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White supremacist Randy Weaver surrenders after an 11-day standoff with federal authorities at his cabin on Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The standoff cost the lives of Weaver's wife and son, and a US marshal. The incident, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, will "galvanize… many on the radical right." [Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/2001]
Entity Tags: Randy Weaver, Southern Poverty Law Center
Timeline Tags: US Domestic Terrorism
Combat engineering vehicles (CEVs) lined up outside the blazing Branch Davidian compound. [Source: PBS]The FBI and local law enforcement officials begin their planned assault on the besieged Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas (see 5:00 A.M. - 9:30 A.M. February 28, 1993, March 1, 1993, and April 17-18, 1993), despite indications that the Davidians inside the compound will retaliate either by firing on the gathered law enforcement officials, by torching the main residential building, or perhaps both (see April 18, 1993). [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Warning - At 5:55 a.m., Richard Rogers, the commander of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), orders two combat engineering vehicles (CEVs, unarmed modifications of Bradley fighting vehicles and the primary means for deplying CS "riot control agent" into the main building) deployed to the main building. One minute later, senior negotiator Byron Sage telephones the residence and speaks with Davidian Steve Schneider. At 5:59, Schneider comes to the phone. Sage tells him: "We are in the process of putting tear gas into the building. This is not an assault. We will not enter the building." Schneider replies, "You are going to spray tear gas into the building?" Sage says, "In the building… no, we are not entering the building." At the conclusion of the conversation, Schneider or another Davidian throws the telephone out of the building. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] Minutes later, Schneider slips out, retrieves the phone, and ducks back inside. [Time, 5/3/1993] Combat Vehicles Begin Deploying Gas, Davidians Open Fire - At 6:02 a.m., the two CEVs begin inserting CS gas into the compound, using spray nozzles attached to booms. The booms punch holes through the exterior walls of the building. The FBI uses unarmed Bradley Fighting Vehicles to deploy "ferret rounds," military ammunition designed to release CS after penetrating a barricade such as a wall or window. As the CEVs and the Bradleys punch holes into the buildings for the deployment of the gas, Sage makes the following statement over the loudspeakers: "We are in the process of placing tear gas into the building. This is not an assault. We are not entering the building. This is not an assault. Do not fire your weapons. If you fire, fire will be returned. Do not shoot. This is not an assault. The gas you smell is a non-lethal tear gas. This gas will temporarily render the building uninhabitable. Exit the residence now and follow instructions. You are not to have anyone in the tower. The [guard] tower is off limits. No one is to be in the tower. Anyone observed to be in the tower will be considered to be an act of aggression [sic] and will be dealt with accordingly. If you come out now, you will not be harmed. Follow all instructions. Come out with your hands up. Carry nothing. Come out of the building and walk up the driveway toward the Double-E Ranch Road. Walk toward the large Red Cross flag. Follow all instructions of the FBI agents in the Bradleys. Follow all instructions. You are under arrest. This standoff is over. We do not want to hurt anyone. Follow all instructions. This is not an assault. Do not fire any weapons. We do not want anyone hurt. Gas will continue to be delivered until everyone is out of the building." Two minutes later, Davidians begin firing on the vehicles from the windows. The gunfire from the Davidians prompts Rogers and FBI commander Jeffrey Jamar to decide to change tactics; at 6:07 a.m., the assault forces begin deploying all of the gas at once instead of dispersing it in a controlled manner over the course of 48-72 hours as originally envisioned. [Dean M. Kelley, 5/1995; PBS Frontline, 10/1995; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996; USMC Weapons, 2002] (Jamar will later testify that before the assault even began, he was "99 percent certain" that the FBI would have to escalate its assault because the Davidians would open fire.) [House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] As a CEV demolishes the back wall of the gymnasium area of the compound, negotiators broadcast: "David, we are facilitating you leaving the compound by enlarging the door.… Leave the building now." [Cox News Service, 1/30/2000] Jamar will later explain that the Bradleys do not carry military weaponry. "Of course we had all the firepower removed," he will say in a 1995 interview. "There were no cannons or anything on them. We used them for transportation. And they're more than a personnel carrier—they're a track vehicle. I mean it's mud, just thick mud there the whole time. And the agents learned how to drive 'em. But the idea was to protect them as best we could. And we didn't know—they talked about blowing a 50—did they have rockets? Who knows? Did they have explosives buried in various vicinities? Are they prepared to run out with Molatov cocktails? What's in their mind?" Jamar is referring to threats made by Koresh and other Davidians to blow up FBI vehicles. As for the CEVs, they are tanks modified for construction and engineering purposes, and are often used as bulldozers. Observers watching the events live on television or later on videotape will sometimes mistake the CEVs for actual tanks, though two M1A1 Abrams tanks are actually on site and take part in the assault. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995; PBS Frontline, 10/1995] House Report: Davidians Would Certainly Consider FBI's Actions an Assault - A 1996 report by a House of Representatives investigative committee (see August 2, 1996) will note that it is almost impossible for the Davidians not to consider themselves under assault, with tank-like vehicles tearing holes in the building, CS being sprayed everywhere, grenade-like projectiles crashing through windows, men in body armor swarming around the compound, and the sounds of what seems like combat all around them. "Most people would consider this to be an attack on them—an 'assault' in the simplest terms," the report will find. "If they then saw other military vehicles approaching, from which projectiles were fired through the windows of their home, most people are even more likely to believe that they were under an assault. If those vehicles then began to tear down their home there would be little doubt that they were being attacked. These events are what the Davidians inside the residence experienced on April 19, yet the FBI did not consider their actions an assault." Moreover, the FBI did not consider the close-knit, home-centered community the Davidians have long since formed. "Their religious leader led them to believe that one day a group of outsiders, non-believers, most likely in the form of government agents, would come for them," the report will state. "Indeed, they believed that this destiny had been predicted 2,000 years before in Biblical prophecy. Given this mindset, it can hardly be disputed that the Davidians thought they were under assault at 6 a.m. on April 19." [House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] Monitoring from Washington - At 7:00 a.m., Attorney General Janet Reno and senior Justice Department and FBI officials go to the FBI situation room to monitor the assault. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Buildings Breached - At 7:30 a.m., a CEV breaches the side of one of the main buildings and injects large amounts of tear gas into the interior of the compound. At 7:58 a.m., gas is fired into the second floor of the back-right corner of the building. The FBI asks for more ferret rounds, and by 9:30 a.m., 48 more ferret rounds arrive from Houston. The assault is hampered by the FBI's dwindling supply of ferret rounds, a CEV with mechanical difficulties, and high winds dispersing the gas. Another CEV enlarges the opening in the center-front of the building, with the idea of providing an escape route for the trapped Davidians. A third CEV breaches the rear of the building, according to a later Justice Department report, "to create openings near the gymnasium." [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Clinton Told Assault Progressing Well - At about 11 a.m., Reno briefs President Clinton, tells him that the assault seems to be going well, and leaves for a judicial conference in Baltimore. During this time, a CEV breaches the back side of the compound. At 11:40 a.m., the FBI fires the last of the ferret rounds into the building. At 11:45 a.m., one wall of the compound collapses. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Transcriptionist Escapes - Ruth Riddle, the typist and transcriptionist sent inside the compound by the FBI to help Koresh finish his "Seven Seals" manuscript (see April 18, 1993), escapes the compound before the fire. She brings out a computer disk containing the unfinished manuscript. [Dean M. Kelley, 5/1995] Davidians Set Fires throughout Compound - At 12:07 p.m., according to the Justice Department and House reports, the Davidians start "simultaneous fires at three or more different locations within the compound." An FBI Hostage Rescue Team member reports seeing "a male starting a fire" in the front of the building. Later analyses show that the first fire begins in a second-floor bedroom, the second in the first floor dining room, and the third in the first floor chapel. Evidence also shows that the fires spread according to "accelerant trails," such as a trail of flammable liquid being poured on the floor. Some of the Davidians' clothing found in the rubble also shows traces of gasoline, kerosene, Coleman fuel (liquid petroleum, sometimes called "white gas"), and lighter fluid, further suggesting that the Davidians use accelerants to start and spread the fires. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] Within eight minutes, the main building is engulfed in flames. One explosion, probably from a propane gas tank, is observed. Later investigation will find a propane tank with its top blown off in the debris. [House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] After the compound burns to the ground, FBI agent Bob Ricks tells reporters, "David Koresh, we believe, gave the order to commit suicide and they all willingly followed." [New York Times, 4/20/1993] Some of the Davidians who survive the conflagration later claim that the Davidians did not start the fires, but arson investigators with the Justice Department and the Texas Rangers, as well as an independent investigator, will conclude that Davidians did indeed start the fires in at least three different areas of the main building. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] A 1993 Treasury Department report (see Late September - October 1993) will produce audiotapes of Davidians inside the compound and transcripts of conversations, secured via electronic surveillance, discussing the means of setting the fires. Voices on the tapes and in the transcripts say such things as: "The fuel has to go all around to get started." "Got to put enough fuel in there." "So, we only light 'em as they come in," or as a slightly different version has it, "So, we only light 'em as soon as they tell me." Once the fires begin, high winds and the breaches in the walls cause the flames to almost immediately begin consuming the compound. [Dean M. Kelley, 5/1995] In 1999, Colonel Rodney Rawlings, the senior military liaison to the HRT, will tell reporters that he heard Koresh give the orders to start the fires over FBI surveillance "bugs" (see October 8, 1999). Sage later describes the horror that goes through him and his fellow agents when they realize that the Davidians have torched the compound. He will recall "pleading" with the Davidians to leave the compound, and say: "I can't express the emotions that goes through you. I had to physically turn around away from the monitor to keep my mind focused on what I was trying to broadcast to those people." He will recall being horrified by the failure of people to flee the compound. "I fully anticipated those people would come pouring out of there," he says. "I'd been through CS teargas on numerous occasions [in training exercises]. And I would move heaven and earth to get my kids out of that kind of an environment. And that's frankly what we were banking on. That at least the parents would remove their children from that kind of situation." Of Koresh, he will say: "By him intentionally lighting that place afire and consuming the lives of 78 people, including over 20 young children, was just inconceivable to me. In 25 years of law enforcement I've never been faced with someone that was capable of doing that." [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Six years later, the FBI will admit to releasing two pyrotechnic grenades into the compound, but insists the grenades did not start the fires (see August 25, 1999 and After). Plea for Release - At 12:12 p.m., Sage calls on Koresh to lead the Davidians to safety. Nine Davidians flee the compound and are arrested [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] , including one woman who leaves, attempts to return to the burning building, and tries unsuccessfully to fight off a federal agent who comes to her aid. [New York Times, 4/20/1993] One of the nine runs out of the building at around 12:28 p.m., indicating that even 21 minutes after the fire, it is possible for some of the inhabitants to make their escape. However, most of the Davidians retreat to areas in the center of the building and do not attempt to get out. [House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] 'Systematic Gunfire' - At 12:25 p.m., FBI agents hear "systematic gunfire" coming from inside of the building; some agents believe that the Davidians are either killing themselves or each other. The House committee investigation later finds that FBI agents hear rapid-fire gunshots coming from the compound; while many of the gunshots are probably caused by exploding ammunition, "other sounds were methodical and evenly-spaced, indicating the deliberate firing of weapons." Fire Department Responds; Search for Survivors - At 12:41 p.m., fire trucks and firefighters begin attempting to put out the flames. HRT agents enter tunnels to search for survivors, particularly children. [Dean M. Kelley, 5/1995; PBS Frontline, 10/1995; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] No fire trucks are at the scene when the assault begins, and it takes around 25 minutes for the first fire department vehicles to respond to emergency calls from their stations in Waco. Bob Sheehy, mayor of Waco, later says the city fire department "first got a call after the fire had already started." Ricks explains that fire engines were not brought to the compound earlier for fear that firefighters might have been exposed to gunfire from the compound, and because FBI officials did not expect a fire. "We did not introduce fire to this compound, and it was not our intention that this compound be burned down. I can't tell you the shock and the horror that all of us felt when we saw those flames coming out of there. It was, 'Oh, my God, they're killing themselves.'" [New York Times, 4/20/1993] Death Toll - In all, 78 Branch Davidians, including over 20 children, two pregnant women, and Koresh himself, die in the fire. Nineteen of the dead are killed by close-range gunshot wounds. Almost all of the others either die from smoke inhalation, burns, or both. