You may remember Everest Wilhelmsen from last November's call to arms, where he claimed "authority to shoot [Obama]."

Emboldened by Facebook's decision to let him continue splattering his seditious speech all over Facebook and Wordpress.com, Wilhelmsen has hatched his newest campaign, a fundraiser to accumulate reward money for the capture of the president.

If his Facebook post is to be believed, he has raised nearly $30,000 toward this goal. In his call for donations, he writes:

This group is for American patriots and others who have the mettle to pledge a REWARD FOR THE CAPTURE OF OBAMA. NOTE: This is NOT a political issue, but A MATTER OF SELF-DEFENSE and a time that TRUE PATRIOTS MUST STAND !!! Most of us are not able to get close enough to Obama to capture and remove him, but some are. This REWARD is to encourage all who have the ability and opportunity to CAPTURE and permanently REMOVE Obama from the White House and Washington -- to do so. Obama MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE THE ELECTIONS, otherwise he will use them again for wrongful (fraudulent) advantage: Elections are how Obama convinces voters that they have "representatives" (that is why he is always campaigning) when in fact he and his co-conspirators are violating and alienating our Constitution---supplanting our Constitution with their usurpation of our Sovereignty. The closer we get to the November elections the stronger and more arrogant (more dangerous) Obama will become.

Donors include one who has pledged $25,000. With their donation, they pledge the following:

I hereby acknowledge that Obama is NOT the President of the United States, but a foreign and domestic enemy who has usurped the Office of President during a time of war, that this makes him a spy and that he is is levying war on the United States. I therefore pledge the amount I have put next to my name as a REWARD FOR THE CAPTURE OF OBAMA, DEAD OR ALIVE. My pledge will be given to the person or persons who capture Barack Hussein Obama II and permanently remove him from the White House and Washington DC. I also acknowledge with my pledge that this REWARD is in accordance with my Natural God Given Right to defend myself, my family, the Constitution of the United States, and our posterity, as accounted for in the United States Declaration of Independence and supported by the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution.

It's easy to dismiss this as insane wingnuttery, but at least one of those who have pledged funds is a member of Oathkeepers, and others are associated with the right-wing effort to wage an "American Spring" in May, where they hope to stage an Egypt-style protest and overthrow the government.

FreakOutNation wrote about Wilhelmsen's call to arms, and received this response from the leaders of the pack:

Grammy, there is no “sedition” in going after Obama. He is not the government of the United States. He is not even elected. What he is — is ineligible to assume the Office of President. We who are defending ourselves, our nation and our posterity are not encouraging the overthrow of our government, what we are doing is trying to get a usurper removed from our White House. As for those in Congress and the Supreme Court who are co-conspiring with Obama…they must also be removed because they are oath breakers. There is no place in our government for oath breakers.

This is happening even as SPLC reports a decrease in militia groups, but also with the caveat that they're getting leaner, meaner and more organized. It's difficult not to be concerned. Even if their "American Spring" doesn't work out the way they think it does, it won't stop them from ramping up the hate speech in advance of the midterms.

The lesson of Timothy McVeigh is that it only takes one person who chooses not only to believe this claptrap, but also act on it. As Mark Potok observed, "But as with the larger radical right, the problem lies not so much in numbers as in their attitude. Riley has predicted that the government will not hesitate to use armed force on those who attend and that so-called Patriots may be killed, wounded or sent to prison. It’s hard not to worry that some will actually believe him."

Indeed. I have a few questions for Facebook, too. Wingnut or not, is raising money for seditious acts something Facebook wants to be associated with? At what point does someone's fantasy about reviving Nazi Germany cross over into fundraising for a hit job on the President of the United States, who was absolutely elected fairly and in a legitimate election?

I'm all for the first amendment and free speech, but there is a line, and I'm fairly certain these crazies have crossed it.

[h/t Liberal Kitty for the pointer]