i read some police official say there's no evidence of a conspiracy, but by definition it's a conspiracy.

involved. Or the feds used to need three people, anyway. This was back in the Viet Nam draft days.

No need for sarcasm smilie. Folie à deux is totally a credible answer to the posed question.

This is the first time I've ever heard of Folie a deux.

they were both on Meth. If that was the case they were capable of anything.

Seems to me that it was just two RWNJs living in the bubble of Bullshit Mountain that quit their jobs to "defend" a millionaire rancher from paying his property taxes, got voted off the island, and decided to start "the revolution" on their own. You don't have to be mentally ill of some stripe for that - just a low information citizen who buys anything RW radio tells you is 'patriotic'.

Hard to pin it on a cause without knowing their individual histories. Could be genetic or could be environmental. At any rate these two suffered from the same lack of critical thinking ability that far too many of their RW peers do.

It is possible, as we see, for a sociopath to team up with another sociopath. Or, in the case of the Clutter murders made famous by "In Cold Blood," a sociopath with an anti-social side kick.

Sadly, all too common. This pair of snakes were an extreme example, but there are lots of other similar pairs of snakes.

But both probably had psychological issues and delusions, and fed off each other. Like Columbine. Plus, the RW hate-sites feed these peoples delusional thoughts with positive reinforcement.

These two are like so many others, of all ages, race, gender etc. that are brainwashed because they let others tell them what is right and what is wring, who to like and who not to like, and that the only way to get all the answers they are searching for is to join some group that promises that they and they alone have the answers.

I have seen it with religious groups who tell you the only way to salvation is to join their group because if you don't you won't be saved. Constant programing such as hearing the same BS, reading literature written by those who say they have the "truth". High control religious groups have been doing it for centuries, and are called cults. Talk radio took it to a higher levels and reach a much larger group of people. TV preachers made millions doing it, and people like Rush Limbaugh and the republican party figured out that if they could mass produce this kind of daily brainwashing, they could influence those who are guidable enough to listen, and it has worked. Fox news, Glen Beck and many others jumped on the bandwagon and we now are seeing the end result of all the hate, lies, and BS speed on a daily basis turning into violence against those these hate mongers have promoted as the "enemy".

I just hope the country wakes up and takes notice of just how bad letting this continue will be.

Back in 1914, Europe was swept by the idea "What the world needs now is a reinvigorating war"

Twenty years later, Germany caught the goose-step-with-your-right-arm-stuck-out craze

In the middle of the last century, Americans took to looking for commies hiding under every bed; a bit later, Southerners widely felt an insatiable desire to put Confederate symbols on their state flags

And in the mid-90s, large swaths of the former Yugoslavia decided that mass murder of their neighbors would be a good idea

But most outbreaks are more limited:

Q: Hey! Why don't we play us some Russian roulette?
A: Whoa, dude! What a great idea!