Alaska's favorite domestic terrorist is trying to get out of prison again.

Courtesy of the SPLC: 

Schaeffer Cox, the imprisoned founder of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review his 2012 conviction that put him in federal prison for 26 years. 

Michael Filopovic, Cox’s federal public defender, recently filed the petition seeking the Supreme Court review partly claiming lower appeals courts have issued conflicting rulings on legal issues raised in the Cox case. 

”This case … really concerns the outer limits of liability for conspiracy in the federal courts, particularly with respect to statutes involving conspiracy to murder federal officials or federal agents,” Filipovic told Alaska Public Media. 

Specifically, the defense attorney claims, the petition raised the question whether Cox’s talk about murdering government officials, who weren’t specifically identified, posed an actual threat. 

Filopovic argues that threats from Cox and his militia group would have been carried out only if the U.S. government implemented martial law, something he claims was highly unlikely.

"Look I was going to kill you if you did this thing, I even bought weapons and made plans for that very reason. But since you didn't do that thing no harm no foul, right?"

Typically I would say that Schaeffer's chances of getting out of prison were about as good as Donald Trump's chances of finding his own penis without a hand mirror and a pair of tweezers.

However we now live in strange times, where the government does not seem to even recognize terrorism if it is carried out by a white guy, and where even a scumbag like Scooter Libby can be pardoned for obstruction of justice and lying to the feds.

So who knows?

Convicted domestic terrorist Schaeffer Cox is getting a new sentence hearing.

Courtesy of the Newsminer: 

A panel of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges has reversed one of Fairbanks militia leader Francis Schaeffer Cox's convictions but affirmed others. 

A six-page unpublished memorandum filed on Tuesday states Cox will get a new sentencing hearing. It's not yet clear whether the decision will affect his total prison sentence of 26 years. 

Cox, 34, was a one-time Alaska Legislature candidate and leader of a Fairbanks gun rights organization until his arrest in 2011. He has advocated the "sovereign citizen" ideology that disavows the legitimacy of the U.S. government, although he has rejected the label as a pejorative term in writings from prison. 

This week's appeals court ruling came less than two weeks after three appeals court judges heard oral arguments in Cox's case in an Anchorage courtroom. 

Cox is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Illinois after an Anchorage jury convicted him in 2012 on charges including conspiracy to murder federal officials, solicitation to murder federal officials and charges of owning illegal weapons.

It is very unlikely that this new sentence will have any significant impact on Schaeffer's prison time.

If you want to learn more about this you can actually read a great new book about the case called "The Blood of Patriots," written by Bill "Dropzone" Fulton and fellow Alaska blogger Jeanne Devon.

I received an early copy and read it a few months back.

It is a gripping tale, full of heretofore unknown details, and after reading it you will want Schaeffer Cox to stay in jail for as long as possible.

(You can order your copy here.)

Drop Zone Bill's book is finally available for pre-order.

Here is the blurb from Amazon:

For Bill Fulton, being a soldier was his identity. He was called to protect and serve. So when the Army wanted to send him to Alaska, he went—they had never steered him wrong, after all. 

After an involuntary medical discharge, Fulton was adrift until he started a military surplus store in Anchorage, where he also took on fugitive recovery missions. He was back on his feet, working with other badasses and misfits he considered brothers. He took pride in his business, with a wife and daughters at home. His life was happy and full. 

But when a customer revealed he planned to attack a military recruiting station, Fulton had to make a choice: turn a blind eye and hope for the best or risk his safety, his reputation, and his business by establishing contact with his customers’ arch nemesis: the FBI. 

He chose the latter, and his life changed forever. 

Fulton would soon find himself tumbling down a rabbit hole, learning of a militia movement afoot called “sovereign citizens” who believe themselves to be above the law. The FBI classifies this domestic terrorist group as the number-one threat to law enforcement in the country. 

Set against the vast, rugged, and sometimes lawless backdrop of Alaska, The Blood of Patriots is the story of an ideology gone bloody in the distorted belief that murder is patriotic. It is the true story of how Fulton wrestled his demons and became an undercover confidential informant for the FBI, helping to bring down a militia whose charismatic leader was plotting to kill federal judges and their families and law enforcement officers. 

Gee that is quite a glowing description, now I almsot feel bad about once calling Bill a "jack booted thug."

Nah, no I don't.

Actually our history is fairly bizarre and complicated.

In the beginning I was calling him out for roughing up a journalist during a Joe Miller rally, and then later outed him as the FBI informant who who helped get Schaeffer Cox arrested, and then even later he became a good friend and a reliable source of information. 

One thing about Alaska, you find friends in the oddest places.

This book has been pushed back so many times that I began to think it was never coming out.

Glad to see I was wrong.

The release date for the book is still not until May of 2017, but if you want to reserve your copy you can do so now. 

I am certainly going to read it, and I am sure I will love it.

Bill "Drop Zone" Fulton's book is finally happening.

From my e-mail: 

Bill Fulton with NYT best-selling author and cowriter Jeanne Devon's "THE BLOOD OF PATRIOTS," set against the vast, rugged, and sometimes lawless backdrop of Alaska, the true story of Army veteran Bill Fulton, who went from leading fugitive recovery missions to capture felons straight out of a Coen Brothers movie, to going undercover for the FBI to take down a private militia group plotting to assassinate judges and law enforcement officials.

You can read more about the book over at Jeanne's Facebook page.

This book has been a LONG time in the making.

In fact it was supposed to be published way back in 2014, but there were all kinds of unforeseen obstacles which delayed it until now.

I actually know quite a bit about what will be in the book, and I have to say that it should prove an entertaining read.

And yes I'm sure there will be a little in there about a certain half term governor and a vaguely bearded wannabe Senator.

Man attempts to hire hitman to kill Sarah Palin's lawyer, and, surprise, it has nothing to do with Sarah Palin.

"Wait, you mean everything's not about me?"

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

A former Fairbanks chiropractor who pleaded guilty to possessing illegal weapons tied to a murder-for-hire plot has been sentenced to three years in federal prison. 

Guy Christopher Mannino, 56, offered a machine gun and silencer to an informant for use in shooting attorney John Tiemessen, the attorney for former Gov. Sarah Palin, in a matter unrelated to Palin, the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president, federal prosecutors say.

Okay so wait, if this has nothing to do with Palin then just what does it have to do with?  

Tiemessen represented another Fairbanks chiropractor in a lawsuit filed by Mannino, who claimed the other chiropractor during a courtesy adjustment had seriously injured his back. 

