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Census worker hanged, "FED" written on his chest

Kandahar

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AP source: Hanged Census worker had 'fed' on chest - Yahoo! News

MANCHESTER, Ky. – A U.S. Census worker found hanged 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.

Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old part-time Census field worker and teacher, was found Sept. 12 in a remote patch of the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky. 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 "fed" on his chest.

The Census Bureau has suspended door-to-door interviews in rural Clay County, where the body was found, pending the outcome of the investigation. An autopsy report is pending.
 
whoa, that's all I gotta say. I hope the guys get caught and be sentenced maxed. If it was TX, I guarrentee, this would warrant the death penalty.
 
Sounds nuts. I hope it's not what it sounds like, otherwise we all get to enjoy another two weeks of idiots screaming at each other over how the actions of one crazy prove that their political ideology is superior.
 
This type of thing does wonders to legitimize anti-government sentiment...:doh
 
It could be someone with a personal vendetta who tried to divert suspicion by scrawling 'Fed'.
 
This was an attack on a federal worker...i hope this isn't what it looks like.

Tim McVeigh attacked federal workers.
 
I can sense the partisan hackery [FONT=&quot]© coming a mile away. I hope I'm wrong.
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It could be someone with a personal vendetta who tried to divert suspicion by scrawling 'Fed'.

Or maybe it was just an unfortunate tatoo he's had since he was 20?

Or maybe a guy walked by, saw him hanging there, and wrote it?

Not sure I believe the story to begin with.
 
It could be someone with a personal vendetta who tried to divert suspicion by scrawling 'Fed'.

That's definitely a possibility. If it was a political activist, it wouldn't make much sense to leave the body all the way out in a national park where it might not be found. That would risk no one seeing the message.
 
Kelsee Brown, a waitress at Huddle House, a 24-hour chain restaurant, when asked about the hanging, said she thinks the government sometimes has the wrong priorities.

"Sometimes I think the government should stick their nose out of people's business and stick their nose in their business at the same time. They care too much about the wrong things," she said.

This is not a partisan thing, this is a heritage thing. There are people back in the hills of Kentucky that have anti-government views that span generations and go back hundreds of years.

But. yeah its gonna turn partisan.
 
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Remember the tylenol poisonings way back when? It turns out the whole thing was to make a murder look like it was a part of a random poisoning.
 
This is not a partisan thing, this is a heritage thing. There are people back in the hills of Kentucky that have anti-government views that span generations and go back hundreds of years.

But. yeah its gonna turn partisan.

Are you implying they are wrong for doing so?
 
Are you implying they are wrong for doing so?

:confused: where the hell did you get that idea?

They are free to feel whatever they want about our government, or any government for that matter, as is everyone in this country.

HOWEVER

Whomever left a guy out there to rot on the end of a rope is most certainly in the wrong.
 
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"FED," just sounds odd, like something that wouldn't spring to the mind of someone making and anti-government point. Maybe "GOV" with a line through it would be more likely?

And while I can picture violence of such a personal nature being directed against a law enforcement officer, or some sort of tax collector, a census worker? I'd think turning the dogs on them would be the most extreme likely choice.

I agree with the post above that it might be a diversion, but it also might be the killer's initials, in which case the killer will almost certainly be a jilted lover.
 
"FED," just sounds odd, like something that wouldn't spring to the mind of someone making and anti-government point. Maybe "GOV" with a line through it would be more likely?

You must not know or have talked to any extreme libertarian/ron paul types. The Fed to them seems to be like the Jews to Nazi's, the supreme evil of this world. They never shut up about it.

And beyond that "The Feds" is a common way many people classify any federal employee

I agree with the post above that it might be a diversion, but it also might be the killer's initials, in which case the killer will almost certainly be a jilted lover.

The initial suggestion is an interesting one and potentially plausible, but unlikely both due to the stupidity of putting ones initials IN the dead body and the coincidence that it just happens to be a federal employere.
 
I wasn't aware that the census bureau was conducting interviews now. I think there's a good chance he stumbled onto a meth lab or a marijuana patch.
 
I think Gill's statement is probably the closest to a rational theory that I've seen. The appalachians and the Ozarks are rife with secret marijuana growing operations, back in all the little nooks and hollers.
 
And while I can picture violence of such a personal nature being directed against a law enforcement officer, or some sort of tax collector, a census worker? I'd think turning the dogs on them would be the most extreme likely choice.
That's what I was thinking as well, sans the dogs. The census has been in effect since the early days of the U.S. and is considered an important representation tool when used properly, these census takers have no actual power and a legitimate job to do, you would think an IRS agent or ATF/FBI/ERA/etc. would have been a kooks preferred choice.
 
Wow...that's messed up. Who really knows the reason at this point, but hopefully they get some clues soon. I would doubt political reasons only because it seems pointless to hate the government and kill a census worker, they don't really have any power or authority and offing one isn't going to change anything.
 
whoa, that's all I gotta say. I hope the guys get caught and be sentenced maxed. If it was TX, I guarrentee, this would warrant the death penalty.

Not sure, but if someone kills a federal worker, isn't that a federal crime?
 
:confused: where the hell did you get that idea?

They are free to feel whatever they want about our government, or any government for that matter, as is everyone in this country.

HOWEVER

Whomever left a guy out there to rot on the end of a rope is most certainly in the wrong.


Wasn't sure; it's a common practice for people to bash southerners with comments like "they just do it out of habbit and can't help being anti-gov," so I wanted to double check.
 
I can think of a lot more practical feds to take out than a census worker. But that would be assuming who did this was thinking logically for it to have any impact on this case.

While I agree Gill's assessment is probably the most likely, I'm not ruling out crazy anti-government redneck cults from Mars. What's more....you can't prove that my belief here isn't correct , so it must be true.
 
Kentucky goes after 'Marijuana Belt' growers - USATODAY.com


When you think about the people in isolated Appalachian and Ozark communities where illegal marijuana farming is predominant (called the "Marijuana Belt,") distrust of ANY stranger is significant, and these folks have always been suspicious of federal law enforcement. I suspect this guy was in the wrong place, wrong time, and ran into some bad guys. It was a pretty standard practice 80-100 years ago to do this to federal agents in these areas. And these types of criminals are hyper-paranoid.
 
Not sure, but if someone kills a federal worker, isn't that a federal crime?

Yes Joe killing a federal worker because of or in the course of doing their job is a federal crime
 
Kentucky goes after 'Marijuana Belt' growers - USATODAY.com


When you think about the people in isolated Appalachian and Ozark communities where illegal marijuana farming is predominant (called the "Marijuana Belt,") distrust of ANY stranger is significant, and these folks have always been suspicious of federal law enforcement. I suspect this guy was in the wrong place, wrong time, and ran into some bad guys. It was a pretty standard practice 80-100 years ago to do this to federal agents in these areas. And these types of criminals are hyper-paranoid.

Yep, I read that it is our number one cash crop since tobacco has fallen by the wayside. Believe it or not, there's still a lot of moonshining that goes on in eastern Kentucky. I've gotten some primo shine over there in the past. A buddy got some 5-year old shine that was as smooth as any $50 bottle of bourbon.
 
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