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699. Date: January 11, 1995
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Manila, Philippines
Details: The day before the Pope's arrival, police arrested two men with bomb-making materials. They were in an apartment located on the Pope's motorcade route. An alternate route was used during the visit.
700. Date: January 11, 1995
Target: President Ernesto Balladares
Location: Panama City, Panama
Details: Ten police officers and soldiers were arrested in a plot to assassinate Balladares.
701. Date: January 17, 1995
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: Three pipe bombs were found prior to Clinton's tour of a building at the California State University. His tour was canceled after bomb technicians confirmed the find. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
702. Date: January 25, 1995
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: A man was arrested after trying to mail a light bulb filled with explosives to Clinton, and a pistol to prison inmate Charles Manson. Police found guns, ammunition, and explosives in his rented truck. He had also threatened to kill Vice President Al Gore. The man was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison.
703. Date: April 5, 1995
Target: Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Location: El Salvador
Details: Police reportedly foiled an attempt to kill Boutros-Ghali by setting off a car bomb along his motorcade route. They diverted his arrival to another airport and used a helicopter, rather than a motorcade.
704. Date: August 11, 1995
Target: King Juan Carlos
Location: Palma de Majorca, Spain
Details: Police arrested three armed Basque separatists plotting to assassinate Carlos with a high-powered rifle. Members of the royal family were also reportedly targets.
705. Date: October 14, 1995
Target: President Robert Mugabe
Location: Harare, Zimbabwe
Details: A veteran politician was arrested in a plot to ambush Mugabe's motorcade. The plot was foiled when one gunman was found with an assault rifle and a land mine beside the road that Mugabe's motorcade would use on his way home.
706. Date: October 31, 1995
Target: Federal Judge Blanche Manning
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Details: A mail bomb, concealed inside a book designed to explode when it opened, was found at a courthouse security scan and detonated by police. It had a return address of a prison inmate, who had a vendetta against the judge. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
707. Date: November 15, 1995
Target: PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
Location: Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Details: Five Abu Nidal terrorists were arrested for plotting to kill Arafat. Nidal made several attempts to assassinate Arafat.
708. Date: December 16, 1995
Target: President Hosni Mubarak
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Details: Security forces foiled an Islamic plot to use two cars loaded with 550 pounds of explosives to blow up Mubarak's motorcade as he traveled to open a new legislative building.
709. Date: January 2, 1996
Target: President Fidel Ramos
Location: Manila, Philippines
Details: Police arrested six terrorists for plotting to kill Ramos, the armed forces commander, and the national police chief. They seized grenades, dynamite, rockets, bomb-making components, and documents.
710. Date: January 29, 1996
Target: Public Officials
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Details: Police arrested 45 men accused of plotting assassinations and trying to revive the group that killed President Anwar Sadat.
711. Date: February 13, 1996
Target: President Ernesto Samper
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Police uncovered plans by leftist guerrillas to carry out attacks on the presidential palace, the U.S. Embassy, and other high profile targets.
712. Date: February 18, 1996
Target: British Royal Family
Location: London, England
Details: A bomb exploded at the home of an IRA bomb-maker, killing him. Police found maps and security plans for Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. A hit list, showing the queen as the top target, was found along with coded attack warnings, and battle plans. There were enough explosives, fuses, timers, and detonators for ten bombs. Following the discovery, the ceremonial guards at the palace were replaced with heavily armed troops, tours were canceled, parking was restricted, trash cans were removed, and bodyguards were assigned to Princess Diana and Duchess of York Sara Ferguson.
713. Date: March 13, 1996
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Details: A man was arrested in a plot to kill Clinton with a suicide bomb during his visit.
714. Date: April 21, 1996
Target: PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
Location: Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Details: Seven members of Hamas were arrested in a plot to assassinate Arafat during a visit to a cemetery on April 28. Two parcel bombs and two mines had been prepared for the attack.
715. Date: July 1, 1996
Target: Federal Officials
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Details: Federal agents arrested 12 Viper Militia members for plotting to blow up seven federal targets. An arsenal of weapons, grenades, gas masks, body armor, bomb-making materials (including 400 pounds of ammonium nitrate), and several thousand rounds of ammunition were seized. Police also found a 20-minute videotape showing bomb training. Members threatened to kill infiltrators, jurors, and family members of agents and jurors, if arrested.
716. Date: August 7, 1996
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Nantes, France
Details: Explosives experts removed a crude bomb in a French church that the Pope was due to visit later in the month.
