 23-year-old from his oldest friends and set him on a course of increasing isolation. He lost his job in the tech industry less than a year before the bombings. Investigators have struggled for weeks to find a single confidant who could provide a window into his life.

His roommates told authorities Conditt kept his bedroom door locked and dodged questions about why.

During the race to stop the attacks and in the weeks after, investigators also obtained information indicating that Conditt was questioning his sexuality. As a 17-year-old, he had written that homosexuality is “not natural,” echoing the teachings of his religious education, and raising the prospect of inner turmoil in his final months.

On the day Conditt killed himself with his own bomb, ending the string of attacks that killed two others and injured four, interim Police Chief Brian Manley declared Conditt “a very challenged young man,” a remark that drew criticism from some who thought it was too sympathetic to the bomber. Manley later made it a point to publicly refer to Conditt as a “domestic terrorist.”

Six weeks later, the answer to why Conditt carried out the attacks remains stubbornly elusive. Investigators who have analyzed a recorded confession he left say Conditt appeared to treat the bombings as an experiment that started with him wondering whether he was capable of building explosives and whether he would get caught.

READ: Why Austin bomber Mark Conditt’s confession may be kept secret — forever

However, officials also say it likely will be impossible to fully understand his purpose. Despite spending countless hours studying his life, they still have few clues to his motive but say they are confident in ruling out possibilities such as politics, racially motivated hate or links to international terrorism.

For this story, the American-Statesman has confirmed details of the investigation and Conditt’s life with four law enforcement officials closely involved in the case.

The revelation that Conditt might have been struggling with his sexuality in some ways echoes the case of Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old who shot and killed 49 people at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse in 2016.

Both men came from staunchly religious backgrounds that frowned upon homosexuality. Mateen’s attack, at the time the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, sparked debate over whether a socially engendered “internalized homophobia” partially motivated the attack. In recent months, evidence suggesting Mateen was not gay has come to light, and investigators have cast doubt on that conclusion.

In 2012, when he was a student at Austin Community College, Conditt wrote a blog post opposing gay marriage for a government and politics class.

“Just look at the male and female bodies. They are obviously designed to couple,” he wrote. “I do not believe it is proper to pass laws stating that homosexuals have ‘rights.’ What about pedophilia or bestiality?”

But two men who lived with him told detectives they thought Conditt might have been gay, and forensic searches uncovered evidence that he used Grindr to exchange messages with gay men.

If he were gay, Conditt would have struggled with coming out, given his family and social circles, said Sierra Jane Davis, a transgender woman who also grew up in the Pflugerville home-school community and knew Conditt.

“It’s not something we talked about, but I do know that it would have been difficult for him and his family,” Davis, 23, said.

It’s unclear if Conditt’s family ever learned about his struggles with sexuality. His parents have denied repeated interview requests, and a family spokesman did not return a call seeking comment.

Despite his rejection of their religion, Conditt’s parents tried to help him find a sense of purpose in his early adult years. His father bought a home nearby that Conditt lived in, and the two renovated it together. Conditt acted as the property manager for the home, which is at the end of a small neighborhood street. He was in charge of finding roommates and collecting the monthly rent.

3 WEEKS OF TERROR: How 7 Austin bombing incidents unfolded

Investigators are still trying to piece together how Conditt learned about explosives. They are hopeful that several older computers found in his home that are currently being examined might reveal clues. The Statesman also confirmed that investigators identified a person they thought might have taught Conditt some skills about building bombs. That person has since been cleared of any suspicion, as were Conditt’s roommates.

The fact that the two people killed in the bombings, Anthony Stephan House and Draylen Mason, were black led many to believe the attacks were racially motivated. But investigators continue to say they have found no evidence of that in Conditt’s communications, online activity or in his home.

Investigators who have scrutinized the biggest clue in the case — a 28-minute confession Conditt recorded as he learned police were closing in on him— say he never identified what specifically drove him to harm others and spoke in the recording, which has not been publicly released, about the attacks with no sense of feeling or empathy for the victims or their families. The Statesman reported two days after Conditt died that he called himself a “psychopath” and says he felt as though he had always been one. He ended the tape saying, “I wish I were sorry, but I am not.”

