The Boston Globe - 05.08.2019

A2 The Boston Globe MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2019

TheNation

TULLYTOWN, Pa. — A
man is charged with making
threats against Temple Univer-
sity and its police department
as he was buying ammunition
in a Walmart.
TheBucksCountydistrict
attorney’s office said Patrick
Buhler, 29, was arraignedSat-
urday on misdemeanor counts
of making terroristic threats
and harassment.
Authorities allege he spoke
to a customerin the Walmart
in TullytownWednesday night
aboutsecurity at TempleUni-
versity as he was buying five
boxes of ammunition. He
asked about campuspolice
and their response time,
‘‘eventuallymaking the state-
ment: ‘You will see something
on the news in the next couple
of days.’ ’’
The complaintsaid that
Buhlersaid he was buying
.223-caliber rifle ammunition
because ‘‘he knowsthat cops
wear bulletproof vests.’’ The
authorities allege he had visit-
ed other Walmart stores to buy
ammunition, knives, and

small-cylinder propane bottles

as well as a two-way radio and

binoculars.

Theauthoritiessaidinthe

criminal complaint that

Buhler, located at his Morris-

ville address, said the conver-

sation with the Walmart cus-

tomerwas a mistake, noted he

had insinuated ‘‘violent

things,’’ and said he didn’t

knowwhat he was thinking

when he said them.

The criminal complaint

also notesBuhlerwas arrested

in April in Flemington, N.J.,

and charged with weaponsof-

fenses, in connection with the

possession of assault-type

weapons,rifles, handguns,

large-capacity magazines, and

prohibited ammunition. The

status of that case was unclear.

Buhler was taken to Bucks

County Correctional Facility.

Bondwas set at $100,000.

Court documentsdon’t list an

attorney for Buhler; a message

left at a numberthat’s listed in

his namewasn’t immediately

responded to on Sunday.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Threats againstTe mpleU. alleged

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Nes-

tled in the Cascade Mountains

foothills, the bustling Seattle

suburb of Issaquahseems an

unlikely candidate for anxiety

over wildfires. The region, fa-

mousfor its rainfall, has long

escapedmajor burns.

But according to specialists,

previously too-wet-to-burn

parts of the Pacific Northwest

face an increasing risk of sig-

nificant wildfires because cli-

mate change is bringing high-

er temperatures, lower humid-

ity, and longer droughts.

And the region is exposed,

with property owners often

less prepared for fire than in

drier places. In Issaquahand

towns like it across the region,

vegetation spills into back-

yards, often pressingagainst

houses in neighborhoods with

few escape routes.

‘‘The only thing that’s keep-

ing it fromgoing off like a nu-

clear bomb is the weather,’’

said Chris Dicus, a California

PolytechnicState University

San Luis Obispoprofessor and

headof the Association for

Fire Ecology, whichstudies

wildfires.

A climate assessment pre-

pared by 13 federal agencies

and released in 2018 said the

Pacific Northwest had warmed

nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit

since 1900.Specialists say

even a modest increase in con-

tributing factors, like days

without rain, could make Pa-

cific Northwest forests much

more prone to burning.

‘‘Those are the kinds of

changes that amountto taking

a forest and pushingit over

the edge,’’ said MichaelMedler,

chair of Western Washington

University’s environmental

studies department.

As of late June, western Or-

egon forests had seen double

the average numberof fire

starts fromthe previousde-

cade — 48 versus 20. Washing-

ton had 194 starts, compared

with an average of 74.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Ty pically wet areanow fears fires

Senate majority leader
Mitch McConnellis recuperat-
ing at homein Kentucky after
sufferinga shoulder fracture
in a fall Sunday, a spokesman
said.
McConnelltripped Sunday
morning on his outdoor patio,
but has beentreated and re-
leased, David Popp, a spokes-
man for the Kentucky Republi-
can, said in a statement. The
statementsaid McConnell, 77,
is workingfrom homein Lou-
isville and ‘‘will continue to
workfromhome’’ for now.
The statementdidn’t elabo-

rate on what treatmenthe re-

ceived or the expected time

needed for recovery.

On Saturday the six-term

senator attended Kentucky’s

premier political event, where

someDemocrats wore‘‘Mos-

cow Mitch’’ shirts depicting

the communist-era hammer

and sickle and others heckled

McConnellduringthe stump-

style speaking at the Fancy

Farm picnic.