"The defense, essentially, was that the lawsuit was fraudulent, and though the adjustment occurred, the injury never occurred," Tiemessen said. 

Mannino thought he was going to lose the case, Bottini said at sentencing Wednesday. He solicited a fellow firearms enthusiast and occasional employee to carry out the murder. 

The murder plot was not carried out. The man called Alaska State Troopers and agreed to act as an informant.

So just to make things even more bizarrely coincidental, it turns out that this Mannino fellow was also tied to the Schaeffer Cox trial.

I wrote about it right after Mannino's indictment over that explosion was dismissed by a jury in Fairbanks.

Here is a snippet of a conversation about Mannino recorded by then FBI informant Bill Fulton: 

VERNON: I was going to ask you, you don’t deal with an Mannino, do you? 

FULTON: Who’s Mannino? No. 

VERNON: Okay. 

FULTON: Who is he? 

OLSON: He’s a dealer. 

VERNON: No, no, no, no, no, no. He’s a tour president and everybody — he’s in the ‘dot gov’ thing. He is a worm … 

FULTON: Okay, who is this asshole? (…) 

OLSON: He’s a chiropractor. 

VERNON: He’s the one that — he’s a meddler. 

OLSON: He’s got class three. 

VERNON: Oh, yeah, he’s got — he’s got explosives and everything. But, if you try to buy… 

OLSON: Don’t deal with him. 

VERNON: If you try to buy something from him, all of a sudden you make the list, on his list, and all of his buddies are the cops, FBI, everything. He is such a smartass. 

"All of his buddies are the cops, FBI, everything." Hmm.

I have no idea if this connection means anything, but I did say at the time that it was bizarre that the explosion caused by this guy did not earn him at least some time in jail.

Well clearly his "luck" did not hold out this time around.

Sovereign Citizen movement perceived as top terrorist threat.

Courtesy of START:

START researchers David Carter, Steven Chermak, Jeremy Carter and Jack Drew recently conducted in-depth surveys with more than 364 officers representing 175 state, local and tribal (SLT) law enforcement agencies to examine perceptions of: the threat of terrorism; the nature of information-sharing; and whether agencies are prepared to deal with terrorist attacks. Their results are published in “Understanding Law Enforcement Intelligence Processes,” available on START’s website. 

The Sovereign Citizen movement was the most highly ranked threat, with 86 percent of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that it was a serious terrorist threat. This is a significant increase in ranking from an earlier survey implemented in 2006-2007, which showed Islamist extremists to be law enforcement’s top concern at the time. In that survey, approximately 67 percent agreed or strongly agreed that Islamist extremists were a serious terrorist threat. 

“Identifying and prioritizing a threat is akin to hitting a moving target and evolves as new intelligence, data, and events develop,” David Carter said. “Law enforcement must be steadfast in identifying major concerns, substantiating the concerns, providing products and resources to better understand the nature of the threat, and supporting efforts to respond to such concerns.”

This is not exactly surprising since we have seen a number of sovereign citizen types either threaten to kill law enforcement types, like Schaeffer Cox did in Alaska, or actually follow through with those plans as we recently saw in Nevada. 

We also just saw them gather together and use the threat of violence to turn away federal agents during the Bundy Ranch standoff.

When was the last time Islamic terrorists did that on American soil?

And the truly frightening part is that there are politicians who are protecting these groups and actively seeking their support.

Yes Rick Perry I'm looking at you!

Just can't stop "palling around" with domestic terrorists can you Sarah Palin? Update!

Justin Giles of Wasilla, Ak. Standing guard at the Bundy ranch standoff April 18, 2014.

Hey do you guys remember this picture?

Well I sure didn't.

However a sharp reader did, and they sent me another picture of Justin Giles, which they found while looking through his Facebook page.

Now why does that lady look so familiar?

According to his Facebook page this picture was posted on February 24th, of this year. You know, less than two months before he strapped on his assault rifle and helped a group of sovereign citizens threaten government workers just trying to do their jobs in Nevada.

Hey do you know what else is interesting? It seems that Mr. Giles was formerly Sgt. Giles of the United States Marine Corps.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't taking up arms against federal agents kind of a no no when you are in the Marine Corps, or in the reserves?

And here is another interesting tidbit.

My sources tell me that he is also friends with a certain Maria Rensel, who you may (or may not) remember is behind the "Free Schaeffer Cox" page.

So to be clear Sarah Palin is obviously good friends with a former Marine Sergeant, who took up arms against federal employees in Nevada, and is good friends with a supporter of convicted domestic terrorist Schaeffer Cox. 

I know, I know, probably just a coincidence.

Though there is somebody that we all know who does not believe in coincidences. (Gold star if you can guess who.)

P.S. Here's the part that kind of burns my ass.

@AverageChirps Justin Giles of Wasilla, AK will be easy to find. Sarah will know how to reach him. Plenty of pix. pic.twitter.com/kFhczjlQKI
— Bill Yosemite (@BillYosemite) May 11, 2014

That I was so late putting all of this together.

I really need to hire myself an intern. 

Update: I made some corrections to the post concerning Giles military service.  Originally I was under the impression that he was active duty, but in fact he is currently out of the service.

Really must look into that intern situation.

Georgia authorities shoot and kill "sovereign citizen" attempting to take over courthouse with assault rifle, bullet proof vest, and "buckets of homemade explosives."

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Authorities shot and killed a sovereign citizen Friday morning outside a Georgia courthouse after he brought weapons and explosives in an attempt to take over the building. 

nvestigators said Dennis Marx arrived at the Forsyth County Administration Building with an assault rifle, bulletproof vest, smoke grenades, and a gas mask. 

Marx also brought water and other supplies, ammunition, zip-tie restraints, and buckets of homemade explosives to the courthouse, said Sheriff Duane Piper. 

“He came here with the purpose of occupying the courthouse,” Piper said. 

He deployed stop sticks at the courthouse entrance to prevent other vehicles from driving closer and opened fire from his vehicle. 

Marx was met outside the courthouse by a deputy – who distracted and then fatally shot him through the windshield of the man’s SUV. 

The deputy, a 30-year veteran, was shot in the knee during the confrontation but was expected to recover. 

“It would be a guess to think how many lives he saved had he not engaged him right there,” Piper said. “Mr. Marx’s intention was to get inside that front door and to take hostages.”

According to a law enforcement official familiar with Dennis Marx he was a “sovereign citizen” well-known to local authorities, and that they were approaching his residence with caution for fear of booby traps and hidden explosives.

And of course these sovereign citizens types are the same people who the Tea Party and Sarah Palin pander to, and who Alaska terrorist Schaeffer Cox identified himself with.

