War In Afghanistan

Gen. McChrystal: We've Shot 'An Amazing Number Of People' Who Were Not Threats

Justin Elliott | April 2, 2010, 3:09PM

Gen. Stanley McChrystal and a convoy in Serobi, Afghanistan

In a stark assessment of shootings of locals by US troops at checkpoints in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in little-noticed comments last month that during his time as commander there, "We've shot an amazing number of people and killed a number and, to my knowledge, none has proven to have been a real threat to the force."

The comments came during a virtual town hall with troops in Afghanistan after one asked McChrystal to comment on the "escalation of force" problem. The general responded that, in the nine months he had been in charge, none of the cases in which "we have engaged in an escalation of force incident and hurt someone has it turned out that the vehicle had a suicide bomb or weapons in it."

In many cases, he added, families were in the vehicles that were fired on.

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American Crossroads

Gearing Up For Midterms, GOP Heavyweights Raise $30M For New 527 Group

Justin Elliott | April 2, 2010, 1:30PM

Former RNC Chair Mike Duncan and former White House adviser Karl Rove

Some of the biggest names in the GOP are organizing an outside group to help Republicans win in the 2010 midterms -- and donors have already pledged a whopping $30 million for the new project, according to National Journal.

The new group -- which, as a 527, can collect unlimited soft money donations and won't be regulated by the Federal Election Commission -- is called American Crossroads. It's a name you'll likely hearing a lot, in part because, as the Wall Street Journal points out, the group's ambition to raise $52 million makes it "the largest ever planned by a pro-Republican outside campaign entity."

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Rex Rammell

Idaho GOP Gov Hopeful: I'm OK With Militias Showing 'A Little Force' (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | April 2, 2010, 11:18AM

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell of Idaho

Via Suzy Khimm at Mother Jones: A longshot Republican gubernatorial candidate in Idaho says in a new interview that he has no problem with militias showing "a little force behind the scenes."

ABC's Nightline caught up with Rex Rammell at a training session of the North Idaho Lightfoot Militia. Rammell, who last made national headlines in August when he joked about buying tags to hunt President Obama, is seen in the ABC segment firing a large scoped semi-automatic rifle.

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Kristopher Sickles

Charged Hutaree Member: I'm No Extremist

Justin Elliott | April 2, 2010, 9:41AM

Kristopher Sickles

Kristopher Sickles, one of the alleged Hutaree militiamen accused in a plot to kill police and the creator of a series of colorful YouTube videos, insists in a statement released by his brother that he is "not an extremist, racist or a cop killer."

"My intentions were good and I am simply guilty by association and personally had no intentions of harming any person, member of law enforcement or the United States government," said Sickles, of Sandusky, Ohio, according to the Dayton Daily News."I would never blindly follow or assist a group who obviously had a different agenda than my own," he said.

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Jim Greer

Florida GOP Gone Wild: Donor Money Used As Slush Fund?

Justin Elliott | April 1, 2010, 1:25PM

Former Florida Republican Party Chair Jim Greer and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Over the past year, we've seen example after example of Florida GOP leaders using party credit cards for lavish personal spending -- from an $839 Starbucks bill to a $134 haircut and, now, a new allegation that the party chair used official funds to enrich himself.

Yesterday, we passed along the news that former FL GOP chair Jim Greer is under criminal investigation for allegedly awarding himself a lucrative party fundraising contract.

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Hutaree

Prosecutors: 46 Guns Found In Home Of Alleged Hutaree Member

Justin Elliott | April 1, 2010, 9:18AM

Members of the Hutaree militia: Joshua Stone, Tina Stone, David Stone, Jr. (left-right, top row); Michael Meeks, David Stone, Sr., Joshua Clough (second row); Kristopher Sickles, Jacob Ward, Thomas Piatek (bottom row).

FBI agents found 46 guns and 13,000 rounds of ammunition in the Indiana home of one of the nine alleged members of the Hutaree Christian militia, prosecutors said at a hearing Wednesday.

That man, Thomas Piatek, was ordered held without bond and will face charges with the other charged Hutaree members in Detroit.

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Hutaree

Hutaree Member Angered By Fake Hamas Resettlement Bill

Justin Elliott | March 31, 2010, 4:04PM

Tina Stone

The Detroit Free Press notices that charged Hutaree militia member Tina Stone bemoaned the passage of H.R. 1388 on her Facebook page recently. That bill has been the subject of a false chain email that warns President Obama provided money to settle Hamas members in the United States.

(Stone made the statements on the same page that features the militia wedding photos we told you about yesterday.)

"H.B. 1388 Passed.... It's bad news for us all," she wrote.

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Militias

FBI Deems Risk Of Militia Violence 'Low'

Justin Elliott | March 31, 2010, 2:34PM

Police in Wheatland Township, Michigan, during the Hutaree raid

In a bulletin distributed to police departments and obtained by the AP, the FBI concludes that in the wake of the arrests of members of the Hutaree militia "the likelihood of violent conflict from the remaining group members or other militia extremists" is "low."

The FBI has seen an increase in "chatter" from militias and other extremist groups. But the fact that the arrests of the nine Hutaree members -- charged in an alleged plot to kill police -- went smoothly eased authorities' concerns of any blowback, according to the AP.

