US official murdered in Kentucky – land of meth and moonshine

The FBI is investigating whether a wave of intense anti-govern­ment sentiment sweeping America has claimed its first victim, after the body of a census collector was found hanging from a tree in a remote backwoods corner of Kentucky with the word “Fed” scrawled on his chest.

The death is fuelling speculation he was killed simply because he worked for the federal government – now the target of a wave of hate from extreme right-wingers.

Colleagues of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old single father and census volunteer, alerted police after the normally dependable part-time teacher failed to turn up for work on September 10. His corpse was discovered two days later, near a cemetery in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Preliminary medical reports indicated he had been asphyxiated.

Sparkman had been warned the people of rural Clay County do not always welcome federal visitors on official business. Gilbert Accairdo, who worked with him at Johnson Elementary School, said he was aware of the potential risks.

“As a retired state trooper, I recognised the inherent dangers of going to someone’s house and [them] not knowing what you’re about,” he said. “The thing I stressed with Sparkman was to make sure people know you are just there to gather statistics...