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995; House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] The number is improperly reported in a number of media sources, and varies from 75 to 81. Even the House committee report does not cite a definitive total. [House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 8/2/1996] Some of the FBI negotiators involved in the siege later say that they feel continued negotiations might have saved many, perhaps all, of the lives of those inside the compound. In an interview later in the year, one negotiator tells a reporter, "I'll always, in my own mind, feel like maybe we could have gotten some more people out." [New Yorker, 5/15/1995] But HRT member Barry Higginbotham, one of the snipers who observes the Davidians throughout the siege, will later state that neither he nor anyone on his team believed the Davidians would ever willingly surrender. Higginbotham will say: "We just felt that if you make them suffer a little more, deny them perhaps a little more food, lighting, power, things like that inside, that would cause more pressure on their leadership inside. And perhaps their leadership would go to Koresh and pressure him to start negotiating in good faith. It was hard to believe that Koresh was ever negotiating in good faith." [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] In the hours after the conflagration, Ricks tells reporters: "We had hoped the women would grab their children and flee. That did not occur and they bunkered down the children and allowed them to go up in flames with them.… It was truly an inferno of flames." Ricks says that authorities receive reports, perhaps from some of the survivors, that the children had been injected with some kind of poison to ease their pain. This claim is never confirmed. [New York Times, 4/20/1993] In the Bunker - FBI investigators combing the building after the conflagration find an enormous amount of guns and other weaponry inside. Dr. Rodney Crow, the FBI's chief of identification services and one of the officials who examine the bodies of the Davidians, spends much of his time in the compound's underground bunker, where many of the bodies are found. Crow later says: "There were weapons everywhere. I don't remember moving a body that didn't have a gun melted to it, intertwined with it, between the legs, under the arm, or in close proximity. And I'd say 18 inches to 20 inches would be close proximity.… The women were probably more immersed in the weapons than anyone else, because there was so much weaponry inside the bunker. It was like sea shells on a beach, but they were spent casings and spent bullets. If you had rubber gloves and tried to smooth it away, you'd tear your gloves away from the bullet points that are unexploded, or unspent ammunition. Then as you went through layer after layer, you came upon weapons that were totally burned. Until we got down to the floor, and it was mint condition ammunition there. Ammunition boxes not even singed." The most powerful weapon Crow finds is a .50-caliber machine gun. Some of the bodies have gunshot wounds. Crow will say: "My theory is there was a lot of euthanasia and mercy killing. That group probably were just about as active as anywhere in the compound, mercifully putting each other out of misery in the last moments." In total, 33 bodies are found inside the bunker; almost all the women and children found inside the compound are in the bunker. Many are found to have died from suffocation or smoke inhalation (two died from falling debris), but some died from gunshot wounds, and one woman was stabbed to death. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995; PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Local medical examiner Nizam Peerwani later says he does not believe the people in the bunker committed suicide, saying: "There has been a lot of speculation if this is a mass suicide or not. And—did they all go there to die? Ah, we don't really think so. What I feel personally is that they tried to escape. A bunker was perhaps the safest area in the compound." [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Sage will say that he knew the children were dead sometime around 12:30 p.m. He recalls terminating the negotiations at that time, "because I didn't want the loudspeaker bank to interfere with instructions being given on the ground. At that point in time, I walked over to the site in shock, basically. And, uh, the first thing I asked is, 'Where are the kids?'" He is told, "Nowhere." Sage will say: "They had not come out. They had been consumed." [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Koresh's Fate - Koresh and Schneider are found in a small room the authorities call "the communication room." Koresh is dead of a single gunshot wound to the forehead. Schneider is dead from a gunshot wound in the mouth. Peerwani later says: "Did David Koresh shoot himself and Schneider shoot himself? Or did Schneider shoot David Koresh and then turn around and shoot himself? Certainly both are possible. We cannot be certain as to what really transpired." [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] No Ill Effects from Gas - Peerwani and his colleagues examine the bodies for damage caused by the CS gas used in the assault, and find none. While many of the Davidians were exposed to the gas, according to tissue and blood studies, none inhaled enough of it to cause anything more than short-term discomfort. Concurrently, Peerwani and his colleagues find no damage from the propellant used in the ferret rounds. A fire report later written by Texas-based investigators will call the tear gas operation a failure at dispersing the Davidians. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995; PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Medical examinations show that some of the children may well have been overcome by the gas, and rendered unable to escape, but the compound had not been gassed for an hour before the fires began, and CS has a persistence factor of only 10 minutes—in other words, the effects should have worn off by the time the fires broke out. The gas proves ineffective against the adults, because the adult Davidians are equipped with gas masks. [PBS Frontline, 10/1995] Wrongly Executed Plan - The plan as signed by Reno called on law enforcement forces to deploy tear gas into the compound at stated intervals, then have agents retreat to await evacuees before approaching again. This "passive," "restrained" approach was to have been followed for up to 72 hours before using assault vehicles to force entry. Instead, the agents wait only 12 minutes before beginning a motorized vehicle assault. [New Yorker, 5/15/1995] Taking Responsibility - One of the unlikely "heroes" of the debacle is Reno. She signed off on the attack (see April 17-18, 1993), and within hours of the attacks, she holds a televised press conference where she says: "I made the decision. I am accountable . The buck stops here" (see April 19, 1993). She repeats this statement over and over again on national television. [New Yorker, 5/15/1995]
Entity Tags: Bob Ricks, Bob Sheehy, Branch Davidians, David Koresh, FBI Hostage Rescue Team, Barry Higginbotham, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Janet Reno, Jeffrey Jamar, Byron Sage, US Department of Justice, Nizam Peerwani, William Jefferson ("Bill") Clinton, Richard Rogers, Rodney Rawlings, Rodney Crow, Ruth Riddle, Texas Rangers, Steve Schneider
Timeline Tags: 1993 Branch Davidian Crisis
John Trochmann in 2001. [Source: NPR]The first official citizen militia in the US in modern times, the Militia of Montana, is officially inaugurated. The Montana Militia is led by John Trochmann, a white supremacist and supporter of Ruby Ridge survivor Randy Weaver (see August 31, 1992). [Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/2001]
Entity Tags: Montana Militia, John Trochmann
The Alfred P. Murrah Building after being bombed. [Source: CBS News]A truck bomb destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people in America's worst domestic terrorist attack. Timothy McVeigh, later convicted in the bombing, has ideological roots both in the Patriot world and among neo-Nazis like William Pierce, whose novel, The Turner Diaries (see 1978), served as a blueprint for the attack. [Washington Post, 4/20/1995; Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/2001; Clarke, 2004, pp. 127] Initially, many believe that no American set off the bomb, and suspect Islamist terrorists of actually carrying out the bombing (see 10:00 a.m. April 19, 1995 and After). Their suspicions prove groundless. Investigators will find that the bomb is constructed of some 5,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, carried in 20 or so blue plastic 55-gallon barrels arranged inside a rented Ryder truck (see April 15, 1995). The bomb is detonated by a slow-burning safety fuse, most likely lit by hand. The fuse is attached to a much faster-burning detonation cord ("det cord") which ignites the fertilizer and fuel-oil mixture. [New York Times, 4/27/1995] The Murrah Federal Building houses a number of federal agencies, including offices for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF); the Social Security Administration; the Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture departments; and the Secret Service. [Washington Post, 4/20/1995] It encompasses an entire city block, between 5th and 4th Streets and Harvey and Robinson Streets, and features a U-shaped, indented drive on 5th that allows for quick pickup and delivery parking. The entire building's facade on this side is made of glass, allowing passersby to see into the offices in the building, as well as into the America's Kids day care center on the second floor, which by this time is filling with children. It is in this driveway that McVeigh parks his truck. [Serrano, 1998, pp. 99-102] Entering the City - McVeigh drives into Oklahoma City, entering around 8:30 a.m. from his overnight stop in Ponca City, Oklahoma; the details reported of his entrance into the city vary (see 7:00 a.m. - 8:35 a.m., April 19, 1995). At 8:55 a.m., a security camera captures the Ryder truck as it heads towards downtown Oklahoma City [Douglas O. Linder, 2006] , a sighting bolstered by three people leaving the building who later say they saw the truck parked in front of the Murrah Building around this time. At 8:57, a security camera captures an image of McVeigh's Ryder truck being parked outside the Murrah Building in a handicapped zone. One survivor of the blast, Marine recruiter Michael Norfleet, later recalls seeing the Ryder truck parked just outside the building next to the little circle drive on 5th Street leading up to the main entrance of the building. Norfleet had parked his black Ford Ranger in front of the Ryder. McVeigh Lights Fuses - McVeigh drives the Ryder truck west past the Murrah Building on NW Fourth Street, turns north on a one-way street, and turns right on Fifth Street. He pulls the truck over and parks near the Firestone store, next to a chain-link fence. He then lights the five-minute fuses from inside the cab (see 8:15 a.m. and After, April 18, 1995), sets the parking brake, drops the key behind the seat, opens the door, locks the truck, exits, and shuts the door behind him. A man later claims to have hit his brakes to avoid someone matching McVeigh's description as he crossed Fifth Street around 9:00 a.m. McVeigh walks quickly toward a nearby YMCA building where he has hidden his getaway car, a battered yellow Mercury Marquis (see April 13, 1995), in the adjoining alleyway, crossing Robinson Street and crossing another street to get to the alleyway. He begins to jog as he approaches his car. He later says he remembers a woman looking at him as she is walking down the steps to enter the building; he will describe her as white, in her mid-30s, with dirty blonde hair. According to McVeigh's own recollection, he is about 20 feet into the alley when the bomb goes off. [Stickney, 1996, pp. 184-185; PBS Frontline, 1/22/1996; Serrano, 1998, pp. 158; Douglas O. Linder, 2006; The Oklahoman, 4/2009] Truck Explodes - At 9:02 a.m., the truck explodes, destroying most of the Murrah Building and seriously damaging many nearby buildings. Eventually, it will be determined that 168 people die in the blast, including 19 children. Over 500 are injured. The children are in the second-story day care center just above the parking space where McVeigh leaves the Ryder truck. McVeigh will later tell his biographers that he is lifted off his feet by the power of the blast. Devastation and Death - When the bomb detonates, the