Gee I wonder which 2nd Amendment protected gun wholesaler sold this lunatic an assault rifle, smoke grenades and stop sticks?

I mean who could predict that he would do something totally illegal and possibly homicidal with those?

Whoa Nelly! Alaska domestic terrorist Schaeffer Cox turns the crazy up to 11.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

Acting as his own legal representative, convicted militia leader Schaeffer Cox filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month, claiming that he is the victim of government misconduct. 

In a document he sent from federal prison in Illinois to the San Francisco-based court, Cox claims that federal officials lied, withheld key information, failed to supervise informants, tampered with evidence and witnesses and set up a sting to entrap him. 

Cox said he was the innocent victim of the same prosecution team that mishandled the case against the late Sen. Ted Stevens and others, but his court-appointed attorney won’t raise the issues he wants to pursue. 

“Suppression, concealment, false statements and use of known perjured testimony are the hallmarks of this prosecution team and of this present case,” Cox wrote. 

Cox wants to have his case returned to U.S. District Court in Alaska and asked that a new attorney, Robert John of Fairbanks, be appointed to represent him.

Can you believe this schmuck is trying to link his case to the Ted Stevens case in order to suggest it was mishandled? I am no fan of Uncle Ted, but he deserves better than to have his name associated with this crybaby.

As many of you remember Cox has a history of conflicts with his attorneys, and always seems to believe they are working against him. Almost like he is a paranoid schizophrenic or something.

And it may just be that his attorney has similar concerns.  

After Cox filed his appeal, dated Dec. 4 and received by the appeals court Dec. 11, it appears that his attorney in Seattle filed a separate document with the court, seeking a competency hearing. That motion was filed with the court “under seal,” meaning it is not available for public review.

His own attorney asked for a competency hearing?

Just how far off the deep end has Cox gone?

Cox claims that he became a target of the so-called “Polar Pen” investigation set up by the Justice Department to sniff out corruption among Alaska politicians. 

According to Cox, the two key federal attorneys prosecuting his case took their names off of future legal filings about his case three months after he was arraigned, “once it became apparent that the misconduct would be made public,” he wrote. 

He said his attorney, Suzanne Elliott, is not familiar with the federal investigation of political corruption in Alaska and won’t take on the feds. 

Writing about himself as the “Movant,” he said that his attorney is “adamantly disinclined to raise appellant’s issues in regard to the denial of admissibility of evidence Movant needed to assert entrapment, prosecutorial misconduct” and other violations, he charged.

Well hello psychotic break. 

Now this "Polar Pen" investigation that Schaffer is speaking of is the nickname given to the investigation into the Alaska political corruption probe that focused on the oil industry, fisheries, and prisons for profit programs up here.

Essentially it was the program that brought down the Corrupt Bastards Club.

So Cox seems to be claiming that HE was a target of this investigation due to his closeness to certain political types, who were also the target of the investigation.

In a note to his appeal, Cox said he admits “to letting his ego run away with him and becoming full of himself. Rubbing shoulders with state senators, representatives and other political leaders coupled with having hundreds of followers come to his rallies was heady territory for a 24-year-old home-schooled political newcomer. And it was not well handled.”

Now of course I think that Schaeffer Cox is completely out of his damn mind.

However it is worth noting that he DID rub shoulders with Rep. Don Young, Joe Miller, and, of course, Sarah Palin.

So the question remains, even if Cox is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, is there information on these individuals still rattling around in that pointy head of his that would be of use to in future investigations?

Might be, but if there is then it would seem likely that the Feds already know most of it.

And the rest? Well the rest is so marinated in paranoia who would believe it?

Into the mind of a madman. Alaska's own domestic terrorist, Schaeffer Cox, writes letter to Amnesty International saying he was set up by the government.

Courtesy of the Stand by Schaeffer Facebook page:  

Amnesty International - 350 Sansome St., Suite 210 – San Francisco CA 94104 Re: Please Consider Case – November 2, 2013 

Dear Sir or Madam: 

My name is Schaeffer Cox. I am a young political prisoner from Alaska. I have a wife and two small children. I am currently being held in a highly secretive prison unit for political or high profile prisoners called the “Communication Management Unit,” or “CMU”. The purpose of the CMU is to censor one’s communication with the outside world, especially with attorneys or members of the press. It is my great hope that if this letter safely reaches you, you would give diligent consideration to the possibility of rendering me what assistance you are able. 

I haven’t done anything illegal and I most definitely haven’t done anything morally wrong. I just made some extraordinarily power people extraordinarily angry with my extraordinarily idealistic charisma. In 2008 I ran for the Alaska State House of Representatives. I came in 2nd in a 3 way race with roughly 38% of the vote. This was not bad for a 24 year old political newcomer with very little support from Party Establishment. 

My relative success is likely attributable to the fact that I loved knocking on doors in my district, something few candidates will even do. Though from where I sit now I question whether anything I did can really be called a success at all. 

After the election I needed something to do with all the money and support I had raised. The next election wasn’t for 2 years. So I tried to keep the energy going by organizing several groups that focused on Bill of Rights issues as well as whatever else had popular interest. One such area of popular concern was police corruption, especially in the area of drug trafficking and sales. So at 25, with my enthusiasm surpassed only by my naivete, I devised a “brilliant” way to out the dirty cops by setting up hundreds of hometown people with a sort of video twitter we called “The Liberty Bell System.” Less than a week later the State Wide Drug Enforcement Unit opened an “investigation” on me. Now at this point mind you, I’m Duddley Do-Right Boy Scout who had never even smoked a cigarette let alone had anything to do with drugs. 

Consequently the State drug cops, being unable to obtain a warrant due to a lack of probable cause, had difficulty furthering their efforts. So I was passed off to the FBI who are allowed to run cameras and listening devise into people’s homes without a warrant or even reasonable suspicion, which is just what they did to me. They also became very aggressive about sending undercover provocateurs who tried to convince me I was doing things all wrong and that acting out violently was the only way to make things change. When that failed they tried to provoke me by going after my children. Though this really shook me up bad, I still managed to refuse to respond to their escalating provocations until several undercover agents threatened to kill me if I didn’t join them in attacking the government. Fearing for our lives, my family and I tried to flee the country but were caught before we made it to Canada. I was arrested and sentenced to 26 years in prison for “Conspiring against the government.” 

Republican party in Alaska in complete disarray as Chairwoman kicked out after locking party officials out of the Alaska Republican Party headquarters and threatening to have them arrested. Dammit, am I out of popcorn?

