For assistant federal defender David Bell, the urge to be a lawyer was precipitated by the urge to help people.

2. Arkansas Man Sentenced To 10 Years for Obama Plot - Monday, April 19, 2010

A young white supremacist was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for conspiring to kill then-presidential candidate Barack Obama and dozens of other blacks.

U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen sentenced Paul Schlesselman, 19, of Helena-West Helena, Ark. He had pleaded guilty in January to his role in the plot.

3. Cowart Pleads In Obama Assassination Plot - Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The case of two rural West Tennessee men accused of plotting to kill President Barack Obama at his inauguration ended Monday as the second of the two suspects pleaded guilty.

In a hearing Monday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Daniel Breen in Jackson, Tn., Daniel Cowart pleaded guilty to eight counts of conspiracy, firearms charges, intentional damage to religious property and threatening to kill a major candidate for President.

4. Cowart Pleads in Obama Assassination Plot - Monday, March 29, 2010

The case of two rural West Tennessee men accused of plotting to kill President Barack Obama at his inauguration ended Monday as the second of the two suspects pleaded guilty.

In a hearing Monday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Daniel Breen in Jackson, Tn., Daniel Cowart pleaded guilty to eight counts of conspiracy, firearms charges, intentional damage to religious property and threatening to kill a major candidate for President.

5. Court Postponed for Skinhead Charged in Obama Plot - Wednesday, February 24, 2010

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — A West Tennessee man accused of plotting to kill then-Sen. Barack Obama and dozens of other black people in 2008 has had a court date reset for March 29.

Twenty-one-year-old Daniel Cowart had been scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Jackson on Monday.

6. Judge Won't Toss Evidence in Plot Against Obama - Tuesday, June 9, 2009

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - A federal judge has refused to throw out prosecution evidence against two white supremacists charged with plotting to kill President Barack Obama and dozens of other black people.

7. Evidence Hearing Continues in Alleged Plot - Monday, April 20, 2009

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - A court hearing continues in Jackson for two white supremacists accused of plotting to kill President Barack Obama and dozens of other black people.

Lawyers for 20-year-old Daniel Cowart of Bells, Tenn., and 18-year-old Paul Schlesselman of Helena-West Helena, Ark., are trying to get government evidence against the pair dismissed by federal Judge J. Daniel Breen.

8. Defense: Evidence in Obama Plot Illegally Seized - Tuesday, April 14, 2009

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - A West Tennessee man accused of plotting to kill President Barack Obama says he was wrongly arrested and his residence was illegally searched.

In a federal court petition filed over the weekend, 20-year-old Daniel Cowart seeks to get government evidence against him thrown out – including information found on his computer and statements he made to investigators.

9. Judge Refuses to Dismiss Charge in Obama Plot - Thursday, March 26, 2009

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - One of two men accused of plotting to kill President Barack Obama and dozens of other black people has failed to get a threat charge against him dismissed.

A federal judge in Jackson, Tenn., says the threat charge will remain in the multi-count indictment against accused white supremacist Paul Schlesselman.

10. Prosecutors: Evidence in Obama Plot Legally Seized - Wednesday, March 4, 2009

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say two white supremacists accused of plotting to kill President Barack Obama and dozens of other black people were armed and dangerous when West Tennessee authorities swooped down on them.

11. Suppression Hearing Set in Alleged Obama Plot - Tuesday, March 3, 2009

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - A federal judge is set to hear arguments next week that law enforcement agents improperly questioned and searched one of two young men charged with plotting to kill President Barack Obama and dozens of other black people.

12. Skinheads: State Says Hearing on Plot Wastes Time - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - Federal prosecutors in West Tennessee say two men charged with threatening President-elect Barack Obama are wasting time with claims they were improperly indicted.

Twenty-year-old Daniel Cowart of Bells, Tenn., and 18-year-old Paul Schlesselman of Helena-West Helena, Ark., are charged with planning a killing spree that would target black people and end with an attack on Obama.

13. Defense Awaiting State Evidence in Alleged Plot - Monday, December 15, 2008

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - Defense lawyers say they haven't yet seen the government's evidence against two young white supremacists accused of plotting to kill President-elect Barack Obama.

At a brief federal court hearing Friday in Jackson, defense attorneys for Daniel Cowart of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman of Helena-West Helena, Ark., said they were still getting evidence from the government, including what they expect to be voluminous files from their clients' home computers.

14. Men Accused in Obama Plot Plead Not Guilty - Friday, November 28, 2008

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - Two white supremacists charged with plotting to kill President-elect Barack Obama and dozens of other black people pleaded not guilty Wednesday to new criminal charges added to an earlier federal indictment.

15. Skinhead Charged In Obama Plot Wants Dismissal - Friday, November 14, 2008

A white supremacist charged with plotting a killing spree that would include President-elect Barack Obama wants his indictment dismissed, arguing that the federal grand jury that charged him had too many black members.

16. Assassination Attempt Men Indicted by Grand Jury - Friday, November 7, 2008

Two men accused of planning an assassination attempt on President-elect Barack Obama were indicted this week by a federal grand jury.

Daniel Cowart of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman of West Helena, Ark., face five counts of threatening a presidential candidate and firearms charges.

17. Obama Assassination Planners Waive Detention Hearing - Friday, October 31, 2008

Two men charged with planning a murder spree and an assassination attempt on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a brief court appearance Thursday in Memphis federal court.

Attorneys for Daniel Cowart of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman of West Helena, Ark., waived a detention hearing and a probable cause hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gerald Cohn.

18. 'Skinhead Plot' Suspects To Appear in Court Today - Thursday, October 30, 2008

Two men who allegedly plotted to kill Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in a suicide attack make their second court appearance today in Memphis federal court.

The hearing before Magistrate Gerald B. Cohn is to determine whether they will remain in prison pending trial on firearms charges as well as the charge of threatening a presidential candidate.

19. Alleged Plot to Kill Obama Stuns Suspects’ Towns - Wednesday, October 29, 2008

BELLS, Tenn. (AP) – In a rural Tennessee county where you can’t buy alcohol or even find a Wal-Mart, residents of tiny Bells stopped each other to ask if anyone knew the pale-skinned young local accused of plotting to kill dozens of black people, including Barack Obama.

20. Assassination Plot Targeting Obama Disrupted - Tuesday, October 28, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal agents have broken up a plot by two neo-Nazi skinheads to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate 102 black people, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives said Monday.