Wichita suspect tagged mayor as ‘viable target for elimination,’ court charges reveal
A Wichita man accused of threatening Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple was charged Tuesday with sending texts naming the mayor as a “viable target for elimination” and asking another city official for Whipple’s address because he “has a date with the hangman.”
The alleged author of those and other threatening texts, Meredith Dowty, 59, was charged Tuesday with three felony counts of making criminal threats causing “terror, evacuation or disruption.”
On Tuesday, Dowty made his first appearance in court since his arrest on Friday. He’s being held in lieu of $50,000 bond.
If he does make bail, Judge Pro-Tem Sean McEnulty ordered that upon release, he will have to report regularly to a pre-trial officer and wear an electronic monitor to track his whereabouts.
Dowty appeared to be somewhat confused by the part of the proceeding where he was assigned a court-appointed attorney to represent him, at one point arguing with the judge that he wanted a different lawyer than the one being assigned to his case.
He said he has not been able to contact his preferred attorney.
“I have not been able to get outside walls because I don’t have money on the books,” Dowty said. “I have people out there and they’re trying to get the information. I tried to get that out earlier this morning to see if he could be here to represent me.”
McEnulty ruled that Dowty’s income qualifies him for court-appointed counsel and appointed attorney Kenneth Clark to represent Dowty until and unless he can find the lawyer he wants. Dowty’s next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 5.
The charges against Dowty allege that he made threats on Friday in a series of text messages to City Council member James Clendenin.
The heart of the first count alleges “in text messages to James Clendenin, he (Dowty) states ‘mayor and all those who bankrupt us” are ‘viable targets for elimination,’ communicated with the intent to place another person in fear,” the criminal complaint says.
Charges two and three are similar, originating in other messages allegedly sent to Clendenin.
The second count charges that Dowty texted Clendenin: “the crimes being committed are those who are violating their Oath. they should have their (expletive) throats slashed.”
In Count Three, the alleged message was partially coded: “I need Wilma (Brandon Whipple) 20 (location). He has a date with the hangman.”
Whipple said he’s been told by police that the genesis of the messages was Dowty’s opposition to a city ordinance designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. That ordinance required that protective face masks be worn in most public-facing businesses and workspaces where social distancing cannot be effectively maintained between workers.
The city ordinance is being allowed to expire as of Wednesday and being replaced with a weaker and harder-to-enforce mask mandate ordered by Sedgwick County.
At their Sept. 8 meeting, City Council members heard seven hours of complaints about the mask mandate from 120 speakers, many of whom accused the city of violating their constitutional rights or their religious beliefs.
Dowty, a retired Wichita firefighter, is a fixture in the local music community who performs under the stage name “Cathead.”
He has a reputation among his acquaintances for espousing anti-government views, as reflected on his Subaru station wagon.
Hand-painted lettering on the windows of the car says “Remember Waco” and “Zero Constitutional force of law. WAKE UP! AMERICA!”
The Waco reference has been a rallying cry for far-right militants since a 1993 siege by federal agents at the Branch Davidian cult compound there. The death toll was 76 Davidians and four agents and the situation motivated the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing two years later on the anniversary of the final raid on the Davidian compound.
“Wake Up” is a phrase associated with QAnon, an anti-government movement advancing a conspiracy theory that various prominent Democratic politicians, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities are involved in a mammoth international child sex trafficking conspiracy.
QAnon adherents write and speak of a “great awakening” when their conspiracy theories will be validated and “the storm,” when the people they accuse will be rounded up and arrested by President Donald Trump.
The Whipple threat case has drawn national media attention against the backdrop of the November election and deep divisions across the country over how best to address the COVID pandemic.
Whipple has appeared in recent days on national networks including CNN and MSNBC.
He said the goal of his media appearances has been to “get out there and talk about how this is not reflective of Wichita as a whole . . . that this narrative doesn’t get spun into the idea this perspective, this extremist perspective, is a common one, because it’s not here in Wichita.”
He said he plans to keep advocating for measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“Really, I’m not going to be distracted (by threats),” he said. “My goal is to do what I can to ensure the safety of Wichitans who are fighting COVID. That’s my job.”
Contributing: Chance Swaim of The Eagle
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 5:13 PM.