Ex-Chairwoman Debbie Brown.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

 Locked out of the less-than-lavish headquarters of the Alaska Republican Party in a snowstorm, state leaders of the Grand Old Party adjourned to a comfortable, Midtown Anchorage office complex Monday evening and decided they’d had enough of the antics of party chairwoman Debbie Brown.

Officially, money -- or the lack thereof -- was the reason for Brown’s ouster. Like recently fired predecessor Russ Millette, who never officially made it into the chairman’s seat, Brown was accused of being unable to raise any. 

Money that is. She seemed plenty good at raising the blood pressure of the party leadership. 

First she tried to fire members of the party’s state executive committee. When they refused to go, she changed the locks on the party headquarters in Midtown Anchorage and left the state. When the executive committee called her up on charges of failure to meet her responsibilities as chair, she refused to appear. 

Reports as to her whereabouts varied, but there seemed agreement she was still out of state, apparently on vacation or preparing for the Republican National Committee meeting in Hollywood, or both. Republican national committeeman Ralph Seekins from Fairbanks noted the RNC meeting starts Wednesday. 

Much discussion was had about the whereabouts of Brown, normally a resident of Kasilof on the Kenai Peninsula, and the appearances of trying her in absentia. Attorney Wayne Anthony Ross -- or WAR, as he is commonly know -- sent the executive committee a wordy, six-page letter citing his lengthy party credentials, questioning the fairness of the hearing, and warning the actions “by these members who I call the ‘old guard led by our former chairman (Randy Ruderich), seriously lessen the credibility and effectiveness of the RPA to Republicans.”

Wow they even brought WAR in to try and hang onto control. Yeah. like HE is ever any help!

Just to bring all of you up to speed as to the cause of this recent kerfuffle among the Alaska Republicans, it was sparked by Joe Miller's attempt to implement Sarah Palin's 2008 plan of overthrowing the Alaska Republican party. (You remember that, right? That was when Joe Miller introduced FBI informant, Bill Fulton, to future Alaska domestic terrorist Schaeffer Cox.)

Miller, using ties to the Teabaggers in the state, and some die hard Ron Paul supporters, managed to insert his guy, Russ Millette, into the chairmanship. That did not go over very well with the Alaska GOP hierarchy and he was quickly ousted to be replaced by another Miller  acolyte, Debbie Brown.

Well now she is out, and Miller and his ragtag group of assholes are fuming mad.

This was written by one of his "reporters" over on his blog (Yes he also has a blog) the other day: 

The Republican Party is in a war for its very spirit. Will a small cabal of political machinists continue to run the party for personal interest while continuing to lose ground to the conquering socialists like the corrupt Chiang Kai-shek did before Mao Zedong? Or will the party be returned back to its grass roots supporters? Your action or inaction will be the deciding factor for the future of unborn millions. Grass roots Republicans have a once in a generation chance to let light shine out of the darkness. The Republican Party must once again wield the torch of freedom that guided the footsteps of our Founding Fathers. 

Currently the Republican money  in Alaska has been squirreled away in Juneau, where Miller and his motley crew cannot get their hands on it. So as of right now the Republican party has no leadership, no money, and no clear vision for the future.

Essentially it is like the Alaska version of "Lord of the Flies."

Hang on I think my popcorn's done.

Things that you cannot get put in jail for in Alaska, exploding 300 lbs of explosives that do $15,000 of damage. Really? Even if you are named during the trial of a domestic terrorist?

I know that many of you read about that huge explosion near Riverbanks that happened earlier this month, because I received the link about a dozen times.

I am sure that you would naturally assume that causing such a monster explosion and doing so muhc damage would result in a conviction for SOMETHING. But you my friend would be oh so wrong.

Courtesy of Newsminer:  

The criminal case has been dismissed against a Fairbanks man who was accused of setting off a destructive explosion last month in the Chena Ridge neighborhood. 

Following the explosion, Fairbanks chiropractor and business owner Guy “Chris” Mannino was charged with felony criminal mischief, the crime of recklessly putting the property of others at risk. 

Neighbors said shockwaves from the blast, which was heard as far away as North Pole, did at least $15,000 in damage to windows and other property. 

Alaska State Troopers said there was evidence Mannino detonated the blast and recommended a felony charge under the theory that blowing up more than 300 pounds of explosives put more than $100,000 in property at risk. 

A Fairbanks grand jury disagreed last week. Asked to indict Mannino to continue the prosecution, the grand jury returned a “no true bill” instead of an indictment. 

“The grand jury, after careful deliberation, decided that Mr. Mannino’s conduct was not criminal in nature,” Fairbanks District attorney Michael Gray said by e-mail. 

Because the grand jury failed to indict, the state cannot again pursue the case unless new evidence emerges. In some cases the state can pursue misdemeanor charges if the grand jury does not indict, but in this case the misdemeanor version of criminal mischief corresponds with the crime of intentionally damaging up to $500 worth of property, not Mannino’s alleged reckless conduct.

Now look I live in Alaska, and I know that there are a lot of things you can get away with up here that would have your ass in jail for years down in the lower 48. You know like firing your weapon into the air at night, driving your snowmachine down the middle of the road, raping a reindeer, you know things like that.

However you might assume that setting off an explosion that does $15,000 worth of damage and puts $100,000 worth of property at risk, would get you SOME time in jail. Right?

So I thought to myself who does this Guy Mannino fellow know? And why is his name vaguely familiar?

And I found that answer in a transcript of the Schaeffer Cox trial put together by our friend Jeanne Devon over at the Mudflats. This is from a portion of an FBI surveillance tape that was played in court, of a conversation between FBI informant Bill Fulton, defendant Lonnie Vernon, and the other FBI informant JR Olson:  

The next snippet of conversation talks about grenades and fuses, C4 explosive, and silencers, which are also called ‘supressors.’ This conversation takes place the night after the convention. 

 FULTON: That whole — that’s what I’m saying, but you also want good ones… They have to be brand new but off the books. I know a couple of gun shops in the area. That’s not a problem. 

VERNON: Really, no kidding? 

OLSON: That’s all I want to know. 

FULTON: That’s prepay, and you’re going to wait six months for it. 

VERNON: Really, no kidding? 

FULTON: Yeah. because they’re going to want cash, and in order to make it clean it’s got to get lost… It’s not like they can just order one up. 

VERNON: You can’t grind the numbers, weld over it and that kind of stuff? 

FULTON: No, no, no, no, because each one of those is accountable. 

VERNON: Oh, I gotcha. 

