The FBI arrested two members of the New Black Panthers in Ferguson, Missouri late last week on weapons charges, after they used  straw purchases a pair of .45 ACP Hi-Point pistols (one for the other, it seems) and bombs from an FBI informant.

They planned to murder St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch and Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson, and then destroy the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis with three pipe bombs.

Unfortunately for them… well, just read it for yourself.

Sources close to the investigation were uncertain whether the men had the capability to carry out the plans, although the two allegedly did buy what they thought was a pipe bomb in an undercover law enforcement sting.

The men wanted to acquire two more bombs, the sources said, but could not afford to do it until one suspect’s girlfriend’s Electronic Benefit Transfer card was replenished.

An indictment, with no mention of bombs or killings, was returned in federal court here Nov. 19 and unsealed Friday upon the arrest of Brandon Orlando Baldwin and Olajuwon Ali Davis. Their addresses and Baldwin’s age were not available; Davis is 22.

While there isn’t much publicly known about Baldwin, Davis has a long and colorful history as a racist moron that you may read about in head-shaking detail at the link above, including an arrest after an altercation because he refused to pay taxes at a gas station.

Yes… the would-be terrorist who refused to pay taxes himself was more than happy to spend your tax dollars to attack a prosecutor and police for daring to go after people like him.

Wheels within wheels, people.

Both men sound like they would be perfect recruits for the Universal Divine Saviors cult in Miami that led to the arrest of the Liberty City Seven on terrorism-related charges in 2006.

Sadly, there is little chance that either man will be prosecuted on the straw purchasing charge, which alone could mean a 10-year sentence and a $250,000 fine. The federal government routinely drops  gun charges, and only a tiny fraction of them are ever prosecuted. Then again, they’re far more likely to get those charges to stick than the bomb plot, which was likely more of pipe-dream than a viable plot.

Expect for their lawyers to claim some interesting defenses, including entrapment and mental incompetence.

The “Ferguson” protests in Missouri and elsewhere seem to be more restrained last night.

Hopefully we’ve seen the last of serious injuries and violence resulting from Police Officer Darren Wilson’s self-defense shooting of strong-arm robbery suspect and attempted cop-killer Michael Brown.