day care center and the children plummet into the basement. The building, constructed with large glass windows, collapses, sending a wave of flying glass shards and debris into the building and the surrounding area. The oldest victim is 73-year-old Charles Hurlbert, who has come to the Social Security office on the first floor. Hurlbert's wife Jean, 67, also dies in the blast. The youngest victim is four-month-old Gabeon Bruce, whose mother is also in the Social Security office. One victim, Rebecca Anderson, is a nurse who runs towards the building to render assistance. She never makes it to the building; she is struck in the head by a piece of falling debris and will die in a hospital four days after the blast. Her heart and kidneys will be transplanted into survivors of the bombing. [Denver Post, 6/3/1997; New York Times, 6/3/1997; Serrano, 1998, pp. 153-154; Oklahoma City Journal Record, 3/29/2001] Sherri Sparks, who has friends still unaccounted for in the building, tells a reporter in the hours after the blast, "Oh, I can't stand the thought of… those innocent children, sitting there playing, thinking they're safe, and then this happens." The explosion leaves a 30-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep crater in the street that is covered by the wreckage of the building's upper floors. The north face of the nine-story building collapses entirely. [Washington Post, 4/20/1995; Washington Post, 4/22/1995] Mary Heath, a psychologist who works about 20 blocks from the Murrah Building, says the blast "shook the daylights out of things—it scared us to death. We felt the windows shake before we heard the noise." In a neighboring building, a Water Resources Board meeting is just commencing; the audiotape of the meeting captures the sound of the blast (see 9:02 a.m. and After, April 19, 1995). [Washington Post, 4/20/1995; The Oklahoman, 4/2009] Norfleet, trapped in the Marine Corps office, is thrown into a wall by the explosion. His skull is fractured, and a shard of glass punctures his right eye. Three separate arteries are pierced, and Norfleet begins bleeding heavily. Two supply sergeants in the office are far less injured; Norfleet asks one, "How bad am I hurt?" and one replies, "Sir, you look really bad." One of the two begins giving Norfleet first aid; Norfleet later recalls: "He immediately went into combat mode and started taking care of me. He laid me on a table and he started looking for bandages to administer first aid. And while I was laying on that table, I just knew that I was losing strength and that if I stayed in the building, I would die." Norfleet wraps a shirt around his head and face to slow the bleeding, and the two sergeants help him to the stairs, through the fallen rubble, and eventually out. Norfleet will later say that he follows "a blood trail of somebody that had gone down the steps before me" to get outside, where he is quickly put into an ambulance. He loses almost half his body's blood supply and his right eye. He will never fly again, and will soon be discharged for medical incapacity. [Serrano, 1998, pp. 161-162] Eighteen-month-old Phillip Allen, called "P.J." by his parents, miraculously survives the blast. The floor gives way beneath him and he plunges 18 feet to land on the stomach of an adult worker on the floor below, Calvin Johnson. Landing on Johnson's stomach saves P.J.'s life. Johnson is knocked unconscious by the blast and by the impact of the little boy falling on him, but when he awakes, he carries the toddler to safety. P.J.'s grandfather calls the child "Oklahoma's miracle kid," and media reports use the label when retelling the story of the miraculous rescue. P.J. is one of six children in the day care center to survive the blast. [Stickney, 1996, pp. 275-277] Some people later report their belief that the Murrah Building was rocked by a second explosion just moments after the first one, the second coming from a secure area managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) that illegally stored explosives. Law professor Douglas O. Linder will later write, "Both seismic evidence and witness testimony supports the 'two blast theory.'" [Douglas O. Linder, 2006] That theory is later disputed (see After 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995). Explosion's Effects Felt Miles Away - Buildings near the Murrah are also damaged, seven severely, including the Journal Record newspaper building, the offices of Southwestern Bell, the Water Resources Board, an Athenian restaurant, the YMCA, a post office building, and the Regency Tower Hotel. Two Water Resources Board employees and a restaurant worker are killed in the blast. The Journal Record building loses its roof. Assistant Fire Chief Jon Hansen later recalls, "The entire block looked like something out of war-torn Bosnia." Every building within four blocks of the Murrah suffers some effects. A United Parcel Service truck 10 miles away has its windows shattered by the blast. Cars in parking lots around the area catch fire and burn. Millions of sheets of paper, and an innumerable number of glass shards, shower down for hundreds of feet around the building. [Stickney, 1996, pp. 28-30] Truck Axle Crushes Nearby Car - Richard Nichols (no relation to bomber Timothy McVeigh's co-conspirator Terry Nichols), a maintenance worker standing with his wife a block and a half away from the Murrah Building, is spun around by the force of the blast. They throw open the back door of their car and begin taking their young nephew Chad Nichols out of the back seat, when Richard sees a large shaft of metal hurtling towards them. The "humongous object… spinning like a boomerang," as Richard later describes it, hits the front of their Ford Festiva, smashing the windshield, crushing the front end, driving the rear end high into the air, and sending the entire car spinning backwards about 10 feet. Chad is not seriously injured. The metal shaft is the rear axle of the Ryder truck. Later, investigators determine that it weighs 250 pounds and was blown 575 feet from where the truck was parked. Governor Frank Keating (R-OK) points out the axle to reporters when he walks the scene a day or so later, causing some media outlets to incorrectly report that Keating "discovered" the axle. The scene will take investigators days to process for evidence. [Stickney, 1996, pp. 32; New York Times, 6/3/1997; Serrano, 1998, pp. 187-189] First Responders Begin Arriving - Within minutes, survivors begin evacuating the building, and first responders appear on the scene (see 9:02 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. April 19, 1995). McVeigh's Getaway - McVeigh flees the bomb site in his Mercury getaway car (see 9:02 a.m. and After, April 19, 1995), but is captured less than 90 minutes later (see 9:03 a.m. -- 10:17 a.m. April 19, 1995).
Entity Tags: Mary Heath, Phillip ("P.J.") Allen, Regency Tower Hotel (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Oklahoma City Journal Record, Michael Norfleet, Murrah Federal Building, Richard Nichols, Social Security Administration, Sherri Sparks, Timothy James McVeigh, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Terry Lynn Nichols, Jon Hansen, Southwestern Bell, Jean Hurlbert, Ed Kirkpatrick, Frank Keating, US Secret Service, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Water Resources Board (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ), Young Men's Christian Association, William Pierce, Gabeon Bruce, America's Kids (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ), Chad Nichols, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Calvin Johnson, US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Charles Hurlbert, US Department of Agriculture, Douglas O. Linder
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, Domestic Propaganda, US Domestic Terrorism
An "umbrella" militia organization called the Tri-States Militia holds an organizing meeting. Group founder John Parsons, a South Dakota militia figure, tells the assembled militia members, "There is a thunder rolling across this country, and what you're looking at is the lightning bolt in that thunder." One of the Tri-States council members is Bradley Glover (see July 4-11, 1997). Part of the meeting is open to the press; Glover tells reporters: "We have two arms. The political side and the military side. We hope the political approach will solve our country's problems, but if the situation deteriorates to the point where they deny our political efforts then we have the other side." He tells the reporters that militias are little more than the "original neighborhood watch." But one attendee at the meeting, recalling Glover's statements in the portion of the meeting closed to the press, will call him a "crazy and dangerous" person who tried to push others into overt action at the meeting. Glover and other Tri-States members do not know that Parsons is a paid FBI informant who is earning $1,800 a month to run the Tri-States "National Information Center." After members learn of Parsons's FBI connections during the bombing conspiracy trial of militia leader Willie Ray Lampley (see November 9, 1995), the organization dissolves, with members accusing each other of a variety of crimes. Alabama militiaman Mike Vanderboegh accuses Glover of being an "agent provocateur," paid by the government to encourage "patriots" to commit illegal acts and bring law enforcement down upon them. Vanderboegh says Glover "was tossed out of the organization for scaring little old ladies on patriot shortwave with tales of millions of jabbering communists poised to invade from Mexico… his mental health was the subject of intense and frequent debate during his association with Tri-States, and from personal observation I would say that he is either looney tunes or crazy like a fox.… It would be fair to say that he is an unstable personality with paranoid ideations [sic]. He started out with a pretty fair constitutional militia unit in Kansas, but his inherent instability caused most of his troops to vote with their feet to other, more responsible commanders (i.e., non-nutburgers that didn't propose to START a war). Glover has a serious John Brown complex and has spoken of sparking the second American Civil War. He just can't seem to figure out where Harper's Ferry is at." With his credibility among "mainstream" militia members in question, Glover will begin associating with more radical, violence-prone anti-government extremists. [Mark Pitcavage, 1997]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bradley Glover, Willie Ray Lampley, Tri-States Militia, Mike Vanderboegh, John Parsons
Two Montana county attorneys, Garfield County Attorney Nick Murnion and Musselshell County Attorney John Bohlman (see February - March 1995), testify before Congress on the havoc being wrought in their area by the Montana Freemen (see 1993-1994, January 1994, April 23, 1994, and June-July 1994). Murnion says of the Freemen: "I believe this group has declared war on our form of government. They are in open insurrection." [Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996]
Entity Tags: John Bohlman, Nick Murnion, Montana Freemen
Oklahoma Constitutional Militia leader Willie Ray Lampley, his wife, and another man are arrested as they prepare explosives to bomb numerous targets, including the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. The three, along with a fourth suspect later arrested, will be convicted and sentenced to terms of up to 11 years. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/2001]
Entity Tags: Willie Ray Lampley, Oklahoma Constitutional Militia, Southern Poverty Law Center
The Montana Freemen (see September 28, 1995 and After), seemingly unrestrained by local laws (see January 1994, June-July 1994, February - March 1995, May 1995, September 28, 1995 and After, and October 2, 1995), publish a "public notice" in local newspapers announcing their intention to take control of a huge swath of land in northeastern Montana, including land owned by private citizens, the State of Montana, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). They announce that anyone trespassing on their land will be "arrested" and punished. The people of Jordan, Montana, and the nearby areas are outraged. "So if Dad was out feeding his cows," says the son of a rancher who leases grazing land from the state, "to them he'd be trespassing on their so-called land, and they'd take him to their court. And from there your imagination could run rampant.… Maybe they wouldn't do anything, but who knows. Dad was really upset; up until that time, all their threats had been against government officials. Now they were disrupting our lives." County voters, enraged by local, state, and federal inaction against the Freemen, schedule a meeting to discuss their own actions against the Freemen, including cutting the telephone lines to the Freemen ranch and blockading the county roads leading to their compound. In apparent response, Freemen leader LeRoy Schweitzer holds a meeting (videotaped and later shown in court) outlining their own plan to kidnap government officials, perhaps a preemptive strike against the local citizenry. Schweitzer says: "We'll travel in units of about 10 outfits, four men to an outfit, most of them with automatic weapons, whatever else we got—shotguns, you name it.… We're going to have a standing order: Anyone obstructing justice, the order is shoot to kill." Afterwards, many speculate that the FBI, likely conducting surveillance against the Freemen for months and aware of the escalating conflict, decides the time is right to move against the Freemen (see March 25, 1996). [Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996]
Entity Tags: Montana Freemen, Federal Bureau of Investigation, LeRoy Schweitzer
