Hutaree

Feds Calls Hutaree Trial Outcome 'Disappointing'

Ryan J. Reilly | March 29, 2012, 12:45PM

The larger conspiracy case against members of a Christian militia has fallen apart, but the feds still got guilty pleas on Thursday on charges the Hutaree's leader and his 23-year-old son possessed illegal machine guns.

David Stone, Sr. and Joshua Stone "admitted that they possessed machine guns, specifically a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle and a Double Star Corp. .223 caliber rifle, respectively, knowing that the firearms would shoot, and were designed to shoot, automatically more than one shot ,without manual reloading, by a single function of then trigger," according to a Justice Department press release.

Read more »

Hutaree

Extremist Groups Still A Threat Despite Botched Hutaree Case, Says Militia Expert

Ryan J. Reilly | March 28, 2012, 1:00PM

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

When the FBI wanted to highlight its work against extremist milita movements in September, they singled out their case against members of the Michigan-based Christian group known as the Hutaree as an "example of the dangers posed by so-called militia extremists."

In the largest and highest profile bust of an extremist milita group in recent memory, nine members of the Hutaree were arrested in March 2010 and accused of being involved in a conspiracy to kill cops and start a battle with federal authorities. But on Tuesday, the four year ordeal came to a dramatic end when the vast majority of the case was tossed out. So how does fact that a judge tossed the conspiracy charges against members of the Hutaree reflect on the FBI's larger battle against extremist militias?

Read more »

Hutaree

Judge Tosses Conspiracy Charges In Hutaree Militia Case

Ryan J. Reilly | March 27, 2012, 3:00PM

In a major blow to the federal case against members of the extremist Hutaree militia, a federal judge has thrown out conspiracy charges against all of the members, leaving five members of the group off the hook completely.

Two defendants -- accused ringleader David Stone Sr. and his son Joshua Stone, are still facing weapons charges, the Detroit Free Press reports. Nine members had originally been charged in a conspiracy to attack police and start a battle with federal authorities.

Read more »

Southern Poverty Law Center

Anti-Government Extremism Thrives As Politics Get Angrier

Nick R. Martin | March 8, 2012, 2:51PM

The same populist anger that has led to political victories nationwide in recent years has also fueled an incredible rise of anti-government fanaticism, one of the leading watchdogs of American extremism said on Thursday.

Read more »

Militia movement

Meet The Accused Child Rapist Who Worked With The Feds Against The Senior Citizen Militia Members

Ryan J. Reilly | January 20, 2012, 5:31AM

Mugshots of Ray H. Adams, Samuel J. Crump, Emory Dan Roberts, and Frederick Thomas

We've told you all about the four senior citizen militia members from Georgia who allegedly plotted an attack against federal employees.

The members of the "covert group," -- who range from 65 to 73 -- were allegedly at least partially inspired by a book by a right-wing blogger and plotted to attack government employees with a deadly toxin ricin. But their age, various health problems and their apparent lack of ability to actually pull off the plot has raised questions about how big of a threat they really presented. Lawyers for some of the defendants have raised their age as a barrier to them being able to pull off the crimes they have been accused of, and all four defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Now, thanks to an extensive piece in Esquire by Georgia-based journalist Tom Junod, we know a lot more about the guy who worked as a confidential informant for the feds in the case. It turns out he might not be a model citizen.

Read more »

Militia movement

Mugshots Of The Senior Citizen Militia Members Charged In Attack Plot

Ryan J. Reilly | November 30, 2011, 6:56PM

Mugshots of Ray H. Adams, Samuel J. Crump, Emory Dan Roberts, and Frederick Thomas

Meet 65-year-old Ray Adams, 68-year-old Samuel Crump, 67-year-old Dan Roberts and 73-year-old Frederick Thomas. They're the four senior citizen militia members from Georgia the feds say plotted an attack on federal workers, former Rep. Cynthia McKinney and Attorney General Eric Holder.

TPM obtained their mugshots, taken by the U.S. Marshals Service after their arrests, through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Read more »

Schaeffer Cox

Militia Leader Cox Says FBI Source Pushed Attack, 'Fanned The Flames Of Government Overthrow'

Ryan J. Reilly | November 17, 2011, 6:05AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francis "Schaeffer" Cox

An Alaska militia leader accused in a plot against the government is accusing an FBI cooperating witness of "pushing and pushing" him to mobilize against the government and fanning the flames of government overthrow.

Francis "Schaeffer" Cox recalls in an affidavit filed in federal court on Tuesday that he (accompanied by Jeremy Baker and Les Zerbe) met with gun dealer Bill Fulton in Fairbanks in August 2010. Cox says Fulton was in town to participate in a fundraiser for the Interior Conservative Coalition that was being held at Far North Tactical, which is owned by Fulton "protege" Aaron Bennett.

Fulton is one of the FBI's confidential informants in the case. You may remember him as part of Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller's security detail, who handcuffed and detained Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger for trying to question and videotape Miller.

Cox's attorney Nelson Traverso wrote in a motion to dismiss the indictment that Fulton's "complete role has yet to be disclosed."

