Houston man charged with trying to plant bomb at Confederate statue in Hermann Park

[M.D. Holloway]

Houston man charged with trying to plant bomb at Confederate statue in Hermann Park - Houston Chronicle

Its a nice neighborhood...

The late-night confrontation at the statue of Confederate Lt. Dick Dowling — detailed in court records by a federal agent — led to the arrest of 25-year-old Andrew Schneck, setting off a two-day operation by law enforcement that forced the evacuation of the tony Rice University neighborhood where Schneck lives with his parents.

and then there is this...

Park Ranger Tamara Curtis, who was not allowed to speak to the media Monday, found Schneck near the base of the Dowling statue with two boxes filled with a homemade detonator, a timer, wiring, a battery, a bottle of nitroglycerin and an explosive organic compound known as HMTD, hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, according to the sworn statement by Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Patrick Hutchinson.

After being confronted, he tried to drink some of the liquid explosives but "immediately spit the liquid on the ground ... then proceeded to pour the contents of the bottle on the ground next to him," according to the statement.

"Nitroclycerin is highly dangerous to transport or use," Hutchinson wrote. "ln its undiluted form, it is one of the world's most powerful explosives."

But is it surprising...

Officials initially said the younger Schneck was believed to have chemicals that could be used to make nerve gas or tear gas. They eventually found a military-grade explosive called picric acid at the Memorial area home on Fall River.

The following year, the then 22-year-old Schneck pleaded guilty in federal court to knowingly storing explosives and was sentenced to five years probation. A judge released him last year ahead of schedule.

At the time, his lawyers noted his "'exemplary character," saying he'd "matured and his focus is no longer concentrated on high-risk activities," court documents show.

While on probation, he completed a bachelor's degree at Austin College, where he majored in chemistry. He expressed interest in attending graduate school to study chemical reactions using "cutting-edge computer learning software," according to court documents.

He adhered to the probation stipulations and paid off more than $150,000 in restitution.

"Schneck is not a risk to public safety nor is there a history of violence," his lawyers argued.

yup...

School acquaintances described him as an awkward loner who struggled with social interactions.
"I can't even think of a single friend he had, to be perfectly honest," said one former classmate at Memorial High School, where he was known as "Ace" for his initials.

During their senior year of high school, the former classmate said, Schneck wrote a "manifesto" dedicated to some of the school's popular girls, decrying how their boyfriends treated them and saying he could have done better.

After high school graduation in 2010, the two lost touch and Schneck's classmate didn't hear news of him again until charges were filed against him several years ago.

"None of this is surprising," the former classmate said. "He seems a bit disconnected from reality."

[masraum]

This guy is going to be trouble any time he's not in prison. I feel sorry for the parents.

[Baz]

Mike...from your linked story:

"If someone wants to take the initiative and take it down and face the consequences, I'm good with that," said Ashton Woods, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston. "But it becomes another thing if you have explosives enough to blow up your neighborhood and take them to a public park. I completely condemn that. You don't put people in danger to further your ideology."

This is the problem right here.

Those who consider themselves spokesmen for opposing organizations should not advocate breaking the law......under ANY circumstance.

No wonder there is so much incivility in our society.

People just don't get it.