The reaction among various militia and anti-government groups to the standoff between the FBI and the Montana Freemen (see March 25, 1996) is mixed. Some militia and "common law" (see Fall 2010) organizations issue statements in favor of the Freemen, warning that the FBI will cause another bloody debacle similar to those experienced at Ruby Ridge, Idaho (see August 31, 1992), and Waco, Texas (see April 19, 1993). Some predict that the Freemen standoff is the first step in a federal clampdown on the "patriot" movement, and call themselves ready for violence and even civil war. Other militia organizations are more cautious. The Tri-States Militia, a loose confederation of several militia organizations (see October 1995 and After), issues a press release criticizing the Freemen and saying they find it "insulting and offensive that people who call themselves members of the patriot community have combined their 'patriotic' activities with a clear attempt to defraud banking institutions and individual citizens through the use of phoney [sic] and/or money orders coupled with force and threats." The Tri-States and other militia groups contrast the Freemen with their own, presumably "constitutional," militias. (Later it is learned that the FBI had contacted a number of militia groups before they moved against the Freemen, apparently in an attempt to forestall any rash actions on the parts of the militias.) Montana Militia Reactions - The Montana Militia (sometimes called the Militia of Montana, or MOM—see January 1, 1994) is cautious, perhaps attempting to ascertain where public opinion is before taking a stand. MOM founders John and Randy Trochmann say the group has sent representatives to the scene to "monitor" the situation and talk to Freeman Dale Jacobi, who used to run a business near MOM's Nixon, Montana, headquarters. The group issues a press release asking other militias to "stand down" and not come to Montana. John Trochmann even says: "I think the FBI has been handling it very patiently. I admire them for their patience. And they've had a tremendous amount of pressure from the public (see March 1996 and March 25, 1996), from the local law enforcement (see November 1995), and from their superiors in the FBI and the Justice Department. I think they're caught between a rock and a hard place, and they're doing the only thing they can do." Other MOM members are less cautious. Militiaman Steve McNeil announces that he is leading a militia caravan to Jordan, Montana, in support of the Freemen; he is later arrested at the courtroom where two of the Freemen are being arraigned (see March 26, 1996) for violating his probation. Had McNeil managed to bring an actual caravan, he may have found himself in conflict with a cordon of some 30 local ranchers who have grouped together to stand up to any such militia operations. Local farmer Cecil Weeding later explains: "The militias will just pump more hot air into the Freemen and make it worse. There will be a clash if they get here. This country is sick and tired of that thing up there, and wants to get it over." 'Operation Certain Venture' - Former MOM leader Norm Olson, perhaps looking for a way to re-enter the limelight after his recent disgrace (see Summer 1996 - June 1997), tells reporters that the FBI is seeking a way to massacre the Freemen with the complicity of the local and national media, and calls on militia organizations to converge on Montana. He even releases his plans for "Operation Certain Venture," an unarmed convoy of food, mail, and other supplies (including what he calls "women's necessities") that he says will help prevent an FBI slaughter. April 19, the day of the Branch Davidian conflagration and the Oklahoma City bombing (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995), might be a good day to set forth, Olson suggests. Olson is joined by the Alabama-based Gadsden Minutemen, led by Jeff Randall; Randall issues a plea for "dedicated volunteers," but notes that "arrest is possible, and the FBI could very well decide to shoot unarmed civilians." Mike Kemp, founder of the Minutemen, promises "there won't be another Waco unanswered. They are pushing us to a confrontation. If the shooting starts, it could get very ugly, very quickly." Kemp says the entire issue is over a few debts, and says the situation can easily be handled in civil court. On CBS's Face the Nation, Olson says that if Jordan "is going to be the place where the second American revolution finally culminates in war, then it's good for a battlefield commander to be there to look at the logistics, to look at the needs, and to find out exactly what the situation is on the ground." Other Opinions - Lawyer Gerry Spence, who represented Randy Weaver after the Ruby Ridge debacle, compliments the FBI on its restraint. "Patriot" leader James "Bo" Gritz, who helped negotiate Weaver's surrender, implies that he is available to help negotiate a surrender for the Freemen as well, warning that "the longer these people stay within those walls, the more determined they get," and even condoning the use of armed force against them if necessary. Samuel Sherwood of Idaho's United States Militia Association calls the Freemen charlatans and rogues, and tells a reporter: "We've told everybody to stay away. These people aren't what they are purporting to be. They are not the innocent victims of oppression." Some members of Gritz's "patriot" commune in Kediah, Idaho, a subgroup calling themselves the "Freemen Patriots," go against their leader and issue claims of support for the Freemen, adding that the FBI standoff is a trap to capture more "patriots" and claiming that US Special Forces units have already been deployed at the scene. Some of the "Freemen Patriots" announce plans to hold a protest rally in Lewistown, Montana, on April 1 to support the Freemen, and ask all supporters to come sporting white ribbons. "We support the God-given right of our Freemen Brothers at Jordan, Montana, to be heard in a righteous constitutional court of law," they proclaim. However, on April 1, only a few people actually show up. Lewistown police officer Bob Long describes the scene as "five or six guys out there at a RV park south of town. Right now, there are more newspeople in town than Freemen." One extremist militia member, Bradley Glover, urges an array of violence to be mounted on behalf of the Freemen, but gets little reaction (see Late March 1996). Twos and Threes - However, a small number of militia members attempt to visit the compound, usually traveling in groups of two or three. Some are allowed to visit the Freemen, but most are turned away, particularly if they are armed. If they are carrying fuel, groceries, firearms, or ammunition, these supplies are confiscated. Oklahoma militia leader and fugitive Stewart Waterhouse, with another militia member, Barry Nelson, breaks through a roadblock and drives into the ranch to join the Freemen. [Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996]
Entity Tags: Stewart Waterhouse, Norman ("Norm") Olson, Samuel Sherwood, Steve McNeil, Tri-States Militia, Montana Militia, Randy Trochmann, Mike Kemp, Dale Jacobi, Cecil Weeding, Bradley Glover, Bob Long, Barry Nelson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Montana Freemen, John Trochmann, Gadsden Minutemen, James ("Bo") Gritz, Jeff Randall, Freemen Patriots, Gerry Spence
Daniel Petersen and LeRoy Schweitzer. [Source: Associated Press]The day after the FBI besieges the Montana Freemen compound (see March 25, 1996), federal indictments are unsealed charging Freemen leader LeRoy Schweitzer, along with Freeman Daniel E. Petersen Jr. and others, with conspiracy, mail and bank fraud, armed robbery, and threats against federal officials (see January 1994, June-July 1994, February - March 1995, May 1995, and September 28, 1995 and After). [Billings Gazette, 3/25/2006] Schweitzer was arrested after passing a fraudulent check to an undercover FBI agent. According to the indictment, Schweitzer gave an FBI agent a fake "comptroller's warrant" for $3 million, in return for the profits made by selling imports bought with the $3 million. Had the scheme gone as planned, Schweitzer could have netted $1 million in cash from the operation. Lavon Hanson is charged with facilitating Schweitzer's scheme. Some of the indictments have been pending for a long time; some of them apply to Freemen currently involved in the standoff with the FBI. Schweitzer, Petersen, Rodney Skurdal, Richard Clark, and Emmett Clark are charged with conspiracy to impede government function and threatening to assault, kidnap, and murder a judge and other government officials. The same five, along with John McGuire, Cherlyn Bronson Petersen, Agnes Bollinger Stanton, William Stanton (see October 17, 1994), Ebert Stanton, Ralph Clark (see 1980s-1994), and Dale Jacobi are charged with 51 counts of conspiracy to defraud and to obtain money through false pretenses, and interfering with commerce (see October 2, 1995). McGuire is in custody in another state; Stanton is behind bars. Ken Toole of the Montana Human Rights Network says of Schweitzer and the Freemen: "They have essentially drawn a line in the sand with law enforcement who have tried to enforce those laws. They have threatened local law enforcement and other public officials." Addressing accusations that the FBI is harassing Schweitzer and his fellows for their beliefs, Toole says the indictments are "clearly a matter of what they have done, not what they believe." [CNN, 3/28/1996; Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996] The arraignment hearing does not go well. Schweitzer and Petersen scream down the judge and other members of the court, shouting that the court has no jurisdiction over them and they will not listen to court officers. They demand a change of venue to "Justus," and yell about "admiralty law" vs. "common law" and the fringed flag voiding any civil jurisdiction (see Fall 2010). The judge sends Schweitzer and Petersen into another room, and completes the arraignment without their participation, giving them written copies of the arraignment. Author Mark Pitcavage later notes that every court appearance by the Freemen is an opportunity for guerrilla theater. Soldier of Fortune writer Jim Pate later observes that their fanaticism is like a holy war (see April 1995). "Their political philosophy is based on their religious philosophy. And in that respect, they are very similar to the young man who was just convicted of murdering the prime minister of Israel (see November 4, 1995). They're similar in the depth of their convictions to Hamas." Musselshell County Attorney John Bohlman (see February - March 1995), learning of the FBI arrests, moves himself and his family from their Roundup, Montana, home, fearing Freemen retaliation; CB scanners pick up reports that the Freemen intend to come into Roundup and kill people, though none actually do. [Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996]
Entity Tags: Ebert Stanton, Richard Clark, Daniel Petersen, William Stanton, Cherlyn Bronson Petersen, Agnes Bollinger Stanton, Ralph Clark, Montana Freemen, Rodney Owen Skurdal, Dale Jacobi, Jim Pate, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Emmett Clark, Mark Pitcavage, LeRoy Schweitzer, John Bohlman, Ken Toole, John McGuire, Lavon T. Hanson
Bradley Glover, a Kansas militia member (see October 1995 and After), faxes a pronouncement to other militia members titled "Operation Worst Nightmare," in which he urges overt and violent support for the Montana Freemen, currently involved in a standoff with federal authorities (see March 25, 1996). Glover calls on militia units around the country to carry out a number of actions, from destruction of federal facilities to "confiscating" weapons from gun stores and even seizing jails, should the federal authorities use military force against the Freemen. "We must make every effort to avoid open conflict at all costs," he writes, "but let us be clear if the federal [sic] step across this line [using military force] the constitutional militia have no choice." Glover is not trusted by many in the militia community, and his call to action receives little support. [Mark Pitcavage, 1997]
Entity Tags: Montana Freemen, Bradley Glover
A 2009 photo of Ray Southwell and Norm Olsen. Both are wearing Alaska militia emblems. [Source: Redoubt Reporter]Former Michigan Militia leader Norm Olson (see March 25 - April 1, 1996) appears at the Freemen compound outside Jordan, Montana, currently surrounded by federal authorities (see March 25, 1996). Olson is wearing military fatigues and accompanied by two others, colleague Ray Southwell and attorney Scott Bowman. In recent days, Olson has issued a number of inflammatory statements, saying Jordan will be the site of a "second American revolution" led by Olson as "battlefield commander," and promising "the loosing of the dogs of war." He informs the FBI that he intends to breach its perimeter and go inside the compound, and issues a number of vague threats. "We will discuss either the terms of the FBI's surrender," he will later report that he tells the FBI, "or… the order of battle." He also distributes fliers to agents which read, "FBI-ATF, are you ready to die because of the corruption within?" referring to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Agents refuse to talk to Olson, and stop him several miles from the compound. The next day, Olson again attempts to enter the compound and is again foiled. He then begins shouting at the officers and the reporters who have followed him. It does not take long for Olson to become a figure of fun among the reporters and citizens of the area. He will spend a lot of time in a Jordan restaurant, and an agent dubs him and Southwell "Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo." Olson tells one amused FBI agent, "You come up to Northern Michigan, mister, and I'll see you in my crosshairs." [Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996]
Entity Tags: Montana Freemen, Scott Bowman, Ray Southwell, Norman ("Norm") Olson, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Jack McLamb during his days as a Phoenix, Arizona, police officer. [Source: Jack McLamb]The FBI refuses to allow three "celebrity" would-be negotiators to enter the Montana Freemen compound, currently surrounded by federal and local authorities (see March 25, 1996). Famed "Patriot" leader James "Bo" Gritz (see March 25 - April 1, 1996), Gritz's associate Jack McLamb, and Ruby Ridge survivor Randy Weaver (see August 31, 1992) offer their services as negotiators, but are not allowed to go through the perimeter. [Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996] The FBI will eventually allow Gritz and McLamb to attempt to negotiate with the Freemen (see April 27, 1996).
