“The War Within” Domestic Terrorism And Anti-Government Crime In The U.S.
The anti-government crime that’s so familiar to the Inland Northwest is cropping up across the country, mostly since the April 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.
1. Location: Spokane
Crime: Three North Idaho men connected to the militia and white supremacy movements arrested Oct. 8, 1996, for bombings and bank robberies in the Spokane Valley. They remain in jail while the investigation continues.
Investigating agencies: FBI, ATF and Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.
2. Location: Seattle, Bellingham
Crime: Eight people linked to the Washington State Militia arrested July 27, 1996 and charged with conspiring to make pipe bombs in preparation for a confrontation with the federal government or the United Nations. Five of the eight were charged with actually making the bombs.
Investigating agency: FBI.
3. Location: Burns, Ore.
Crime: Two men arrested July 4, 1996, and accused of operating the largest methamphetamine lab ever raided in Oregon. Three other men indicted later. At least two suspects have ties to Arizona and Montana militia and freemen groups, and investigators believe drug sales helped fund anti-government activities.
Investigating agencies: Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Harney County (Ore.) Sheriff’s Department and Yakima city and county detectives.
4. Location: Santa Rosa, Calif.
Crime: A former Montana freemen associate who led a group of common-law court advocates in the San Francisco Bay Area arrested in December 1995 for threatening to kill two California state court judges.
Investigating agencies: FBI and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.
5. Location: Vacaville, Calif.
Crime: A car bomb critically injured a federal mine safety inspector and his wife April 12, 1996. Hours earlier, a caller to the victim’s office warned, “Timothy McVeigh lives on.” No suspects in custody.
Investigating agency: FBI.
6. Location: Modesto, Calif.
Crime: Eight members of the Juris Christian Assembly indicted June 26, 1995 in the assault of a county clerk-recorder, who had been threatened for refusing to accept their liens. The assailant recruited by the group traveled to California from Oregon.
Investigating agencies: FBI, IRS and Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.
7. Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
Crime: 12 members of the Viper Militia arrested July 1, 1996, on federal charges of planning to bomb seven Phoenix-area buildings and a television station. Defendants are awaiting trial.
Investigating agency: ATF.
8. Location: Tucson, Ariz.
Crime: Three men convicted in November 1996 of filing millions of dollars of phony liens, a practice authorities call paper terrorism. Defendants are involved in the common-law court movement. An associate is indicted for the Burns, Ore., methamphetamine lab.
Investigating agency: Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
9. Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
Crime: Four men, including one with militia and white supremacy ties, under federal indictment for conspiring to smuggle thousands of pounds of marijuana into the U.S. from Mexico. Authorities say the marijuana was flown by small aircraft to Florida and Pennsylvania.
Investigating agency: U.S. Customs Service.
10. Location: Oklahoma City, Okla.
Crime: Two men charged with bombing the federal building on April 19, 1995, and killing 168 people. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols await trial. Another alleged conspirator cooperating with federal agents, who continue searching for other possible suspects.
Investigating agency: FBI.
11. Location: Muskogee, Okla.
Crime: Four people tied to the white supremacist Universal Church of God and militia groups arrested Nov. 11, 1995, and accused of building a large fertilizer bomb and plotting to blow up civil rights offices. Three defendants convicted last April and serving prison terms.
Investigating agency: FBI.
12. Location: Macon, Ga.
Crime: Three members of the Georgia Republic Militia arrested April 26, 1996, and charged with stockpiling pipe bombs and planning to assassinate national government leaders. Defendants convicted in November of possessing pipe bombs but acquitted of assassination conspiracy.
Investigating agency: ATF.
13. Location: Columbus, Ohio
Crime: A man who says he leads the Aryan Republican Army arrested Jan. 18, 1996. He and three others charged with committing 19 bank robberies in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky and Maryland to fund a race war against the government. One defendant committed suicide, one pleaded guilty and two others await trial.
Investigating agencies: FBI and Columbus Police Department.
14. Location: Clarksburg, W.Va.
Crime: Seven people tied to militia groups in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio arrested Oct. 11, 1996, on charges of plotting to blow up the FBI’s national fingerprint center in Clarksburg. They await trial.
Investigating agency: FBI.
CROSSROADS
Underground militia and white supremacy groups operate independently, but members network at various places across the country. These are a few of the spots that have become crossroads for the anti-government movement.
A. Location: Sandpoint, Idaho
America’s Promise Ministries moved its Christian Identity Church to North Idaho from Phoenix, Ariz., in 1991. Three men accused of the Spokane Valley bank robberies and bombings are linked to the church.
B. Location: Hayden Lake, Idaho
The Aryan Nations, founded by Richard Butler, has spawned several violent splinter groups, including The Order in the mid-1980s.
C. Location: Justus Township, Mont.
The Montana freemen created Justus Township and attracted hundreds of people who attended their common law courses. The township folded this year after the FBI arrested the freemen on fraud and other charges.
D. Location: Muldrow, Okla.
About 90 white separatists live and work in a Christian Identity compound called Elohim City. Authorities say Timothy McVeigh called someone at Elohim City before his arrest in the Oklahoma City bombing, and two members of the Aryan Republican Army visited the compound.
E. Location: Knob Creek, Ky.
Thousands of machine gun enthusiasts from throughout the country gather twice a year at a private gun range to display their weapons. Militia groups openly recruit on the grounds.
ON THE WEB
Racist and anti-government groups also use the Internet to share information. Web sites contain instructions for making bombs, recommend gear and books for the well-equipped militiaman, and publish essays explaining the concept of “leaderless resistance.” Militia and anti-government meetings and rallies also are promoted on-line.
Source: Staff research by Bill Morlin
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic with map: Domestic terrorism and anti-government crime in the U.S.