Texas Separatists Indicted In Kidnapping

Republic of Texas separatist leader Richard McLaren and four followers were indicted Monday in the kidnapping that sparked a weeklong standoff with scores of state troopers.

McLaren, Gregg Paulson, Karen Paulson and Robert Otto were each indicted on a single felony charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. They could get a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

The identity of the fifth person charged was withheld in a sealed indictment. It presumably is Richard F. Keyes III, who remains at large.

The indictments allege the group participated in a scheme to kidnap two neighbors in the Davis Mountains Resort, a rough rural subdivision where the Republic members had set up an “embassy” in a trailer and wooden cabin.