Militia Leader Urges Discreet Use Of Force Says Guns, Bullets Should Be Last, Lowest Choice

Members of the militia movement should “use our muscle very discreetly,” Militia of Montana leader John Trochmann told 300 supporters here Saturday night.

Trochmann was the featured speaker at a daylong seminar of militia members, tax protesters and constitutionalists sponsored by the Northwest Liberty Network.

It was one of Trochmann’s first public appearances since the Montana attorney general dropped felony charges against him over a clash with authorities last month in Roundup, Mont.

The 51-year-old Noxon, Mont., resident, whose group is considered one of the prototype militias in the country, was treated like a celebrity by the crowd.

Those attending paid $13 apiece for the seminar, which also featured talks by Martin J. “Red” Beckman, of Billings, Mont., and Eustace Mullins, of Stanton, Va.

Beckman and Mullins are considered national leaders in the antigovernment, constitutionalist movement. Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith says some of their views are anti-Semitic.

The two denounced abortion, federal income taxes, homosexuality and attempts to pass national health reform.

They also blasted federal law enforcement agencies, the IRS and President Clinton.

“He will disappear without a trace,” Mullins said, eliciting an enthusiastic response from the crowd.

Trochmann and six other men spent 12 days in jail last month after being arrested in Roundup on charges of intimidation and criminal syndicalism.

Authorities there said they feared the group planned to kidnap and hang a judge - an allegation Trochmann strongly denies.

The intimidation and syndicalism charges have been dropped, Trochmann’s group has threatened to sue the county over the incident.

Trochmann said he tries to be a peacemaker when members of what is called the patriot movement clash with government officials.

The confrontations continued last week. Authorities raided the Darby, Mont., ranch of militia leader Cal Greenup, who faces charges of obstructing justice for harboring his fugitive son. He also is accused of raising elk without the proper wildlife license.

The situation in Darby remains dangerous because “both sides are so bull-headed,” Trochmann said. “They’re looking down the barrels of guns at each other.”

Greenup wasn’t home during the raid and is now a fugitive.

Ravalli County Sheriff Jay Printz, who obtained the warrants for Greenup, “serves the New World Order and he doesn’t even know it,” Trochmann said.

The militia leader said guns and bullets should be the “last and lowest choice” even though the “jury box and ballot box have failed us.”

He said, “If and when we do what we have to do, we will have to have a very clean conscience and a very aggressive attitude.”

Before Trochmann’s appearance, Beckman delivered a Bible-laced lecture about the evils of the federal government that brought repeated applause from the crowd, which appeared to be all-white.

He said because of the national debt, corrupt government officials and godlessness, the United States is on a road to ruin.

“If we have a strong militia, it won’t happen,” said Beckman, a tax protester whose home was bulldozed last year after he lost a lengthy fight with the IRS.

Beckman said he has proof that the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, allowing for the collection of federal income taxes, was not property ratified by the states.

He said he can’t get the case heard in court, nor will any of the 50 governors or members of Congress pay any attention to the issue.

“There are a whole bunch of them that are still there, (including) Newt Gingrich, who are violating their oath of office” by refusing to repeal the 16th Amendment, he said.

Beckman, who has been involved in antitax, right-wing political causes for more than two decades, said even he is surprised by the growth and popularity of the militia movement.

“It is something, I’m absolutely convinced, that God has ordained,” he told the crowd.

“We’ve got a lot of scoundrels in it, I’m sure of that.”

Those in attendance included Jack Yoos and Steven Blue, both from the militia of Hawaii, and Joseph Stevens, of St. Maries, Idaho, who identified himself as the unit commander of the First Idaho Militia.

“The militia is the court of last resort,” Stevens said in an interview.

“If all else fails and the American people are attacked, the militia will be there.”

“The militia is not a bunch of crooks or right-wing extremists,” he said.

“These are people who have a legitimate concern with violations of the Constitution of the United States of America.”

Mullins, who has written 15 books with anti-government themes, said most of problems in this country can be traced to the Rockefeller family.

“They just want to suck the blood of the people who are the working people in this country,” Mullins said.

He said Hillary Clinton was promoting a system of national health care that would have been patterned after the Federal Reserve. The $1 trillion-a-year system would have been put in the hands of the five biggest insurance companies, Mullins said.

In a brief interview, Mullins expressed surprise at the size of the Easter-weekend turnout. He said he recently spoke in Indianapolis, to a much smaller crowd.

But everywhere he goes, Mullins said, there is interest and support for the militia. Much of the grass-roots organizing is being done by local police and sheriff’s deputies, he said.

“People believe there is a need to oppose federal agencies that are taking over the country,” Mullins said.