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U.S. Attorneys

Obama U.S. Attorney Pick Criticized Over Role In Disputed Bond Deal

Justin Elliott | March 31, 2010, 1:25PM

President Barack Obama and Michael Ormsby

Mike Ormsby, President Obama's nominee to be U.S. Attorney in eastern Washington state, is being called unfit for the job by critics of his role in a 1990s bond deal that ultimately resulted in Ormsby's firm paying $1.4 million to the IRS.

Ormsby's critics, who include the former mayor of Spokane, sent a letter to President Obama and Senate leaders about a year ago when Ormsby's name was first floated for the job. Now, with Ormsby's formal nomination earlier this month, the issue is surfacing again.

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Hutaree

Prosecutor: Some Militias Are Fine, But Hutaree 'Crossed The Line'

Justin Elliott | March 31, 2010, 9:56AM

Members of the Michigan militia Hutaree (clockwise from top-left): David Stone, Sr., Tina Stone, David Stone, Jr., Jacob Ward, Joshua Clough, Michael Meeks, Kristopher Sickles and Thomas Piatek

The federal prosecutor who brought charges against members of the Hutaree Christian militia tells CNN that authorities are fine with "peaceful" militias in Michigan, but Hutaree "really crossed the line."

"They advocated that government was their enemy and that federal, state and local police officers were their foot soldiers and they refer to them as 'The Brotherhood,'" said Barbara McQuade, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Michigan, in an interview with CNN.

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Hutaree

Undercover FBI Agent Helped In Sting Of Hutaree Militia

Justin Elliott | March 30, 2010, 6:20PM

Thomas Piatek

A nice catch from the Wall Street Journal: A court document in the Hutaree case appears to have inadvertently revealed that an undercover FBI agent was involved in bringing down the Christian militia group.

The indictments of the nine Hutaree members -- charged in an alleged plot to kill police -- show up in a court record database on March 23. But the indictments were still sealed at the time. The Feds didn't make arrests until this past weekend.

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Danziger Bridge

Third Cop Charged -- And Will Plead Guilty -- In Post-Katrina Shootings Cover-Up

Justin Elliott | March 30, 2010, 5:41PM

Officer Michael Hunter of the New Orleans Police

A third New Orleans police officer was charged today in connection with the 2005 shootings of unarmed civilians by police on Danziger Bridge, which took place less than a week after Katrina hit the city.

Michael Hunter will plead guilty to obstruction of justice and misprision of felony charges, his attorney tells WDSU in New Orleans. In the past month or so, two other officers have pleaded guilty to charges related to covering up the killings.

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Frontier Foundation

Rep. Buyer: Ethics Office Closes Review Of Foundation

Justin Elliott | March 30, 2010, 5:00PM

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN)

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN) announced today that the Office of Congressional Ethics had closed with no further action a review of his foundation, which came under scrutiny last year for collecting donations from companies seeking to curry favor with Buyer but not giving out anything for its stated purpose of providing scholarships.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) had asked OCE, the independent House ethics office, to look at Buyer's Frontier Foundation in January, citing reporting by TPMmuckraker and other outlets.

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Hutaree

For Hutaree, Militia Ethos Extended To Family Life

Justin Elliott | March 30, 2010, 12:50PM

A photo from the Facebook page of Tina Kelley

For the leading family of Hutaree, the armed Christian group in Michigan accused of plotting to kill police, membership in the militia went beyond paramilitary training sessions and into something resembling a full-blown lifestyle choice.

In recent wedding pictures posted on Facebook, several Hutaree members who are now in custody are shown posing in front of the militia flag with assault rifles.

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Militias

Ninth Charged Militia Member Surrenders

Justin Elliott | March 30, 2010, 8:43AM

Joshua Stone

Joshua Stone, the son of the leader of the Christian militia Hutaree who was the ninth person charged in an alleged plot to kill police, has surrendered and will appear in court today, the AP reports.

Stone was previously described as a fugitive.

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Nathan Deal

Ethics Office Releases Report On Fmr. GOP Rep's Auto Business

Justin Elliott | March 29, 2010, 1:44PM

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)

In an unusual move, the independent House ethics office has released a report on former Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), whose sweetheart business arrangement with the state of Georgia has drawn media scrutiny.

Deal, who is running for governor, resigned from Congress late on the night of March 21, after casting a vote against the health care legislation.

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Hutaree

Nine Christian Militia Members Charged With Seditious Conspiracy, Attempted Use Of WMD

Justin Elliott | March 29, 2010, 10:04AM

Members of the Michigan militia Hutaree (clockwise from top-left): David Stone, Sr., Tina Stone, David Stone, Jr., Jacob Ward, Joshua Clough, Michael Meeks, Kristopher Sickles and Thomas Piatek

Nine members of the Christian militia group Hutaree have been indicted on multiple charges involving an alleged plot to attack police, including seditious conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. Attorney in Michigan announced this morning.

"Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence," according to the government's press release, which you can read in full below.

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Hutaree

Michigan Christian Militia Raided By Feds Was Preparing To Battle Antichrist (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | March 29, 2010, 9:10AM

A scene from a video on the Hutaree Youtube account

Hutaree, the Christian militia in southeast Michigan reportedly raided by the FBI Sunday, was preparing to battle the Antichrist because "Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment," according to its Web site.

A Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the FBI, arrested at least seven people in three states as part of the raids on the Adrian, Michigan-based group, the Detroit News reported.

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