Entity Tags: Jack McLamb, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Randy Weaver, Montana Freemen, James ("Bo") Gritz
The FBI allows "Patriot" militia leader James "Bo" Gritz and his partner, former police officer Jack McLamb, to take part in negotiations to end the siege of the Freemen compound outside Jordan, Montana (see March 25, 1996 and April 25, 1996). The two men helped end the Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho (see August 31, 1992). Most law enforcement officials do not like either Gritz or McLamb, but they hope that with the two's established credibility in the militia movement and their success in Idaho, they may be able to negotiate a successful surrender. Garfield County prosecutor Nick Murnion says: "There's some hope. I think [Gritz] is of the right political persuasion, and certainly probably has more credibility with these folks than a lot of potential negotiators. So he does seem to offer them the possibility to come out in a more dignified manner." After seven hours of negotiations with the Freemen, militiaman Stewart Waterhouse, who joined the besieged Freemen weeks before (see March 25 - April 1, 1996), leaves the compound, and authorities begin to hope that Gritz and McLamb are making headway. But Gritz gives mixed impressions in his initial reports to the press. He says the situation is "bridgeable," but seems to fundamentally misunderstand the Freemen, saying that they "have no white supremacy, separatist tendencies that I saw. None at all.… They brought up the fact and said, 'Where is the media getting the idea we have any prejudice or bias?'" Many of the Freemen, including leader Rodney Skurdal, have produced inordinate reams of court documents and other statements laced with virulently racist and anti-Semitic diatribes. Author Mark Pitcavage will later write, "In any event, there was something that Gritz was not 'getting.'" [Mark Pitcavage, 5/6/1996; Billings Gazette, 3/25/2006] Gritz and McLamb will give up after four days (see May 1, 1996).
Entity Tags: Montana Freemen, Jack McLamb, James ("Bo") Gritz, Mark Pitcavage, Rodney Owen Skurdal, Stewart Waterhouse, Nick Murnion
Norm Olson. Olson is wearing an 'Alaska Citizens' Militia' shoulder patch as part of his pseudo-military garb. [Source: Political Carnival]Former Michigan Militia members Norm Olson and Ray Southwell concoct the idea of holding a "Third Continental Congress" to redress the problems they see plaguing the nation—problems they believe stem primarily from a conspiracy of Jews, liberals, and minorities to repress white Christians. Olson and Southwell were thrown out of the Michigan Militia after Olson told media representatives that the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995) was engineered by the Japanese government in retaliation for the CIA's supposed involvement in the Tokyo subway gas attack. Southwell envisions the Third Continental Congress, or TCC, to operate as a directing body for all the nation's various militia groups, working together under the TCC rubric to "reestablish justice in America for all the people, whatever color they may be, or whatever faith system they may observe." Southwell calls the envisioned dominance of the TCC "God's will." Olson says: "My goal is not to plan a revolution, for revolution will come. My goal is not to point fingers, lay blame, or find fault, for few doubt the crimes of the present de facto government. My goal is not to cast support to politicians or to shore up the broken machine that the federal government has become. Rather, my goal is to establish the Republican Provisional Government." The first official TCC meeting, held in October 1996 in a Kansas City, Missouri, Holiday Inn, only attracts about a dozen delegates due to bad weather, though a few more arrive as the meeting wears on. Attendees include Sarah Lowe, whose husband currently heads the white separatist "Republic of Texas," and Texas conspiracist James Vallaster. Southwell issues a manifesto calling for a Continental Defense Force, a repackaging of his original Third Continental Congress idea. The next meeting of the TCC occurs in January 1997 in Independence, Missouri, with nothing concrete being determined. Some TCC delegates, impatient with the inaction, decide among themselves to take some sort of decisive action. Several delegates, including Ronald Griesacker (a corrections officer, a well-known figure among militias, and a former Republic of Texas member), Kevin and Terry Hobeck (owners of an Ohio trucking firm), and Dennis and Ardith Fick, decide to form their own Continental Congress, which reportedly meets in Silver Lake, Indiana, in February 1997. One of this splinter group's first members is Bradley Glover (see October 1995 and After), a Kansas militia member looking for extremist groups with an eye to violence. Other members include Thomas and Kimberly Newman, Michael Dorsett (a tax dodger and "common law" advocate), Merlon "Butch" Lingenfelter Jr. (a Wisconsin dairy farmer whose family believes a vast Jewish conspiracy runs most of Western civilization—see 1986), and, unbeknownst to the other members, several undercover officers of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who were at the January 1997 TCC meeting and were concerned about the radical statements of some of the splinter group's members. In April 1997, the splinter members meet in Towanda, Kansas. Glover and Dorsett make increasingly fiery statements, impelling some of the other members to leave. The focus of the meeting turns to the idea of foreign, United Nations-led troops being housed at US military bases, presumably to help the US government crush the "patriot" militia movement and impose martial law. Later that year, Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League will write: "Allegations of such troops had been made so often and with such confidence in the patriot community that their presence was taken for granted by many patriots. Radio broadcaster Mark Koernke regularly spoke of hundreds of thousands of UN soldiers hiding in the United States, at military installations, in the national parks, and elsewhere. Indeed, the New World Order (see September 11, 1990) hardly seemed to bother with the effort of hiding them any longer." The members that remain decide to take action. They determine to develop an arsenal of weapons and military equipment with which to attack government installations that are presumed to house foreign troops. They will hide in safe locations. The Hobecks sell their trucking firm to provide cash for the group, and travel to Colorado to establish a "base" at the Thirty Mile Resort in the Rio Grande National Forest. Others stage reconnaissance missions on military bases, including Holloman Air Force Base at Alamagordo, New Mexico. They station guards during the April and May 1997 meetings in Towanda, and even arm their children, who help patrol Glover's farm. In June, Glover moves into Dorsett's home in Arlington, Texas, in preparation for a strike on Fort Hood (see July 4-11, 1997). [Mark Pitcavage, 1997]
Entity Tags: Third Continental Congress, Ronald Griesacker, Sarah Lowe, Terry Hobeck, Thomas Newman, Ray Southwell, Republic of Texas, Missouri State Highway Patrol, James Vallaster, Kevin Hobeck, Dennis Fick, Ardith Fick, Bradley Glover, Kimberly Newman, Michael Dorsett, Merlon ("Butch") Lingenfelter, Jr., Norman ("Norm") Olson, Mark Pitcavage, Mark Koernke, Michigan Militia
A distant shot of the Freemen compound. Reporters were not given much access to the area, and photographs of the area and the participants in the standoff are limited. [Source: CNN]The besieged Montana Freemen (see March 25, 1996) surrender peacefully to federal authorities. Officials credit Freemen leader Edwin Clark (see June 11, 1996) with playing a key role in negotiating the surrender. [Billings Gazette, 3/25/2006] The New York Times writes that the siege ends "so peacefully that the surrender [does] not even disturb the cows grazing at the group's remote Montana ranch." Local postal carrier and rancher Ruth Coulter exclaims after the surrender: "My God, it's finally over! And nobody got killed! Wonderful. Wonderful!" [New York Times, 6/14/1996] 16 Freemen Surrender - CNN identifies 16 people still inside the compound: Ralph Clark (see 1980s-1994), the elderly leader of the Clark family and one of the group's leaders; Clark's wife Kay; Clark's brother Emmett Clark, the actual former owner of the 960-acre wheat farm occupied by the Freemen and dubbed "Justus Township" (see September 28, 1995 and After); Emmett Clark's wife Rosie; Ralph Clark's son Edwin; Edwin Clark's son Casey Clark; Rodney Skurdal, a founder of the group (see 1983-1995); Russell Dean Landers, one of the leaders of the group and a member of a North Carolina anti-government, anti-tax group called "Civil Rights Task Force"; Dana Dudley Landers, Landers's common-law wife, a fugitive from federal and state charges, and a member of the "Civil Rights Task Force"; Dale Jacobi, a former Canadian policemen; Steven Hance, who faces state charges from North Carolina; Hance's sons John Hance and James Hance; Cherlyn Petersen, the wife of arrested Freemen member Daniel Petersen; Casey Valheimer; and Barry Nelson, who with another man entered the ranch after eluding blockades (see March 25 - April 1, 1996). [CNN, 6/12/1996] The surrender is peaceful; the Freemen drive to the ranch gates in cars, trucks, and a Winnebago motor home. They gather in a quiet circle for a final prayer. Then Edwin Clark approaches an agent and shakes hands. Finally, in pairs escorted by Clark, they surrender to waiting agents, who ease them into passenger vans. Clark is the last one to enter custody. Fourteen of the Freemen are taken to the Yellowstone County jail in Billings, 175 miles away from Jordan. Two, Kay Clark and Rosie Clark, face no charges and are not jailed, though the FBI says they will not be allowed to return to the compound. After hearing of the surrender, President Clinton tells guests at a state dinner, "We will all say a little prayer tonight for this peaceful settlement." [Los Angeles Times, 6/14/1996] FBI Director 'Obviously Relieved' - FBI Director Louis Freeh, described by the Los Angeles Times as "obviously relieved," says the FBI "put patience above the risk of bloodshed" to end the standoff. He says the bureau "made no deals to drop or lessen the federal charges" against any of the Freemen in order to precipitate the surrender. Of critics who called for quicker and perhaps more "tactical" solutions, Freeh says: "I understand their impatience. But it was essential that we followed our established crisis management procedures." He says the standoff proves the worth of the new crisis response plans implemented after the tragedies in Ruby Ridge, Idaho (see August 31, 1992), and Waco, Texas (see April 19, 1993). This time, the bureau used "a fundamentally different approach" that "may not always work, but it worked here." Giving negotiators more influence during the standoff did cause some "disagreements" and "friction" within the FBI, Freeh acknowledges, but it was the right decision to make. Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick says "[t]he tactical option was always on the table." Freeh notes that as the standoff wore on, the Freemen gained a certain level of reluctant trust in the bureau. "We never broke a promise to them," he says, and "we told them before things happened," such as cutting off electrical power (see June 3, 1996). [Los Angeles Times, 6/15/1996] Outreach to Rightist Figures, Low-Key Techniques Brought Successful Resolution - FBI agents credit help they received from militia members in helping to resolve the standoff, along with the new, more low-key techniques of handling such confrontations now being used by the bureau. "Overall, our approach was to find a balance between negotiations and other lawful means," says FBI agent Ron VanVranken, who took part in the final settlement negotiations. "We recognized it would be prudent and beneficial to use the services of third-party intermediaries and to be constantly soliciting the advice of outside experts." Freeh says he was supportive of the decision to use third-party negotiators who hold similar anti-government views to those of the Freemen: "I think that, given all the other cumulative steps over the last 81 days, that that helped persuade the remaining subjects to finally come out of the compound." The Los Angeles Times says that the FBI's strategy of reaching out to far-right figures may have had an added benefit of creating dissension among rightist groups (see March 25 - April 1, 1996) and avoiding a "united front" of opposition that might have helped strengthen the Freemen's resolve to continue holding out. "It was probably a wise move that the Freemen came out, as opposed to being burned out or shot," says Clay Douglas, publisher of the far-right Free American newspaper and a leading member of the "Patriot" movement. "And it's an election year, so the FBI had to be good." However, the FBI's decision to use "Patriot" negotiators "was pretty smart on their part. It has divided a lot of patriots. A lot of people thought they were being traitors for going in and trying to talk them out. Some people side with the Freemen. Some people side with the 'Patriot' leaders. So it's just another small part of how the government keeps America divided. It's called gradualism. They keep gradually encroaching on our freedoms." The FBI brought in militia leaders James "Bo" Gritz and Jack McLamb (see April 27, 1996), Colorado State Senator Charles Duke, a rightist sympathizer (see May 15-21, 1996), and white supremacist lawyer Kirk Lyons (see June 11, 1996); even though most of their attempts at negotiations failed, it served to build a "bridge" between the FBI and the Freemen. Another technique was to promote Edwin Clark, the Freeman the FBI considered the most likely to leave the compound, as a leader in the absence of arrested Freemen LeRoy Schweitzer and Daniel Petersen (see March 25, 1996). The final element was the introduction of Lyons, who was contacted three weeks ago by FBI agents and asked for a plan to negotiate with the Freemen. Lyons's colleague Neill Payne says somewhat incredulously, "It is to Director Freeh's credit that he was broad-minded enough to go along with a crazy scheme like ours." [Los Angeles Times, 6/15/1996]
Entity Tags: Cherlyn Bronson Petersen, Ralph Clark, New York Times, Neill Payne, Montana Freemen, Charles Duke, Ron VanVranken, Rosie Clark, Russell Dean Landers, Barry Nelson, Louis J. Freeh, Casey Clark, Ruth Coulter, Steven Hance, Casey Valheimer, Rodney Owen Skurdal, Kay Clark, Dana Dudley Landers, Kirk Lyons, Dale Jacobi, Clay Douglas, Civil Rights Task Force, Daniel Petersen, Edwin Clark, LeRoy Schweitzer, Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Hance, Jamie Gorelick, James ("Bo") Gritz, Emmett Clark, Jack McLamb, John Hance
Entrance to Fort Hood, Texas. [Source: New York Times]Fort Hood, Texas, preparing for the annual "Freedom Fest" Fourth of July celebration, readies itself for a large crowd of local civilians planning to spend the day enjoying fireworks, marathons, concessions, military bands, carnival rides, and community activities. However, anti-government activists Bradley Glover and Michael Dorsett are captured by FBI and Missouri state police officers in Missouri before they can turn the festival into a massacre. Glover and Dorsett have become convinced that the United Nations is housing Communist Chinese troops at the military base, in conjuction with a "New World Order" conspiracy to invade and occupy the United States (see September 11, 1990). Glover, Dorsett, and others—all "splinter" members of an organization calling itself the "Third Continental Congress" (TCC—see Summer 1996 - June 1997)—are planning a multi-pronged attack on the Army base. Soon after, five others are arrested in conjunction with the plot. History of the Fort Hood Plot - Glover and other TCC members believe that the April 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995) was a plot by federal agencies to gin up an excuse to persecute "patriot" organizations. Glover told British reporter Ambrose Evans-Pritchard shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing that "it's only a matter of time now before the shooting war begins." He believed that the bombing would be followed by heavy-handed anti-terrrorism legislation that would see federal agencies attempt to violently eradicate militia groups, and in turn, those groups would violently resist. "If this thing goes down," Glover predicted in May 1995, "there's going to be an extremely large number of US military that's coming to our side with their weapons. They'll turn like a dog on a cat." He believed the militias would easily defeat the government forces—"We can whip those guys. We can take out the so-called ninja wanna-bes. We'll beat 'em quick"—but worries that President Clinton will turn to the Chinese forces he supposedly has housed throughout the United States: "That's what worries us," Glover said. "Then we're gonna be fighting big time." Glover became known to federal authorities after his frequent interviews with reporters after the Oklahoma City bombing, and claims to lead groups such as the Southern Kansas Regional Militia and the First Kansas Mechanized Infantry. (In his "real" life, Glover is a part-time computer consultant.) When the expected crackdown failed to materialize, Glover became a national council member of a national "umbrella" militia group called the Tri-States Militia (see October 1995 and After) and then began associating with ever-more violent anti-government extremists. Glover, Dorsett, and a small group of extremists devise an extensive plan to strike at a number of government facilities and military bases, beginning with Fort Hood. Arrests - But federal and state authorities are well aware of their plans. At 6:15 a.m. on the morning of July 4, FBI agents arrest Glover and Dorsett in their tents in the Colorado Bend State Park. The two have an arsenal with them: two rifles, five pistols, 1600 rounds of ammunition, bulletproof vests, a smoke grenade, a homemade silencer, explosive material, a night vision scope, and other items. "Their explosives would have been more damaging to the personnel at Fort Hood than to the physical installation," Missouri State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Richard Coffey later tells a Texas newspaper reporter. "They did not have the same philosophy as the people in Oklahoma City. They were not looking for a huge explosion to make their point." Instead, they planned small, repeated explosions. Glover, charged only with weapons violations, posts bail and flees to Wisconsin, where he is quickly arrested again after another weapons charge is added to the original indictment. Dorsett is held on an outstanding federal passport violation. Fellow plotter Merlon "Butch" Lingfelter is later arrested in Wisconsin on July 10, while looking for Glover; he surrenders his two machine guns and two pipe bombs, but says, "I'm not trying to be a noble knight in this, but it's time somebody somewhere does something." Despite his defiance, Lingenfelter tells a reporter that the meetings held by Glover were merely social outings. Kevin and Terry Hobeck are arrested on July 10 in Colorado after giving two illegal automatic weapons to undercover police officers; Thomas and Kimberly Newman are arrested on July 11 in Kansas after Thomas Newman gives the same undercover officers a sack full of pipe bombs. Suicide Mission? - One law enforcement official believes that the group may have intended to die in the planned Fort Hood attack. "I think you have to have a warped sense of reality to think you can pull of a mission like that," Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain James Keathley later tells a Denver reporter. "It sounds like a suicide mission to me. I don't know if they could have pulled this off." [Mark Pitcavage, 1997; Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/2001] Sentences - Glover will draw a seven-year prison sentence, and the others lesser terms. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/2001]
Entity Tags: Kimberly Newman, Kevin Hobeck, Fort Hood, First Kansas Mechanized Infantry, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bradley Glover, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, United Nations, US Department of the Army, Southern Kansas Regional Militia, Thomas Newman, James Keathley, Richard Coffey, Terry Hobeck, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Third Continental Congress, Merlon ("Butch") Lingenfelter, Jr., Michael Dorsett, Tri-States Militia
Five Montana Freemen (see 1993-1994, March 25, 1996, and June 13, 1996) are convicted of serving as accessories to helping other Freemen escape arrest during the 81-day standoff (see March 16, 1998 and After). Steven Hance and his two sons, James and John Hance, are convicted of being accessories and for being fugitives in possession of firearms. Barry Nelson, who joined the Freemen during the standoff (see March 25 - April 1, 1996), is convicted of being an accessory. Elwin Ward is acquitted of accessory charges, but found guilty of submitting a false claim to the Internal Revenue Service. Edwin Clark is acquitted of all charges. [New York Times, 4/1/1998; Billings Gazette, 3/25/2006] The Hances and Nelson will receive lengthy jail sentences (see June 6, 1998).