‘A lot of people didn’t understand him’

At the time of the bombings, his father, William Patrick Conditt, was an account executive for the information technology company Insight, according to a LinkedIn page. His mother, Danene Conditt, home-schooled her son and his two younger sisters.

Mark Conditt participated in a Bible study and outdoor activities group called R.I.O.T., which is a commonly used acronym among Christian youth groups that stands for “Righteous Invasion Of Truth.” It comes from a 1995 hit by the Christian rock artist Carman, who sings, “Righteous, to conform to the Bible / Invasion, an armed attack / Of Truth, the real state of affairs / Like a church on the move that will not double back.”

Conditt told his family he was an atheist when he was 18 years old, investigators said, although he sporadically attended various churches after making that decision. He was known in the past to attend the Austin Stone Community Church, although the church says it has no record of him being involved recently.

A statement by the Texas Home School Coalition shortly after Conditt was revealed to be the bomber, which put Texas’ home-schooling community on the defensive, emphasized he had stopped practicing Christianity.

“Raised by both parents in a Christian home, Conditt reportedly walked away from his faith several years ago,” said the statement from the group’s president, Tim Lambert.

READ: The 20 hours that led to Conditt’s downfall 

Davis said she was close to Conditt until about two years ago – when she told him she had decided to transition. Davis said Conditt didn’t cut her off immediately but fell out of touch with her, as did many of her friends and family members.

“He told me that he couldn’t support my decision to live this life,” she said. “I expected that from everyone.”

She described their group of friends as “home-schoolers who wanted to talk about God with other Christians.”

“He was a quiet guy, but he was always willing to talk,” she said.

Like others who knew Conditt, Davis said she was shocked to learn he was capable of violence or interested in making bombs.

Jeremiah Jensen, another Pflugerville home-school graduate who knew Conditt, said he was a “deep thinker” and an “assertive person” who would sometimes turn others off by becoming combative in conversation.

“A lot of people didn’t understand him and where he was coming from,” said Jensen, 24, who fell out of touch with Conditt four to five years ago. “He loved to think and argue and turn things over and figure out what was really going on.”

Conditt was athletic, Jensen said, and enjoyed rock-climbing and parkour — a form of training that involves finding creative ways around, over and under obstacles.

Jensen said he had hoped Conditt would grow out of his difficulties and was stunned that he was behind the bombings.

“I always thought that he would eventually find his wings and become someone who was stable and had a great inner life and family and go on to live a good life,” Jensen said.

Lacking direction

After his mother graduated him from home schooling, Conditt worked for four years at Crux Manufacturing, a semiconductor maker in Pflugerville, before being fired last summer, said Shane Miller, a co-owner of the business who is a family friend and had known Conditt since he was 9 years old.

Conditt worked in various of roles at the company, from packaging and shipping to project planning.

Miller said that Conditt was not fired because of bad behavior, but because the company had grown rapidly and needed to restructure many of its positions.

“He wasn’t meeting the new expectations of the job role, so he was let go for that reason, but he wasn’t doing a horrible job,” Miller said. “The company grew beyond his experience level, and we needed to get other people involved.”

READ: Team repairs first Austin bombing victim’s home as gift to his widow 

Miller added that he thought it would be good for Conditt to explore new possibilities and offered to have him do some work at the company while he looked for opportunities. Conditt declined.

“I don’t think he knew what he wanted to do,” Miller said.

After leaving the Crux job, Conditt worked for some time at an Austin-area garage door repair company, investigators said.

Jensen said that, while there are many positive aspects of home schooling, its insularity might have contributed to Conditt’s lack of direction in early adulthood.

“Loneliness can be an issue,” Jensen said. “It’s just very difficult for a lot of kids to find a way to fit in once they are out in the real world. … I have a feeling that is what happened with Mark. I don’t ever remember him being sure of what he wanted to do.”

