Wenatchee Militia Leader Tries County Judge’s Patience

The head of a militia group in court for hitting a police officer made life difficult for a Chelan County judge, quibbling over procedural matters.

Bruce Alden Banister, 29, of East Wenatchee, was summoned into court Wednesday on a felony charge of third-degree assault against an officer and resisting arrest.

He’s accused of fighting with a Wenatchee police officer who issued him a citation for having expired license tabs Feb. 4.

Banister leads the Wenatchee Minuteman Militia, which doesn’t recognize municipal police forces and views driver’s and vehicle licenses as unconstitutional.

In Chelan County Superior Court on Wednesday, Banister refused to participate in the proceedings because the prosecutor’s office had capitalized the spelling of his name on court documents.

Banister repeatedly frustrated the efforts of Judge Carol Wardell to determine whether he wanted an attorney and to establish his address so he could remain out of jail until his next court date March 4.

Wardell had given prosecutor Gary Riesen a letter insisting that “his counsel will be my close Christian friends. Any attempt to force me to accept counsel from a foreign source is not acceptable.”

“Due to a misnomer in the court papers, because you used all capital letters, I cannot respond to a fictional name,” he said, and asked that the proceedings be “abated.”

Banister answered questions by reading from papers, repeating the same phrase and interrupting Wardell with a barrage of objections.

Wardell asked Banister repeatedly whether he wanted an appointed attorney. After five attempts to get an answer, Wardell said she would appoint an attorney on his behalf “because I don’t know what else to do.”

Banister initially refused to answer questions about his address, but relented when Wardell threatened to jail him.

About 40 people crowded the courtroom in Banister’s support Wednesday, including members of militia groups at Chelan and Yakima.