Entity Tags: Elwin Ward, Barry Nelson, Edwin Clark, James Hance, John Hance, Steven Hance, Montana Freemen
Michigan Militia founder
Norm Olson (left) with Bob Bird at a 2010 meeting of a Second Amendment/Constitutional Task Force rally in Kenai, Alaska. [Source: Redoubt Reporter (.com)]Norm Olson, the head of the Alaska Citizens Militia and the co-founder of the Michigan Militia (see April 1994, March 25 - April 1, 1996, and Summer 1996 - June 1997), accepts the nomination of the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) as its candidate for lieutenant governor. The AIP selects Olson to run with AIP gubernatorial candidate Don Wright. Olson accepts, and sends an email message reading: "I am asking every recipient of this e-mail to get out there and tell people that we are on the verge of a political revolution: Alaska for Alaskans! Nothing more and nothing less. That is my position. If you want political war, we'll give you a good fight!!!!… I want your vote, yes! But beyond that, I want your pledge and your sovereign vow to support me as I stand against the Federal Government's long reach into the private lives of REAL ALASKANS. Our 'Lexington Green' is coming soon [referring to the Revolutionary War Battle of Lexington]. You must make your decision to take your stand as INDEPENDENT SOVEREIGN ALASKANS or continue to suck on the tit of the federal sow! What's it going to be?… I'm not playing political games here, folks. I'm saying that together with Don Wright, the AIP candidate for Governor, that I will work to mobilize the ENTIRE ALASKA MILITIA, MADE UP OF ALL ALASKANS, to stand against the rape and pillage of the federal government of this God-Given blessed gift called Alaska." To a reporter, Olson says: "There's nothing about the Alaskan Independence Party that I don't like. It's just great. And when I was asked to run as their lieutenant governor in the upcoming elections I jumped on the bandwagon and accepted the nomination and threw my hat in the ring, so to speak." However, Olson withdraws his acceptance within 24 hours. He refuses to say why, but issues a statement saying the decision to withdraw came after he was briefed by his longtime friend and ally, militia co-founder Ray Southwell, of "actions taken in the days prior to the meeting." Southwell is running as the AIP candidate for an Alaska House seat. According to Olson's statement, Southwell says, "I've known Norm Olson for 25 years and I knew that once he was appraised of the situation or the circumstances leading up to the Friday meeting that he would withdraw his name." Asked directly what those circumstances were, Southwell tells a reporter: "I can't really go into a lot of detail, other than I don't believe the [AIP] voting leadership was fully informed before making a decision on Bill Walker. I don't do well with politics, and I don't participate with the political games." Southwell is referring to Republican Bill Walker, who was denied a slot on the AIP gubernatorial ticket after losing the Republican primary election. AIP officials have indicated in recent days that Wright may step aside for Walker, but that is not now seen as likely. Southwell says he will not go into further detail, reiterating his opposition to becoming involved in "political games." Olson says he continues to support the AIP: "There were a lot of issues that I would revisit and look at and try to influence. Of course, I'm not a lawmaker in that role [of lieutenant governor], but certainly I'm not quiet, either, and I won't be. I'll remain part of the Alaskan Independence Party, it's just that circumstances would not permit me to go on [as a candidate]." Olson is one of the strongest voices in the AIP for Alaska's secession from the United States. AIP vice chairman J.R. Myers says he was surprised at the party's choice of Olson, and says while he respects Olson, he does not support the militia movement and is not a supporter of secession. The AIP is evolving, Myers says, and may be moving away from its far-right, white supremacist, secessionist roots. [Jenny Neyman, 9/8/2010]
Entity Tags: J.R. Myers, Alaska Citizens Militia, Alaskan Independence Party, Michigan Militia, Bill Walker, Ray Southwell, Don Wright, Norman ("Norm") Olson
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda
Oath Keepers logo, as pictured on a T-shirt sold on the organization's Web site. [Source: Oath Keepers (.com)]The Oath Keepers, a newly formed far-right "patriot" organization whose membership is restricted to soldiers, police officers, firefighters, and military veterans (see March 2010), is formed at a pro-militia rally in Lexington, Massachusetts, the site of the first battle of the Revolutionary War. It is founded by Army veteran and lawyer Stewart Rhodes, who delivers a fiery speech at the rally. "You need to be alert and aware to the reality of how close we are to having our constitutional republic destroyed," he tells the assemblage. "Every dictatorship in the history of mankind, whether it is fascist, communist, or whatever, has always set aside normal procedures of due process under times of emergency.… We can't let that happen here. We need to wake up!" The crowd of listeners includes many well-known "patriot movement" members, including Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff who refused to enforce the federal Brady law (see November 30, 1993) in his jurisdiction; Mike Vanderboegh of the "Three Percenter" movement (see October 1995 and After); and others. Rhodes gives the rally his group's "Orders We Will Not Obey," a list of 10 orders he considers unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable, whether they are issued by commanding officers, policemen, or the president. When Rhodes finishes, Captain Larry Bailey, a retired Navy SEAL who leads a group called Gathering of Eagles, asks the crowd to raise their right hands and retake their oath—not to the president, but to the Constitution. [Mother Jones, 3/2010] Posting the 'Orders' - On the Oath Keepers blog, Rhodes posts the "Orders We Will Not Obey" along with an introductory statement culled from the speech given by then-General George Washington before the Battle of Long Island: "The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army." Rhodes writes: "Such a time is near at hand again. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this Army—and this Marine Corps, This Air Force, This Navy and the National Guard and police units of these sovereign states." He calls the Oath Keepers "non-partisan," and issues his list of orders they will refuse to obey, calling these "acts of war" against the American people "and thus acts of treason." He cites Revolutionary War actions and precedents for each of his 10 statements. "1. We will NOT obey any order to disarm the American people." Rhodes explains that this means the government will not attempt to restrain gun ownership in any way, and states his group's opposition to any bans on assault rifles or any attempts to enforce gun regulation or registration. "2. We will NOT obey any order to conduct warrantless searches of the American people, their homes, vehicles, papers, or effects—such as warrantless house-to-house searches for weapons or persons." Rhodes compares these to the Revolutionary War-era "writs of assistance," carried out by British soldiers against American colonists without judicial orders. The Constitution proscribes warrantless searches, Rhodes says. "We expect that sweeping warrantless searches of homes and vehicles, under some pretext, will be the means used to attempt to disarm the people," he writes, and says Oath Keepers will not follow such orders. "3. We will NOT obey any order to detain American citizens as 'unlawful enemy combatants' or to subject them to trial by military tribunal." Any such detentions (see June 26, 2002 and June 9, 2002) are unconstitutional, harking back to Revolutionary War-era admiralty courts and the British "star chambers." Rhodes predicts that the federal government will attempt to detain its own citizens under international law. "4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a 'state of emergency' on a state, or to enter with force into a state, without the express consent and invitation of that state's legislature and governor." Rhodes fears that "states of emergency" will be declared in the aftermath of a natural disaster such as a hurricane or a massive flood, or perhaps another 9/11-level terror attack, and then used to impose tyranny and martial law on the American populace. "5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty and declares the national government to be in violation of the compact by which that state entered the Union." As many as 20 individual states have either passed or considered what Rhodes calls "courageous resolutions affirming states rights and sovereignty" that take powers from the federal government and give them over to the states. The federal government may attempt to use force to retake these powers, Rhodes writes, especially if a state attempts to secede or declare itself of equal sovereignty with the federal government. "6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps." One of Rhodes's most strongly stated fears is what he believes will be the attempts of the federal government to build concentration camps and detain citizens. "7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext." "8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on US soil against the American people to 'keep the peace' or to 'maintain control' during any emergency, or under any other pretext. We will consider such use of foreign troops against our people to be an invasion and an act of war." Rhodes believes that the US government may use foreign troops, perhaps under the auspices of the United Nations, to conduct military operations against its own citizenry. "9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies, under any emergency pretext whatsoever." "10. We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances." Rhodes concludes: "The above list is not exhaustive but we do consider them to be clear tripwires—they form our 'line in the sand'—and if we receive such orders, we will not obey them. Further, we will know that the time for another American Revolution is nigh. If you the people decide that you have no recourse, and such a revolution comes, at that time, not only will we NOT fire upon our fellow Americans who righteously resist such egregious violations of their God given rights, we will join them in fighting against those who dare attempt to enslave them.… The mission of Oath Keepers is to vastly increase their numbers. We are in a battle for the hearts and minds of our own troops. Help us win it." [Stewart Rhodes, 3/9/2009] Army spokesman Nathan Banks will remind the members that following through on their Oath Keepers pledge could mean serious repercussions. "You have every right to disobey an order if you think it is illegal," Banks will say. "But you will face court-martial, and so help you God if you are wrong. Saying something isn't constitutional isn't going to fly." Associated with Tea Party Movement - After the 2009 rally, Rhodes's organization will become closely affiliated with the tea party movement; on July 4, 2009, Rhodes will send speakers to administer his organization's "oath" at over 30 tea party rallies across the nation. He will take part in the September 12, 2009 "9/12" march in Washington, DC (see September 12, 2009), and host rallies in Florida and other states. [Mother Jones, 3/2010]
Entity Tags: Richard Mack, Nathan Banks, Mike Vanderboegh, Oath Keepers, Gathering of Eagles, Larry Bailey, Stewart Rhodes
Joe Miller. [Source: Mad As Hell And ... (.com)]Salon reporter and columnist Justin Elliot warns that if Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller (R-AK) is elected, the militia movement in that state will have a staunch supporter in the US Senate. Elliot writes his column shortly after a controversial video of a recent Miller rally makes national news, showing Miller supporters openly brandishing assault rifles during a march (see July 19, 2010). Norm Olson of the Alaska Citizens Militia (see April 1994, March 25 - April 1, 1996, and Summer 1996 - June 1997) tells Elliot: "It's safe to say that Joe Miller is a friend of patriots. His beliefs and platform favor Second Amendment rights as well as the power of nullification when the federal government intrudes into the private lives of Alaskans." Olson claims his Alaska Militia has several hundred members and supporters; the organization accuses the federal government of committing 17 "acts of war" against the US population, including "firearms restrictions or other disarmament," "mandatory medical anything," "federal patrols," "taking control of children under duress or threat," "federalization of law enforcement," and "surrender powers to a corporation or foreign government." Miller advocates interpreting the Tenth Amendment to "get the government out of our lives," an interpretation classed by critics as "tentherism," which many on the right, including militia organizations, say should be used to force the federal government to cede vast powers to the states and even local authorities. The "tenthers" often focus on dissolving Social Security and other federal "safety net" programs, and ending all controls on gun ownership. Elliot writes: "This is the centerpiece of Miller's political identity. He asserts that there is no constitutional authority for the health care reform law or proposed cap and trade legislation. He advocates a state takeover of federally controlled land in Alaska such as Denali National Park. These are the kinds of positions that are creating buzz in the militia world." Olson's colleague, Ray Southwell, who accompanied Olson to Alaska after both were ejected from the Michigan Militia for their extremist views (see April 1994, March 25 - April 1, 1996, and Summer 1996 - June 1997), has written emails and Web posts in support of Miller in recent weeks. One email reads in part, "We need leaders here to stand against the feds." Another militia member wrote: "Joe Miller is an strong Constitution following patriot, he does not play games.… If we want to make sure Joe Miller keeps on the straight and narrow, WE, ALL OF US, have to make damn sure he and his entire family are safe and sound, because that is a common way to get at a man go for the soft spot family [sic]." Elliot notes that the Alaska militias are not unified in support of Miller, and some, like Schaeffer Cox of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, say, "He's going to try to run things in a more conservative way, but he's still trying to run things—so he has the same fundamental problem of all the other politicians." [Salon, 7/23/2010] The online news site Alaska Dispatch will note that Cox also founded and leads the Second Amendment Task Force, the group that turned out to display its assault weapons during the recent Miller rally. It also will note that Olson recently attempted to run for lieutenant governor on the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) ticket (see September 6-7, 2008). The AIP is one of the largest and most well-known secessionist organizations in Alaska, and once listed Todd Palin, the husband of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), as a member. [KTUU-TV, 9/6/2010; Alaska Dispatch, 9/23/2010] Miller claims to know nothing of AIP's agenda or views, but according to the Alaska Dispatch and the liberal blog Progressive Nation, AIP's statements of beliefs are virtually identical to those espoused by AIP. It's unlikely Miller is unaware of AIP, the blog claims, and asks, "If you like the Tea Party, you gotta love the Alaskan Independence Party, so why has it been shunned even by Alaska politicians?" It goes on to note that when Palin ran for vice president in 2008, the McCain-Palin campaign called attempts to call attention to her family's ties to AIP a "smear." AIP itself has written on its Web site, "No longer a fringe party, the AIP is a viable third party with a serious mission and qualified candidates for elected offices," and boasts the inclusion of former Governor Wally Hickel (AIP-AK) as a member. The blog notes that former AIP member Todd Palin is involved in Miller's campaign. [Progressive Nation, 7/11/2010; Alaska Dispatch, 9/8/2010] Miller will later be shown to employ security guards with militia ties (see October 17, 2010).
