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Colombia. For that purpose he deposited money into his bank accounts, as though it was his profits from the shop, purchased assets for the use of the drug
cartels, bought and sold gold at inflated prices from merchants who were part of the conspiracy and concealed money through various manipulations.
Finally, all the money was turned into checks drawn on the accounts of Jewish religious institutions. Sharir received from the Colombians 6 percent of the
turnover for his labors. Within a short period of time he moved with his family to a luxurious house in Woodmere, on Long Island. He purchased a luxury
Jaguar car, showered his wife Miryam with expensive jewels and donated lavishly to Jewish charities.
The troubles began in late 1988. In December his shop was raided by American customs and internal revenue agents, after they received notice from his
banks concerning the volume of his deposits. They brought dogs to sniff out drugs, carried out a meticulous search of the offices and took away cars fall of
documents. Sharir did no lose his cool. While the agents were milling around his offices, he managed to conceal $600,000 which were in his bank account at
the time and to transfer the money to a safe place. Simultaneously, Sharir fell out with his Colombian operators who claimed that he stole $26 million of their
drug money. Sharir, who denied the accusation, hired an Israeli professional investigator, Lihu Ichilov, to solve the mystery. Ichilov soon became Sharir's
partner. He flew to Panama, established two dummy corporations there, opened bank accounts and improved the laundering routes.
Following the Federal agents' raid on his offices Sharir did not give up.Within two weeks he opened two other offices on 47th Street and resumed work.
When asked by one of his lawyers how he had expected to escape the attentions of the law, Sharir replied: "I changed my system and believed that now, with
God's help, I would never be caught." Sharir's new system included Rabbi Yosef Crozet whom we discussed earlier. Crozer's big mouth brought Sharir
down, and he was arrested in March 1990. Crozer also led to Sharir confessing to having laundered $200 million. His wife Miryam was arrested together
with him. Sharir, under the pressure of the interrogation, agreed to cooperate in exchange for his wife's release and the cancellation of the charges against her.
The prosecution agreed.
It was an extremely good deal as far as the prosecution was concerned. For three months Sharir fed the Federal investigators with most valuable information
concerning the Jewish laundering industry. The information included names, methods of operation, codes, and bank accounts. Sharir led them to the exposure
of what is termed the new "cocaine triangle".
His information led to the incrimination of more than 35 Jewish launderers, the capture of $10 million and the breakup of numerous Jewish laundering rings.
Among others, Sharir incriminated the biggest laundering shark in the history of the US, Stephan Scorkia. The information given by Sharir, who testified at his
trial, directly led to his conviction. Scorkia was charged with laundering $300 million, and was sentenced to 660 years' imprisonment.
Sharir is now enrolled in the US witness protection program. He lives under an assumed identity, has been released on bail, travels under heavy security
between New York, Rhode Island, Arizona and other states, testifies in criminal trials and goes on.
His wife Miryam divorced him shortly after the affair erupted. She refuses to comment on the matter and told the Daily News: "I have no intention of talking. I
divorced Aharon in order to distance myself from him and from his friends, and that is exactly what I am doing."
Sharir was directly responsible for the flight of at least 35 Colombians from the US back to Colombia. One of the escapees was Duvan Arbolda, one of the
Kali cartel's major launderers. Arbolda was charged in a Manhattan court of laundering on a vast scale, following Sliarir's testimony. Afler he completes his
testifying, Sharir himself will stand trial.
The prosecution will agree to a very low sentence, but this does not improve his chances of survival. "At present, Aharon Sharir heads the Kali cartel's
wanted list," said an American customs official. Charges have also been served against Lihu Ichilov, Sharir's partner. However, Ichilov fled to Israel on the
eve of his trial, in January 199 1. That was the period of the Gulf War and the judge, Richard Owen, who tried Ichilov in absentia, said: "Mr. Ichilov
apparently prefers to face the horror of Scud missiles falling on Israel than the American justice system."
Note 1. The Satmar Hassidic sect fiercely opposes Zionism. The present rabbi's uncle and predecessor (the position of a rabbi among the Hassids is limited
to the members of "the sacred family"), Yoel Taitelbaum, had published learned books in which Zionism was described as an invention of Satan, Israeli
victories (especially the one in the Six Day War) were attributed solely to the direct help given to the Israeli army, while the Holocaust was being "justified" as
the Divine punishment of the Jews for the sin of some of them becoming Zionists. The present rabbi, although formally continuing the teachings of his uncle,
has the most amicable relations with the Israeli government.
====================
CODOH - Box 439016/P-111, San Diego, CA, USA 92143
David Irving's Reply to Jeffrey Shallit's "Lies of Our Times"
Installed: 5/16/98, 6: 00 PM, PST
Last updated July 21, 1997
Calendar of Conspiracy: A Chronology of Anti-Government Extremist Criminal
Activity, January to June 1997
A Militia Watchdog Special Report
INTRODUCTION
The following is a chronology of some of the events surrounding anti-government criminal activity in the United States
during the first half of the year 1997. It illustrates both the scope of such activity-from large-scale acts of terrorism to local
acts of harassment and intimidation-and its geographic extent-from major cities like Los Angeles and New York to remote
rural areas in Texas and Montana. The chronology is not comprehensive. Although all major events are included, no
systemized reporting system exists for smaller scale events. As a result, arrests or convictions for charges such as placing
bogus liens, impersonating a public official or committing similar offenses are considerably underrepresented in this report.
Such activities occur with a high level of frequency across the nation. More than thirty-three states are listed in this report;
however, incidents are occurring in every state.
JANUARY
January 2, South Dakota: In Rapid City, South Dakota, "freeman" Bill Huseby is bound over for trial. He is charged with
sending false documents to the Pennington county Sheriff's Office, a former judge, and a private citizen; also, three
misdemeanor charges.
January 6, Washington: Seattle resident Richard Frank Burton, arrested with eight other individuals last July on various
weapons and conspiracy charges, pleads guilty in U.S. District court to one count of conspiracy and three other charges. His
wife, Caitlin Hansen, pleads guilty to one count of destroying and concealing evidence. A third individual, Theodore Carter,
pleads guilty to one conspiracy charge and agrees to testify against his fellow defendants. The three are part of a mixed
group of militia members and "sovereign citizens."
January 6, Oklahoma: Three common-law court advocates plead guilty in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a federal conspiracy charge.
Kenny Moore, Colleen Moore and Wayne Gunwall had filed bogus liens on IRS agents to the amount of $7 million, and had
issued "citizens arrest warrants" against several federal officials. The trial of another defendant, Dan Meador, begins on
January 8.
January 10, Oklahoma: Dan Meador is convicted of obstructing justice and illegally communicating with a member of a
federal grand jury (see above).
January 13, Virginia: Two Mechanicsville, VA, residents are sentenced to eighteen months in prison on tax evasion charges.
Jerry Martin and his wife Sadie Martin, Christian Identity adherents, were "sovereign citizens" who denied the legal
existence of the United States.
January 16, Oregon: Common law court activist Charles Stewart, leader of a Portland, Oregon group, tries "in absentia"
seven IRS agents at his Kangaroo court. Two weeks later, the "court" rules that four of the agents should pay fines of
$100,000 each for seizing a Portland home. However, it was up to the man whose home was seized to collect the money.
January 22, Georgia, North Carolina: District Attorney Albert Taylor, Jr., prosecutor for the Enotah Circuit in Georgia, requests
and receives a "writ of non molestando" to stop a "sovereign citizen," Melvin Julius Robinson, from harassing him.
Robinson's actions included filing a $100 million frivolous lawsuit against him and demanding that Taylor appear before the
"Our One Supreme Court" of Franklin, North Carolina. In response, Taylor dusted off an ancient writ that probably had never
been used in the state to restrain Robinson from using the legal process to "molest, vilify, obstruct, or hinder" the lawful
discharge of official duties.
January 24, Missouri: Five common law court advocates in Lincoln County, Missouri, are sentenced to two years in prison
and a $5,000 fine, and a sixth, Dennis Logan, is sentenced to seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The defendants were
charged with tampering with a judicial official-specifically, filing a $10.8 million bogus lien against a judge to force him to
drop a speeding case involving the daughter of one of the defendants. Nine other defendants, also convicted, have yet to be
sentenced.
January 24, Minnesota: Michael Moeller is charged in Winona County, Minnesota, of making terroristic threats. Moeller, a
militia sympathizer, threatened to blow up the headquarters of the state Department of Natural Resources, where he formerly
worked.
January 28, Wisconsin: Sally Minniecheske, the wife of Wisconsin Posse Comitatus leader Donald Minniecheskie, is
sentenced to nine months for disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and fleeing arrest. The charges stemmed from a
1995 incident during a property seizure in which Minniecheskie threatened a police chief and led him on a car chase through
Tigerton, Wisconsin. The Minniecheskies have been involved in anti-government activities in Tigerton for more than twenty
years.
January 30, Pennsylvania: In Philadelphia, Christian Identity minister Mark Thomas is indicted on conspiracy charges
related to the armed robberies committed by the "Midwestern Bank Bandits," who dubbed themselves the "Aryan
Republican Army." Also arrested is Michael Brescia. Brescia and Thomas bring the total number arrested for these robberies
to six.
