Страница 295 из 340
Freemen and using them to pay off the IRS and his mortgage company.
March 26, Ohio: In Columbus, Ohio, common law court activist Larry Russell is found guilty of escape and sentenced to 1 S
years in prison. He fled Ohio following a failed attempt to arrest him for driving without a license, after which he was charged
with assaulting a police officer and escape, but was arrested at the Alaska border and extradited.
March 27, Nevada: Nevada militia man Harry Tootle is convicted on charges of drawing a gun on a security guard, then
resisting arrest.
March 27, Arkansas, Missouri: Arkansas citizen Robert Joos is convicted of resisting arrest and carrying a concealed
weapon during a confrontation with Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers in 1994. The troopers were attempting to arrest
him near his church commune (the "Sacerdotal Order of the David Company") in co
conviction involving a false court summons served to a trooper. Law enforcement authorities are still searching for Timothy
Thomas Coombs, wanted for shooting and seriously wounding a state trooper in retaliation for Joos' arrest.
March 29, South Carolina, Oregon: In Anderson, SC, Embassy of Heaven member Frank Lewis stages a seven day hunger
strike when arrested for driving without a license and operating an uninsured vehicle. This is one of many hunger strikes
staged by members of the group, which preaches against all forms of government interference. The Embassy of Heaven
issues fake drivers licenses, plates, and registrations for its members; these are purchased by people all over the country. In
late winter, Embassy of Heaven members are evicted from their "church" in Sublimity, Oregon, for nonpayment of county
taxes.
March 30, Michigan: Kalamazoo, Michigan, militia member Brendon Blasz is arrested and indicted on suspicion of making
pipe bombs and other illegal explosives. Blasz and his "small militia band" pla
Creek, an IRS building, a television station and federal armies, according to an affidavit by an informant. The Michigan
Militia claims to have expelled them in 1995.
APRIL
April 2, Washington, Idaho: The jury hearing Spokane bank bandits case convicts the three defendants on illegal weapons
charges and stolen vehicle charges, but deadlocks on the more serious bank robbery and bombing charges when a sole
jury member, sympathetic to the right-wing extremists, refuses to convict.
April 3, California: A Berkeley, California, woman, Mary Margaret Lund, is convicted of using bogus checks to purchase a
motorhome in January 1996. She passed more than $223,000 worth of bad checks.
April 5, Montana: Fourteen of the infamous "Montana Freemen" are hit with a 40-count indictment that will take the place of
earlier indictments against them. Charges include multiple counts of conspiracy bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, false
claims, threats to public officials and weapons charges. A second indictment charges eight people with helping fugitives
escape arrest.
April 7, Washington: Gary Kuehnol, one of the seven Washington militia/freemen charged with conspiracy (see above),
pleads guilty to a charge of transferring a machine gun to a federal informer. He will not face new conspiracy charges as a
result of the agreement. Another participant, Caitlin Hansen, earlier pled guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to
three years of probation. Six still await a new trial.
April 8, Montana: Pre-trial hearings begin for the Montana Freemen.
April 8, Washington: A Clark County, Washington, motorist is arrested with 2 loaded handguns, a bogus license plate, and a
concealed weapons "permit" issued by the "State Militia." Jed Carson was cited on suspicion of operating a vehicle with
illegal plates, carrying loaded weapons in a vehicle, driving without a license and failure to provide proof of insurance. The
plate read "SOV, 064-MNE, States of America united, America the Republic." His "sales contract" for his vehicle was from
the "British West Indies," a non-existent country.
April 11, New York: A jury convicts New York city police officer Jose Lugo on tax charges related to nonpayment of taxes on
$163,000 of income. Ten other police officers have been convicted on similar charges; four more are facing prosecution.
The officers apparently got the idea from Indiana militia leader Joe Holland and other tax protest leaders.
April 19, Idaho: New militia group forms in Idaho County, Idaho, called the "Idaho Mountain Boys." Its leader warns that if the
county enforces building codes, the militia will be ready to intervene.
April 20, Texas: Republic of Texas leader Richard McLaren vows war if authorities try to arrest him. "Once they make the
move," he says, 'we'll have millions of Americans on our side including every militia in the country. We're talking war
here."
April 20, Montana: Marc and Cheryl Andrea, of Florence, Montana, are indicted for recruiting 125 Missoula area residents
into a California-based tax protest organization.
April 22, Texas: Republic of Texas member Jo A
court for filing a fraudulent lien in violation of a court order and for not attending a hearing.
April 22, Ohio: Ohio Aryan Nations member Larry Wayne Harris receives a probation sentence after pleading guilty to a
single count of wire fraud for obtaining samples of bubonic plague.
April 23, Texas: The FBI arrests three men and one woman for pla
Worth. The pla
The suspects have Klan ties.
April 23, California: White supremacist Todd Vanbiber of Winter Park is injured while making a pipe bomb; the weapon
blows up in his face. Investigating authorities find materials linking Vanbiber to the neo-Nazi National Alliance, as well as 14
unexploded pipe bombs.
April 27, Texas: After police arrest Republic of Texas "chief of security," Bob Scheidt, on weapons possession charges,
Republic of Texas members ordered by Richard McLaren storm a nearby residence, firing shots, to kidnap two neighbors as
hostages. The incident begins a standoff. The two hostages, a man and his wife, were vocal opponents of McLaren.
April 28, Texas: After twelve hours of captivity, Joe and Margaret A
after authorities swap jailed ROT member Bob Scheidt for the two. Formal charges are filed against six ROT members, from
engaging in organized criminal activity to aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
April 28, California: A huge blast in a Olivehurst, California, home leads to the arrest of sympathizer William Goehler (a
convicted rapist), charged with possessing explosives. Goehler suffered a neck injury in the blast at his home, while his wife
and one of this children were slightly injured. The explosive material was in a tree outside the home. Goehler is associated
with the Twin Cities Free Militia. The previous year, he traveled to Jordan, Montana, to show his support for the Montana
Freemen.
April 28, Texas: Leaders of the other factions of the splintered Republic of Texas group, Archie Lowe and David Johnson,
distance themselves from Richard McLaren.
April 28, Texas: A Texas Ranger assault team arrives at Ft. Davis, Texas. About 200 law enforcement officers surround
McLaren's location, where close to 10 Republic of Texas members are holed up.