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OAKLAND — The body armor-clad man who kept a dozen California Highway Patrol officers in a prolonged gunbattle late Saturday night was on his way to San Francisco with a plan to "start a revolution" by attacking prominent people at the ACLU and the Tides Foundation, court documents state.
Although details of Bryon Williams' plan were not released, authorities said they had gathered enough information to conclude that the 45-year-old was destined to create havoc had he not been stopped by CHP officers on westbound Interstate 580 just north of the Grand Avenue exit.
"His intention was to start a revolution by traveling to San Francisco and killing people of importance at the Tides Foundation and ACLU," a probable cause warrant submitted to the court states.
Police investigators said printouts of Google maps showing directions to both locations were found in Williams' car.
It remains unclear why Williams targeted the two organizations other than previous reports in which he is quoted denouncing liberal politics.
"The CHP prevented numerous killings," said Oakland Police Sgt. Mike Weisenberg, who interviewed Williams Monday at Highland Hospital. "Those officers showed true heroism and bravery."
Williams, who has a long criminal history and a deep-rooted hatred of left-wing politics, appeared downtrodden and scruffy Tuesday afternoon as he was pushed into an Alameda County Superior Court room in a wheelchair.
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unemployed carpenter kept his head down for most of the time it took Alameda County Superior Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to read the six felony charges filed against him.
Those charges include four counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, one count of unlawful possession of controlled ammunition and one count of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm. He was also charged with two gun enhancements and a body armor enhancement for each attempted murder charge.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office also charged Williams with having two prior strikes under the state's "Three-Strikes Law" meaning the unemployed carpenter faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Williams was carrying a high-powered hunting rifle, a pistol and a shotgun in his mother's 2006 white Toyota Tundra pickup when two CHP officers stopped him just before midnight Saturday after they saw Williams speeding and weaving between lanes on the freeway.
The officers pulled the truck over and, as one officer approached, Williams, wearing a bulletproof vest, began firing a pistol at both officers, police said.
Within minutes, 10 more CHP officers arrived at the scene and engaged Williams in an at least a 12-minute long gunfight that resulted in Williams' pickup truck being showered with bullet holes and at least one CHP cruiser having its windshield and back window shattered by bullets.
"A 12-minute gunbattle ensued where Williams was able to reload and continue to fire three different firearms that were available to him inside his vehicle at CHP officers that had taken cover," a court documents states. "Williams utilized a .308 rifle during the firefight which has the capability to penetrate ballistic body armor and vehicles."
Williams told police, during an interview at Highland Hospital, that when he was stopped, he had no intention of being arrested and decided to kill police officers rather than go to jail, court documents state.
"Williams said that when he was stopped ... he made a decision that he would not be arrested and that he was willing to shoot and kill the officers."
No one was killed during the gunbattle but Williams was injured as were two CHP officers who were cut by broken glass from the cruiser.
Once Williams was placed in handcuffs, officers searched his pickup truck and found a three-ring binder with the word "California" scrawled across its cover. Police believe Williams was acting alone.
Although police and prosecutors continued to keep the contents of that binder secret, they said Tuesday that it included details of a plan to attack organizations in San Francisco that Williams believed had a liberal bias.
Police have already said that Williams has a history of anti-government and anti-corporation behavior, and a deep-rooted hate for liberal causes. The unemployed carpenter reportedly ranted at one point about "the way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda items," according to published reports.
The ACLU calls itself the "guardian of liberty," working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the U.S. Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in the nation. The Tides Foundation advises donors who want to contribute to environmental and other progressive causes.
Both organizations are regularly accused on air and on websites of having a left-wing agenda.
Fox TV's Glenn Beck has repeatedly warned that the Tides Foundation heads a Marxist cabal conspiring to take over the country and replace capitalism with socialism.
In addition to his rants against the government, Williams also has a history of violent crimes dating back to at least the 1990s when he was convicted of numerous crimes in Washington state including theft, assault, property destruction, drunken driving and hit-and-run, court documents state.
In June 2002, Williams was arrested for robbing the California Federal Branch bank in Chowchilla.
Williams is being held without bail at the Santa Rita Jail. He is expected to return to court today to enter get a public defender and enter a plea.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_15559695
