JGalt
Diamond Member
- Mar 9, 2011
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He was the suspect who on June 3, 2026 took hostages inside the second floor of a Bakersfield, CA Chase Bank building and told law enforcement he had an explosive device strapped to both himself and a hostage. He was shot by the FBI and the hostages were released...
"According to authorities, Searles-Harris served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007 before receiving a dishonorable discharge for going AWOL.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said Searles-Harris had a history with law enforcement stemming from a conviction for child sex crimes.
"He was no stranger to law enforcement and has a criminal history of using weapons to commit violent offenses. In 2014, he was charged with sex acts with a child under 14," Patel said.
According to Kern County Court Records, Searles-Harris was convicted of two child sex crimes stemming from a 2013 complaint. Following his release from prison, he was required to register as a sex offender.
Searles-Harris took hostages inside the second floor of a Chase Bank building and told law enforcement he had an explosive device strapped to both himself and a hostage. Authorities did not release a motive during a press conference.
Attorney Arturo Revelo, who represented Searles-Harris during his criminal trial, was brought to the scene to potentially speak with the suspect in an attempt to get him to cooperate. Revelo said he spoke with law enforcement on scene, who told him they had conducted a sweep of the suspect's home just days before the standoff.
"They had actually gone to his house a few days before, or doing a two-night registration sweep to see if they were registering, and they found no explosive devices, no electronic indication that he was making that dead man switch that he claimed he had, so they had absolutely nothing except the ramblings of an obviously psychotic man," Revelo said.
Despite that sweep, Patel said law enforcement did find something when they searched Searles-Harris's home, though he did not specify what.
"We found some concerning items in there from the investigative piece, but again we're continuing to evaluate those and look further into it," Patel said.
We returned to the neighborhood where Searles-Harris lived Wednesday morning and attempted to speak with neighbors to get a sense of who he was. While no one was willing to speak on camera, some noted they rarely saw him, and when they did, he gave the impression he wanted to be left alone.
His mother was also encountered as she exited the home that police raided Tuesday evening. She declined to speak and directed me to scan a QR code affixed to her mailbox. The code leads to a YouTube video in which Searles-Harris claims he was framed and wrongly convicted of the child sex crimes."
Who is Anthony Scott Searles-Harris? A look at the suspect behind the downtown hostage crisis
Now for the "conspiracy theory" part:
Back in Jun 3, 2026, a video was created, supposedly to defend this Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, claiming he was unfairly convicted. The video appears to have been made by or for Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, including a list of credits to those involved in making the video. I couldn't verify whether the names listed in the credits even exist. The film is an hour and a half in length, so I didn't watch it all.
So what think ye? Dead pedophile or someone unfairly caught up in a weaponized justice system?
"According to authorities, Searles-Harris served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007 before receiving a dishonorable discharge for going AWOL.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said Searles-Harris had a history with law enforcement stemming from a conviction for child sex crimes.
"He was no stranger to law enforcement and has a criminal history of using weapons to commit violent offenses. In 2014, he was charged with sex acts with a child under 14," Patel said.
According to Kern County Court Records, Searles-Harris was convicted of two child sex crimes stemming from a 2013 complaint. Following his release from prison, he was required to register as a sex offender.
Searles-Harris took hostages inside the second floor of a Chase Bank building and told law enforcement he had an explosive device strapped to both himself and a hostage. Authorities did not release a motive during a press conference.
Attorney Arturo Revelo, who represented Searles-Harris during his criminal trial, was brought to the scene to potentially speak with the suspect in an attempt to get him to cooperate. Revelo said he spoke with law enforcement on scene, who told him they had conducted a sweep of the suspect's home just days before the standoff.
"They had actually gone to his house a few days before, or doing a two-night registration sweep to see if they were registering, and they found no explosive devices, no electronic indication that he was making that dead man switch that he claimed he had, so they had absolutely nothing except the ramblings of an obviously psychotic man," Revelo said.
Despite that sweep, Patel said law enforcement did find something when they searched Searles-Harris's home, though he did not specify what.
"We found some concerning items in there from the investigative piece, but again we're continuing to evaluate those and look further into it," Patel said.
We returned to the neighborhood where Searles-Harris lived Wednesday morning and attempted to speak with neighbors to get a sense of who he was. While no one was willing to speak on camera, some noted they rarely saw him, and when they did, he gave the impression he wanted to be left alone.
His mother was also encountered as she exited the home that police raided Tuesday evening. She declined to speak and directed me to scan a QR code affixed to her mailbox. The code leads to a YouTube video in which Searles-Harris claims he was framed and wrongly convicted of the child sex crimes."
Who is Anthony Scott Searles-Harris? A look at the suspect behind the downtown hostage crisis
Now for the "conspiracy theory" part:
Back in Jun 3, 2026, a video was created, supposedly to defend this Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, claiming he was unfairly convicted. The video appears to have been made by or for Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, including a list of credits to those involved in making the video. I couldn't verify whether the names listed in the credits even exist. The film is an hour and a half in length, so I didn't watch it all.
So what think ye? Dead pedophile or someone unfairly caught up in a weaponized justice system?
