Agent Says Militia Threatened Killings

Members of the Viper Militia vowed to kill infiltrators and suggested killing a juror and retaliating against a Treasury agent’s family, an ATF agent testified Friday.

The militia group, accused in a plot to attack government buildings, also practiced blowing things up in the remote woods and deserts of Arizona, cheering as the explosions sent plumes of smoke into the air.

Steve Ott, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms agent who supervised the investigation, presented a 20-minute videotape of the practice sessions in court Friday and testified about their comments in an effort to persuade a federal magistrate to keep them in jail pending a trial on bomb-making and conspiracy charges.

The group talked at a June 6 meeting about how they would respond if prosecuted, Ott said. Randy Lynne Nelson saying he would kill a juror if necessary.

Ott said the threats extended to families of agents and jurors as well.