Freemen Seem Intent On Staying Put Writer For ‘Soldier Of Fortune’ Says Group Appears At Ease
A “Soldier of Fortune” writer who met with the freemen Tuesday said the men wanted on check fraud and other charges seemed relaxed and had little interest in ending their 17-day standoff with the FBI.
“My impression is we’re going to be here for a long time,” said James Pate, the first journalist to interview freemen deep inside the 960-acre farm since the standoff with federal officials began March 25.
The magazine writer didn’t go inside any buildings, but he said that freemen, wearing side arms, took him around a corner of the main house and out of media view. They talked for about 90 minutes.
“They seemed fairly relaxed. Their demeanor was like sitting around talking with a bunch of guys at a country store,” said Pate, who wasn’t allowed to take notes, or use a tape recorder or camera during the meeting.
On Monday, the freemen nailed a defiant declaration of independence to a post near their compound gate, branding the U.S. government a “corporate prostitute” and claiming they have the right to establish their own government.
The four-paragraph document dampened hopes of a settlement and was the first evidence that talks last week with four Montana legislators had yielded little.
“I take a look at that piece of paper and it tells me they don’t have any intention of coming out of there. I just wish they’d send the little kids out,” said Claudia Stanton, a rancher whose property is just over the hill from the freemen’s compound.
About a dozen of the people in the compound face state or federal charges ranging from writing bad checks and impersonating public officials to threatening to kidnap and murder a U.S. district judge. Three freemen have been arrested.
Pate said the freemen didn’t consider the meetings with the state legislators to be negotiations. “They were more like talk,” he said.
The freemen told Pate they were trying to negotiate safe passage from the compound for two of their members to set up their own all-male grand jury to hear evidence about their disputes with the federal government.
“I don’t think they’re going to negotiate any kind of settlement with the FBI,” Pate said.
State Rep. John Johnson, D-Glendive, who met with the freemen last week, said no new talks were scheduled.