Ex-chief says video rants meant to snare threats

A former small-town Pennsylvania police chief who posted online videos of himself ranting obscenely about liberals and the Second Amendment while shooting automatic weapons secretly fed information on people he considered militia members, anti-government extremists and so-called "sovereign citizens" to the FBI and state police, according to documents he showed to The Associated Press.

The extent of former Gilberton Chief Mark Kessler's relationship with state and federal law enforcement, whether they asked for the information, what they did with it, and how they viewed him all remain unclear.

FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver said the agency does not comment on people who claim to be informants. State police also declined comment.

The ex-lawman attracted attention last year after posting incendiary videos of himself spraying machine-gun fire and cursing liberals and others. The videos got hundreds of thousands of views online.

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