January 30, Mississippi, Tennessee: Armed militia members from Mississippi precipitate an unexpected standoff near
Memphis, Tennessee, when they show up to halt the eviction of two Southaven residents from their home. Local officials
back away from the eviction and say they will pursue the matter in court some more.
FEBRUARY
February 6, California: Two California men are found guilty of fraud in San Jose for passing bogus checks created by the
Montana Freemen. The jury finds Robert Young guilty of conspiracy, three counts of bank fraud, two counts of mail fraud,
and one count of filing a false claim with the IRS. Frank Pepper is convicted on two counts of mail fraud. Two other
defendants, Leonard Ferrier and Dawn Onalfo, had plead guilty before the trial.
February 10, Connecticut: Nena Frankle and John Barney are arrested by local police on charges of interfering with police
and criminal trespass, after they resisted attempts by authorities in Connecticut to take possession of their foreclosed
residence. Frankle and Barney are members of a group of Connecticut common law court advocates and tax protesters
which advocates such resistance.
February 10, Ohio: Peter Langan is convicted in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, of five felonies related to 1994 armed
robberies of banks in Columbus and Cincinnati. Langan is the leader of the "Midwestern Bank Bandits," who claimed to
engage in armed robbery to support their revolutionary struggle.
February 14, Missouri: The remaining seven common law court activists of the thirteen convicted earlier in Missouri receive
their sentences: six activists sentenced to two years in prison and a seventh activist to seven years. All additionally must pay
a $5,000 fine.
Ca. February 15, Washington: Charles Miller and three other men are arrested in Washington on sixteen counts of
conspiracy to defraud banks, mail fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property. Another accomplice, Kathleen
Cottam, was arrested earlier and pled guilty. The suspects had obtained bogus money orders from Montana Freeman
leader LeRoy Schweitzer in 1995 and had been using them to buy cars and motor homes in Washington. Charles
Christenson, Kurt Gilson, and Veryl Knowles were also arrested.
February 15, Ohio, Washington, Arkansas, Montana, Utah: Near Wilmington, Ohio, Chevie and Cheyne Kehoe, two brothers
from Washington, engage in two shootouts with local police during and following a routine traffic stop. A bystander is
wounded. The Kehoes, Christian Identity adherents with ties to Aryan Nations and other white supremacist groups, avoid an
intensive manhunt and vanish along with their families. Their mobile home is later found near Casper, Wyoming. Chevie
Kehoe is wanted for questioning in connection with the murders of an Arkansas gun dealer with ties to the militia movement,
and his family.
February 18, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Aryan Nations leader Mark Thomas pleads guilty to plotting seven bank robberies
and using the cash to further the cause of white supremacy in connection with the Midwestern Bank Bandits.
February 20, Georgia: Three Georgia militia members receive stiff sentences for their roles in a conspiracy to build pipe
bombs for use against the federal government. Bob Starr is given 8 years, one month; while James McCranie and Troy
Spain are sentenced to six S years in prison each.
February 20, Minnesota: Three Minnesota residents receive convictions for attempting to pass bogus checks obtained from
the Montana Freemen. Marilyn Kerkvliet and Robert Leffler are convicted of eight counts of mail fraud and passing
counterfeit checks each. Ronald Kerkvliet is convicted of a single count of mail fraud.
February 21, Montana, North Carolina: The first conviction arrives for members of the Montana Freemen, who held off
authorities for 81 days in the spring of 1996. Russell Landers and an associate, James Vincent Wells, are convicted of seven
and twelve federal fraud and conspiracy counts, respectively, ending a trial marked by combative behavior by Landers. The
two used bogus money orders to purchase vehicles to drive back to Montana.
February 21, Washington: Supporters of the Washington militia/freemen defendants on trial in Seattle file a $1.76 billion lien
against the judge, John Coughenour, and five prosecutors.
February 24, Texas: Local authorities in Texas issue an arrest warrant for Rick McLaren, leader of the secessionist
common-law group, "The Republic of Texas," after McLaren failed to appear for a preliminary hearing on a 1995 burglary
charge. However, authorities take no steps to arrest McLaren, who is barricaded in a remote West Texas settlement.
February 28, Washington: The Washington militia/freemen explosives conspiracy case ends in a mistrial. The mistrial is
declared on federal conspiracy charges against seven people, while four defendants are convicted of weapons charges.
Washington State Militia founder John Pitner is convicted of possession and transfer of machine guns. John Lloyd Kirk and
Marlin Lane Mack is convicted of possession of unregistered destructive device. Gary Marvin Kuehnoel is convicted of
possession of a machine gun. Jururs can not reach verdicts on additional weapons charges against Kirk and his wife Judy
Carol Kirk, and against Kuehnoel. Kuehnoel is found innocent of three counts of possession of unregistered firearm. An
eighth defendant previously had pled guilty.
MARCH
March 1, Wisconsin: $2 million cash bond is ordered for Wisconsin man charged with hiring a hit man to murder his
estranged wife and her father. James Schuman, the man charged, is a member of Wisconsin Militia.
March 2, Washington, Idaho: Trial begins for Charles Barbee, Robert Berry and Jay Merrell, Christian Identity white
supremacists part of a bank-robbing gang in Spokane, WA, area associated with the Phineas Priesthood.
March 2, Ohio: Ohio Aryan Nations member Morris Gulett is arrested for ramming a Dayton police cruiser then fleeing.
March 3, New Hampshire: New Hampshire militia leader pleads guilty to federal charges of stealing $100,000 in equipment
from Fort Devens Army base. Fitzhugh MacCrae, member of Hillsborough County Dragoons, admits to three counts. He is
the second Dragoon to plead guilty.
March 3, Texas: "Republic of Texas" member John Albert Crain files $27 million lawsuit over three traffic tickets in San
Angelo. The atmosphere between "Republic of Texas" members and the real government of Texas grows increasingly
tense.
March 4, Texas: Pecos County Sheriff Steve Bailey warns he may have to use extreme measures to arrest Richard
McLaren, "ambassador" for the Republic of Texas, for warrants on burglary and failure to appear in court. McLaren is holed
up in a housing resort west of Fort Davis, Texas.
March 6, Wisconsin: Federal prosecutors go to court to stop two Milwaukee area men, Robert Raymond and Robert
Bernhoft, from selling their "De-Taxing America Program."
March 9, Oregon: Salem, Oregon, Militia leader Michael Cross is sentenced to five years on probation for pleading guilty to
criminal mistreatment after receiving $25,000 gift from an elderly foster-care resident.
Ca. March 9, Texas: Members of extremist group Republic of Texas begin "impeachment" proceedings against Richard
McLaren as the group, under pressure from law enforcement authorities, fragments.
March 10, California: Elizabeth Broderick of Palmdale, California, is sentenced to nearly seventeen years in prison on 28
charges related to selling more than 8,000 fraudulent "Comptroller Warrants" with a face value of more than $800 million.
Several accomplices also receive prison sentences in subsequent weeks.
March 12, Connecticut: "Sovereign citizens" John Barney and Nina Barney of Salisbury, CT, appear in court on charges of
criminal trespass and interfering with police. They are members of a common law court and they refuse to vacate the
properties where they live despite having hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid loans.
March 13, Washington, Idaho: FBI agents arrest a fourth suspect, Brian Ratigan, in the Spokane bombings, about the same
time as the prosecution rests in the trial of three other suspects.
March 13, Oklahoma: Former Tulsa opera singer Carol Elizabeth Howe is indicted in Federal court in Tulsa, accused of
willfully making a bomb threat, possession of a non-registered destructive device and conspiracy. James Dodson Viefhous,
already in custody, is also indicted. The two are founders and members of the National Socialist Alliance of Oklahoma, as
well as part of the Aryan Intelligence Network. They left a message on this phone network that bombs would be detonated in
15 US cities unless action was taken by December 15 by "white warriors" against the government of the U.S.
March 13, Ohio, Pennsylvania: Aryan Republican Army members Scott Stedeford and Peter Langan plead not guilty to
conspiracy charges related to bank robberies they carried out. Both have been previously convicted on armed robbery
charges. Mark Thomas, an Aryan Nations leader in Pennsylvania, previously pled guilty to the charges. Thomas and
another defendant are cooperating with government investigators; a fifth defendant, Michael Brescia, is jailed and awaiting
trial. Another suspect committed suicide in jail.
March 17, Montana, Indiana: Joe Holland, leader of the North American Volunteer Militia, is sentenced in Missoula, Montana, to 10 years in prison for jury tampering and advocating violence. He is also indicted on charges in Indiana.
March 17, Texas: Texas officials issue two more (civil) arrest warrants against Republic of Texas members Robert Kesterson ("secretary of state") and Carolyn Carney ("secretary of inter-agency coordination").
March 17, California: California "Patriot" Timothy Paul Kootenay, is sentenced to 300 days in county jail and four years' probation after pleading guilty to purchasing assault rifles with bogus money orders issued by Family Farm Preservation, a "patriot" group linked with the Posse Comitatus.
March 19, Arizona: Six members of the Arizona Viper Militia are sentenced to jail terms for conspiracy to make bombs. The
longest sentence is nine years. All had pled guilty. The number eventually increases to 10 who plead guilty. Two do not and
will go to trial.
March 21, Ohio: The FBI and ATF jointly post a $60,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of Aryan Nations
members Cheyne and Chevie Kehoe for shooting at police officers in Ohio in February. The Kehoe brothers are thought to
have fled back to their Spokane area origins.