FULTON: You see what I’m saying? So, let’s say that I go to him and I give him a thousand dollars, okay? It’s going to take a while for him to order the piece to begin with, because it’s not like anybody stocks them. Order it, get it shipped, do the paperwork, get it lost, and then get it to me, yeah. 

VERNON: I was going to ask you, you don’t deal with an Mannino, do you? 

FULTON: Who’s Mannino? No. 

VERNON: Okay. 

FULTON: Who is he? 

OLSON: He’s a dealer. 

VERNON: No, no, no, no, no, no. He’s a tour president and everybody — he’s in the ‘dot gov’ thing. He is a worm … 

FULTON: Okay, who is this asshole? (…) 

OLSON: He’s a chiropractor. 

VERNON: He’s the one that — he’s a meddler. 

OLSON: He’s got class three. 

VERNON: Oh, yeah, he’s got — he’s got explosives and everything. But, if you try to buy… 

OLSON: Don’t deal with him. 

VERNON: If you try to buy something from him, all of a sudden you make the list, on his list, and all of his buddies are the cops, FBI, everything. He is such a smartass. 

Here is what Jeanne wrote about the guy they were talking about: 

The twerpish, wormy, meddling, smartass, chiropractic asshole turns out to be a Dr. G. Chris Mannino from Fairbanks – a chiropractor who also happens to be a Class 3 gun dealer. If he is the same G. Chris Mannino that has (or had) a business called Arms & Equipment, and was listed as a Class 3 dealer in Fairbanks.

Okay so now do you get it?

Perhaps if you are a regular Joe Blow in Alaska, and you blow a giant hole in the state, you might go to jail. But if you are a gun dealing chiropractor, with ties to certain militia members, and lots of cop buddies, well....

Things that make you go, hmmm.

Bill Fulton's interview with the LA Times.

Courtesy of the LA Times:  

Fulton, who had long worked with Army criminal investigators through his surplus shop, had gone to the FBI in 2010 about a potential domestic terrorism case when the FBI learned he knew Cox. 

"The wheels started turning: How can we use this to our advantage, to try to get more information? Is Cox really going down that path? Which inevitably, he was," said Sandra Klein, a supervisory special agent who became Fulton's chief handler. 

Fulton's first assignment was to attend a gun and military surplus sale intended as a fundraiser for the Interior Alaska Conservative Coalition, which Cox had helped establish in Fairbanks. Cox had been trying to get in touch with Fulton, who had ignored him "because I thought he was an idiot." The night before the event in August 2010, Fulton invited Cox to meet him at his hotel. The militiaman arrived with Les Zerbe, a retired missionary ranked as a captain, and another associate. 

Cox had been accused of assaulting his wife, and worried that state authorities were trying to take his son away. He talked about Fulton serving what he called common-law warrants on the officials he thought were out to get him. 

"He said these guys need to be arrested and brought to trial," Fulton recalled. "I said, 'What are you going to do with them?' He said, 'We'll either fine them, or we'll hang them.'" 

Cox and company discussed how they were going to go to the homes of selected enemies, cut the electricity to the house, and make enough noise to lure their main target onto the front porch, where he could be shot. Then the windows and doors would be boarded up, and the house, with the rest of the family inside, would be set on fire. "Collateral damage" is the way Fulton said they described it. 

After Cox left, Fulton phoned Klein. "I'm like, 'Help! What am I supposed to do? Do I need to get my family out of here?' And she's like, 'We'll handle it. Just try to figure out as much as you can.' She was really good at calming me down, but even for her, I could tell it was stressing her out."

I understand that Bill has a few more of these coming out, including at least one with another Alaska blogger.

I want him to go on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow but he is hesitant due to some statements made  about him after the Hopfinger kerfuffle that he believes were out of line.

I have reminded him that I was the one that kept referring to him as a "jack booted thug" but he says that is different.  Anyhow I hoping he changes his mind.

He says he might.

I am hoping to get the next post up answering your questions in the next day or two. I have some work obligations and Bill is in demand for interviews, not to mention working to catch the bad guys, so we have to work around each others schedules.

My interview with FBI informant Bill Fulton.

Over the past year I have had a number of conversations with Bill Fulton, and we talked about a number of different issues. At that time ALL of them were officially off the record, with only a few considered okay for publication on the blog under the label "anonymous sources." Bill was not my only anonymous source of information but he was one of the more interesting.

In the beginning we approached each other with wariness and a healthy amount of mistrust, however over time we began to get along fairly well and had a number of fascinating, and often combative, conversations about politics, Alaska, and current events.

Before we began this Q and A Bill warned me that some questions were still off limits, due to the fact that there were still ongoing investigations, and that in fact I had to avoid even asking him anything relating to them. Because an answer of "no comment" is still an answer. (Trust me, I find this just as frustrating as you do.)

One of the big questions I wanted to ask is about the possibility that certain people, not to be named here of course, might soon see some jail time. But even that received a "Gryph we talked about this" response.  So even something as vague as that was off limits.

So here are the questions that we agreed I COULD ask, and his answers to them. (Since a number of them had already been answered during the Salon interview and the Huffington Post interview I tried to avoid covering the same ground)

Q: First things first, why are you coming forward now with your real name and offering to answer questions after staying in the shadows for so long? What has changed?

Fulton: Well the short answer is that Schaeffer Cox got convicted.  And the people who asked me not to speak, no longer care that I speak. So now I would like to take this opportunity to clear my name.

Q: Are you happy with the sentence that Schaeffer Cox and his militia buddies received? And please elaborate as why or why not.

Fulton: I'm happy with the Coleman Barney sentence. He was essentially a good guy that got in with a bad crowd.

As for Lonnie Vernon and his wife I am somewhat indifferent. He was a dangerous guy, and really did pose a threat to the community, and he got the sentence that I think he deserved, He will most likely never get out of jail alive due this age.

However Cox is a different story, I would really like to have seen him get more time, I think he deserves it.

You have to remember that he started this whole thing Gryph. He started the 2nd Amendment task force out in Fairbanks and that is still active, as is the one it spawned in Anchorage.

He also started the Alaska Peacekeepers Militia and through that presented a clear danger to the public. 

I consider him "Hilteresque" in his ability to find gullible people and manipulate them toward evil. So yes I think Cox could have used a few more years locked away, and I really do worry that he may emerge even more dangerous than before.

Q: Now in an earlier conversation that you and I had you informed me that you were in a hotel room during the 2008 Republican Convention when Frank Bailey and Joe Miller introduced you to Schaeffer Cox for the first time. Could you explain the significance of that meeting?