McConnell likened the at-

tacksto ‘‘modern-day McCa-

rthyism.’’

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

McConnell trips,breaks shoulder

NEWYORK — The Florida

man who created a two-week

crisis by mailing 16 packages of

inoperative pipe bombs packed

with fireworkspowder and

shards of glass to 13 well-

known Democrats and CNN

learns his punishment Monday.

Defense lawyers seek leni-

ency, saying Cesar Sayoc, 57,

burdened by severe learning

disabilities,was living alonein

a crampedvan and working as

a strip club DJ and a pizza de-

liveryman in West Palm Beach,

Fla., when he became‘‘obses-

sive, paranoid and angry’’ and

believed President Trump’s en-

emies weretrying to hurt him

and other Trump supporters.

Prosecutorssay a life sen-

tenceis ‘‘necessary and appro-

priate’’ after Sayoc caused

‘‘widespread fear and panic’’ in

the days before the 2018 mid-

termelections. None of the

packages exploded.

His targets included Hillary

Clinton, Joe Biden, membersof

Congress, Barack Obama, and

actor Robert De Niro. Devices

werealso mailedto CNN.

A judge will order Sayoc to

serve at least 10 yearsin pris-

on, the mandatory minimum.

Prosecutors reject Sayoc’s

claims his packages werea

‘‘hoax’’ as ‘‘simplyfalse.’’

Defense lawyers say Sayoc

was sufferingfrom ‘‘delusional

beliefs’’ fueled by steroids. They

urged the judge to sentence

Sayoc to 10 years and one

month in prison.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Man who sent Trumpcriticspipebombsto besentenced

ELAINETHOMPSON/ASSOCIATEDPRESS

The fire risksin Issaquahincludethecloseproximity of

forest landto neighborhoodbackyards.

Reportingcorrections

The Globe welcomes information abouterrors that call for

corrections. Information may be sent to [email protected] or

left in a message at 617-929-8230.

Daily Briefing

ByDarleneSuperville
and Kali Robinson
ASSOCIATEDPRESS
WASHINGTON — Tourists
aiming for postcard-perfect
photos of the White House at
first couldn’t avoid the black
metal bicycle racks that were
arranged to forman extra secu-
rity barrier against possible
fence-jumpers. The racks were
in just aboutevery shot. But vis-
itorsnow must contendwith a
tall whitewooden barrierthat’s
obscuring prime views of the
executive mansion.
Andit probablywill be a
long timebefore the White
House comes back into focus.
The barrier recently went up
as the NationalPark Service
and the Secret Service begana
$64 millionproject to install a
13-foot, 1-inchsteel picket
fence aroundthe White House
— twice as tall as the fencebe-
ing replaced. Construction is
expected to last through 2021.
Tourists are complaining
aboutthe obstructed views but
say they understand why a tall-
er fenceis needed.
‘‘I’m disappointed that you
can’t get a clearshotof it be-
cause it never looks like it does
onTVwhenyouactuallyseeit,’’
said Joe Loetscher, of Colorado
Springs,whowas in the na-
tion’s capital withhis family
while his wife attendeda con-
ference. Loetschersaid he had
no idea the WhiteHouse had

become a construction zone.

Julius Farris of Dallas didn’t

soundbothered by what he saw

— or couldn’t see — on his first

time seeing the White House up

close.‘‘If it needsit, it needsit,’’

Farris said of the fence.‘‘If it’s

going to improvethe situation,

that’s fine.’’

A series of breaches in White

House security, includingan

armedmanwhogot into the

building in 2014,led officials to

concludeit was time for a taller

fence. The Secret Service

guards the WhiteHouse and

protects the president and

members of his immediate fam-

ily at all times. The project pre-

dates President Trump.

The first phaseof construc-

tion began in July on the fence

around the White House and its

immediate surroundings.Later

construction will bring im-

provements to fences around

the Treasury Departmentand

the Eisenhower Executive Of-

fice Building, located on either

side of the White House.

Eight phases of construction

are plannedusing more than

3,500 feet of steel fencing. The

Secret Service declinedto dis-

cuss state-of-the-art features

that are to be included.