March 21, Alabama: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously affirms the capital murder conviction of a "patriot,"
George Sibley, Jr., found guilty in the 1993 shooting death of an Opelika police officer. His common-law wife, Linda Lyon
Block, is also on death row for the same offense.
March 25, North Carolina: Dunn, North Carolina, resident Arvalee McLamb is fined $5,000 and sentenced to five months in
prison after pleading guilty to failing to file a federal income tax return. McLamb had ties to the Montana Freemen; he is also
charged in a federal indictment of various crimes committed in connection with James Vincent Wells and Montana Freeman
Russell Landers. McLamb and Wells belonged to an extremist group innocuously called 'The Civil Rights Task Force."
March 25, Kansas: Two Kansas residents are convicted in Tulsa for passing Montana Freemen checks. Bill and Karen
Hanzlicek were found guilty of conspiracy, bank fraud, mail fraud and passing a counterfeit check.
March 26, Florida: In Stuart, Florida, John Foster, is charged with obtaining $662,000 in bogus checks from the Montana
Freemen and using them to pay off the IRS and his mortgage company.
March 26, Ohio: In Columbus, Ohio, common law court activist Larry Russell is found guilty of escape and sentenced to 1 S
years in prison. He fled Ohio following a failed attempt to arrest him for driving without a license, after which he was charged
with assaulting a police officer and escape, but was arrested at the Alaska border and extradited.
March 27, Nevada: Nevada militia man Harry Tootle is convicted on charges of drawing a gun on a security guard, then
resisting arrest.
March 27, Arkansas, Missouri: Arkansas citizen Robert Joos is convicted of resisting arrest and carrying a concealed
weapon during a confrontation with Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers in 1994. The troopers were attempting to arrest
him near his church commune (the "Sacerdotal Order of the David Company") in connection with a 1987 misdemeanor
conviction involving a false court summons served to a trooper. Law enforcement authorities are still searching for Timothy
Thomas Coombs, wanted for shooting and seriously wounding a state trooper in retaliation for Joos' arrest.
March 29, South Carolina, Oregon: In Anderson, SC, Embassy of Heaven member Frank Lewis stages a seven day hunger
strike when arrested for driving without a license and operating an uninsured vehicle. This is one of many hunger strikes
staged by members of the group, which preaches against all forms of government interference. The Embassy of Heaven
issues fake drivers licenses, plates, and registrations for its members; these are purchased by people all over the country. In
late winter, Embassy of Heaven members are evicted from their "church" in Sublimity, Oregon, for nonpayment of county
taxes.
March 30, Michigan: Kalamazoo, Michigan, militia member Brendon Blasz is arrested and indicted on suspicion of making
pipe bombs and other illegal explosives. Blasz and his "small militia band" planned to bomb the federal building in Battle
Creek, an IRS building, a television station and federal armies, according to an affidavit by an informant. The Michigan
Militia claims to have expelled them in 1995.
APRIL
April 2, Washington, Idaho: The jury hearing Spokane bank bandits case convicts the three defendants on illegal weapons
charges and stolen vehicle charges, but deadlocks on the more serious bank robbery and bombing charges when a sole
jury member, sympathetic to the right-wing extremists, refuses to convict.
April 3, California: A Berkeley, California, woman, Mary Margaret Lund, is convicted of using bogus checks to purchase a
motorhome in January 1996. She passed more than $223,000 worth of bad checks.
April 5, Montana: Fourteen of the infamous "Montana Freemen" are hit with a 40-count indictment that will take the place of
earlier indictments against them. Charges include multiple counts of conspiracy bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, false
claims, threats to public officials and weapons charges. A second indictment charges eight people with helping fugitives
escape arrest.
April 7, Washington: Gary Kuehnol, one of the seven Washington militia/freemen charged with conspiracy (see above),
pleads guilty to a charge of transferring a machine gun to a federal informer. He will not face new conspiracy charges as a
result of the agreement. Another participant, Caitlin Hansen, earlier pled guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to
three years of probation. Six still await a new trial.
April 8, Montana: Pre-trial hearings begin for the Montana Freemen.
April 8, Washington: A Clark County, Washington, motorist is arrested with 2 loaded handguns, a bogus license plate, and a
concealed weapons "permit" issued by the "State Militia." Jed Carson was cited on suspicion of operating a vehicle with
illegal plates, carrying loaded weapons in a vehicle, driving without a license and failure to provide proof of insurance. The
plate read "SOV, 064-MNE, States of America united, America the Republic." His "sales contract" for his vehicle was from
the "British West Indies," a non-existent country.
April 11, New York: A jury convicts New York city police officer Jose Lugo on tax charges related to nonpayment of taxes on
$163,000 of income. Ten other police officers have been convicted on similar charges; four more are facing prosecution.
The officers apparently got the idea from Indiana militia leader Joe Holland and other tax protest leaders.
April 19, Idaho: New militia group forms in Idaho County, Idaho, called the "Idaho Mountain Boys." Its leader warns that if the
county enforces building codes, the militia will be ready to intervene.
April 20, Texas: Republic of Texas leader Richard McLaren vows war if authorities try to arrest him. "Once they make the
move," he says, 'we'll have millions of Americans on our side including every militia in the country. We're talking war
here."
April 20, Montana: Marc and Cheryl Andrea, of Florence, Montana, are indicted for recruiting 125 Missoula area residents
into a California-based tax protest organization.
April 22, Texas: Republic of Texas member Jo Ann Canaday Turner (see above) is arrested on two counts of contempt of
court for filing a fraudulent lien in violation of a court order and for not attending a hearing.
April 22, Ohio: Ohio Aryan Nations member Larry Wayne Harris receives a probation sentence after pleading guilty to a
single count of wire fraud for obtaining samples of bubonic plague.
April 23, Texas: The FBI arrests three men and one woman for planning a bomb attack on a gas refinery northwest of Fort
Worth. The planned bombing was to divert attention from an armored car robbery that would finance their extremist activities.
The suspects have Klan ties.
April 23, California: White supremacist Todd Vanbiber of Winter Park is injured while making a pipe bomb; the weapon
blows up in his face. Investigating authorities find materials linking Vanbiber to the neo-Nazi National Alliance, as well as 14
unexploded pipe bombs.
April 27, Texas: After police arrest Republic of Texas "chief of security," Bob Scheidt, on weapons possession charges,
Republic of Texas members ordered by Richard McLaren storm a nearby residence, firing shots, to kidnap two neighbors as
hostages. The incident begins a standoff. The two hostages, a man and his wife, were vocal opponents of McLaren.
April 28, Texas: After twelve hours of captivity, Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe are released by Republic of Texas members
after authorities swap jailed ROT member Bob Scheidt for the two. Formal charges are filed against six ROT members, from
engaging in organized criminal activity to aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
April 28, California: A huge blast in a Olivehurst, California, home leads to the arrest of sympathizer William Goehler (a
convicted rapist), charged with possessing explosives. Goehler suffered a neck injury in the blast at his home, while his wife
and one of this children were slightly injured. The explosive material was in a tree outside the home. Goehler is associated
with the Twin Cities Free Militia. The previous year, he traveled to Jordan, Montana, to show his support for the Montana
Freemen.
April 28, Texas: Leaders of the other factions of the splintered Republic of Texas group, Archie Lowe and David Johnson,
distance themselves from Richard McLaren.
April 28, Texas: A Texas Ranger assault team arrives at Ft. Davis, Texas. About 200 law enforcement officers surround
McLaren's location, where close to 10 Republic of Texas members are holed up.
April 29, Texas: Two armored personnel carriers arrive at Ft. Davis. They are named "Bubba One" and "Bubba Two."
April 30, Texas: Texas Rangers arrest seven individuals in two vehicles at a truck stop in Pecos, Texas, with a supply of fully
automatic assault weapons and some explosive materials. The individuals were on their way to join Richard McLaren. A few
others are also stopped in following days, but the massive action predicted by McLaren does not occur. Meanwhile, McLaren
and authorities talk sporadically by fax and phone. McLaren eventually breaks off negotiations.
April 30, California: Following the arrest of William Goehler (see above) on explosives charges, two associates of his, Kevin
Quinn and Vernon Weckner, were arrested in Yuba City, California, and 500 pounds of the volatile explosive petrogel were
found. Weckner is one of the central militia organizers in northern California; he also is a common law activist and a tax
protester.
MAY
Ca. May 1, Oregon: Common law court advocates Dick Lancial and Thor Lancial are indicted by a grand jury in Multnomah
County, Oregon, on multiple counts of forgery and simulating the legal process for their common law court activities.
May 1, New York: Bronx-area extremist blows his hand off in his apartment booby-trapped with homemade bombs. The
man, John Saperstein, an unemployed construction worker, had at least five bombs in his apartment. Neighbors indicated
that Saperstein talked a lot about the "Patriots of America" and the militia.
May 1, Colorado: Federal agents arrest Colorado militia leader Ron Cole (the "Colorado First Light Infantry") and two other
militia members on weapons charges in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado. Authorities seize weapons and explosives
materials. Ron Cole, who claims to be a militant Branch Davidian, has been one of the more vocal militia leaders in recent
months. Police find six fully automatic AK-47 rifles, three land mines, 75 pounds of rocket fuel, a pipe bomb, and much
ammunition.