Fulton: Well the significance was that here I was meeting this young kid, who was being touted as this up and coming conservative star (He was so naive he even brought his wife into the room with him) , and he was being introduced to me by Sarah Palin's Chief of Staff and the a man who would someday be the Republican candidate for the Senate. There was no way to know at the time where all this was heading, but it was a pivotal moment for everybody who attended that meeting.

Q: Well that's an understatement, however could you please elaborate on why this meeting, which was ostensibly about forcing Randy Reuderich out of the Alaska GOP Chairman's seat and taking over, suddenly changed direction?

Fulton: Well yes the original intent was to shitcan Reuderich and replace him with somebody else. But then they decided not to do that it so that it wouldn't distract from the last minute decision to run Sean Parnell against Don Young.

Q: What changed?

Fulton: I'm not entirely sure, but it had something to do with the fact that Sarah Palin was going to be tapped as the VP candidate.

Q: Really? This was happening in March of 2008, according to Palin, AND the McCain campaign, they did not choose her until the very last minute, late in August of 2008, which is why they did not have time to vet her carefully.

Fulton: Bullshit. Frank Bailey and Joe Miller discussed the nomination as if it was a done deal, and claimed that she was already being vetted.

Q: In March of 2008?

Fulton: Yes, in March of 2008.

Q: And this was only about a month BEFORE she gave birth to Trig

Fulton: Well I don't know anything about all that, but yes this was in March of 2008.

Q: You are probably best known for handcuffing Tony Hopfinger after that Joe Miller speech. How do you feel the media treated you after that incident, and how frustrating was it for you to deal with that kind of negativity knowing that you were in fact on the side of the angels?

Fulton: Well I don't feel I was treated fairly that's for sure. The media dug up minor facts, like that I was late renewing my business license on Drop Zone, and blew it way out of proportion. And when they could not find facts they simply made them up. 

I still feel that the bust was legitimate, and my people and I had done the same thing at various events and concerts all over town. However because of who Joe Miller was, and the way the media was portraying him, the arrest served as the perfect catalyst to give the media permission to define him as somebody who would hire jack booted thugs to rough up reporters who tried to question him. 

In fact I performed my duties to the best of my abilities, and would do so again in similar circumstances.

The funny thing is that both the Left and Right in the media got it wrong. To the left I was a neo-Nazi trampling on a reporter's First Amendment rights, but to the Right I was a hero finally treating the Left Wing media the way they always secretly wanted them to be treated. Go figure.

Q: And on that note how do you think Joe Miller feels now knowing that you were working with the FBI while you were also working on his security detail?

Fulton: I KNOW how he feels. He has been writing about it on his blog. He thinks I was a plant that was dedicated to sabotaging his campaign from within. 

Q: Were you?

Fulton: No. I just did what Miller hired me to do. He also has complained that my version of fitting him for body armor in the bathroom due to his paranoia is an exaggeration and that I had "followed him around the convention center warning him of threats."

Q: And did you?

Fulton: Hell no! Nobody needed to help Joe Miller feel paranoid.

Q: In earlier conversations you claimed that after the Hopfinger debacle you received some rather vicious death threats, can you elaborate?

Fulton: Oh hell Gryph, they came by email calling me every name in the book, phone messages with bomb threats, people stopping by Drop Zone to threaten my employees, it was really bad for awhile.

Q: And exactly who were the people that were sending these threats?

Fulton: Well I guess you would categorize them as the Left Wing. People who were upset about the handcuffing of a reporter. You know Gryph the crazies are on both sides of the aisle. I know you don't believe that but it's true.

Personally I think it is time to stop all of this name calling and partisan bickering, and to start communicating in an honest fashion. It does no good to have extremists from both sides defining the debate, and that seems to be what is happening right now.

Q: Well speaking of extremists let's return to Sarah Palin for a bit. When was the first time you met her?

Fulton: I met her a couple of times at social events.  Nothing very memorable.

Q: Do you think she would EVER risk running for office again?

Fulton: No I don't. She is just too polarizing to successfully run for office. I doubt that anybody except the very fringe would support her.

Q: Well as you know the plan that was hatched way back in 2008 to take over the Alaska Republican party, has now been realized. What are your thoughts on that?

Fulton: Not good. When you pander to extremists to get their support, you reinforce their beliefs, and that just makes them more dangerous. So this group led by Joe Miller getting control of the Republican party is not a good thing, for anybody.

Q: Okay well finally I suppose I should ask you what's next for Bill Fulton?

Fulton: Well I am looking to teach a law enforcement course dealing with extremists and infiltrating their ranks. I am also planning to write a book about my experiences in Alaska, and with the militia up there.

Q: Sounds good Bill, thanks for your time, and good luck with that book.

Now as  I mentioned before Bill will answer some of YOUR questions next.

What we have worked out is that you can submit them in the comment section, he will choose the ones he feels he can answer, and then I will type them out in a later post, either tomorrow or the next day depending on time constraints.

Please remember that there are still certain questions that Bill will not be able, or willing, to answer.

With that in mind I am confident that you all can come up with some good questions that perhaps did not occur to me, or the reporters at Salon or HuffPo.

Current FBI informant, and one time Joe Miller bodyguard, Bill Fulton breaks his silence.

Drop Zone employee, Sally Heath (Sarah Palin's mom), and Bill Fulton

In September of 2010 Bill Fulton was perhaps the single most misunderstood man in Alaska.

Vilified as a "Jack booted thug" after he handcuffed Alaska Dispatch reporter Tony Hopfinger, and  forced to watch news report after news report flay him to the bone mercilessly, Fulton wanted nothing more than to call them up and explain that he was one of the good guys. In fact he was AT THAT TIME working for the FBI and helping them to build their case against Schaeffer Cox. (And possibly a few others.)

However Fulton was unable to tell anybody his side of the story, because he was undercover with the Feds, and they kind of frown on that sort of thing.

Then later in 2011 after Schaeffer Cox was arrested, Fulton was directed to disappear, which he did. And again the speculation started about why he disappeared? Was he the Alaska militia's weapons supplier?  Was he himself part of Schaeffer's militia group? Or even whether or not he had been assassinated to keep him quiet.

During this time, now newly relocated out of state, Fulton scanned the internet reading about the investigation and the opinions of various news agencies and blogs, hoping that somebody would put two and two together and realize that HE was the FBI informant and not one of Schaeffer's lackeys.

And one day somebody did:

So Cox traveled to Anchorage to make the purchases with this "person" who they believed could hook them up with grenades, silencers, and automatic weapons? Now isn't that interesting? 

Isn't Drop Zone in Anchorage? I do believe that it is. 