717. Date: August 8, 1996
Target: President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Location: Freetown, Sierra Leone
Details: Three soldiers were arrested in a plot to assassinate Kabbah while he was going to work.
718. Date: September 23, 1996
Target: British Royal Family and government targets
Location: London, England
Details: Police arrested five men and killed another in a raid. They seized up to ten tons of explosives, two pounds of Semtex explosive, three AK-47s, two handguns, and other bomb-making equipment. The arrests broke up an IRA plot to conduct numerous attacks.
719. Date: October 1, 1996
Target: Government Officials
Location: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Details: Police foiled a plot to assassinate several officials. They seized a cache of grenades, automatic weapons, and a videotape of officials to be killed. The attacks were planned for September 30, the anniversary of the 1991 coup.
720. Date: January 6, 1997
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Details: A man was arrested after he mailed a Molotov cocktail to Clinton in a large envelope. The device contained a plastic bottle filled with kerosene or lighter fluid and a wick. It was discovered when postal inspectors X-rayed the padded envelope.
721. Date: January 10, 1997
Target: President Arnoldo Aleman
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
Details: Police arrested two men with four sticks of dynamite and a 9mm Beretta pistol, who were plotting to assassinate Aleman. One suspect is a former deputy police commander.
722. Date: January 17, 1997
Target: Bishop Carlos Belo
Location: Dili, East Timor
Details: The body of a dead soldier was found on the grounds of the cathedral. He was in civilian clothes, had a pistol, and was reportedly there to assassinate Belo, but was beaten to death by Belo's supporters.
723. Date: January 25, 1997
Target: Attorney General Janet Reno
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: A man claiming to have 5,000 pounds of dynamite in his truck parked outside Paramount Studios for 4-1/2 hours, talking to police by cellular phone. He demanded to see Reno, but later surrendered to police.
724. Date: February 13, 1997
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Oakland, California
Details: A gunman, trying to get a message to Clinton, took five hostages in a bank. He surrendered to police after 4-1/2 hours.
725. Date: February 13, 1997
Target: Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Details: A man telephoned 911 and made a bomb threat hours before Peres was to make a speech at a synagogue. Police and Israeli security searched the building, but no bomb was found and Peres went on and spoke to about 1,500 people. Nine days later, three children playing at the synagogue found the bomb in a hallway behind the temple's sanctuary and tried to tear the tape off. An adult grabbed the device and rushed it outside. Police blew it up.
726. Date: April 12, 1997
Target: Public figures
Location: Oslo, Norway
Details: Five neo-Nazis were arrested for plotting to assassinate leading Norwegian public figures and attack national institutions. Police seized a hit list, a large sum of cash, bullet-resistant vests and helmets, but no weapons.
727. Date: April 12, 1997
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Details: Hours before the Pope's jet arrived, police found 23 mines, plastic explosives, and detonators hidden under a bridge along his motorcade route. The plastic explosives were wrapped around anti-tank mines, weighed 330 pounds, and were radio-controlled. Five helicopters were ready to transfer his party from the airport to the city, but he insisted on being driven past the notorious "Sniper's Alley." There had been a series of explosions at churches in weeks prior to his visit. More than 11,000 police, backed by anti-sniper teams, bomb dogs, and helicopters provided security for his 25-hour visit, which was canceled in 1994 out of fears for his safety. More mines were found along a road on April 13. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
728. Date: May 9, 1997
Target: Public targets
Location: Los Angeles, California
Details: Police arrested five militia members who were reportedly planning to carry out terrorist attacks in southern California. A reserve police officer in Irwindale, and four others were arrested following a two-year investigation. Police seized over 100 weapons (many .223 caliber), grenade launchers, body armor, night vision goggles, gas masks, laser sights, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and targets painted to resemble blacks, Asians, and Latinos.
729. Date: May 11, 1997
Target: Pope John Paul II
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Details: A terrorist group planned to kill the Pope during his 32-hour visit to Lebanon. They bought 23 anti-aircraft missiles and hoped to use them against his plane or helicopters. The plot failed when the rockets didn't arrive. Over 500,000 people attended Mass with the Pope at an outdoor ceremony.
730. Date: June 13, 1997
Target: U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
Location: Morgantown, West Virginia
Details: The Mountaineer Militia considered killing Rockefeller and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in a "holy war" against the federal government. Seven members were indicted for plotting to destroy the $200 million FBI center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Member Larry Martz is quoted as saying, "You must chop off their head" to successfully attack the federal government.