May 1, Florida: Brevard County (FL) militia member Brian Edward Lanier is arrested after making threats that he would kill
himself on the state seal and blow up an insurance building. He was held on an outstanding warrant from another county for
a 1989 aggravated assault.
May 1, Texas : Police negotiators send Richard McLaren a "final offer" and threaten to move in to arrest them. They also cut
off power to his trailer.
May 2, California: Police investigating the Yuba County explosives ring of Vernon Weckner, Kevin Quinn, and William
Goehler, arrest three more men, Jason Fox, Edward Whitlow and Robert Scott Deaver, charged with possessing explosives.
The six plead not guilty.
May 2, Texas: Republic of Texas member Robert Scheidt surrenders to authorities surrounding McLaren's "embassy."
Meanwhile, police units move closer to the compound. Richard McLaren issues a plea for "reinforcements" and he and four
followers fax their wills to state police.
May 2, Washington: Richard Frank Burton, who pled guilty to possessing pipe bombs and other charges in connection with
the Washington militia/freemen bombmaking conspiracy, is sentenced to 46 months in prison.
May 3, Colorado: Arsonists destroy IRS offices in a building in Colorado Springs, spray-painting "AAR" or "ARA" inside the
building. They cause more than $1 million in damage.
May 3, Texas: Most of the remaining Republic of Texas members surrender to authorities. Richard McLaren, his wife Evelyn,
and three followers (Richard Otto, Greg and Karen Paulson), walk out of their hideout after signing a "cease-fire" agreement
with Texas Rangers. Two members, Richard Keys and Mike Matson, decided not to surrender and fled into the Davis
Mountains. Authorities began a search with bloodhounds, helicopters, and troopers on horseback. Police find more than 60
pipe bombs at the "embassy."
May 5, Texas: One or both of the two Republic of Texas fugitives fire shots at bloodhounds, wounding two of them, in the
remote Davis Mountains. Later that day, police shoot and kill one of the two fugitives. The other apparently escapes.
Meanwhile, Richard and Evelyn McLaren are indicted on charges that could bring up to hundreds of years in prison.
May 8, Texas: Five more Republic of Texas members are arrested as part of McLaren's scheme to issue $1.8 billion in
bogus warrants: Jasper Edward Baccus, Joe Louis Reece, Steven Craig Crear, Erwin Leo Brown, and Mark Anthony
Hernandez. Also arrested is Republic of Texas leader Robert Kesterson, on three counts of contempt of court out of Travis
County, where he filed bogus liens and other documents in violation of a judge's order. Donald Joe Varnell was another
member arrested on contempt of court charges. State authorities also filed suit against Carolyn Carney for nonpayment of
taxes. Other leaders, including Archie Lowe and Darrell Franks, are also charged with contempt.
May 9, California: LA police arrest five militia members, seizing a grenade launcher, hand grenades, hand grenade
components, automatic assault rifles, body armor, night vision goggles, and over 100 different types of weapons. Arrested
are Glenn Yee, a reserve police officer, Alvin Ung, Mark Grand, Timothy Swanson and Raymond Durand. None have any
previous criminal history. Police say more arrests are expected; the suspects were allegedly planning to attack several
Southern California targets. Durand is later said not to be associated with the militia suspects, but rather a separate case.
May 10, California: A seventh man, Daniel Sparhawk, is arrested in connection with the Yuba explosives case, on charges of
possessing two tubes of petrogel. His girlfriend, Tina Lorene Terrell, is also arrested, bringing the total number to ten.
May 12, New Hampshire: New Hampshire militia leader Brian Chabot pleads guilty to his role in theft of $100,000 worth of
military equipment (see above). Chabot is the third of three to plead guilty.
May 16, Wisconsin: Three members of anti-tax group in Wisconsin are given a 20-count indictment charging them with tax
fraud. These members of Sovereign Citizens for Liberty, Frank A. Wysocki, Alan Cooper and Robert Iacoe, sold "untax"
packages to gullible people.
May 17, Oregon: Portland, Oregon, area resident James Bell, active in militia and common law court groups, is arrested by
the IRS for obstructing the IRS. Among other things, Bell devised a project called "Operation LocatIRS" to learn the home
addresses of IRS employees in order to intimidate them. He is also suspected of having used a chemical called mercaptan
in a March 16 stink-bombing of an IRS office. Bell is more well known for his Internet essay "Assassination Politics," which
proposed a system of rewards for people who predict the deaths of government officials.
May 19, Montana, North Carolina: Russell Dean Landers and Vincent Wells, two of the Montana Freemen defendants, are
sentenced in Wilmington, NC, on charges of conspiring to commit bank fraud, intimidate IRS agents and transport stolen
property across state lines.
May 20, Pennsylvania: In federal court in Philadelphia, Michael Brescia pleads guilty to charges of conspiracy and armed
robbery and agreed to testify against fellow members of the Aryan Republican Army.
May 21, Oklahoma: Tax protester Wayne Gunwall of Ponca City, Oklahoma, is sentenced to 15 months in prison for
conspiring with two others to harass IRS agents. The other defendants, Kenney Moore and Colleen Moore who, like
Gunwall, pled guilty to one of the counts, have not yet been sentenced.
May 22, Connecticut: A Connecticut judge postpones the attempted kidnapping trial of "patriot" leader James "Bo" Gritz and
his son James R. Gritz until September.
May 23, Oklahoma: Wayne Gunwall and Howard M. Boos are convicted in federal court on a three-count indictment of
conspiring to file multimillion-dollar liens against IRS agents (see above, below).
May 27, Florida: In Tampa, Florida, Emilio Ippolito, his daughter, and six followers, members of the "Constitutional Common
Law Court," go on trial on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Ippolito is the leader of one of the most prominent
common law courts in the nation.
May 29, West Virginia: A "colonel" in the West Virginia Mountaineer Militia pleads guilty to making a bomb for other militia
members who were plotting to bomb an FBI fingerprint facility. Edward Moore is one of seven defendants in the case; he
faces up to ten years in prison.
May 30, Washington: Gary Kuehnoel, one of the Washington militia/freemen defenders (see above), is sentenced to 27
months in jail for illegal possession of a machine gun, and ordered to pay a $6,000 fine. The sentence was part of an
agreement in which all other charges were dropped.
JUNE
June 2, Oklahoma, Colorado: In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh is convicted for his role in the bombing of the federal
building in Oklahoma City in April 1995. He is later given the death penalty.
June 4, Florida: A Jacksonville jury acquits Florida "patriot" and ostrich farmer William Law of 21 counts of defrauding
people by placing bogus liens on people involved with his divorce. The jury believed the argument of Law's lawyer that Law
did not defraud anyone because no one would believe the liens were real.
June 5, Arizona: Trial begins for remaining Arizona Viper Militia defendants, Charles Knight. Viper Christopher Floyd still
awaits trial.
June 5, Oklahoma: A federal judge sentences two Oklahoma common law activist Dan Meador to 16 months in prison, three
years supervised release and a $2,000 fine for obstructing justice and illegally communicating with a grand jury. Meador's
case was linked to the case involving Kenney and Colleen Moore and Wayne Gunwall.
June 12, West Virginia: The second of seven defendants, Jack Phillips, in the Mountaineer Militia case agrees to plead guilty
to a charge of conspiracy to make bombs.
June 12, West Virginia: FBI affidavits reveal that the Mountaineer Militia considered killing Jay Rockefeller and Alan
Greenspan, as well as their families, in a "holy war" against the federal government.
June 16, Washington, Ohio: Cheyne Kehoe, wanted since February for a shootout with police in Ohio, surrenders in
Washington. He will be extradited to Ohio.
June 16, Utah: John Chaney is sentenced in Provo, Utah, to life in prison for aiding in the rape of his daughter. When he
appeared for sentencing, he ordered bailiffs to arrest the judge for treason, but the bailiffs did not respond. Chaney, a
common law court activist and member of an extreme Mormon sect, was convicted in April on three counts of aiding and
abetting in the rape of his (then 13-year old) daughter at the hands of one of his followers. He has launched numerous
lawsuits against Utah judges for conspiring against his religious freedom.
June 17, Utah, Ohio: Chevie Kehoe is arrested in Cedar City, Utah, after Cheyne Kehoe reveals to authorities where he is.
June 23, Washington, Idaho: The second trial for the accused "Spokane Bank Bandits" begins. Robert Berry, Charles
Barbee and Verne Jay Merrell are once again defendants. The fourth defendant will have a separate trial in September.
June 23, Arizona: Arizona Viper Charles Knight is convicted of conspiracy to make or possess unregistered destructive
devices.
June 24, California: Todd Vanbiber, the Orange County, California, man who blew himself up while constructing a pipe
bomb (see above), pleads guilty to two federal explosives violations. Vanbiber was a member of the neo-Nazi National
Alliance.
June 26, Colorado: Barry Taylor is convicted in Adams County, Colorado, of using bogus "freemen" checks to pay off his
debts. Taylor is one of 12 indicted Coloradans and the first to go to trial.
June 27, Utah: Former Montana Freeman standoff participant Gloria Ward is found guilty of four counts of Social Security
fraud. Ward had been claiming Social Security survivor's benefits as the mother of the man's child, despite having sued
another man whom she claimed was the real father. She faces up to twenty years in prison.