At the home he remodeled with his father, Conditt sometimes played video games with two roommates, one of whom detectives say he had met through a church organization. The roommates told police after the attacks that Conditt told various stories about why he wasn’t home for long periods when police say he was carrying out the bombings.

On the Sunday that he planted a trip-wire explosive device that injured two men in Southwest Austin, he told them he was baby-sitting his sisters at his parents’ house, they said.

But mostly, the roommates told authorities, Conditt was a man they didn’t really know.

 

[Celery Man 21077]

It's too bad he didn't kill himself before killing anyone else.

[JimmyJames 12271]

Dude was probably gay. Hated himself for it due to his upbringing and could never come close to admitting it or if he did he would never consider truly admitting it to his family or felt ashamed if he did. Was socially isolated due to homeschooling. For some reason, probably depression style loneliness,  got interested in killing people. Wound up killing people, terrorized many others, and ultimately killed himself. 

All because some sects of the Christians hate the gay. I still consider myself Christian but hate some subsects of it. 

 

 

[cmontexas 3331]

Him getting fired from that manufacturing job is interesting. Considering the article states he worked in a variety of roles and the boss was a family friend, the reasons the boss states "no bad behavior or performance the company just grew too fast" seem a little suspect.

They wouldnt just put him in the mailroom or something? He was obviously skilled enough with gadgetry to make those bombs.

I wonder if he got caught looking up bombmaking info or using company materials/ time to tinker with explosives and Crux fired him but didnt report the info to the FBI or anybody and are now being coy about why he was let go to cover their asses

[SDG 3335]

1 hour ago, cmontexas said:

Him getting fired from that manufacturing job is interesting. Considering the article states he worked in a variety of roles and the boss was a family friend, the reasons the boss states "no bad behavior or performance the company just grew too fast" seem a little suspect.

They wouldnt just put him in the mailroom or something? He was obviously skilled enough with gadgetry to make those bombs.

I wonder if he got caught looking up bombmaking info or using company materials/ time to tinker with explosives and Crux fired him but didnt report the info to the FBI or anybody and are now being coy about why he was let go to cover their asses

Paging potential liability attorney’s.

[chainsaw 10248]

Not sure if I buy this "he was atheist" spin from the homeschooler crowd.  I'll wait until more details emerge from the people who actually knew him and who actually read everything on his computers.

[Eskimohorn 5677]

What is your major malfunction, numbnuts? Didn't Mommy and Daddy show you enough attention when you were a child?

[Newdoc 3508]

On 5/11/2018 at 4:00 PM, JimmyJames said:

Dude was probably gay. Hated himself for it due to his upbringing and could never come close to admitting it or if he did he would never consider truly admitting it to his family or felt ashamed if he did. Was socially isolated due to homeschooling. For some reason, probably depression style loneliness,  got interested in killing people. Wound up killing people, terrorized many others, and ultimately killed himself. 

All because some sects of the Christians hate the gay. I still consider myself Christian but hate some subsects of it. 

 

 

Project much?

[burntorangebongos 10809]

Wait, What? READ: Why Austin bomber Mark Conditt’s confession may be kept secret — forever

IF this is true that they may never release his recording and the conclusion of their investigation, then that is bullshit. He terrorized the community and made people anxious of their own package deliveries. Why can't we find out why he said he did it and have closure?  Fuck sparing his parents or church. Maybe what JJ says above is correct or it is due to something else but whatever it is, we have a right to understand why this "troubled young man" fucked with a city. Also, give us a chance to evaluate the investigation by our police force. 

Edited May 13, 2018 by burntorangebongos
booboo fixed

[troph 25099]

I might be gay but can’t accept myself bc my family is super Christian so I’ll kill people is bullshit. That was my background and making bombs and terrorizing others never crossed my mind.

 

[jimmyjazz 46990]

Quote

The revelation that Conditt might have been struggling with his sexuality in some ways echoes the case of Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old who shot and killed 49 people at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse in 2016.

