Manhunt for Ex Militia Project 7 Leader

According to The Billings Gazette , an extensive manhunt was under way in the mountains west of Lolo late Sunday for a former anti-government militia leader who allegedly led Missoula County sheriff’s deputies on a chase and shot at them earlier in the day.  The suspect is David Burgert, who is on federal and state probation and who, a decade ago, led the right-wing militant group called Project 7. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in 2004.

Burgert is 6 feet 2 inches tall and 230 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a bluish colored shirt and a fanny pack, and is believed to be armed with a handgun and possibly a rifle.   Anyone who has information that will help in Burgert’s arrest is asked to call the Missoula County Sheriff’s Department.

• Guilty of arms charges in 2004 here with additional time sentenced here .
• Burgert re-sentenced in 2007 here .
• For a narrative from the Southern Poverty Law Center on Mr. Burgert’s history, former SR Reporter Bill Morlin provides this information .