And isn't the owner of Drop Zone, William Fulton, the guy Joe Miller hired as "security" to rough up a local journalist? 

And isn't William Fulton referred to as the "supply sergeant" because he is the go-to guy for militia members seeking weapons and supplies? 

And isn't Fulton currently MIA?

This may seem a like an obvious conclusion, but until this post NOBODY had been willing to voice it out loud.

So finally Fulton had some hope that people would start to realize that he was NOT a jack booted thug roughing up reporters at Joe Miller's request and selling weapons to militia members determined to overthrow the government. But that instead he was a patriot doing a very difficult, and very dangerous, job.

And now Fulton felt that he had somebody he could each out to. He wasn't exactly supposed to, but something about that arrogant liberal blogger, who always seemed to be keeping people's secrets for them, seemed like a person he could trust. And so he did.

Now I receive a lot of unsolicited e-mails, many of them are not exactly on the up an up.

For instance I have been contacted by George Soros. (Only not really.) Sarah Palin. (Nope.) Todd Palin. (Not hardly!) And various folks claiming to work for newspapers, federal agencies, and one nice gentleman from Nigeria who offered me the chance to make a million dollars. (I really DO need to get back to that guy.)

However I have also been contacted by somebody who knew all about Willow Palin's night of  housebreaking. (They did.) A guy who claimed he worked as Sarah Palin's head of security. (He was.) The BBC asking for an interview. (They got one.) And this guy named Joe McGinniss who wanted to ask me some questions for a book he was writing. (Well you know how that one turned out.)

So when I received an e-mail from some guy claiming to be Bill Fulton, I thought "Could be him." And indeed it was.

Fulton was impressed that I had figured out that he was the informant, but also wanted to correct me on what I got wrong. But only if I promised to keep what he told me to myself.

And I have.

So from there Bill and I began to have a number of e-mail exchanges and phone calls, often late at night, where he could finally get things off his chest that he couldn't share with anybody else and also tell somebody, sort of in the media, what was really going on.

Well not EVERYTHING of course, because Fulton is not allowed to talk about ongoing investigations, but enough for me to begin to understand some very interesting things about the Republican party in Alaska, the behind the scenes stories concerning the Miller campaign, and a certain ex-Governor's involvement in both.

Of course while THAT allowed Bill to get things off HIS chest it also burdened ME with information that I could know but never use on the blog. Lucky me right? (Though there WERE a few times when it was agreed that some of Fulton's information could find its way into a blog post or two.)

During this time Fulton always said that after the trial, and after Schaeffer Cox was sentenced, he would go public. Schaeffer has now been sentenced, and true to his word Fulton has started talking.

First to Salon.

And then to the Huffington Post. (You gotta love that story about paranoid Joe Miller and the bullet proof vest!)

Also part of our agreement was that I would have the opportunity to officially interview Bill on the record, which I have. All or part of that interview is scheduled for a post on Monday.

However Bill felt he owed me a little something extra, so, and this was totally his idea, he has volunteered to answer some of YOUR questions as well.

I will have more information about how that will be structured for you by Monday.  But until then simply think up what you would like to ask a man who was in the room when Sarah Palin's surrogates planned to take over the Republican party, was deeply embedded in Joe Miller's failed campaign in 2010, and who had to listen as members of a lunatic fringe plotted to murder federal agents in rural Alaska.

And they say blogging is boring.

With new gun control laws on the horizon, when will Alaska Congressman Don Young keep the pledge he made to convicted terrorist Schaeffer Cox to help overthrow the government?

The video above is from way back in 2009, before Schaeffer started getting into legal trouble and well before the Feds started building their case against him. A time back when, for reasons that are not clear to me, he was considered a respected political leader and was able to attract the attention, and support, of Alaska's lone Congressman.

Here is a portion of a Q and A with Congressman Young at that Denny's restaurant in Fairbanks which starts at the 58 second mark:

Unidentified man: "If any government should decide that we have to register certain of our arms or turn them in, what would you say?"

Congressman Young: "Don't do it. I sincerely mean that. Don't turn them in!"

Later in the video Alaska's sole Congressman is shown signing the document presented that day by now convicted domestic terrorist Schaeffer Cox, which read as follows:

"Let it be known that we, the people of Alaska, stand in recognition of the true principal that whenever a government abandons the principle for which we have created it and even becomes hostile toward that which it was a defender of, it is no longer a fit steward of the political power that is inherent in the people and lent to this government with strict conditions. These conditions are clearly defined in the United States Constitution and understood by the common man. Furthermore, to the extent that our government violates these conditions, they nullify their own authority, at which point it is our right and duty, not as subjects but as sovereign Americans, to entrust this power to new stewards  who will not depart from the laws we have given them."

"This being the case, let it be known that should our government seek to further tax, restrict or register firearms or otherwise impose on the right that shall not be infringed, thus impairing our ability to exercise our God-given right to self defense which precedes all all human legislation and is superior to it, that the duty of us good and faithful people will be to not obey but to alter and abolish them and institute new government laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to us shall seem most likely to effect our safety and happiness."

Clearly this is a poorly written call for the overthrow of the federal government if ever they attempt to implement new gun laws requiring a tax, registration, or restriction of any American's firearms. (Which of course is EXACTLY what is about to happen.)

And at the 2:50 mark you can clearly see Don Young signing it.

This of course begs the question, with these new gun restrictions clearly coming down the pike, exactly WHEN will Don Young alert his constituents that it is time to take up arms and overthrow the government?

And of course the follow up question would be, WHY do we Alaskans have as our representative somebody who "pals around" with domestic terrorists and pledges to them that he will join them in a gun fight against the federal government in response to legislation designed to protect our children from violence or death?

(P.S. If the video above looks familiar to you, it is probably because I posted it way back in March of 2011. Believe it or not I was reminded about it the other day by somebody working with the FBI. So yeah, they are paying attention.)

Schaeffer Cox, ringleader of the Alaska militia plot to kidnap and kill law enforcement personnel, has received a 26 year sentence in Federal prison. Update!

Courtesy of ADN:  

The leader of an Alaska militia convicted of conspiring to murder federal officials will spend nearly 26 years in prison. 

Judge Robert Bryan on Tuesday sentenced Schaeffer Cox during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. 

Before he was sentenced, Cox apologized to family and friends. He said he was acting out of fear before his arrest in March 2011, and it only got worse the more scared he became. 

Cox was convicted in June of nine federal charges, including conspiracy to kill federal law enforcement officers and possession of illegal weapons. 

Well I have to say that I am a little disappoint in this sentence as I was pretty sure it would be at least ten years longer.