This is impossible.  I was told so on the Orlando bombing thread.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11856]

1 hour ago, troph said:

I might be gay but can’t accept myself bc my family is super Christian so I’ll kill people is bullshit. That was my background and making bombs and terrorizing others never crossed my mind.

 

So true. Dude had a screw loose.  Lots of us have problems but don’t go around murdering people. His upbringing might have been a factor but he’d have been a horrible person anyway. 

Edited May 13, 2018 by Judge Roybeanbag

[burntorangebongos 10809]

1 hour ago, troph said:

I might be gay but can’t accept myself bc my family is super Christian so I’ll kill people is bullshit. That was my background and making bombs and terrorizing others never crossed my mind.

 

Well you're not a psychopath. I think he self-diagnosed himself correctly. Really telling how he dropped his tran friend who was going to go through getting ostracized by family and friends for her transition. Instead of empathizing with someone who was going through the difficulty of living their truth and standing by them. He dropped her. What a loser.

[troph 25099]

1 hour ago, burntorangebongos said:

Well you're not a psychopath. I think he self-diagnosed himself correctly. Really telling how he dropped his tran friend who was going to go through getting ostracized by family and friends for her transition. Instead of empathizing with someone who was going through the difficulty of living their truth and standing by them. He dropped her. What a loser.

Exactly.  The guy was a socio/psychopath first and foremost.

[atomheartbevo 90554]

Know somebody who lives a few streets over from those two guys that got hit by the sidewalk, and they know one of the families. Those guys got a lot more fucked up than originally reported. 

[chainsaw 10248]

On 5/13/2018 at 7:09 AM, burntorangebongos said:

Wait, What? READ: Why Austin bomber Mark Conditt’s confession may be kept secret — forever

IF this is true that they may never release his recording and the conclusion of their investigation, then that is bullshit. He terrorized the community and made people anxious of their own package deliveries. Why can't we find out why he said he did it and have closure?  Fuck sparing his parents or church. Maybe what JJ says above is correct or it is due to something else but whatever it is, we have a right to understand why this "troubled young man" fucked with a city. Also, give us a chance to evaluate the investigation by our police force. 

Pretty sure a competent newspaper can win a lawsuit to force it to be released under FOIA.

[chainsaw 10248]

20 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Know somebody who lives a few streets over from those two guys that got hit by the sidewalk, and they know one of the families. Those guys got a lot more fucked up than originally reported. 

How fucked up are we talkin here

[Eskimohorn 5677]

Exactly.  The guy was a socio/psychopath first and foremost.

I’m going to say he wasnt a sociopath in the clinical sense. They don’t repress because that would mean denial and sacrifice. Commonly they are charming, habitual liars who care only about themselves. If gay, he’d be slaying it, while gleefully lying to his church friends and family. Probably would attempt to convert some.

Rarely will they off themselves except in murder-suicide of someone who really pisses them off or symbolizes what they hate. If caught, they would like to stay for the victory parade.

I’m leaning towards Aspergers spectrum with a mix of abuse and religious repression, then add a dose of online radicalization.

[atomheartbevo 90554]

1 hour ago, chainsaw said:

How fucked up are we talkin here

No exact details other than life threatening and/or potential for amputation.   It was just a comment made in passing (asking somebody in our group to pray for them)  

Which isn’t surprising. You don’t get a bunch of screws/nails/whatever shot into your legs without something bad happening.  

[Wally Pryor 5388]

Colton got the worst of it.  My understanding is tha he is making slow, but steady, progress.

https://www.gofundme.com/austin-bomb-victim-4

[El Diablo 4232]

On ‎5‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 11:40 AM, chainsaw said:

Pretty sure a competent newspaper can win a lawsuit to force it to be released under FOIA.

If Mixon's tape can be suppressed for years, and that tape was evidence in a legal matter, I don't know how long they can keep something like this guys final statement, that wasn't evidence in a legal matter, out of the publics hands. Isn't it essentially personal belongings at this point?

