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HOUSTON -- A Houston man was arrested after authorities said he was caught trying to plant explosives on a Confederate statue at a Houston park, on Monday.

Prosecutors claim 25-year-old Andrew Schneck was caught Saturday evening near a statue of Richard Dowling, a lieutenant in the Confederate army. A Houston park ranger found Schneck holding two boxes with duct tape and wires as well as a bottle and a small tube containing compounds that tests later revealed were explosive materials, according to a criminal complaint.

Schneck's arrest comes after events in Charlottesville, Va., where a white supremacist rally over the removal of a Confederate statue resulted in three deaths, and the removals of other statues nationwide, including at Duke University and late Sunday evening at the University of Texas at Austin.

Schneck was charged with attempting to maliciously damage or destroy property receiving federal financial assistance. He made his initial court appearance Monday and was to remain in federal custody until a detention hearing Thursday.

Philip Hilder, Schneck's attorney, declined to comment Monday.

The statue in Houston, located in Hermann Park, is of Richard W. "Dick" Dowling, an Ireland-born Houston saloon owner. His Confederate unit defeated a Union invasion force at the Battle of Sabine Pass in 1863. Dowling was hailed as a war hero in Houston, and the end of the war saw him resume his successful business career until his death in 1867.

"When asked by [the park ranger] if he wanted to harm the statue, Schneck responded that he did, and that he [Schneck] did not 'like that guy,'" according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities allege that Schneck was caught with a plastic bottle with what is likely nitroglycerin, an active ingredient in the manufacture of explosives, and with a small aluminum tube that contained a white powder that tests showed was Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, which is used as an initiating or primary explosive. When he was confronted by the park ranger, Schneck tried to drink the bottle that had the nitroglycerin but spit out the liquid and then poured it out on the ground.

The Houston police bomb squad said a timer, wires connected to a homemade detonator, battery and the Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine found in Schneck's possession "were capable to produce a viable explosive device," according to the criminal complaint.

Schneck told police he had other chemicals at his Houston home. On Monday, houses located near Schneck's home were evacuated as authorities worked to dispose of materials found in his home, where he lives with this mother.

According to court documents, Schneck has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Schneck's mother told authorities that her son uses one of their properties "to conduct his chemistry experiments," according to the criminal complaint.

Schneck was arrested in 2014 on a charge of improperly storing explosive materials at his Houston home. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years of probation.

It was on the news here this am...

A lot, if not most people find "news", that backs up what they want to believe. I do not know if there is an open mind to be found. Mine included.

OT I know, but even though Rush is conservative I just can't make myself listen to him. He just irritates me.
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