Anti-Government Conspiracy Case Goes To Jury Defendants Described As Patriots Whose Plans Were ‘Nothing But Talk’

Seven people accused of plotting to kill government agents did nothing more harmful than cache supplies of “fruit cocktail, Spam, clean socks and some bullets,” a defense attorney told federal jurors Thursday.

But a government lawyer said the defendants had an agenda of “mass destruction” and faced a “mountain of evidence” against them.

After six weeks of testimony, the case went to the jury at mid-day.

The defendants, who have ties to the Washington State Militia and the freemen, are charged with conspiring to attack and attempt to kill federal agents.

Accused are militia founder John Irvin Pitner, 45, of Deming; John Lloyd Kirk, 56, of Tukwila, and his wife, Judy Carol Kirk, 54; Marlin Lane Mack, 24, Gary Marvin Kuehnoel, 48, and former deputy militia director Frederick Benjamin Fisher, 61, all of Bellingham; and Tracy Lee Brown, also known as William Smith, 55, of Seattle.

Pitner and Kuehnoel also face firearms charges while Mack and the Kirks face additional charges of possessing unregistered destructive devices.

During 2-1/2 days of closing arguments, defense attorneys characterized their clients as simple-minded super-patriots whose preparations for a feared United Nation invasion - a specter raised for years by anti-government groups - were “nothing but talk.”

The defendants’ statements and teachings are constitutionally protected, their attorneys said.

The defense lawyers also contended their clients had been entrapped by paid FBI informant Edwin Maeurer and undercover FBI agent Michael German.

And Maeurer’s lies - “stretchers and whoppers” - about what transpired at militia meetings caused the government to believe there was a conspiracy to kill federal agents, public defender Paula Deutsch said Thursday.

“I submit that Edwin Maeurer is the type of person who’s always looking for something. He doesn’t give something for nothing,” said Deutsch, who is representing John Kirk with assistant public defender Tom Hillier.

A 25-minute recess was taken when Deutsch disclosed that Maeurer had failed lie-detector tests, which are not admissible in court. Prosecutors objected heatedly and U.S. District Judge John Coughenour ordered jurors to disregard the statement.

Maeurer, a 40-year-old Bellingham mechanic who has served jail time for passing bad checks, testified about militia meetings and identified evidence, including propane canisters drilled to make bombs. His evidence was crucial in winning indictment against the defendants.