June 30, California: In Ventura County, Isabel Oxx is evicted from her home, ending a long ordeal in which she lost title to
cartels, bought and sold gold at inflated prices from merchants who were part of the conspiracy and concealed money through various manipulations.
Finally, all the money was turned into checks drawn on the accounts of Jewish religious institutions. Sharir received from the Colombians 6 percent of the
turnover for his labors. Within a short period of time he moved with his family to a luxurious house in Woodmere, on Long Island. He purchased a luxury
Jaguar car, showered his wife Miryam with expensive jewels and donated lavishly to Jewish charities.
The troubles began in late 1988. In December his shop was raided by American customs and internal revenue agents, after they received notice from his
banks concerning the volume of his deposits. They brought dogs to sniff out drugs, carried out a meticulous search of the offices and took away cars fall of
documents. Sharir did no lose his cool. While the agents were milling around his offices, he managed to conceal $600,000 which were in his bank account at
the time and to transfer the money to a safe place. Simultaneously, Sharir fell out with his Colombian operators who claimed that he stole $26 million of their
drug money. Sharir, who denied the accusation, hired an Israeli professional investigator, Lihu Ichilov, to solve the mystery. Ichilov soon became Sharir's
partner. He flew to Panama, established two dummy corporations there, opened bank accounts and improved the laundering routes.
Following the Federal agents' raid on his offices Sharir did not give up.Within two weeks he opened two other offices on 47th Street and resumed work.
When asked by one of his lawyers how he had expected to escape the attentions of the law, Sharir replied: "I changed my system and believed that now, with
God's help, I would never be caught." Sharir's new system included Rabbi Yosef Crozet whom we discussed earlier. Crozer's big mouth brought Sharir
down, and he was arrested in March 1990. Crozer also led to Sharir confessing to having laundered $200 million. His wife Miryam was arrested together
with him. Sharir, under the pressure of the interrogation, agreed to cooperate in exchange for his wife's release and the cancellation of the charges against her.
The prosecution agreed.
It was an extremely good deal as far as the prosecution was concerned. For three months Sharir fed the Federal investigators with most valuable information
concerning the Jewish laundering industry. The information included names, methods of operation, codes, and bank accounts. Sharir led them to the exposure
of what is termed the new "cocaine triangle".
His information led to the incrimination of more than 35 Jewish launderers, the capture of $10 million and the breakup of numerous Jewish laundering rings.
Among others, Sharir incriminated the biggest laundering shark in the history of the US, Stephan Scorkia. The information given by Sharir, who testified at his
trial, directly led to his conviction. Scorkia was charged with laundering $300 million, and was sentenced to 660 years' imprisonment.
Sharir is now enrolled in the US witness protection program. He lives under an assumed identity, has been released on bail, travels under heavy security
between New York, Rhode Island, Arizona and other states, testifies in criminal trials and goes on.
His wife Miryam divorced him shortly after the affair erupted. She refuses to comment on the matter and told the Daily News: "I have no intention of talking. I
divorced Aharon in order to distance myself from him and from his friends, and that is exactly what I am doing."
Sharir was directly responsible for the flight of at least 35 Colombians from the US back to Colombia. One of the escapees was Duvan Arbolda, one of the
Kali cartel's major launderers. Arbolda was charged in a Manhattan court of laundering on a vast scale, following Sliarir's testimony. Afler he completes his
testifying, Sharir himself will stand trial.
The prosecution will agree to a very low sentence, but this does not improve his chances of survival. "At present, Aharon Sharir heads the Kali cartel's
wanted list," said an American customs official. Charges have also been served against Lihu Ichilov, Sharir's partner. However, Ichilov fled to Israel on the
eve of his trial, in January 199 1. That was the period of the Gulf War and the judge, Richard Owen, who tried Ichilov in absentia, said: "Mr. Ichilov
apparently prefers to face the horror of Scud missiles falling on Israel than the American justice system."
Note 1. The Satmar Hassidic sect fiercely opposes Zionism. The present rabbi's uncle and predecessor (the position of a rabbi among the Hassids is limited
to the members of "the sacred family"), Yoel Taitelbaum, had published learned books in which Zionism was described as an invention of Satan, Israeli
victories (especially the one in the Six Day War) were attributed solely to the direct help given to the Israeli army, while the Holocaust was being "justified" as
the Divine punishment of the Jews for the sin of some of them becoming Zionists. The present rabbi, although formally continuing the teachings of his uncle,
has the most amicable relations with the Israeli government.
====================
CODOH - Box 439016/P-111, San Diego, CA, USA 92143
David Irving's Reply to Jeffrey Shallit's "Lies of Our Times"
Installed: 5/16/98, 6: 00 PM, PST
Last updated July 21, 1997
Calendar of Conspiracy: A Chronology of Anti-Government Extremist Criminal
Activity, January to June 1997
A Militia Watchdog Special Report
INTRODUCTION
The following is a chronology of some of the events surrounding anti-government criminal activity in the United States
during the first half of the year 1997. It illustrates both the scope of such activity-from large-scale acts of terrorism to local
acts of harassment and intimidation-and its geographic extent-from major cities like Los Angeles and New York to remote
rural areas in Texas and Montana. The chronology is not comprehensive. Although all major events are included, no
systemized reporting system exists for smaller scale events. As a result, arrests or convictions for charges such as placing
bogus liens, impersonating a public official or committing similar offenses are considerably underrepresented in this report.
Such activities occur with a high level of frequency across the nation. More than thirty-three states are listed in this report;
however, incidents are occurring in every state.
JANUARY
January 2, South Dakota: In Rapid City, South Dakota, "freeman" Bill Huseby is bound over for trial. He is charged with
sending false documents to the Pennington county Sheriff's Office, a former judge, and a private citizen; also, three
misdemeanor charges.
January 6, Washington: Seattle resident Richard Frank Burton, arrested with eight other individuals last July on various
weapons and conspiracy charges, pleads guilty in U.S. District court to one count of conspiracy and three other charges. His
wife, Caitlin Hansen, pleads guilty to one count of destroying and concealing evidence. A third individual, Theodore Carter,
pleads guilty to one conspiracy charge and agrees to testify against his fellow defendants. The three are part of a mixed
group of militia members and "sovereign citizens."
January 6, Oklahoma: Three common-law court advocates plead guilty in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a federal conspiracy charge.
Kenny Moore, Colleen Moore and Wayne Gunwall had filed bogus liens on IRS agents to the amount of $7 million, and had
issued "citizens arrest warrants" against several federal officials. The trial of another defendant, Dan Meador, begins on
January 8.
January 10, Oklahoma: Dan Meador is convicted of obstructing justice and illegally communicating with a member of a
federal grand jury (see above).
January 13, Virginia: Two Mechanicsville, VA, residents are sentenced to eighteen months in prison on tax evasion charges.
Jerry Martin and his wife Sadie Martin, Christian Identity adherents, were "sovereign citizens" who denied the legal
existence of the United States.
January 16, Oregon: Common law court activist Charles Stewart, leader of a Portland, Oregon group, tries "in absentia"
seven IRS agents at his Kangaroo court. Two weeks later, the "court" rules that four of the agents should pay fines of
$100,000 each for seizing a Portland home. However, it was up to the man whose home was seized to collect the money.
January 22, Georgia, North Carolina: District Attorney Albert Taylor, Jr., prosecutor for the Enotah Circuit in Georgia, requests
and receives a "writ of non molestando" to stop a "sovereign citizen," Melvin Julius Robinson, from harassing him.
Robinson's actions included filing a $100 million frivolous lawsuit against him and demanding that Taylor appear before the
"Our One Supreme Court" of Franklin, North Carolina. In response, Taylor dusted off an ancient writ that probably had never
been used in the state to restrain Robinson from using the legal process to "molest, vilify, obstruct, or hinder" the lawful
discharge of official duties.
January 24, Missouri: Five common law court advocates in Lincoln County, Missouri, are sentenced to two years in prison
and a $5,000 fine, and a sixth, Dennis Logan, is sentenced to seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The defendants were
charged with tampering with a judicial official-specifically, filing a $10.8 million bogus lien against a judge to force him to
drop a speeding case involving the daughter of one of the defendants. Nine other defendants, also convicted, have yet to be
sentenced.
January 24, Minnesota: Michael Moeller is charged in Winona County, Minnesota, of making terroristic threats. Moeller, a
militia sympathizer, threatened to blow up the headquarters of the state Department of Natural Resources, where he formerly
worked.
January 28, Wisconsin: Sally Minniecheske, the wife of Wisconsin Posse Comitatus leader Donald Minniecheskie, is
sentenced to nine months for disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and fleeing arrest. The charges stemmed from a
1995 incident during a property seizure in which Minniecheskie threatened a police chief and led him on a car chase through
Tigerton, Wisconsin. The Minniecheskies have been involved in anti-government activities in Tigerton for more than twenty
years.
January 30, Pennsylvania: In Philadelphia, Christian Identity minister Mark Thomas is indicted on conspiracy charges
related to the armed robberies committed by the "Midwestern Bank Bandits," who dubbed themselves the "Aryan
Republican Army." Also arrested is Michael Brescia. Brescia and Thomas bring the total number arrested for these robberies
to six.
January 30, Mississippi, Tennessee: Armed militia members from Mississippi precipitate an unexpected standoff near
Memphis, Tennessee, when they show up to halt the eviction of two Southaven residents from their home. Local officials
back away from the eviction and say they will pursue the matter in court some more.
