Baucus Decries Militant Groups Calls On Montanans To Speak Out Against Militia, ‘Freemen’
The Militia of Montana and the “freemen” have brought hate, lawlessness and terror to Montana, Sen. Max Baucus told the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
But they are few in numbers and can be defeated if decent people will speak out against them, the Montana Democrat said.
“The situation is serious. But if we face up to it, we can solve it before worse happens.”
Baucus said some leaders of the groups are common criminals who must be arrested, tried and jailed: “And we can do it if we give law enforcement the support it requires.”
He accused the militia of anti-Semitism and the freemen of labeling non-whites as “beasts.” The freemen movement is “even more extreme” than the militia, he said.
“With these organizations come hate, lawlessness and terror,” he said.
The targets of the groups include the federal government, federal employees, Jews, women and law enforcement in general, he said.
Baucus cited several incidents of violence in the state, but some of those have not been attributed to either the militia or the freemen. These included anti-Semitic vandalism in Big Timber and the bombings of an abortion clinic in Kalispell and a doctor’s office in Missoula.
He also cited a recent armed confrontation with law enforcement officers in Darby, but the militia members involved apparently were members of an Indiana-based militia group, not the Militia of Montana, which denounced the incident.
“Dealing with the rank and file is a responsibility of the entire community,” Baucus said. “Most Militia members are not Nazis or potential terrorists - merely loud, deluded people who are an embarrassment, not a threat.
“And all of us need to show them that hate has no place under Montana’s Big Sky, and no place in America.”
Baucus linked his remarks to the bombing of the federal office building in Oklahoma City and the approaching 50th anniversary of the Nazi surrender in World War II.
Members of both the Militia of Montana and the freemen called Baucus’s accusations inaccurate and unfair.
Randy Trochmann, co-founder of the Militia of Montana, said Baucus was tarring with too broad a brush. He said the militia does not share the freemen’s beliefs or ideology and does not condone any hate group. Speaking from the militia office at Noxon, Trochmann specifically disputed any link between the Militia of Montana and the Aryan Nations organization at Hayden Lake.
“He’s stereotyped everybody,” Trochmann said. “It’s very irresponsible on his part, because he’s playing with people’s lives here. “Or maybe it’s not even irresponsible - it may have been intentional.”
Val Stanton of Brusett said she could not understand why Baucus would label freemen terrorists.
“We’re not extreme,” she said. “We’re just exposing what’s happening here in Garfield County. The corruption is just unreal.”
Val Stanton is the daughter-in-law of William Stanton, convicted of criminal syndicalism earlier this year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.