We think you're near Los Angeles

Currently in Los Angeles

Location: Los Angeles Current temperature: 54°F: Current condition: Clear See Extended Forecast

Census worker hanged, is anti-government extremism behind murder?

The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a census worker in rural Kentucky. He was found hanged in the Daniel Boone National Forest in southwest Kentucky on September 12th, but the story is just now coming to light.

While the FBI hasn’t said whether this is a murder or suicide, it appears this may be a murder linked to anti-government sentiment. The word “FED” was scrawled across the chest of 51 year old Bill Sparkman’s body. It has not been released whether the word was written or scratched into his chest.
Bill Sparkman was a part time census taker and teacher. His truck was found nearby with his work computer still inside. He had worked for the census since 2003.

Anti-government anger and fear surrounding the census has been at a  high this summer. Conservative commentators and republican politicians have expressed their concerns that the Obama administration will use the data collected for political gains. See the video below for an example.

Census workers have stopped going door to door in Clay County until the matter is resolved.
 

Advertisement

By

Top News Examiner

Scott has been a news and politics junkie for over 20 years. He is currently a medical professional and freelance writer. Contact Scott with any...

Comments

  • KIGY 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    OK, killing the guy might be just a tad extreme. A good old horse whipping and a tar & feathering would have worked just as well.

  • WDEcane 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    What a horrible thing to say, KIGY. This is seriously wrong and Beck, Hannity, and Rush have this man's blood on their hands if this turns out to be a result of anti-government extremism.

  • katy 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    brilliant, KIGY...
    because no one has ever died after being horse whipped or
    tarred & feathered...

    but, "OK"...

  • KFC 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    It cannot be too late to allow this state to secede.

  • Sidney 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Expected outcome when the rule of law is not supreme. Obama has polarized this country by not even proving he's legally President. ACORN census takers being sent to spy on us by a Kenyan usurper? That drives tensions up and Dems should stop that stuff. We need to get Republicans back in control in 2010 or this country is doomed.

  • Proggy 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    The other result of not filling out a census form is that your state could lose representation in the House. So, go ahead, Wingnuts! Don't respond to the census! The fewer RW Repugs in Congress, the better for the nation!

  • News my &*((*&^ 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Beck, Hannity, and Rush have this man's blood on their hands, Whatever none of them told this man to kill another human being, This may of been anti-goverment but people we make our own choices, we all should know right from wrong.

  • KIGY 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Before all of you good little Obama-bots start defending the census you should know some facts first. My own daughter was contacted by one of these census "Comrades" and threaten with a $5,000 fine. He told her that her name was picked at random and that he would PERSONALLY visit her home 4 time a year for the next 2 years. He told her that he would have to come into her home on these visits with a lap-top computer which he promised had a protection password built into it for her privacy to gather updates on the census. THIS IS NOT A NORMAL CENSUS! Its something else which the Obama snoops have come up with. How can Americans be picked at random and then threatened with a fine and having their privacy invaded. This violates the 9th admendment to the constitution. Haven't you folks learned anything about how dictatorships start? Its time to at least consider fighting back. If you Obama-bots don't have the guts to defend what is left of our Republic then hide, we REAL Americans will.

  • Mike 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    A census is important to determine the number of citizens in a country. This information can easily be obtained from the SSI records and cross referrenced with birth statistics. Why does the Obama clique need more information than this, and why do they want to know personal information about American citizens? Why would they want to know how many sq. ft. your home is and how many people live in your home? Why is the U.N. census trying to catalog every structure in the world? Are they planning to say that you greedy Americans live in such large homes that you can now take in another family assigned to you? Paranoid? Sure, call me that but then remember that this is exactly what happened to the Russian people after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Why does Obama want to know your ethnic background? Your religion? Does anyone remember what happened during WW2 in Europe? This isn't an issue of Democrates or Republicans. Its an issue of freedom and once freedom is lost, its gone. What a Change!

  • Ken 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    This is how America will be destroyed, by the religious right wing extremists like KIGY that do not believe in democracy or freedom. These people don't care about America, they care about only themselves. Then wrap themselves in the flag that was only to be wrapped around the brave soldiers who give their lives for us. If you think only you and your ideas represent the true America, you have already betrayed the Flag and the Constitution by placing your crazy thoughts above both.