FEBRUARY
February 6, California: Two California men are found guilty of fraud in San Jose for passing bogus checks created by the
Montana Freemen. The jury finds Robert Young guilty of conspiracy, three counts of bank fraud, two counts of mail fraud,
and one count of filing a false claim with the IRS. Frank Pepper is convicted on two counts of mail fraud. Two other
defendants, Leonard Ferrier and Dawn Onalfo, had plead guilty before the trial.
February 10, Connecticut: Nena Frankle and John Barney are arrested by local police on charges of interfering with police
and criminal trespass, after they resisted attempts by authorities in Connecticut to take possession of their foreclosed
residence. Frankle and Barney are members of a group of Connecticut common law court advocates and tax protesters
which advocates such resistance.
February 10, Ohio: Peter Langan is convicted in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, of five felonies related to 1994 armed
robberies of banks in Columbus and Cincinnati. Langan is the leader of the "Midwestern Bank Bandits," who claimed to
engage in armed robbery to support their revolutionary struggle.
February 14, Missouri: The remaining seven common law court activists of the thirteen convicted earlier in Missouri receive
their sentences: six activists sentenced to two years in prison and a seventh activist to seven years. All additionally must pay
a $5,000 fine.
Ca. February 15, Washington: Charles Miller and three other men are arrested in Washington on sixteen counts of
conspiracy to defraud banks, mail fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property. Another accomplice, Kathleen
Cottam, was arrested earlier and pled guilty. The suspects had obtained bogus money orders from Montana Freeman
leader LeRoy Schweitzer in 1995 and had been using them to buy cars and motor homes in Washington. Charles
Christenson, Kurt Gilson, and Veryl Knowles were also arrested.
February 15, Ohio, Washington, Arkansas, Montana, Utah: Near Wilmington, Ohio, Chevie and Cheyne Kehoe, two brothers
from Washington, engage in two shootouts with local police during and following a routine traffic stop. A bystander is
wounded. The Kehoes, Christian Identity adherents with ties to Aryan Nations and other white supremacist groups, avoid an
intensive manhunt and vanish along with their families. Their mobile home is later found near Casper, Wyoming. Chevie
Kehoe is wanted for questioning in connection with the murders of an Arkansas gun dealer with ties to the militia movement,
and his family.
February 18, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Aryan Nations leader Mark Thomas pleads guilty to plotting seven bank robberies
and using the cash to further the cause of white supremacy in connection with the Midwestern Bank Bandits.
February 20, Georgia: Three Georgia militia members receive stiff sentences for their roles in a conspiracy to build pipe
bombs for use against the federal government. Bob Starr is given 8 years, one month; while James McCranie and Troy
Spain are sentenced to six S years in prison each.
February 20, Minnesota: Three Minnesota residents receive convictions for attempting to pass bogus checks obtained from
the Montana Freemen. Marilyn Kerkvliet and Robert Leffler are convicted of eight counts of mail fraud and passing
counterfeit checks each. Ronald Kerkvliet is convicted of a single count of mail fraud.
February 21, Montana, North Carolina: The first conviction arrives for members of the Montana Freemen, who held off
authorities for 81 days in the spring of 1996. Russell Landers and an associate, James Vincent Wells, are convicted of seven
and twelve federal fraud and conspiracy counts, respectively, ending a trial marked by combative behavior by Landers. The
two used bogus money orders to purchase vehicles to drive back to Montana.
February 21, Washington: Supporters of the Washington militia/freemen defendants on trial in Seattle file a $1.76 billion lien
against the judge, John Coughenour, and five prosecutors.
February 24, Texas: Local authorities in Texas issue an arrest warrant for Rick McLaren, leader of the secessionist
common-law group, "The Republic of Texas," after McLaren failed to appear for a preliminary hearing on a 1995 burglary
charge. However, authorities take no steps to arrest McLaren, who is barricaded in a remote West Texas settlement.
February 28, Washington: The Washington militia/freemen explosives conspiracy case ends in a mistrial. The mistrial is
declared on federal conspiracy charges against seven people, while four defendants are convicted of weapons charges.
Washington State Militia founder John Pitner is convicted of possession and transfer of machine guns. John Lloyd Kirk and
Marlin Lane Mack is convicted of possession of unregistered destructive device. Gary Marvin Kuehnoel is convicted of
possession of a machine gun. Jururs can not reach verdicts on additional weapons charges against Kirk and his wife Judy
Carol Kirk, and against Kuehnoel. Kuehnoel is found innocent of three counts of possession of unregistered firearm. An
eighth defendant previously had pled guilty.
MARCH
March 1, Wisconsin: $2 million cash bond is ordered for Wisconsin man charged with hiring a hit man to murder his
estranged wife and her father. James Schuman, the man charged, is a member of Wisconsin Militia.
March 2, Washington, Idaho: Trial begins for Charles Barbee, Robert Berry and Jay Merrell, Christian Identity white
supremacists part of a bank-robbing gang in Spokane, WA, area associated with the Phineas Priesthood.
March 2, Ohio: Ohio Aryan Nations member Morris Gulett is arrested for ramming a Dayton police cruiser then fleeing.
March 3, New Hampshire: New Hampshire militia leader pleads guilty to federal charges of stealing $100,000 in equipment
from Fort Devens Army base. Fitzhugh MacCrae, member of Hillsborough County Dragoons, admits to three counts. He is
the second Dragoon to plead guilty.
March 3, Texas: "Republic of Texas" member John Albert Crain files $27 million lawsuit over three traffic tickets in San
Angelo. The atmosphere between "Republic of Texas" members and the real government of Texas grows increasingly
tense.
March 4, Texas: Pecos County Sheriff Steve Bailey warns he may have to use extreme measures to arrest Richard
McLaren, "ambassador" for the Republic of Texas, for warrants on burglary and failure to appear in court. McLaren is holed
up in a housing resort west of Fort Davis, Texas.
March 6, Wisconsin: Federal prosecutors go to court to stop two Milwaukee area men, Robert Raymond and Robert
Bernhoft, from selling their "De-Taxing America Program."
March 9, Oregon: Salem, Oregon, Militia leader Michael Cross is sentenced to five years on probation for pleading guilty to
criminal mistreatment after receiving $25,000 gift from an elderly foster-care resident.
Ca. March 9, Texas: Members of extremist group Republic of Texas begin "impeachment" proceedings against Richard
McLaren as the group, under pressure from law enforcement authorities, fragments.
March 10, California: Elizabeth Broderick of Palmdale, California, is sentenced to nearly seventeen years in prison on 28
charges related to selling more than 8,000 fraudulent "Comptroller Warrants" with a face value of more than $800 million.
Several accomplices also receive prison sentences in subsequent weeks.
March 12, Connecticut: "Sovereign citizens" John Barney and Nina Barney of Salisbury, CT, appear in court on charges of
criminal trespass and interfering with police. They are members of a common law court and they refuse to vacate the
properties where they live despite having hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid loans.
March 13, Washington, Idaho: FBI agents arrest a fourth suspect, Brian Ratigan, in the Spokane bombings, about the same
time as the prosecution rests in the trial of three other suspects.
March 13, Oklahoma: Former Tulsa opera singer Carol Elizabeth Howe is indicted in Federal court in Tulsa, accused of
willfully making a bomb threat, possession of a non-registered destructive device and conspiracy. James Dodson Viefhous,
already in custody, is also indicted. The two are founders and members of the National Socialist Alliance of Oklahoma, as
well as part of the Aryan Intelligence Network. They left a message on this phone network that bombs would be detonated in
15 US cities unless action was taken by December 15 by "white warriors" against the government of the U.S.
March 13, Ohio, Pennsylvania: Aryan Republican Army members Scott Stedeford and Peter Langan plead not guilty to
conspiracy charges related to bank robberies they carried out. Both have been previously convicted on armed robbery
charges. Mark Thomas, an Aryan Nations leader in Pennsylvania, previously pled guilty to the charges. Thomas and
another defendant are cooperating with government investigators; a fifth defendant, Michael Brescia, is jailed and awaiting
trial. Another suspect committed suicide in jail.
March 17, Montana, Indiana: Joe Holland, leader of the North American Volunteer Militia, is sentenced in Missoula, Montana, to 10 years in prison for jury tampering and advocating violence. He is also indicted on charges in Indiana.
March 17, Texas: Texas officials issue two more (civil) arrest warrants against Republic of Texas members Robert Kesterson ("secretary of state") and Carolyn Carney ("secretary of inter-agency coordination").
March 17, California: California "Patriot" Timothy Paul Kootenay, is sentenced to 300 days in county jail and four years' probation after pleading guilty to purchasing assault rifles with bogus money orders issued by Family Farm Preservation, a "patriot" group linked with the Posse Comitatus.
March 19, Arizona: Six members of the Arizona Viper Militia are sentenced to jail terms for conspiracy to make bombs. The
longest sentence is nine years. All had pled guilty. The number eventually increases to 10 who plead guilty. Two do not and
will go to trial.
March 21, Ohio: The FBI and ATF jointly post a $60,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of Aryan Nations
members Cheyne and Chevie Kehoe for shooting at police officers in Ohio in February. The Kehoe brothers are thought to
have fled back to their Spokane area origins.
