Plot to kill Locke is suspected, court papers say

OLYMPIA -- A Thurston County man arrested this week on suspicion of firearms violations may have been plotting to assassinate Gov. Gary Locke, according to court papers.

The FBI was tipped about the alleged plot nearly two years ago, the papers say.

Federal authorities refused yesterday to answer any questions about the scheme or say how credible they found the information.

James D. Brailey Jr., 43, was charged with the weapons violations Thursday in federal court in Tacoma, one day after agents from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the State Patrol converged on a house just north of the Olympia city limits and arrested him.

He was held in the federal detention center at SeaTac.

Brailey was reportedly found in possession of two pistols that authorities allege he transferred across state lines. Because he has a conviction on a domestic violence charge in Summit County, Utah, federal law bars him from possessing a firearm or transporting one across state lines.

Investigators arrested Brailey after learning that he had acquired a weapon, the court complaint said.

The man has not been charged in the alleged plot to kill the governor.

The plot investigation began in March 2001, when an unidentified informant reported that Brailey planned to kill Locke, according to court papers.

The informant told the FBI that Brailey was a member of the Jural Society, a loosely organized group whose members do not believe in or support state or federal government.

The society periodically holds its own elections for state office, and in October 1998 it elected Brailey governor of Washington, the complaint said.

"Brailey hates Governor Locke because he believes (Brailey) is the only true governor of this state," FBI special agent James Keesling wrote in the complaint. "Brailey also hates Governor Locke because of his ethnicity."

Locke is Chinese American.

Brailey was voted out as the Jural Society's governor in July 2001 because of his increasingly violent tendencies, according to the complaint.

No one from the society could be reached for comment.

Federal officials refused to answer further questions about the alleged plot -- or the delay between tip and arrest.

Locke's office also refused to comment.

"Our policy is not to discuss security issues," said Roger Nyhus, Locke's spokesman.

After his election as "governor," Brailey carried several firearms into the Capitol in Olympia for a "dry run" of Locke's assassination, and actually saw the governor from a distance, the informant told federal authorities.

The State Patrol handles the governor's security and investigates threats against elected officials. Capt. Glenn Cramer, a spokesman, said Thursday he knew little about the investigation or the credibility of the reported plan.

"Taking care of the governor is our responsibility. We're always aware of it, and we're always vigilant," Cramer told The Olympian.

Brailey had previous arrests for driving with a suspended license, assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to Thurston County court records.

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