Fugitive Had Uzi, Hid In Woods Caught After Two Months On Run, Cavanaugh Says He Feared Gangs

Armed with an Uzi, Paul James Cavanaugh Jr. eluded federal agents for two months by hiding in the woods and eating dog food.

Now in jail facing weapons charges, the self-described constitutionalist says he began arming himself several years ago to protect Spokane from gangs.

Cavanaugh - arrested July 24 near Athol, Idaho, by officers posing as militia members - says guns aren’t the problem. Gun laws are.

“I believe they’re unconstitutional,” Cavanaugh said. “They’re laws that should not have been made.”

Cavanaugh, 36, talked for almost an hour Sunday afternoon in the Spokane County Jail about gangs, guns and government. He said he bought the Uzi to fight Spokane gangs, despite federal convictions for attempting to make methamphetamine and illegally possessing firearms in 1989.

He said agents arrested him to subvert his political campaign against the government.

Cavanaugh turned into a fugitive May 20, when he showed up as Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents searched his cabin north of Davenport. Cavanaugh said he fled, after first trying to arrest the officers.

The agents searched the home while investigating the unsolved April 29 bombing of Spokane City Hall. They didn’t find anything linking Cavanaugh to the bombing, but did find a bomb-making book, gunpowder and firearms.

Cavanaugh admitted to owning the gunpowder, the Uzi, a .44-caliber revolver and a broken-down shotgun.

The bomb-making book - “The Poor Man’s James Bond, Vol. 1” - also has information on enemy missions, hand-to-hand combat and city defense systems, Cavanaugh said. He wouldn’t say whether he’s used the book to make bombs, but denied any role in the City Hall bombing.

“I just don’t believe in that type of violence,” he said.

While a fugitive, Cavanaugh avoided capture by moving around only at night. He shaved off his beard. He said he stayed near his cabin for a time, sneaking back for supplies.

Then he said he left for the Blanchard, Idaho, area near Spirit Lake. He lived off a bag of Hi-Pro dry dog food, water and the help of friends.

He was arrested after meeting a man who offered to connect Cavanaugh with militia members. Cavanaugh said he thought he was going to a meeting of white supremacists and Militia of Montana members.

Instead, he met two undercover officers July 24. After talking for a few minutes, Cavanaugh said, the agents tackled him and pinned his arms.

“I just had to give up,” he said. “I was pretty scared when that happened.”

Cavanaugh said he wanted to learn more about the militia movement. He said he’s been to one militia meeting - last year in Lewiston, Idaho, where he wore a small flag draped over his left breast.

Cavanaugh said he became interested in the Constitution and government problems about three years ago, at the same time he started his one-man anti-gang patrols.

He said he carried a police scanner in his car - although he didn’t have a driver’s license - and tried to respond to reports of shootings and other crimes.

Despite his anti-government beliefs, Cavanaugh said he was a former National Guardsman and has lived on Supplemental Security Income since suffering a head injury.

Cavanaugh said he started studying the Constitution and became convinced that the government was violating it. He complained about the United Nations, gun laws and other government restrictions. He made information packets and handed them out on Spokane streets, at one City Hall meeting and to the mayor’s secretary.

He also read passages from books like “Global Tyranny, Step-by-Step” to listeners on his CB radio. He said his handle was “Constitutional Offender.”

“I believe this justice system is becoming totalitarian,” Cavanaugh said Sunday. “No matter what you say, to them it’s guilty.”

His views have scared people. Shortly before he became a fugitive, Cavanaugh told a state employee in Spokane that militia groups “have every right” to shoot government workers.

Cavanaugh is expected to be indicted on federal charges of being a felon in possession of firearms and a machine gun.

“I’m not a bad person,” he said. “I got like a heart of gold. I’ve got a good religious belief. … I just wanted to help against the gangs. I guess I got the bad end of the stick.”

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