The White House remains

visiblefromall directions, and

public tours of its ceremonial

rooms are continuing during

the project. What’s missing, for

the foreseeable future, are

head-on views of the president’s

home and office, which has

beenthe backdrop in countless

tourist photos.

‘‘I would like to have a clean

picture,’’ said Radek Klinowski,

of Poland, adding that he was

‘‘a little bit disturbed’’ to en-

counter the construction.

The designfor the new fence

was approved in 2017by the

Commission of Fine Arts and

the NationalCapitalPlanning

Commission. A contract for $

millionwas awardedin June

2018.

In September 2014, a Texas

mancarryinga foldingknife

climbed overthe fence, ran

acrossthe North Lawn, and en-

tered the White House before

Secret Service officers appre-

hendedhim on the first floor.

Then-PresidentObama and

daughtersMalia and Sashahad

departed minutesearlier by he-

licopter for the presidential re-

treat at CampDavid. His wife,

Michelle,had arrived thereear-

lier that day.

The lapse led security offi-

cialsto use the metal bicycle

racks to form a second, tempo-

rary barrier several feet in front

of the existing fence until the

design and funding for the tall-

er fencewereapproved.

In July 2015,sharpmetal

points were added to the exist-

ing fenceto make climbing

more difficult.

A few months after Trump

took office in 2017, public ac-

cess to sidewalksand adjoining

areas south of the White House

was curtailed after a man carry-

ing Mace climbed the fence and

roamedthe groundsfor about

17 minutes before Secret Ser-

vice officersdiscoveredhim.

Trump and his family were at

the White House at the time.

Fence work limits

view of attraction

WhiteHousebeefingupperimeter

ALEX BRANDON/ASSOCIATEDPRESS

The NationalPark ServiceandSecret Servicehave beguna $64millionproject to replacetheWhiteHouse’s metalfence.

ByLisa Mascaro

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

BALTIMORE— Maryland

Representative Elijah Cum-

mings took the high roadin in-

vitingPresidentTrumpand

otherAmericans to visit Balti-

morebut decliningto respond

in kind to the barrage of presi-

dentialtweets and comments

disparaging him and the major-

ity-black city he represents.

‘‘We are a great community,’’

Cummings,the chairman of a

powerful House committee in-

vestigating the administration,

said in his first publicremarks

about the controversy as he par-

ticipated in the opening of a

smallneighborhoodparknear

his homeSaturday.

Community leaders and res-

identsgathered to cut the rib-

bon on a pocket of greenery and

flowers,builtfromwhat had

been a vacant lot often used as a

dumping ground for trash.

‘‘Come to Baltimore. Do not

just criticizeus, but cometo

Baltimore and I promiseyou,

you will be welcomed,’’ he said.

Cummings said he doesn’t

have time for those who criti-

cize the city wherehe grew up

but wantsto hear frompeople

willing to help make the com-

munity better. He noted the

outpouring of support he has

received, the thousandsof e-

mails,and the presenceat the

event of leaders from the Uni-

versity of Maryland’s medical

center, foundations,and busi-

nesses.He worea hat and polo

shirt of Under Armour, the pop-

ular apparelmaker headquar-

tered in Baltimore.

Asked directly by reporters

afterward if there would be a

meeting withTrump,the con-

gressman said he’d love to see

Trump in the city.

‘‘The presidentis welcome

to our district,’’ he said.

In a weeklong seriesof at-

tacks,Trumpcalledthe Balti-

moredistrict a ‘‘rat and rodent

infested mess’’ and complained

aboutCummings,whosedis-

trict includes key parts of the

city. The president widened his

attack on othercities he did not

namebut complained are run

by Democrats. His comments

were widely seen as a race-cen-

teredattack on big cities with

minority populations.

Cummings’s comments

came at another pivotaljunc-

ture for Trump, as half of House

Democrats now say they favor

launchingan impeachmentin-

quiry against him.

Cummings invites

Trump to Baltimore

Won’t hitbackat

president’s insult

‘Cometo Baltimore.Do

notjust criticizeus.’

ELIJAH CUMMINGS,Democratic

representative from Maryland, to

PresidentTrump and other Americans

KIMHAIRSTON/BALTIMORESUN VIA ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Prosecutorsareseekinga

sentenceof lifein prison

forCesarSayoc,57.