    BTW the issue with accounting for buildings both commercial and residential is that they produce more pollution in heating cooling and construction then automobiles or any other source, which was a surprise to the industry itself. The construction industries and architects want the information as the data of how much goes into even a small building was staggeringly surprising, and many governments are trying to help provide it. Try reading allot instead of passively listening to one biased source.

  • Ken 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    This man died a hero as far as I am concerned. He died supporting America. The killers, Taliban in baseball caps, and fox news is like one of those hate radio stations Hammas has. If you don't like terrorism don't become one!

    Unfortunately our last president and more so the last vice president actually fell in love with terrorism the day it made them seemingly all powerful. I believe Bush Jr. finally realized this, and honestly felt guilt and responsibility. Dick Chaney will only get it when the devil is the only one to great him on the other side, such is his hubris.

  • John 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Well, the conservatives have figured it out. I knew if we took a census they would catch on to our secret plan to elect a bi-racial liberal to become the next Hitler. Now that the cat is out of the bag, we'll have to shelve the fourth reich for another few years. And we were so close this time! I can't believe we over-reached by performing a census. We are going to have to review our tactics at the next socialist party meeting.

  • MB 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    I agree with KIGY and Mike. Something seems unnatural with this new census. Why are they asking personal questions but avoiding issues like taking a census of how many illegal aliens are here. So far Obama has been a failue as a president. It looks like he has sold his soul to the banking elite and the industralists. He has shown weakness when dealing with foreign policy issues. He is expanding the war in Afghanistan. He is too weak to show strong leadership. He and his supporters never let an opportunity pass to play the Race card issue. As for this census taker who was murdered, his supporters are quick to blame what they call right wing extremeists but we have no idea why this man was murdered. It may turn out that his murder was not connected to politics in any way. He could have been murdered by a jealous husband for all we know. The Obama supporters are coming to realize that Obama is not what they thought he would be but they are too proud to admit that they backed a failure.

  • Dwight 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    MB, I really think you are on to something here. I bet a jealous husband tracked down this guy who happened to be a census taker, hung him, and just to throw the local police off his trail, he scrawled FED across his chest. And how can you say Obama is a failure. Are you crediting the turn around of the economy to Georege Bush's policics finally kicking in? Don't you think it may have something to do with the stimulus package? Maybe you could stop being such a tool of Fox News and actually read some more fair and accurate coverage of what's happening in the world!

  • Dwight 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Also, I'm sure if a census taker walked up to an illegal alien and asked them if they are here legally, they would be honest and say yes. How could we not have thought of this simple enforcement tool earlier?

  • WWGBD 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    WDEcane says: Beck, Hannity, and Rush have this man's blood on their hands if this turns out to be a result of anti-government extremism.

    That is PATENT nonsense. If they find a dictionary in his house can you blame Merriam Webster? It DOES have the word "murder" in it you know!

    To blame anyone or anything other than the murderer is asinine.

  • WWGBD 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Ken, PLEASE get to your doctor and have your meds refilled...QUICK.

  • Dwight 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    WWGBD, so by your logic words don't matter. If that's the case, is it now OK to yell FIRE in a crowded theater, leading to the trampling death of a senior citizen? I mean, there has been a fire in a theater at some point in human history. That old person was on their own and should have known better than to go to a theater where someone might yell FIRE!!!

  • WWGBD 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Dwight, get your reality checked by a doctor!

    I blame it on Nancy Pelosi and all the other far left idiots who have been bust all summer denigrating and calling those opposed to fascist policies racist, mobs, un American, etc etc. It is enough to drive any half nutty person over the edge.

    But as many in the area have noted, it probably has ZERO to do with what these idiots like this Examiner blame it on. It is more likely the guy stumbled upon a pot grow or a still operation.

    Why do the far leftists ALWAYS seem to attribute the WORST possible things to incidents they KNOW NOTHING ABOUT?

  • WWGBD 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Remember also that there is ONLY ONE question that needs to be answered in a US Census. That is how many people live at the address in question. There is NO other LEGAL purpose for the census other than a head count for representation and dollars.