731. Date: July 13, 1997
Target: Military prosecutor
Location: Moscow, Russia
Details: A Russian military patrol discovered an explosive device near the military prosecutor's office and moved it before it detonated. No one was injured. He had been involved in numerous high-profile cases involving corruption. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
732. Date: July 4, 1997
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Ft. Hood, Texas
Details: Seven people were arrested in a plot to attack U.S. military bases. Police seized automatic weapons, silencers, ammunition, bullet-resistant vests, night scopes, and explosives. Two undercover Missouri state troopers and an FBI informant had infiltrated the group. At a meeting in April 1997, the group discussed taking Clinton as a "political hostage."
733. Date: August 5, 1997
Target: Military officials at the Pentagon
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Details: A man walked into the Pentagon lobby, demanded to see the "admiral in charge," and pointed a 9mm Beretta at security guard Christopher Freeman, who disarmed the man and forced him to the ground. The man had 130 rounds of 9mm ammunition in his knapsack. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
734. Date: August 9, 1997
Target: Chelsea Clinton (President Clinton's daughter)
Location: Elizabeth, New Jersey
Details: A man was arrested after agents found he had stored a .380 pistol and 156 rounds of ammunition in a safety deposit box at a bank one block from the White House. The man had been trying to contact Chelsea for some time by writing her disturbing letters. Agents had also arrested him in 1996 in northern Virginia.
735. Date: August 21, 1997
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Hillsborough, North Carolina
Details: A man was arrested after he shot and wounded two people. He told police that he had taken his .308 caliber rifle to a hillside overlooking the Raleigh-Durham Airport the previous September, during Clinton's visit there. He planned to shoot Clinton as he got off Air Force One, but security was too tight and the man couldn't reach his desired position. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
736. Date: September 4, 1997
Target: Diplomats
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Police deactivated a car bomb packed with 440 pounds of explosives near an army base where ministers from 60 Non-Aligned Movement members were meeting.
737. Date: October 25, 1997
Target: President Jules Wijdenbosch
Location: Paramaribo, Suriname
Details: Police raided a mechanic shop, arresting 11 people who were plotting to overthrow Wijdenbosch and topple his government. Some of the suspected coup leaders were soldiers.
738. Date: October 27, 1997
Target: President Fidel Castro
Location: Miami, Florida
Details: Four Cuban exiles were arrested in their boat while traveling to Venezuela in a plot to kill Castro, who was scheduled to attend an Ibero-American summit on November 6-8. Police seized two .50-caliber assault weapons, 70 rounds of ammunition, night vision goggles, radios, and satellite navigation equipment. A federal grand jury acquitted the men in December 1999.
739. Date: October 28, 1997
Target: President Frederick Chiluba
Location: Lusaka, Zambia
Details: Forces loyal to Chiluba quashed a coup attempt by disgruntled military officers, arresting nine men including the captain who said an angel told him to overthrow the government. Gunfire erupted around Chiluba's residence in the State House and a broadcast center was seized, but the soldiers were quickly captured. In the months that foll
owed, as many as 84 people were detained, many from opposition parties.
740. Date: January 1, 1998
Target: President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara
Location: Niamey, Niger
Details: Police thwarted a plot to assassinate Mainassara, arresting five commandos who were planning the attack. They also arrested two well-known opposition leaders, including a former prime minister, for leading the plot.
741. Date: January 6, 1998
Target: Governor George W. Bush
Location: Sulphur Springs, Texas
Details: A man walked into a driver's license office and demanded to see Bush. He carried a fake bomb, consisting of a cigar box with a toggle switch. A Texas Ranger and two troopers attempted to talk to him and evacuate the building. When the man pulled a pistol from his waistband, the Ranger shot and killed him.
742. Date: January 12, 1998
Target: President Bill Clinton
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Details: A man began trial on charges that he had threatened to kill Clinton on several occasions. When arrested, agents found eight knives, two rifles, five handguns (including a laser-sighted pistol), and 250 rounds of ammunition. The man used several different social security numbers, including Elvis Presley's. He was convicted on January 23.
743. Date: February 23, 1998
Target: SPLC Leader Morris Dees
Location: Southern Illinois
Details: Police arrested members of a white supremacy group, known as "The New Order," plotting to kill Dees and a federal judge. They also planned to bomb the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) by firing a LAW rocket through the front door. Police seized guns, a pipe bomb, and hand grenades. The group also planned to commit bank robberies to finance the plot, and use cyanide to contaminate a large water supply.