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Militia members wanted to attack cops, feds say
Eight arrested, one on the run; they allegedly plotted to attack funeral
 Madalyn Ruggiero / AP Michigan State Police guard a home on Tomer Street in Clayton, Mich., on Sunday after an FBI raid of a home of a suspected militia leader. |
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updated 2 hours, 22 minutes ago
ADRIAN, Mich. - Nine suspects tied to a Christian militia in the Midwest were charged Monday with conspiring to kill a police officer, then attack the funeral in the hopes of killing more law enforcement people, federal prosecutors said.
Members of the group called Hutaree are charged in the case, including its leader, David Brian Stone. The suspects included six people from Michigan, two from Ohio and one from Indiana, officials said.
Once other officers gathered for the slain officer's funeral, the group planned to detonate homemade bombs with projectiles, killing more, the newly unsealed court papers revealed.
The charges follow FBI raids over the weekend on locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.
The raids were prompted by Hutaree plans to stage "a covert reconnaissance operation for April which had the potential of placing an unsuspecting member of the public at risk," said Barbara McQuade, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
According to investigators, the Hutaree view local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel as a "brotherhood" and an enemy, and planned to attack them as part of an armed struggle against the U.S. government.
"It is believed by the Hutaree that this engagement would then serve as a catalyst for a more widespread uprising against the government," court documents said.
Eight suspects have been arrested by the FBI, and one more is being sought. Seven suspects appeared briefly in court in Detroit on Monday and were ordered held without bond until a hearing on Wednesday.
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He then directed his son and others to begin gathering the needed materials. Stone was charged, along with his wife and two sons. One son, Joshua Stone, remained a fugitive.
The Detroit News quoted Donna Stone, the ex-wife of Stone, as saying his growing radicalism was a factor in their divorce three years ago.
"You pray as a family, you stay together as a family," the News report Stone as saying. "When he got carried away, when he went from handguns to big guns, it's like, now I'm done."
The group's Web site says Hutaree means "Christian warrior."
'Extremist fringe'Andrew Arena, head of the FBI's field office in Detroit, said the case "is an example of radical and extremist fringe groups which can be found throughout our society. The FBI takes such extremist groups seriously, especially those who would target innocent citizens and the law enforcement officers who protect the citizens of the United States."
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Michael Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, said one of his team leaders got a frantic phone call Saturday evening from members of Hutaree, who said their property in southwest Michigan was being raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"They said they were under attack by the ATF and wanted a place to hide," Lackomar said. "My team leader said, 'no thanks.'"
The team leader was cooperating with the FBI, Lackomar said. He said SMVM wasn't affiliated with Hutaree, which states on its Web site to be "prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren't."
"We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ. All Christians must know this and prepare, just as Christ commanded," the group's Web site said. "Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment."
Lackomar said none of the raids focused on his group, which is affiliated with the Michigan Militia, a larger militia umbrella group. Lackomar said about eight to 10 members of Hutaree trained with SMVM twice in the past three years. SMVM holds monthly training sessions focusing on survival training and shooting practice, Lackomar said
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