
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.
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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?
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Opening arguments commenced this week in the trial of the seven members of the Hutaree Militia in Michigan, who are accused of plotting to kill police officers, but who defense attorneys argue were more of a "social club" than a serious threat.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Three defendants in the Hutaree militia case will not be staying in a taxpayer funded hotel for the duration of their trial, a federal judge has decided, but can instead take lodging in the local prison if they're too hard up to afford other accommodations.
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).
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Police are still searching for the former leader of the anti-government "Project 7" militia after he allegedly opened fire on authorities Sunday and led them in a car chase.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)All six of the Alaska militia members accused of plotting to kill two state troopers and a federal judge appeared together in court for the first time Tuesday, after five of them pleaded not guilty to the charges late last month.
Investigators said in a court filing last week that they have over 130 hours of audio and video recordings, among other evidence, garnered with the help of two confidential informants over a 10-month investigation of the suspects, who were members of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Five suspected Alaska militia members arrested last week were arraigned in court on Friday, and the criminal complaints in the case reveal how they allegedly stockpiled weapons while plotting to keep their leader, Schaeffer Cox, from being arrested after skipping his court date.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Militia activist Schaeffer Cox and four associates who reportedly stockpiled weapons were arrested on Thursday for allegedly conspiring to kill multiple Alaska State Troopers and a federal judge.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the group -- Cox, Lonnie. G. Vernon and his wife Karen Vernon, as well as Coleman Barney of North Pole and Michael Anderson -- were taken into custody by state police. All five face several state charges, including "conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit arson, misconduct involving weapons in the third degree, hindering prosecution in the first degree and tampering with evidence," according to a press release by the Alaska State Troopers.
Only one of the individuals, Lonnie G. Vernon, has been charged on the federal level so far. He's alleged to have threatened to murder U.S. District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline from on or about Feb. 4, continuing through Feb. 16.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Self-described "patriot" Mark Krause, a 40-year-old Arkansas blacksmith whose home was foreclosed upon, was arrested in Washington state on Friday and charged with placing a bomb made out of a Pepsi can in front of a polling place during the runoff election for the Arkansas Democratic Senate primary.
It allegedly started on June 8, the day of the runoff election for the Democratic Senate primary between Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.
To hear some gun rights activists tell it, President Barack Obama wants to take away your guns and, any minute now, jack-booted federal agents could knock on your front door to collect them.
Such predictions started during the 2008 campaign. "Obama would be the most anti-gun President in American history," screamed a banner at the National Rifle Association's GunBanObama.com. It got so bad that Obama even had to reassure voters he wouldn't take away their guns. Even after the election, gun sales boomed.
You'd expect a President so opposed by many gun rights groups to get high praise from gun control advocates since he took office. But advocates like those from the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence are far from satisfied with the progress on gun control being made in this administration.
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Prosecutors seeking to keep the Hutaree locked up without bail Thursday released secretly recorded tapes of the militia members discussing attacks on police, the Detroit News reports.
Hutaree leader David Stone is heard on the tapes, recorded by an undercover FBI agent in February, talking about local police as an appealing target.
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At a bond appeal hearing for members of the Hutaree militia on Wednesday, a federal judge questioned prosecutors about the evidence being used to justify holding all nine defendants until trial, according to a report in The Detroit News.
U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts said that the seditious conspiracy charge requires proof of "imminent lawless action ... against the United States."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Tea Party leaders in Oklahoma have been talking to Republican state legislators about introducing legislation to create a new volunteer militia, designed to protect against what they see as the federal government's infringements on state sovereignty, reports the Associated Press.
"Is it scary? It sure is," Tea Party leader Al Gerhart told the AP. "But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?"
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The FBI decided to infiltrate the Hutaree Christian militia after becoming alarmed by the group allegedly detonating bombs in the woods in rural Michigan, NPR reports in a long investigation of the group.