[Hank Scorpio 17924]

On 5/11/2018 at 9:34 PM, cmontexas said:

They wouldnt just put him in the mailroom or something?

I like the way you think. This whole thing could have been avoided if the guy who mailed a bunch of bombs just worked in a mailroom and get a better idea of how the postal system works. 

[chainsaw 10248]

16 hours ago, El Diablo said:

If Mixon's tape can be suppressed for years, and that tape was evidence in a legal matter, I don't know how long they can keep something like this guys final statement, that wasn't evidence in a legal matter, out of the publics hands. Isn't it essentially personal belongings at this point?

Apples and Oranges.  The feds did not descend upon Norman.  Mixon did not terrorize a major city for a month.

[Wally Pryor 5388]

It's been a year. 

Tony Plohetski was the Statesman reporter who had the thing covered to beginning to end.  He was on Ward's show this afternoon.   Great interview.  The Fed Ex employee on Brodie thought Conditt smelled weird - like a burned substance.  Followed Conditt to the door and saw him get into a red Ford truck in the distance.  FBI used the names from receipts from Fry's and Home Depot and cross referenced against the owners of like vehicles in Texas.  As the FBI agent was beginning to analyze this mass of data, on the 7th cross check, Conditt's name and vehicle matched.    And that point, it was over.    Search warrants were then given for everything Conditt, including his cell records.   He was tracked within a few hours to the hotel in north Austin, and soon it was over.

[Deej 77677]

Good work by the FedEx employee staying alert.

[3adays 454]

I’m curious if FedEx guy got a reward. By that point there had to have been a nice sum of money being offered for a tip leading to an arrest. 

[DanRydell 799]

12 hours ago, 3adays said:

I’m curious if FedEx guy got a reward. By that point there had to have been a nice sum of money being offered for a tip leading to an arrest. 

I would guess no because he didn't actually come forward but rather was interviewed when they traced the package that exploded to that store.

[jimmyjazz 46990]

Reward or not, that was some heads-up action right there.  To follow the guy out and identify the vehicle, that's not what most people would do.

[staboner 5067]

23 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

It's been a year. 

Tony Plohetski was the Statesman reporter who had the thing covered to beginning to end.  He was on Ward's show this afternoon.   Great interview.  The Fed Ex employee on Brodie thought Conditt smelled weird - like a burned substance.  Followed Conditt to the door and saw him get into a red Ford truck in the distance.  FBI used the names from receipts from Fry's and Home Depot and cross referenced against the owners of like vehicles in Texas.  As the FBI agent was beginning to analyze this mass of data, on the 7th cross check, Conditt's name and vehicle matched.    And that point, it was over.    Search warrants were then given for everything Conditt, including his cell records.   He was tracked within a few hours to the hotel in north Austin, and soon it was over.

crazy. 

fuck you asshole. MOTHERFUCK YOU. you took lives for no reason at all. rot in hell. 

[WBT 20888]

Don't think he'll be reading this thread

[SizzleChest 8302]

1 hour ago, WBT said:

Don't think he'll be reading this thread

Oh, I had heard they have the internet in hell, but they have a hard time keeping the data center cool enough.

[Homercles 10206]

It's been a year. 
Tony Plohetski was the Statesman reporter who had the thing covered to beginning to end.  He was on Ward's show this afternoon.   Great interview.  The Fed Ex employee on Brodie thought Conditt smelled weird - like a burned substance.  Followed Conditt to the door and saw him get into a red Ford truck in the distance.  FBI used the names from receipts from Fry's and Home Depot and cross referenced against the owners of like vehicles in Texas.  As the FBI agent was beginning to analyze this mass of data, on the 7th cross check, Conditt's name and vehicle matched.    And that point, it was over.    Search warrants were then given for everything Conditt, including his cell records.   He was tracked within a few hours to the hotel in north Austin, and soon it was over.