Entity Tags: Ray Southwell, Joseph Wayne ("Joe") Miller, Alaska Peacemakers Militia, Alaska Dispatch, Alaska Citizens Militia, Justin Elliot, Progressive Nation, Todd Palin, Second Amendment Task Force, Sarah Palin, Schaeffer Cox, Wally Hickel, Norman ("Norm") Olson
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) provides a lexicon for some of the terminology used by a variety of "sovereignists" and other anti-government organizations. The SPLC writes, "Adherents of the 'sovereign citizens' movement and of sovereign financial scams like 'redemption' are known for their bizarre use of language and Byzantine belief system." Some of this terminology has been adapted for use by more widely known (if barely organized and rather fluidly constructed) groups such as the "birthers," who have gone from questioning President Obama's status as a US citizen (see August 1, 2008 and After, October 8-10, 2008, and November 10, 2008) to pushing for Constitutional amendments designed to curtail citizenship rights for the children of immigrants and non-citizens; "tenthers," who construe the Tenth Amendment to mean that states are not bound by federal laws; and others. The SPLC provides the following terms and definitions: 14th Amendment citizen "Sovereign citizens describe 14th Amendment citizens as subject to federal and state governments, unlike themselves. Because the amendment gave citizenship to freed slaves, a racist variant of sovereign citizen theory holds that blacks are subject to the governments and that being white is a prerequisite to being a sovereign citizen. Others claim all state citizens were converted by the constitutional amendment to 'Federal Citizens,' who can only be freed by a process known as 'asseveration.'" Accepted for value "When a sovereign receives a bill from the IRS, a bank, or even the cable company, under a twisted reading of the Uniform Commercial Code, he believes he can simply write 'Accepted for Value' on that bill and it will be paid by his secret Treasury Direct Account, set up by the government when he was born." Admiralty law/common law "According to sovereign beliefs, there are two types of law: common law and admiralty law. Since the US went off the gold standard in 1933, sovereigns say, no one has been able to pay a debt with 'real' money, and therefore the country has been operating under commercial law, which sovereigns equate with admiralty law, the law of the seas. Thus, they argue, completely speciously, that Americans have been deprived of their original common law, under which the government can only impose regulations on citizens with their consent, since 1933." Bill of Exchange "A fake check used to access the funds in the secret Treasury account supposedly set up by the government to monetize the value of each citizen's life at birth." Birth certificate "This form establishes each person's corporate shell, a kind of evil doppelgänger that is attached to every flesh-and-blood baby. That shell is then supposedly sold by the government as a security to foreign investors to enrich Federal Reserve bankers. The proof that the certificate has secret meaning is found in the use of all capital letters, bond paper, and a seal and/or watermark—all of which are thought to reflect admiralty law." Citizen/citizen "In the 18th century colonies, nouns were usually capitalized, although the practice was going out of style by the time of the Revolution. Based on that, sovereigns see secret meaning in the use or non-use of capitalized letters. For example, a 'citizen' is a sovereign citizen imbued with all natural rights, whereas a 'Citizen' is a 14th Amendment citizen subject to the rules and regulations of government." Common law court "Pseudo-legal courts set up to hear matters concerning sovereign citizens, sometimes also called 'freemen' (see 1993-1994). They have been used to put enemies on trial for such offenses as treason, rule on matters of interest to sovereigns and, frequently, to formalize citizens' declarations of sovereignty, a process often known as asseveration." Flag fringe "Based on the fact that Navy flags and many other military flags have gold fringe, sovereigns believe the presence of fringe on flags in federal courts isn't just decorative, but rather proof that the nation is under admiralty law." Form 1099-OID "Although the IRS uses this form for zero-coupon bonds and collateralized bonds, sovereigns believe that the 1099-OID gives them access to the money in the secret Treasury Direct Account that the government funded at their birth." Name in all capital letters "JOHN ROBERT DOE, for instance, signifies the corporate shell of a person, as opposed to the flesh-and-blood person." Name punctuation "John-Robert: Doe signifies a flesh-and-blood person named John-Robert of the family Doe, as opposed to a punctuation-free name, JOHN ROBERT DOE, which refers to the corporate shell of a person." Negative averment "The trick, used by many sovereigns, of twisting all statements into the form of a question in order to shift the burden of truth to the opponent." Red ink "In some states, bonds are canceled using red ink. Sovereigns therefore sign many legal documents and correspondence in red ink to signify that they are canceling the bond attached to their birth certificate or corporate self. Others believe the color of the ink represents the blood of the flesh-and-blood person." Redemption "The phony legal process sovereigns use to separate a person's flesh-and-blood body from their mythical corporate shell. Since only the corporate shell is subject to taxes, traffic laws, and license requirements, the ability to separate the two is the key to liberating people from such requirements. An added bonus is that the newly freed sovereign can then write checks, or 'bills of exchange,' on the account the government has set up to monetize the person's life and earnings." Strawman "The label assigned to the corporate shell in the redemption process. This corporate shell is attached to a baby at birth when a birth certificate is typed out using all capital letters and a Social Security number is applied for." Sui juris "Many sovereigns add this Latin phrase, meaning 'of one's own right,' to their flesh-and-blood names on legal documents to signify that they are reserving all the rights to which a free man is entitled." Treasury Direct Account "When a baby is born, sovereigns believe that the government funds a secret Treasury account in that baby's corporate shell name, based on that person's future earnings. This account can be accessed by writing special checks to pay taxes, mortgage balances, and other debts. Sovereigns variously believe the account's value is between $600,000 and $20 million." Truth language "A complex and bizarre set of language rules designed to mimic the secret language of the law. All sentences must start with the preposition 'for,' have a minimum of 13 words, and use more nouns than verbs. Punctuation rules are just as complex." UCC-1 Statement "When a sovereign successfully separates his flesh-and-blood body from his corporate shell in the redemption process, the flesh-and-blood body then can file a UCC-1 statement against their corporate self in order to preserve the value of that corporate self's Treasury Direct Account for their own use. Since most jurisdictions are getting wise to sovereigns' UCC games, sovereigns often must shop jurisdictions until they find one willing to file the statement without question." [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/2010]
Entity Tags: Montana Freemen, Southern Poverty Law Center
The poster featured in the front window of the Drop Zone. The caption reads: "Fascism. Socialism. New World Order. InfoWars.com." [Source: Life in Spenard (.com)]Investigative reporters and bloggers learn that the private security firm hired by Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller (R-AK) is also active in right-wing militia and paramilitary activities. They also learn that some of the guards employed by the firm, the Drop Zone (DZ), are active-duty military soldiers, and that the firm is unlicensed and therefore operating outside the law. [Huffington Post, 10/18/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010; Salon, 10/19/2010] Senate Candidate Has History of Armed Intimidation, Association with Militias - Miller himself has a history of armed intimidation: according to blogger and reporter Shannyn Moore, in 2008 he attempted to stage a "coup d'etat" of the leadership of the Alaska Republican Party, appearing during a meeting with a group of armed security guards. (The attempt, as such, was unsuccessful, and Miller currently enjoys the support of the Alaska Republican Party.) During the 2010 Senate campaign, Miller's supporters drew media attention by brandishing assault rifles during campaign rallies (see July 19, 2010). [Huffington Post, 10/18/2010] Security Guards on Active Duty with Army - On September 17, Miller's security guards forcibly detained and handcuffed reporter Tony Hopfinger for attempting to question Miller about disciplinary measures taken against him while he was a lawyer for the Fairbanks North Star Borough (see October 17, 2010). The security guards work with DZ, and two of the guards who roughed up Hopfinger are on active duty with the US Army. The two guards, Specialist Tyler Ellingboe and Sergeant Alexander Valdez, are members of the 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade at Fort Richardson. Army public affairs officer Major Bill Coppernoll says neither soldier has permission from their commanding officers to work for DZ, and the Army is still looking into whether previous company or brigade commanders authorized their employment. "They've got to be up front with the chain of command," Coppernoll says. "The chain of command needs to agree they can do that without affecting the readiness and the whole slew of things that are part of being a soldier that they need to do first." DZ owner William Fulton, who was one of the guards who restrained and handcuffed Hopfinger, says it is not his job to ensure that the soldiers complied with Army regulations. "They're adults—they are responsible for themselves," Fulton says. [Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010; Salon, 10/19/2010] Hopfinger identifies Ellingboe and Valdez as two of the guards who stood over him during the time he was handcuffed. Hopfinger says Ellingboe and Valdez refused to give him their names and would not identify their company or who they were working for. At one point they told him they were volunteers, he says. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/19/2010] A Defense Department directive from 2008, entitled "Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces on Active Duty," states in part, "A member of the armed forces on active duty shall not:… [p]erform clerical or other duties for a partisan political committee or candidate during a campaign." [Department of Defense, 2/19/2008 ] Security Firm: Ties to Militias, Blackwater - Fulton is an active member of the Alaska Citizens Militia, where he is titled a "supply sergeant." The organization is led by former Michigan Militia leader Norm Olson (see April 1994, March 25 - April 1, 1996, and Summer 1996 - June 1997), who recently attempted to run for lieutenant governor of Alaska under the auspices of the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party (AIP—see September 6-7, 2008). [Yahoo! News, 10/20/2010; PalinGates, 10/20/2010] Many DZ employees have bragged about their connections to far-right elements in Alaska's political and paramilitary scenes, and have said that the firm employs a number of former Blackwater security personnel. The firm displays a large poster of President Obama as "The Joker" in its front window and a link to InfoWars.com, a right-wing conspiracy Web site hosted by Alex Jones. The owner of the Drop Zone, William Fulton, has boasted to patrons about his partners' participation in renditions and "black ops" overseas, and likes to show his .50-caliber sniper rifle to prospective customers. Fulton has frequently told patrons about his fondness for Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck, saying to one, "Glenn talks to the crazies," who are his best customers. Fulton also has suspected ties to the Alaskan Independence Party, which once claimed Todd Palin, former Governor Sarah Palin's husband, as a member. [Huffington Post, 10/18/2010; Anchorage Daily News, 10/18/2010; Life in Spenard, 10/18/2010; Salon, 10/19/2010] Miller's Ties to Militias - Alaska Citizens Militia leader Ray Southwell, a longtime crony of Olson's and a fellow leader of the Alaska Citizens Militia, recently wrote of meeting Miller at a militia leader's home in Soldotna, Alaska. Southwell wrote in a militia forum that he recently encouraged Miller to run for state office: "We need leaders here to stand against the feds." In that same forum, Olson posted his endorsement of Miller's candidacy. [PalinGates, 10/20/2010] Expired License - Investigating bloggers also find that the Drop Zone's license to do business as a security firm (under the name "Dropzone Security Services") expired in December 2009. The firm updated its license on September 18, 2010, the day after its guards detained and handcuffed Hopfinger, but only renewed its license to trade, not its license to provide security. [The Immoral Minority, 10/19/2010; Yahoo! News, 10/20/2010; PalinGates, 10/20/2010] Fulton tells a reporter that he is not a security guard and that DZ is not a security guard agency, therefore he needs no license to operate as a security firm. Instead, he says, DZ is a "contract agency" and that he and his people are considered "security agents," not guards. "We don't do anything covered under the security [statutes]," he says. "We don't do anything that the state has any authority to tell us what to do." He denies having any employees, and says he hires specific people on a contract basis. DZ is primarily a military supply store, Fulton says, and only does security contracts "three or four times a month." He admits to doing business with Miller in the past, but refuses to go into detail. He goes on to say that his guards at the Miller event were unarmed, and his "contractors" only carry weapons when they undertake "fugitive recovery" jobs: "All the guys we use are professionals, and they act professionally and dress professionally." Hopfinger disagrees with Fulton's contention that he is a security "agent" as opposed to a "guard," saying: "He certainly acted like an aggressive security guard and he may have broken the law. It was an illegal detention and an illegal arrest." Of Miller, Hopfinger says the candidate is exhibiting "poor judgment… to have Fulton and active-duty soldiers be his bodyguards." No other Alaska political candidate he has interviewed, including Miller's Republican opponent Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), has security guards with them, he says. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/19/2010] Investigation - The firm is being investigated by the Alaska Department of Public Safety, both for its handling of the Hopfinger incident and for its unlicensed status. [Alaska Dispatch, 10/19/2010]
Entity Tags: Alaska Citizens Militia, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Bill Coppernoll, US Department of the Army, Alaska Department of Public Safety, Alaskan Independence Party, Alaska Republican Party, Barack Obama, Alexander Valdez, Tyler Ellingboe, William Fulton, Todd Palin, Lisa Murkowski, Tony Hopfinger, Glenn Beck, Norman ("Norm") Olson, Joseph Wayne ("Joe") Miller, Sarah Palin, Ray Southwell, The Drop Zone, Shannyn Moore
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