Police Say Ostensibly Harmless Bomb 'Hippie' Planned to Blow Up Washington Square Arch

Since two "hippie types" were arrested two weeks ago for keeping a small arsenal of weapons and bomb making supplies in their Greenwich Village apartment, we've heard conflicting opinions on how seriously we should take their interest in explosives. One source called the Dalton and Harvard grads, "well-to-do junkies, not terrorists," and Aaron Greene told the Post that he's just an "outdoorsman" who planned to go out into the country and set of some "experimental fireworks." Former bouncer Max Fish countered that the case should be taken more seriously since Green did time for stabbing him with a butcher knife. After hearing the latest details in the case, we have to side with Fish. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says Greene recently told acquaintances that he was "making bombs" to "blow up" Washington Arch. It also seems he was starting to move past the planning stage; he was spotted sprinkling a white powder on the sidewalk inside Washington Square Park and hitting it with a rock, setting off an explosion.

Investigators believe the powder was the highly explosive chemical HMTD, which was found in the apartment Greene shares with Morgan Gliedman, leading police to evacuate nearby buildings. Police sources also say they found letters believed to be written by Greene that suggest he wasn't all about peace and love, or even innocently blowing things up in the woods. One letter repeats the word "kill" and the phrase "kill them all," and is signed the lightning-bolt symbol associated with Hitler's SS.

On Wednesday police raided the Orangeburg, New York home of correction officer Daniel Whittaker based on Greene's claim that he'd given some of his weapons to ?a friend in law enforcement." They found several legally owned rifles. ?They searched my house for no reason. I was charged with no crime,? said Whittaker. ?There was no person charged in this area. All (the authorities) did was come and destroy my stuff.? Police say Greene is the "the focus of the investigation," and Gliedman, who gave birth to their daughter while in custody, has been released on bail into a drug treatment facility.

Source: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/01/bomb-hippie-planned-to-blow-up-washington-arch.html

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