Plot foiled to blow up Cleveland bridge

[ARMOURERERIC]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/01/justice/ohio-bridge-arrests/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

[agentsteel53]

whee, good job not using the T word, CNN.

[realjd]

Was this really a foiled plot or one of the FBI entrapment schemes where they find weak minded people, plant terrorist ideas in their heads, supply them with fake bomb parts, then arrest them on terrorism charges? Because that's the way it usually goes when the FBI publically foils a terrorist plot.

[qguy]

Well, on their facebook pages they identify themselves as Occupy Cleveland-ers, so they officially have the "weak minded people" part going on. 

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I wonder how they went from "lets terrorize corporations" to "lets blow up a bridge in a park?"  And not even one of the interstate/turnpike bridges at that. 

[Stephane Dumas]

ABC News got another article on the subject
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/anarchists-plotted-blow-cleveland-bridge-fbi/story?id=16252571#.T6CPC47-ikc

[Alps]

Well, on their facebook pages they identify themselves as Occupy Cleveland-ers, so they officially have the "weak minded people" part going on. 

Those who paint with the broadest strokes are those who are least able to capture fine details.

[qguy]

Well, on their facebook pages they identify themselves as Occupy Cleveland-ers, so they officially have the "weak minded people" part going on. 

Those who paint with the broadest strokes are those who are least able to capture fine details.

Confucius say: Looks like pretty broad stroke you're painting with.

[thenetwork]

I wonder how they went from "lets terrorize corporations" to "lets blow up a bridge in a park?"  And not even one of the interstate/turnpike bridges at that. 

Actually, that bridge crossing would have been a major impact in the area.  SR 82 is one of the few over-the-valley crossings in the area (the closest equivalents are the I-480, I-271 and Ohio Turnpike bridges).  As far as direct east/west connections through the valley, the closest to SR-82 would be SR-303 through Peninsula, to the south, and Pleasant Valley/Alexander Road to the north -- both at least 5 miles either side of 82.  There are other routes through the valley, but they involve many road changes and the use of some narrow, slow-speed roads.   

Looking at some of the other major, non-interstate, valley crossings in the Cleveland area, the SR-82 would have made the biggest impact due to it's remoteness from other nearby "comparable" routes. 

Now if you're talking interstate crossings, the I-480/Valley View Bridge would take the cake, due to its sheer size (both vertically and horizontally), "remote" location, traffic counts and overall impact.  But there are so many businesses under and around the Valley View Bridge, that structure has probably been continuously eagle-eyed by authorities since 9/11.