Read more »

Frederick Thomas

Feds: Senior Citizen Militia Members Targeted Holder, McKinney

Ryan J. Reilly | November 10, 2011, 6:03AM

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that four elderly militia members charged in a plot against citizens and federal employees were targeting Attorney General Eric Holder and former Rep. Cynthia McKinney as potential assassination targets.

Holder and McKinney's names were included on a hit list compiled by 73-year-old Frederick Thomas, federal prosecutors said at a bond hearing. Authorities also said Thomas had stockpiled 52 guns and 30,000 rounds of ammunition in his Georgia home. All four suspects pleaded not guilty.

Read more »

Militia movement

Fringe Militia Member Accused In Ricin Plot Called Right-Wing Blogger's Novel 'Far From Fantasy'

Ryan J. Reilly | November 4, 2011, 6:00AM

One of the elderly 'fringe militia' members arrested on Tuesday for allegedly plotting a ricin attack against U.S. citizens and federal employees was a frequent commenter on a right-wing blog and thought a novel written by the blogger that allegedly inspired his plot was likely to come true.

Former Alabama militia member turned "Sipsey Street Irregulars" blogger Mike Vanderboegh said in a post that he never corresponded with 73-year-old Frederick Thomas, the man the feds considered the ringleader of the group. But he did say he believed "Ahab" was Thomas' screen name that he used to leave comments on the website.

Read more »

Joshua Clough

First Defendant To Plead Guilty In Hutaree Militia Plot

Ryan J. Reilly | November 2, 2011, 3:55PM

Joshua Clough, one of nine members of the Hutaree militia in Michigan arrested by federal authorities in the spring of 2010, will be the first militia member to plead guilty.

Clough -- also known as "Mouse" -- has a plea hearing scheduled for Nov. 8, according to a court notification first reported by the Detroit Free Press. The details of his guilty plea weren't clear and his lawyer did not immediately respond to TPM's request for comment.

Read more »

Militia Movement

Meet The Senior Citizen Militia Members Arrested In Georgia Bio Attack Plot

Ryan J. Reilly | November 2, 2011, 1:20PM

Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested four Georgia senior citizens for allegedly plotting to attack U.S. citizens and government officials with the deadly toxin ricin. Lets meet the players.

Read more »

Georgia

Feds: Four Members Of Georgia 'Fringe Militia Group' Plotted Biological Attack On Citizens, Government Officials

Ryan J. Reilly | November 2, 2011, 6:30AM

Four Georgia men who belonged to a "fringe militia group" were arrested by FBI agents on Tuesday and charged with plotting an attack against U.S. citizens and federal employees using the biological toxin ricin.

Authorities say 73-year-old Frederick Thomas of Cleveland; 67-year-old Dan Roberts; 65-year-old Ray H. Adams; and 68-year-old Samuel J. Crump, all of Toccoa, Ga. began meeting in March 2011 as part of a covert group that called itself, well, the "covert group."

Read more »

Hutaree

FBI Expanding Interaction With Local Agencies To Combat Militia Extremists

Ryan J. Reilly | September 22, 2011, 2:35PM

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has expanded their interaction with other federal and state agencies to combat militia extremists, the bureau said in a blog post this week.

Read more »

Schaeffer Cox

AK Militia Suspects Want Trial Moved From Anchorage Because It's Too Much Like Seattle

Jillian Rayfield | September 20, 2011, 8:30AM

Schaeffer Cox

Lawyers for Schaeffer Cox and another member of the Fairbanks-based Alaska Peacemakers Militia have asked the court to move their trial from Anchorage because it's "a suburb of Seattle" and is "an environment alien to the accused."

Read more »

Hutaree

Appeals Court: Hutaree Must Stay Behind Bars

Justin Elliott | June 23, 2010, 2:54PM

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).

Overturning the ruling of a lower court, a federal appeals court Tuesday ruled that five members of the Hutaree militia, who are accused of plotting to kill police, are a potential danger to the community and cannot be released on bail pending trial.

In May, a U.S District Court judge in Michigan ruled that the Hutaree members were not a flight risk and did not present a threat to the community.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Hutaree

Christian Militia Group Burns U.N. Flag In YouTube Clip (VIDEO)

Derek Hawkins | March 29, 2010, 1:34PM

A U.N. flag burning in a video on the Hutaree YouTube account

The Michigan militia Hutaree, whose members have been charged for an alleged plot to attack police, burns a U.N. flag in a video posted on the group's YouTube page.

The clip dated June 30, 2009, and described as "UN in America," shows flames engulfing a U.N. flag in slow motion, over the sound of "First and Last and Always," by the 80s goth-rock band Sisters of Mercy.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Ravalli County, MT

MT Group Demands Local Leaders Boot Feds, Form Militia, Protect Guns

Justin Elliott | January 22, 2010, 2:45PM

A group of nearly 200 "extremely concerned citizens" in a small Montana county are demanding that local leaders fill out a "questionnaire" pledging to form a local militia, prohibit mandatory vaccinations, boot the EPA out of town, allow citizens to bear any type of gun, and require federal government employees to get written approval before approaching "any Citizen."

Organized in part by a group called Celebrating Conservatism, which is lead by a woman who quit the state GOP after complaining of "fake" Republicans, the questionnaire was presented this week to the county commissioners and sheriff of Ravalli County, according to the local Republic newspaper.

Read more »