  • Dwight 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    So which was it? Was this guy asking too many questions, so he was killed by a right wing nut job? Or, did he stumble upon a drug growing operation while doing his job as a census taker and get hung by the Kentucky drug syndicate? Did the drug kingpins write FED on his chest to scare away federal law enforcement from their operation? Is this why they didn't bury the body where no one would find it so their operation would remain covert?

  • jake 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    I'd like to say that I'm one of those census workers. We do a lot of surveys....that have nothing to do with spying--they generate the facts--that companies use to locate in YOUR towns, and do business in YOUR states. We do-do surveys to compare data over periods of years....again it has nothing to do with spying. Mr. Sparkman, was like I am, someone trying to make money to feed their family. I love people, and I love speaking with them, so it is a great job for me.Theree's nothing sinsister or crazy about the surveys we do, they're just statistics for God's sake....

  • Dwight 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    So which was it? Was this guy asking too many questions, so he was killed by a right wing nut job? Or, did he stumble upon a drug growing operation while doing his job as a census taker and get hung by the Kentucky drug syndicate? Did the drug kingpins write FED on his chest to scare away federal law enforcement from their operation? Is this why they didn't bury the body where no one would find it so their operation would remain covert?

  • jake 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    It's kind of telling that they thought more of his "federal"
    computer and left it in the truck and killed him, I guess they
    knew the "feds" penalty would be worse?
    Bottom line he was just doing a job....where do you think all the statistics come from, your unemployment rate, your crime statistics, your gross national product rates....they come from us lowly workers going out to homes to find the information for everyone, so that you and other people can know what the rates are in your town/state, etc.

  • KIGY 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Jake, you do sound like a sensible person (unlike the other liberal nutcases writing to this site), but there is more to the story about the census taker questioning my daughter. My daughter finally made this person admit that this census, answering very personal questions, having her privacy invaded against her will with 8 home visit follow-ups over the next 2 years, beinging threatened with a $5,000 fine if she refused to cooperate, was voluntary. She practically had to drag this information out of the census taker. She told the census that if it was voluntary then she was refusing to cooperate. The census taken then demanded to know why she was refusing. My daughter simply ask the census taker to leave. Finally he left her with a semi-threat. "Well, I'm going to have to report this to my supervisor. You'll be hearing from us again!" Sure Americans, give up your freedoms and rights. Sure Americans, cwral on your bellies like rats to your fedeal masters. You will, WE won't. Got it?

  • Mike 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    I have to agree with you KIGY. The liberal mindset if starnge indeed. They always protray people who hold different views as vicious, mentally deranged, hateful, and whatever other slanderous adjectives their small minds can conjour up. They attack and smear their opponents with phrases like, "Right Wing Extremeiats are like vicious dogs". What hypocritical intolerance! How about this KIGY, its like the liberals are saying, "We saw the vicious right wing extremeist dog sleeping in the sun so we kicked him AND HE BIT US! THAT PROVES THAT HE IS VICIOUS". That is the liberal mentality. Its their mental illness, their inability to control their negitive emotions, their never ending sewage of Hate gushing from their mouths which will be their downfall. We'll remember the bad times, yes indeed, we'll certainly remember who destroyed our country.

  • Mr. AKIA 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Hey Jake, as a census worker, do you get paid for what you do? Huh, what's that? You DO get paid, as well you should. Then tell me something, if YOU get paid to annoy the public asking all those personal questions; how much do you make, how many sq. ft. of home do you live in, how many people occupy those sq. ft., what is your racial or ethnic background, what religion do you follow, etcettra, then why isn't the PUBLIC paid for their time to answer them. I get paid over $100 an hour and my contract starts at a minimum one hour of service. PAY US FOR OUR TIME! What's good for the Goose, yadda, yadda, yadda.

  • Saul 2 years ago
    Report Abuse

    Glenn Beck Mr. Sparkman's death is your fault! This is a sad day in America disgusting!

Add a new comment

Join the conversation! Log in here or create a new account if you've never registered before.

Got something to say?

Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!

Don't miss...