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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gritz Goes Free, Says He Arranged His Arrest Phoenix Businessman Posts $100,000 Bail To Free Former Green Beret And His Son

Associated Press

Former Green Beret Col. James “Bo” Gritz posted bail Wednesday on an attempted kidnapping charge, and said he had arranged to be arrested to call attention to the plight of two boys caught in a bitter custody battle.

Gritz, 57, and his son James Gritz, 37, were released from the Hartford Correctional Center after spending two days behind bars.

Their attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said Phoenix businessman Craig Smith posted the $100,000 to free the pair, who were each held on $50,000 bond.

The Gritzes were arrested Monday in the parking lot of McAlister Middle School in Suffield, where one of the children involved in the custody fight is a student.

Father and son were each charged with attempted kidnapping and loitering on school grounds. The younger Gritz also was charged with possession of a weapon - a knife - and possession of burglary tools.

Gritz told reporters he is championing the cause of former Granby woman Linda Wiegand, who has accused her ex-husband Thomas Wilkinson of child molestation.

Wiegand lost a custody battle two years ago, but fled with the children. She was arrested in July in Las Vegas and was freed on bond. The boys were returned to their father, an engineer who resides in Suffield, just south of the Massachusetts border.

“Bo” Gritz is a rugged right-wing survivalist who also is the host of the talk radio show “Freedom Calls.” He is a national leader of the so-called patriot movement, which rails against a U.N.-led “New World Order.”

Gritz said he, in effect, planned his arrest on Monday to draw media attention.

“That’s exactly what I did,” he said. “I was trying to get visibility for this case.”

He said he didn’t understand why the courts were allowed to “turn a mother into a fugitive” and place two children in harm’s way.

When arrested, the Gritzes were driving a car owned by a friend of Wiegand. Police said they found color photographs of the children on top of a box in the back seat.

Gritz repeatedly denied there was any kidnap attempt. He said he and his son were in the school parking lot for only about 15 seconds when police pulled up and arrested them.

He also denied police allegations that he was found with the children’s pictures. The pictures must have been in the box, which he said contained Wiegand’s files and was sealed when he was arrested. He said he had not seen the photos and suggested police had opened the sealed box.

xxxx WHAT’S NEXT? Bo Gritz, who is due back in court on Oct. 29, added that he wants the kidnapping charges dropped. If not dropped, he said, he will sue the Suffield police for false arrest.