Yeah that’s real police work there Lou. Too bad APD had such a hard time of it with the rock thrower/TXTow

[Armybrat 41334]

35 minutes ago, Homercles said:

 

Yeah that’s real police work there Lou. Too bad APD had such a hard time of it with the rock thrower/TXTow

 

FBI work. After APD fizzled.

[NorthLoop 14422]

13 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

5 minutes of FBI work. After 2 years of APD work fizzled.

 

[Beau Vine 55836]

23 hours ago, SizzleChest said:

Oh, I had heard they have the internet in hell, but they have a hard time keeping the data center cool enough.

They only get texags and tigerdroppings.

[Wally Pryor 5388]

Good Statesman read / series by Plohetski.

By 8 a.m., investigators were at the Brodie Lane FedEx store, awaiting the employee who interacted with the bomber. He told them: “That guy was very strange. In fact, he smelled like burnt wire,” Milanowski recalled. The employee told agents he never considered that the man might be the Austin serial bomber. He knew that person had been dropping packages at doorsteps — not shipping them.

But the FedEx employee was suspicious enough that he had followed the man to the store’s front door. Peering through the store display window, the clerk watched him climb into a red pickup and drive away.

The energy at the command post ratcheted up.

Agents showed the FedEx employee a photo lineup of pickups to see if he could pick out the bomber’s. He pointed to a red Ford Ranger.

Investigators raced to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and requested a spreadsheet listing the name and address of every Texan with a red Ford Ranger. They knew there would be thousands.

While they waited, Jordana Nesvog, a civilian FBI analyst, crouched over her laptop and plowed through tips in the farthest corner of a windowless room, just down a hall from the main command post.

She had been with the bureau for a dozen years, signing on as an analyst after getting hooked on the idea of solving mysteries as an elementary student who loved Nancy Drew mysteries. She worked big cases, too; while based in Denver, she was one of the dozens of bureau personnel who gathered evidence after the Aurora movie theater massacre in 2012.

Nesvog had transferred to Austin five years earlier, and much of her FBI work in Texas involved drug and gang investigations. As part of a regional bureau emergency response team, she had joined the bombing investigation early on, helping gather evidence at the scene of the Galindo Street bombing, in which Esperanza “Hope” Herrera had been wounded. She was then detailed to the bomb case command post, where she and everyone else put in 12- to 16-hour days.

On the night of the FedEx explosion, her cellphone pinged constantly with grim updates about the bomber’s latest attack. Just after dawn, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, donned her FBI polo shirt and headed back to fire up the laptop she had left only a few hours earlier.

She later recalled a clear feeling as she badged into the command post: This is going to be the day.

Surrounded by 4-foot stacks of files and papers, Nesvog felt a surge of optimism when she heard that agents had figured out the make and model of truck the suspect drove. She had helped identify key evidence in drug investigations by tracing cars to suspects. Again, she later recalled, she could feel things clicking into place: We are going to figure this out.

Early that afternoon, Nesvog pitched an idea to her supervisor: They might discover a name by cross-referencing vehicle ownership records with their database of bomb component purchases. It was long shot but still worth a try.

While she waited for technicians to develop codes to merge the databases, she picked up a batch of store sales records near her computer. Thumbing through them, she typed a customer’s name from the first receipt into the massive database and hit “search.”

No match found.

She typed another name.

No match found.

Five more names, No match found.

The name on the seventh receipt was Mark Conditt.

She typed it in. Her heart raced.

There was a hit; the vehicle registration database flagged Conditt as the owner of a red Ford Ranger and revealed that he also lived in the Austin area. Nesvog grabbed the store receipt, looking closer to see if Conditt had bought any of the items found in the bombs. “You have that little voice in the back of your head that says, ‘That was too easy. It can’t be that easy.’ ”

Nesvog turned to a colleague, interrupting his phone call with an agent in the field. 

“I think I found something,” she told him. “We need to get a boss.”

Within seconds, a group of investigators and supervisors clustered behind her, staring down at her computer screen as she explained her discovery.

“From there,” Combs said, “it was off to the races.”