We already knew that the FBI had an undercover agent in the group, one who even recorded its alleged leader preaching against the New World Order.
Nine members of the militia are charged in an alleged plot to kill police. One of the specific counts is attempted use of weapons of mass destruction for an alleged plan to use IEDs during a police funeral.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Prosecutors allege that a dizzying array of drugs, weapons and even a collection of speeches by Adolf Hitler were found at the homes of several of the alleged members of the Hutaree Christian militia.
The AP got a look at the search warrant records in the case, in which prosecutors allege that nine Hutaree members were plotting to kill police. At the trailer of Hutaree leader David Stone, three DVDs labeled "Waco," a grenade holder, over 35 guns, and materials for a "funnel shape charge" were allegedly found.
Still more details are emerging in court filings about the Hutaree Christian militia, and unlike last week's revelation that police were in a dramatic armed standoff with member Josh Stone, 21, the latest filing offers almost sitcom-like details of the inner workings of the group.
In a filing arguing against bond for Tina Stone, the woman who married alleged Hutaree leader David Stone late last year in a heavily-armed ceremony, prosecutors allege that Tina Stone and Josh Stone -- David's son from a previous relationship -- once got into an argument after Tina submitted a job application on his behalf.
The argument arose, naturally, during an alleged discussion "about building destructive devices for the Hutaree." The filing alleges:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)One of the nine members of the Hutaree Christian militia prepared for a violent showdown with police -- to the point that he "secreted weapons" around the rural Michigan home where he was holed up late last month -- before finally surrendering after a daylong standoff, prosecutors allege in a new court filing.
The new allegations regarding Joshua Stone -- the 21-year-old son of alleged Hutaree leader David Stone -- come in a filing by the government arguing against bail for Stone. The government's account reveals that heavily armed police surrounded a property in rural Hillsdale County for an entire day before Stone and other unidentified associates -- all allegedly armed -- finally surrendered.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)In an audio tape recorded by an undercover FBI agent while members of the Hutaree Christian militia were allegedly in a van en route to a militia "summit" in Kentucky, alleged Hutaree leader David Stone denounces Interpol and other "law enforcement mercenaries called the brotherhood working for the New World Order."
CNN got its hands on the audio, which was played during the bond hearing for Stone, who is being held in an alleged plot to kill police.
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The ex-fiance of the leader of the Hutaree Christian militia tells the AP that the group harbored delusions of grandeur to the point that they created "a big map on a room in their house of their own country and their own names of their countries and cities and stuff."
Andrea Harsh, who was engaged to alleged Hutaree leader David Stone, described the map as "very extensive."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Jacob Ward, one of the nine alleged Hutaree militia members charged in an alleged plot to kill police, reportedly became irate at Ohio police last year after they refused to press charges against his mother, who had confiscated Ward's AK-47 and pistol.
The Detroit Free Press reports on the unusual reason Ward, of Huron, Ohio, said he needed the guns:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)The charges filed this week against nine members of the Hutaree Christian militia group have re-focused attention on the resurgence over the last year or so of the broader militia movement.
That resurgence has been driven in part, say experts, by the election of President Obama. But during the Obama era, threats of anti-government violence -- and even the real thing -- have become more widespread. In fact, with disaffected Americans from Massachusetts to California freaking out against the Feds en masse, it sometimes seems that going postal has become all the rage. Of course, in some cases, that anti-government animus long predates the election of our current president. But there seems to be something about the current climate that's contributing to the rash of incidents.
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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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)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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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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)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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Conventional militia organizations are racing to distance themselves from the Hutaree -- the Christian-based militia whose members were charged yesterday with conspiring to kill law enforcement as part of their preparation for the coming battle with the Anti-Christ. But that may be a tall order.
Appearing on CNN this morning, Michael Lackomar, a member of the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, called the Hutaree -- also primarily based in Michigan -- "really a fringe group outside of anything we do."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (5)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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