Arthur Bremer

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pl:Arthur Bremer Image:Arthur bremer.jpg Arthur Herman Bremer (born August 21 1950), the son of a Milwaukee truck driver, shot US Democratic presidential candidate George Wallace on May 15, 1972 in Laurel, Maryland, leaving him paralyzed for life.

Before his brush with infamy, Bremer had been working as a busboy at the Men's Grill in the Milwaukee Athletic Club since 1969, and also added an additional $2.70 an hour job as a janitor at Story Elementary School in the fall of 1970. At the time he obtained his second job, he also studied photography at the Milwaukee Area Technical College. However, after registering for the spring 1971 semester at MATC, Bremer dropped out and then moved out of his parents' home that October, after a fall-out with his father. At approximately the same time, he was demoted to kitchen work at the Athletic Club after patrons complained of such idiosycracies as his habit of mumbling to himself, his whistling and his marching in time to music being played in the dining room. Unhappy with this demotion, he filed a complaint with the Milwaukee Community Relations Commission which found Bremer was bordering on paranoia.

Residents of his apartment building at 2433 West Michigan St. noted that he always had the same wardrobe: blue suit, white shirt and gray tie. In the furnished third-floor apartment that rented for $137.50 per month, Bremer also kept an odd collection of items, including a Confederate flag and a Black Panther Party newspaper, with residents stating that he had no visitors other than his mother. In one instance during a snowstorm the previous winter, Bremer chose to drive his car back and forth over the fallen snow, instead of shoveling it like everyone else.

While working his janitor job, Bremer met Joan Pemrich, a 15 year old hall monitor. Despite the seeming impropriety of his feelings, the couple went on three dates before Pemrich broke off the relationship. Her mother noted after the shooting that she didn't want her daughter dating what she felt was an unstable older man. On their dates, Pemrich found Bremer's behavior odd and weird. He demonstrated this at a Blood, Sweat and Tears concert most notably, but also said he could help Pemrich with her hang-ups as he claimed to know about psychology.

Bremer was arrested on 1971-11-18 after being stopped for carrying a concealed weapon. After undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, he was fined for disorderly conduct. Despite this arrest, Bremer was able to purchase a Charter Arms .38 caliber pistol on 1972-01-13 from Casanova Guns, Inc. He bought the gun the same day that Pemrich broke off their relationship and the day after George Wallace announced his third run for U.S. President.

Bremer quit his janitor job in mid-February and would be unemployed from there onwards. Then on 1 March 1972 he began his diary with the words, "It is my personal plan to assassinate by pistol either Richard Nixon or George Wallace". His purpose was "to do SOMETHING BOLD AND DRAMATIC, FORCEFULL & DYNAMIC, A STATEMENT of my manhood for the world to see."

Later that month Bremer attended a Wallace campaign meeting at Milwaukee's Red Carpet Airport Inn. At the end of the meeting, he picked up a bundle of posters, bumper stickers and a Wallace lapel button and put posters on lamposts all over the city.

The main focus of Bremer's activities though was to assassinate President Nixon. In early April 1972 he travelled to Canada in the hope of doing exactly that. When Bremer reached Ottawa, security was tight and he feared getting close to Nixon would be impossible. His fears were proved correct. Attending rallies where Nixon was speaking, he became furious with a group of Vietnam war protestors, whom he felt conspired against him, as they were attracting attention that he felt was rightfully his. As it turned out, Bremer failed in what he had set out to do.

Bremer took a break from writing, from late April, but resumed it in early May, and on 4 May he decided that Wallace would have the "Honor" of being his victim, even though his diaries didn't reflect the same enthusiasm as they did with regards to shooting Nixon.

In the week leading up to the assassination attempt, Bremer headed east in the 1968 blue Rambler he had purchased on 1971-09-14, stopping in Kalamazoo, Michigan two days before the shooting on 13 May. He attended a Wallace rally then and had the chance to shoot his target but didn't because, according to his diary, Bremer could have shattered some glass and blinded some "Stupid 15-year-old kids" who stood nearby.

Police briefly questioned him when they noticed that he had shown up five hours before Wallace's appearance at a local National Guard armory. Saying he only wanted to get a good seat, Bremer was let go and proceeded onto Maryland.

At the time of the shooting, the blond-haired Bremer was dressed in patriotic red, white and blue and wearing his new campaign button. At approximately 4:00 PM in the parking lot of Laurel Shopping Center, Bremer opened fire, emptying the weapon before he could be subdued. He hit Wallace four times and wounded three other people: Alabama State Trooper Captain E C Dothard (Wallace's personal bodyguard), Dora Thompson (a campaign volunteer) and Nick Zarvos (a Secret Service agent).

Bremer was well aware of the magnitude of his act. As he was being taken to jail after the shooting, he turned and asked, "How much do you think I'll get for my autobiography?".

During his subsequent five-day trial in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the defense had argued that Bremer was legally insane at the time of the shooting and that he had "no emotional capacity to understand anything", but the jury rejected this argument after the prosecution argued that he was perfectly sane. Arthur Marshall, for the prosecution, told the court that Bremer had been seeking glory and was still sorry that Wallace had not died, saying, "he knew he would be arrested... He knew he would be on trial." The jury of six men and six women took just over an hour and a half to reach their verdict and Bremer was sentenced to 63 years in prison for the shooting.

Part of Bremer's diary was published in 1973 as An Assassin's Diary. In the book, he states that he was not particularly opposed to Wallace's political agenda, which was notable for his pro-segregationist stance, but that his primary motive was to become famous, and that he had also stalked President Richard Nixon. Among his comments, Bremer wrote, "Happiness is hearing George Wallace sing the National Anthem or having him arrested for a hit and run traffic accident."

Despite the existence of many conspiracy theories, no one other than Bremer has ever been charged in connection with the shooting. One reason for talk of a conspiracy stemmed from the fact that Bremer's 1971 income tax return stated that he had earned only $1,611, bringing up the question of how Bremer paid for his travels while stalking Wallace. Another theory was based on the owner of Bremer's apartment building allowing reporters into the alleged assassin's apartment the night of the shooting. Some journalists were later seen leaving with items from Bremer's apartment.

Bremer would serve as the inspiration for the Travis Bickle character played by Robert DeNiro, in Taxi Driver (1976). In an ironic twist, the film would be termed as a motivating factor in John Hinckley, Jr.'s decision to shoot President Ronald Reagan.

Arthur Bremer is serving time at the Maryland Correctional Institute. If not paroled, he will be released in 2025 at the age of 75. With time off for good behavior, Bremer could be released in 2015, but according to 1997 parole records, psychological testing indicated releasing Bremer would be risky.

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