March 21, Alabama: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously affirms the capital murder conviction of a "patriot,"
George Sibley, Jr., found guilty in the 1993 shooting death of an Opelika police officer. His common-law wife, Linda Lyon
Block, is also on death row for the same offense.
March 25, North Carolina: Dunn, North Carolina, resident Arvalee McLamb is fined $5,000 and sentenced to five months in
prison after pleading guilty to failing to file a federal income tax return. McLamb had ties to the Montana Freemen; he is also
charged in a federal indictment of various crimes committed in connection with James Vincent Wells and Montana Freeman
Russell Landers. McLamb and Wells belonged to an extremist group innocuously called 'The Civil Rights Task Force."
March 25, Kansas: Two Kansas residents are convicted in Tulsa for passing Montana Freemen checks. Bill and Karen
Hanzlicek were found guilty of conspiracy, bank fraud, mail fraud and passing a counterfeit check.
March 26, Florida: In Stuart, Florida, John Foster, is charged with obtaining $662,000 in bogus checks from the Montana
Freemen and using them to pay off the IRS and his mortgage company.
March 26, Ohio: In Columbus, Ohio, common law court activist Larry Russell is found guilty of escape and sentenced to 1 S
years in prison. He fled Ohio following a failed attempt to arrest him for driving without a license, after which he was charged
with assaulting a police officer and escape, but was arrested at the Alaska border and extradited.
March 27, Nevada: Nevada militia man Harry Tootle is convicted on charges of drawing a gun on a security guard, then
resisting arrest.
March 27, Arkansas, Missouri: Arkansas citizen Robert Joos is convicted of resisting arrest and carrying a concealed
weapon during a confrontation with Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers in 1994. The troopers were attempting to arrest
him near his church commune (the "Sacerdotal Order of the David Company") in connection with a 1987 misdemeanor
conviction involving a false court summons served to a trooper. Law enforcement authorities are still searching for Timothy
Thomas Coombs, wanted for shooting and seriously wounding a state trooper in retaliation for Joos' arrest.
March 29, South Carolina, Oregon: In Anderson, SC, Embassy of Heaven member Frank Lewis stages a seven day hunger
strike when arrested for driving without a license and operating an uninsured vehicle. This is one of many hunger strikes
staged by members of the group, which preaches against all forms of government interference. The Embassy of Heaven
issues fake drivers licenses, plates, and registrations for its members; these are purchased by people all over the country. In
late winter, Embassy of Heaven members are evicted from their "church" in Sublimity, Oregon, for nonpayment of county
taxes.
March 30, Michigan: Kalamazoo, Michigan, militia member Brendon Blasz is arrested and indicted on suspicion of making
pipe bombs and other illegal explosives. Blasz and his "small militia band" planned to bomb the federal building in Battle
Creek, an IRS building, a television station and federal armies, according to an affidavit by an informant. The Michigan
Militia claims to have expelled them in 1995.
APRIL
April 2, Washington, Idaho: The jury hearing Spokane bank bandits case convicts the three defendants on illegal weapons
charges and stolen vehicle charges, but deadlocks on the more serious bank robbery and bombing charges when a sole
jury member, sympathetic to the right-wing extremists, refuses to convict.
April 3, California: A Berkeley, California, woman, Mary Margaret Lund, is convicted of using bogus checks to purchase a
motorhome in January 1996. She passed more than $223,000 worth of bad checks.
April 5, Montana: Fourteen of the infamous "Montana Freemen" are hit with a 40-count indictment that will take the place of
earlier indictments against them. Charges include multiple counts of conspiracy bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, false
claims, threats to public officials and weapons charges. A second indictment charges eight people with helping fugitives
escape arrest.
April 7, Washington: Gary Kuehnol, one of the seven Washington militia/freemen charged with conspiracy (see above),
pleads guilty to a charge of transferring a machine gun to a federal informer. He will not face new conspiracy charges as a
result of the agreement. Another participant, Caitlin Hansen, earlier pled guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to
three years of probation. Six still await a new trial.
April 8, Montana: Pre-trial hearings begin for the Montana Freemen.
April 8, Washington: A Clark County, Washington, motorist is arrested with 2 loaded handguns, a bogus license plate, and a
concealed weapons "permit" issued by the "State Militia." Jed Carson was cited on suspicion of operating a vehicle with
illegal plates, carrying loaded weapons in a vehicle, driving without a license and failure to provide proof of insurance. The
plate read "SOV, 064-MNE, States of America united, America the Republic." His "sales contract" for his vehicle was from
the "British West Indies," a non-existent country.
April 11, New York: A jury convicts New York city police officer Jose Lugo on tax charges related to nonpayment of taxes on
$163,000 of income. Ten other police officers have been convicted on similar charges; four more are facing prosecution.
The officers apparently got the idea from Indiana militia leader Joe Holland and other tax protest leaders.
April 19, Idaho: New militia group forms in Idaho County, Idaho, called the "Idaho Mountain Boys." Its leader warns that if the
county enforces building codes, the militia will be ready to intervene.
April 20, Texas: Republic of Texas leader Richard McLaren vows war if authorities try to arrest him. "Once they make the
move," he says, 'we'll have millions of Americans on our side including every militia in the country. We're talking war
here."
April 20, Montana: Marc and Cheryl Andrea, of Florence, Montana, are indicted for recruiting 125 Missoula area residents
into a California-based tax protest organization.
April 22, Texas: Republic of Texas member Jo Ann Canaday Turner (see above) is arrested on two counts of contempt of
court for filing a fraudulent lien in violation of a court order and for not attending a hearing.
April 22, Ohio: Ohio Aryan Nations member Larry Wayne Harris receives a probation sentence after pleading guilty to a
single count of wire fraud for obtaining samples of bubonic plague.
April 23, Texas: The FBI arrests three men and one woman for planning a bomb attack on a gas refinery northwest of Fort
Worth. The planned bombing was to divert attention from an armored car robbery that would finance their extremist activities.
The suspects have Klan ties.
April 23, California: White supremacist Todd Vanbiber of Winter Park is injured while making a pipe bomb; the weapon
blows up in his face. Investigating authorities find materials linking Vanbiber to the neo-Nazi National Alliance, as well as 14
unexploded pipe bombs.
April 27, Texas: After police arrest Republic of Texas "chief of security," Bob Scheidt, on weapons possession charges,
Republic of Texas members ordered by Richard McLaren storm a nearby residence, firing shots, to kidnap two neighbors as
hostages. The incident begins a standoff. The two hostages, a man and his wife, were vocal opponents of McLaren.
April 28, Texas: After twelve hours of captivity, Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe are released by Republic of Texas members
after authorities swap jailed ROT member Bob Scheidt for the two. Formal charges are filed against six ROT members, from
engaging in organized criminal activity to aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon.
April 28, California: A huge blast in a Olivehurst, California, home leads to the arrest of sympathizer William Goehler (a
convicted rapist), charged with possessing explosives. Goehler suffered a neck injury in the blast at his home, while his wife
and one of this children were slightly injured. The explosive material was in a tree outside the home. Goehler is associated
with the Twin Cities Free Militia. The previous year, he traveled to Jordan, Montana, to show his support for the Montana
Freemen.
April 28, Texas: Leaders of the other factions of the splintered Republic of Texas group, Archie Lowe and David Johnson,
distance themselves from Richard McLaren.
April 28, Texas: A Texas Ranger assault team arrives at Ft. Davis, Texas. About 200 law enforcement officers surround
McLaren's location, where close to 10 Republic of Texas members are holed up.
April 29, Texas: Two armored personnel carriers arrive at Ft. Davis. They are named "Bubba One" and "Bubba Two."
April 30, Texas: Texas Rangers arrest seven individuals in two vehicles at a truck stop in Pecos, Texas, with a supply of fully
automatic assault weapons and some explosive materials. The individuals were on their way to join Richard McLaren. A few
others are also stopped in following days, but the massive action predicted by McLaren does not occur. Meanwhile, McLaren
and authorities talk sporadically by fax and phone. McLaren eventually breaks off negotiations.
April 30, California: Following the arrest of William Goehler (see above) on explosives charges, two associates of his, Kevin
Quinn and Vernon Weckner, were arrested in Yuba City, California, and 500 pounds of the volatile explosive petrogel were
found. Weckner is one of the central militia organizers in northern California; he also is a common law activist and a tax
protester.
MAY
Ca. May 1, Oregon: Common law court advocates Dick Lancial and Thor Lancial are indicted by a grand jury in Multnomah
County, Oregon, on multiple counts of forgery and simulating the legal process for their common law court activities.
May 1, New York: Bronx-area extremist blows his hand off in his apartment booby-trapped with homemade bombs. The
man, John Saperstein, an unemployed construction worker, had at least five bombs in his apartment. Neighbors indicated
that Saperstein talked a lot about the "Patriots of America" and the militia.
May 1, Colorado: Federal agents arrest Colorado militia leader Ron Cole (the "Colorado First Light Infantry") and two other
militia members on weapons charges in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado. Authorities seize weapons and explosives
materials. Ron Cole, who claims to be a militant Branch Davidian, has been one of the more vocal militia leaders in recent
months. Police find six fully automatic AK-47 rifles, three land mines, 75 pounds of rocket fuel, a pipe bomb, and much
ammunition.