However as I was reminded by a pal today, this IS federal prison ad these will be 26 hard years for a guy famous for shooting his big mouth off.

By the way, with this trial over I am under the impression that certain people involved with the case will now be free to talk publicly about things that I have only been told privately.

Stay tuned.

Update: Just got off the phone with my informant. Monday things begin to heat up.

Alaskan terrorist, Lonnie Vernon gets 26 year prison term. Next up, Schaeffer Cox.

Courtesy of ADN:  

An Alaska militia member convicted of conspiring to kill public officials and of amassing weapons was sentenced Monday to nearly 26 years in prison, when proceedings were disrupted by his frequent and profanity-laden outbursts questioning the authority of the court. 

Judge Robert Bryan sentenced Lonnie Vernon, 57, during a nearly hour-long hearing at U.S. District Court in Anchorage on charges of conspiracy to murder federal officials and stockpiling weapons such as silencers and grenades for use in attacks.

In a far less dramatic hearing later Monday, his wife, Karen Vernon, 67, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Before she was sentenced, 

Karen Vernon apologized and said her "words and actions were not intended to harm anyone." 

She also apologized "to family and friends for the shame and embarrassment this has all caused, and I mean that. I truly do." 

You know I almost feel sorry for Mrs. Vernon. She is undoubtedly one of these women who adopts her husbands politics and belief systems and probably trusted that he knew what he was doing, and that they really were above the law.

Speaking of above the law, check out some of Vernon's lunatic ravings during the sentencing.

Throughout his hearing, Lonnie Vernon was vocal, demanding several times that prosecutors and the judge prove their jurisdiction over him. 

"I want to find out who the hell you people really are," Vernon said. "Nobody has proved jurisdiction." 

"I reside in the state of Alaska, not in your government realm. I am sovereign," Vernon said. 

The militiaman steadfastly maintained his sovereign rights, and asked marshals to arrest prosecutors. "I want you to arrest these people until they prove who they are." 

Bryan told him, "This court has jurisdiction over you. If you don't agree with it, you can take it to a higher court." 

Vernon responded, "Better yet, let's take it to a lower court. The common law court." 

Whoa Nelly! This guy is some piece of work!

"Dammit Why CAN'T I threaten a judge and local law enforcement officials, then claim immunity from your laws, and get off scott free"

I wonder if he will use the same tactic in prison? "You can't do that to me, I am a sovereign citizen of Alaska. Stop touching me there!" Somehow I don't think that will protect him from those enforcing jailhouse jurisdiction.

Tomorrow it's Schaeffer Cox's turn to be sentenced. If Lonnie Vernon received 26 years I think we can expect Schaeffer to get about ten years more than that. All things considered.

I certainly hope those militia assholes down in the lower forty-right are paying close attention.  If that "sovereign citizen" shit won't fly in Alaska there is NO WAY it is going to work any better in Mississippi or Alabama.

Oh an by the way, Barack Obama is STILL the President. God I love saying that!

Prosecutor recommends a 35 year sentence for domestic Alaskan terrorist Schaeffer Cox.

Courtesy of ADN:

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to put Fairbanks militia leader Schaeffer Cox behind bars until he's in his mid-60s, and to sentence two militia members, Lonnie and Karen Vernon, to what is effectively life imprisonment. 

In June, an Anchorage jury convicted Cox, the 28-year-old founder of the Alaska Peacemaker Militia, and 57-year-old militia soldier Lonnie Vernon of plotting to kill law enforcement officials and conspiring to obtain gun silencers and grenades with which to carry out attacks. In a separate case, Lonnie and his 66-year-old wife, Karen, pleaded guilty in August, admitting they had planned to kill a federal judge and an Internal Revenue Service Officer while the couple was embroiled in a legal dispute over property taxes. 

Prosecutors are recommending sentences of 26 1/2 years for Lonnie Vernon for both convictions and 15 1/2 years for Karen Vernon. Lonnie Vernon is asking for a sentence of 21 years, 10 months. Karen Vernon is asking for five years. The couple's sentencing hearing is set for Monday. 

According to a sentencing memorandum filed in court this week, prosecutors recommend that Cox spend 35 years in prison. A judge is scheduled to sentence Cox at a hearing Tuesday. Cox's Seattle-based attorney, Peter Camiel, says he will ask the judge for a sentence of 10 years. 

Camiel and Cox's attorney at trial, Nelson Traverso, have said the militia members merely made plans to react with violence in the event of a collapse of the federal government and that no attacks were imminent. Prosecutors say the militia, at Cox's direction, took clear steps toward committing murder, including compiling a "hit list," conducting surveillance on possible targets and amassing a huge cache of weapons, some of them illegal to own. 

Well it should come as no surprise to anybody that I think they should throw the book at Cox.  As well as the Vernons.

In doing so I think it would send a clear message to all of those camouflage wearing, automatic weapon hoarding, militia assholes, that if THEY decide to start threatening Federal officials, or amassing a huge arsenal with the mindset that it will someday be used against our military, that they TOO may soon find themselves spending decades behind bars living in abject fear of accidentally dropping a bar of soap in the shower.

Oh and by the way, to any militia douchebags who might be reading this, Barack Obama is STILL our President.

Coleman Barney, Alaska Militia member and convicted domestic terrorist, receives five year prison sentence.

Courtesy of Seattle pi:

An Alaska militia group member found guilty of weapons charges was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison in a case involving others convicted of conspiring to kill government officials. 

Coleman Barney of North Pole held his head in his hands and sniffled loudly while he waited for U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan to impose the sentence Monday in Anchorage. 

"I think you got into some real bad stuff here, and this sentence reflects it," Bryan said. 

Barney, 38, and two other defendants have been in custody since their March 2011 arrests. The judge said Barney's time already served will count toward his term. 

Before he was sentenced, Barney apologized for making poor choices and decisions. A member of the Mormon church, he said he loved his country and that the militia started out as a group of "wonderful Christian men" who wanted to protect their families in case of a collapse. He said he got caught up in the hype and said things he didn't mean. 

Barney asked the judge to let him go back to his family. 

"There won't ever be any problems with me," he said. "I'm not a violent man." 

Yeah I actually don't think that Barney is a particularly violent man either, but that does NOT mean he would not have injured, or possibly killed someone if Schaeffer Cox had convinced him that they were in danger. These men were living off paranoia and fear, and there is no telling what they might have been capable of if the Feds, or Alaska law enforcement, had shown up at the wrong time.

By they way is anybody else struck by how easily it seems that "wonderful Christian men" can embrace violence under the right circumstances?