Linda Thompson (attorney)

For other people named Linda Thompson, see Linda Thompson (disambiguation).
Linda Thompson
Born (1953-04-26)April 26, 1953
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S..
Died May 10, 2009(2009-05-10) (aged 56)
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Occupation Lawyer

Linda Thompson (April 26, 1953 – May 10, 2009)[1] was an American attorney, filmmaker, and the founder of the American Justice Federation. In 1993, she quit her job as a lawyer in Indianapolis, Indiana to start the American Justice Federation,[2] a non-profit group that promoted pro-gun causes through a shortwave radio program, a computer bulletin board system, and sales of its newsletter and videos.[3][4]

Clinton conspiracy

Thompson was opposed to the Bill Clinton presidency. In 1994, in a letter to congressional leaders, former Rep. William Dannemeyer listed 24 people with some connection to Clinton who had died "under other than natural circumstances" and called for hearings on the matter. This list was mostly compiled by Thompson.[2][4]

Waco conspiracy

In 1993 she produced a videotape entitled Waco, the Big Lie, which contained footage of the siege of the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas and a history of the community. The videotape was distributed widely and for a short period after its release she was a regular guest on talk radio shows. The film challenged the mainstream news reports of the Branch Davidian siege and created a small sensation, alleging a government coverup of the events surrounding the siege. Thompson pointed out many inconsistencies in the official story and the government reports, and the hypocrisy of using deadly weapons to "rescue" children from their parents.[3][4][5]

Thompson also claimed that three BATF agents, whom she alleges were killed by friendly fire during the siege, were all former bodyguards of then-President Clinton and that the friendly fire was actually an assassination ordered by Clinton.[4]

In 1994, Thompson produced Waco II, the Big Lie Continues, in which she offered rebuttals to those who were critical of her first film.[6][7]

Black helicopters and FEMA camp allegations

She made a third film in 1994, America Under Siege accusing the government of using "black helicopters" against patriots, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency of establishing concentration camps, facilities she claimed were to prevent patriots from interfering with plans to establish a "New World Order".[3][4][8] The supposed FEMA Camp was in reality the Beech Grove Shops, an Amtrak repair facility in Beech Grove, Indiana.[9][10]

Proposed march on Washington

In 1994 Thompson declared herself "Acting Adjutant General" of the "Unorganized Militia of the United States" and announced plans for an armed march on Washington, D.C. in September of that year. She declared that militiamen would arrest and try for treason in "Citizen's Courts" those Congressional representatives not living up to their oath of office. The proposed march was almost immediately denounced by groups on the right wing, including the John Birch Society,[3] and Thompson subsequently cancelled the march.[11] Later, she was arrested for blocking a Presidential motorcade in Indianapolis. She carried one weapon concealed and also had one in her purse. Both guns were legal and no charges were filed.[3][4]

Death

Thompson died in St. Petersburg, Florida on May 10, 2009 after overdosing on medication given to treat complications from a gastric bypass surgery performed twelve years earlier. Her ashes were scattered in the Gulf of Mexico by her husband, in accordance with her last wishes.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Attorney Linda Capps (Thompson) Abrams - Paulding.com
  2. 1 2 The Clinton Body Count - Snopes.com Urban Legends Reference Pages
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 David H. Bennett, The Party of Fear: From Nativist Movements to the New Right in American History, Edition 2, reprint, revised, Random House Digital, Inc., 1995, Books.google.com direct link to text and foot note pages, ISBN 0679767215, 780679767213
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jason Vest, The Spooky World of Linda Thompson, The Washington Post (also at Highbeam), D01, May 11, 1995, Access date March 17, 2007.
  5. ↑ Waco: The Big Lie on YouTube.
  6. ↑ Armed and Dangerous:Indiana, Nizkor Project, accessed August 25, 2012.
  7. ↑ Waco: The Big Lie Continues on YouTube.
  8. ↑ Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity, Edition reissue, illustrated, NYU Press, 2003, p. 290, ISBN 0814731554, 9780814731550
  9. ↑ Debunking FEMA Camp myths (Popular Mechanics);
  10. ↑ Amtrak Beech Grove Shop Tour; April 13 2007, by Chris Guenzler (TrainWeb)
  11. ↑ Linda Kintz, Media, Culture, and the Religious Right, University of Minnesota Press, 1998, p. 259-260, ISBN 0816630852, 9780816630851
  12. ↑ Attorney Linda Capps Thompson Abrams
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