May 1, Florida: Brevard County (FL) militia member Brian Edward Lanier is arrested after making threats that he would kill
himself on the state seal and blow up an insurance building. He was held on an outstanding warrant from another county for
a 1989 aggravated assault.
May 1, Texas : Police negotiators send Richard McLaren a "final offer" and threaten to move in to arrest them. They also cut
off power to his trailer.
May 2, California: Police investigating the Yuba County explosives ring of Vernon Weckner, Kevin Quinn, and William
Goehler, arrest three more men, Jason Fox, Edward Whitlow and Robert Scott Deaver, charged with possessing explosives.
The six plead not guilty.
May 2, Texas: Republic of Texas member Robert Scheidt surrenders to authorities surrounding McLaren's "embassy."
Meanwhile, police units move closer to the compound. Richard McLaren issues a plea for "reinforcements" and he and four
followers fax their wills to state police.
May 2, Washington: Richard Frank Burton, who pled guilty to possessing pipe bombs and other charges in connection with
the Washington militia/freemen bombmaking conspiracy, is sentenced to 46 months in prison.
May 3, Colorado: Arsonists destroy IRS offices in a building in Colorado Springs, spray-painting "AAR" or "ARA" inside the
building. They cause more than $1 million in damage.
May 3, Texas: Most of the remaining Republic of Texas members surrender to authorities. Richard McLaren, his wife Evelyn,
and three followers (Richard Otto, Greg and Karen Paulson), walk out of their hideout after signing a "cease-fire" agreement
with Texas Rangers. Two members, Richard Keys and Mike Matson, decided not to surrender and fled into the Davis
Mountains. Authorities began a search with bloodhounds, helicopters, and troopers on horseback. Police find more than 60
pipe bombs at the "embassy."
May 5, Texas: One or both of the two Republic of Texas fugitives fire shots at bloodhounds, wounding two of them, in the
remote Davis Mountains. Later that day, police shoot and kill one of the two fugitives. The other apparently escapes.
Meanwhile, Richard and Evelyn McLaren are indicted on charges that could bring up to hundreds of years in prison.
May 8, Texas: Five more Republic of Texas members are arrested as part of McLaren's scheme to issue $1.8 billion in
bogus warrants: Jasper Edward Baccus, Joe Louis Reece, Steven Craig Crear, Erwin Leo Brown, and Mark Anthony
Hernandez. Also arrested is Republic of Texas leader Robert Kesterson, on three counts of contempt of court out of Travis
County, where he filed bogus liens and other documents in violation of a judge's order. Donald Joe Varnell was another
member arrested on contempt of court charges. State authorities also filed suit against Carolyn Carney for nonpayment of
taxes. Other leaders, including Archie Lowe and Darrell Franks, are also charged with contempt.
May 9, California: LA police arrest five militia members, seizing a grenade launcher, hand grenades, hand grenade
components, automatic assault rifles, body armor, night vision goggles, and over 100 different types of weapons. Arrested
are Glenn Yee, a reserve police officer, Alvin Ung, Mark Grand, Timothy Swanson and Raymond Durand. None have any
previous criminal history. Police say more arrests are expected; the suspects were allegedly planning to attack several
Southern California targets. Durand is later said not to be associated with the militia suspects, but rather a separate case.
May 10, California: A seventh man, Daniel Sparhawk, is arrested in connection with the Yuba explosives case, on charges of
possessing two tubes of petrogel. His girlfriend, Tina Lorene Terrell, is also arrested, bringing the total number to ten.
May 12, New Hampshire: New Hampshire militia leader Brian Chabot pleads guilty to his role in theft of $100,000 worth of
military equipment (see above). Chabot is the third of three to plead guilty.
May 16, Wisconsin: Three members of anti-tax group in Wisconsin are given a 20-count indictment charging them with tax
fraud. These members of Sovereign Citizens for Liberty, Frank A. Wysocki, Alan Cooper and Robert Iacoe, sold "untax"
packages to gullible people.
May 17, Oregon: Portland, Oregon, area resident James Bell, active in militia and common law court groups, is arrested by
the IRS for obstructing the IRS. Among other things, Bell devised a project called "Operation LocatIRS" to learn the home
addresses of IRS employees in order to intimidate them. He is also suspected of having used a chemical called mercaptan
in a March 16 stink-bombing of an IRS office. Bell is more well known for his Internet essay "Assassination Politics," which
proposed a system of rewards for people who predict the deaths of government officials.
May 19, Montana, North Carolina: Russell Dean Landers and Vincent Wells, two of the Montana Freemen defendants, are
sentenced in Wilmington, NC, on charges of conspiring to commit bank fraud, intimidate IRS agents and transport stolen
property across state lines.
May 20, Pennsylvania: In federal court in Philadelphia, Michael Brescia pleads guilty to charges of conspiracy and armed
robbery and agreed to testify against fellow members of the Aryan Republican Army.
May 21, Oklahoma: Tax protester Wayne Gunwall of Ponca City, Oklahoma, is sentenced to 15 months in prison for
conspiring with two others to harass IRS agents. The other defendants, Kenney Moore and Colleen Moore who, like
Gunwall, pled guilty to one of the counts, have not yet been sentenced.
May 22, Connecticut: A Connecticut judge postpones the attempted kidnapping trial of "patriot" leader James "Bo" Gritz and
his son James R. Gritz until September.
May 23, Oklahoma: Wayne Gunwall and Howard M. Boos are convicted in federal court on a three-count indictment of
conspiring to file multimillion-dollar liens against IRS agents (see above, below).
May 27, Florida: In Tampa, Florida, Emilio Ippolito, his daughter, and six followers, members of the "Constitutional Common
Law Court," go on trial on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Ippolito is the leader of one of the most prominent
common law courts in the nation.
May 29, West Virginia: A "colonel" in the West Virginia Mountaineer Militia pleads guilty to making a bomb for other militia
members who were plotting to bomb an FBI fingerprint facility. Edward Moore is one of seven defendants in the case; he
faces up to ten years in prison.
May 30, Washington: Gary Kuehnoel, one of the Washington militia/freemen defenders (see above), is sentenced to 27
months in jail for illegal possession of a machine gun, and ordered to pay a $6,000 fine. The sentence was part of an
agreement in which all other charges were dropped.
JUNE
June 2, Oklahoma, Colorado: In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh is convicted for his role in the bombing of the federal
building in Oklahoma City in April 1995. He is later given the death penalty.
June 4, Florida: A Jacksonville jury acquits Florida "patriot" and ostrich farmer William Law of 21 counts of defrauding
people by placing bogus liens on people involved with his divorce. The jury believed the argument of Law's lawyer that Law
did not defraud anyone because no one would believe the liens were real.
June 5, Arizona: Trial begins for remaining Arizona Viper Militia defendants, Charles Knight. Viper Christopher Floyd still
awaits trial.
June 5, Oklahoma: A federal judge sentences two Oklahoma common law activist Dan Meador to 16 months in prison, three
years supervised release and a $2,000 fine for obstructing justice and illegally communicating with a grand jury. Meador's
case was linked to the case involving Kenney and Colleen Moore and Wayne Gunwall.
June 12, West Virginia: The second of seven defendants, Jack Phillips, in the Mountaineer Militia case agrees to plead guilty
to a charge of conspiracy to make bombs.
June 12, West Virginia: FBI affidavits reveal that the Mountaineer Militia considered killing Jay Rockefeller and Alan
Greenspan, as well as their families, in a "holy war" against the federal government.
June 16, Washington, Ohio: Cheyne Kehoe, wanted since February for a shootout with police in Ohio, surrenders in
Washington. He will be extradited to Ohio.
June 16, Utah: John Chaney is sentenced in Provo, Utah, to life in prison for aiding in the rape of his daughter. When he
appeared for sentencing, he ordered bailiffs to arrest the judge for treason, but the bailiffs did not respond. Chaney, a
common law court activist and member of an extreme Mormon sect, was convicted in April on three counts of aiding and
abetting in the rape of his (then 13-year old) daughter at the hands of one of his followers. He has launched numerous
lawsuits against Utah judges for conspiring against his religious freedom.
June 17, Utah, Ohio: Chevie Kehoe is arrested in Cedar City, Utah, after Cheyne Kehoe reveals to authorities where he is.
June 23, Washington, Idaho: The second trial for the accused "Spokane Bank Bandits" begins. Robert Berry, Charles
Barbee and Verne Jay Merrell are once again defendants. The fourth defendant will have a separate trial in September.
June 23, Arizona: Arizona Viper Charles Knight is convicted of conspiracy to make or possess unregistered destructive
devices.
June 24, California: Todd Vanbiber, the Orange County, California, man who blew himself up while constructing a pipe
bomb (see above), pleads guilty to two federal explosives violations. Vanbiber was a member of the neo-Nazi National
Alliance.
June 26, Colorado: Barry Taylor is convicted in Adams County, Colorado, of using bogus "freemen" checks to pay off his
debts. Taylor is one of 12 indicted Coloradans and the first to go to trial.
June 27, Utah: Former Montana Freeman standoff participant Gloria Ward is found guilty of four counts of Social Security
fraud. Ward had been claiming Social Security survivor's benefits as the mother of the man's child, despite having sued
another man whom she claimed was the real father. She faces up to twenty years in prison.
June 30, California: In Ventura County, Isabel Oxx is evicted from her home, ending a long ordeal in which she lost title to