Valley said he does not personally know 18-year-old Paul Schlesselman (SLESH’-sil-man) of Helena-West Helena, one of two men in federal custody for allegedly plotting a mass-killing spree, including the assassination of Obama.

He has talked with Schlesselman’s next door neighbor, however.

“She’s black; he’s white. She just said he’s racist and that he painted his face with Swastikas.”

Valley said Schlesselman’s neighbor told him that Schlesselman “would paint the neighbor’s cat blue and kill them. He egged her house.”

Valley said the neighbor also told him that Schlesselman would ride around with the Confederate flag in his truck.

“I didn’t think that was a big thing by itself,” said Valley. “But once she put it all together it did kind of paint a picture of it being certainly on the fringe.”

Federal investigators visited West Helena last week.

“I was briefed that they were in town investigating a threat against a presidential candidate,” Valley said. “I think it was the CIA or the Secret Service.”

Valley said the coverage of incident has generated concern.

“I’ve gotten 20 to 30 calls from people who saw the story. They can’t believe that our little town (about 15,000) is on CNN again. We always seem to make CNN for stuff we don’t want on TV. But I understand how the national market works.”

In August, Valley and the Helena-West Helena City Council created a 24-hour curfew zone in a 10-block sector marked by poverty and troubled by crime. The action drew the interest of the American Civil Liberties Union and the resulting confrontation attracted national news media.

Schlesselman and his alleged accomplice, Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., reportedly discussed targeting a predominately African American school as part of their “killing spree.” Valley said local law enforcement would be on alert.

“Our schools – many of them – are gated anyway. You’ve got to get past a security guard to get on campus.”