Alaska militia members arrested in murder, kidnap plot; GOP Rep signed militia leader’s ‘insurrection pledge’
Several members of a separatist Alaska militia have been arrested in an alleged plot to kidnap and kill judges and state troopers. Now the political associations of the group’s leader are coming to light.
From RawStory:
View the felony complaint here.
Five members or associates of a militia group were arrested in Fairbanks, Alaska Thursday in connection with a plot to kidnap or kill state trooper and judges.
Francis “Schaeffer” Cox, Lonnie Vernon, Karen Vernon, Coleman Barney and Michael Anderson were all charged with conspiracy to conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit arson, third-degree misconduct involving weapons, first-degree hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence, according to KTUU.
Cox is known to be the leader of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia.
An investigation into the militia “revealed extensive plans to kidnap or kill Alaska State Troopers and a Fairbanks Judge,” according to an Alaska Department of Public Safety statement.
“Cox et. al. had conspired a plan to launch an attack on Alaska State Troopers and Court Judges. Investigation also revealed that extensive surveillance on troopers in the Fairbanks area had occurred, specifically on the locations of the homes for two Alaska State Troopers. Furthermore, Cox et. al. had acquired a large cache of weapons in order to carry out attacks against their targeted victims. Some of the weapons known to be in the cache are prohibited by state or federal law.”
An arrest warrant had previously been issued for Cox on a weapons charge.
In March, the militia leader had responded to an online “distress call,” where a fellow conspiracy theorist had claimed the police were conducting an illegal search of his house, according to Anchorage Press’ David Holthouse.
Cox, 26, is a self-described “sovereign citizen” – whose adherents believe they are not subject to laws they do not wish to obey, and that judges, juries and police have no authority over them. Militia groups like Cox’s are said to draw inspiration from the Turner Diaries, which also influenced Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. The prior warrant charged that Cox failed to notify police that he had a concealed weapon when they responded to his home.
More about Cox’s group, via Reuters:
Cox and his associates had developed an extensive plan to launch their attacks, the troopers said in a statement.
They had already conducted extensive surveillance on Fairbanks-area troopers, locating the homes of two troopers, and acquired a large cache of weapons, some of them illegal, according to the statement.
According to prosecutors, the weapons amassed by the group included machine guns, multiple assault rifles, multiple pineapple grenades, at least one grenade launcher, dozens of high-powered rifles and pistols and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The five are charged with conspiring to commit murder, kidnapping and arson, weapons misconduct, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence, the troopers said. They were arrested late on Thursday without incident, the troopers said.
One of those arrested, 56-year-old Lonnie Vernon, was charged with threatening to kill U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline and a member of Beistline’s family.
According to the grand jury indictment issued on February 17 and unsealed Friday, Vernon was seeking retaliation against Beistline for rulings in a case in which Vernon and his wife have been found to owe about $166,000 in back taxes.
And about Cox himself:
Cox has become a minor celebrity in Alaska for his outspoken views and flamboyant style.
He ran for the state legislature in 2008, has identified himself as a good friend and associate of unsuccessful Tea Party-supported U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller and has tangled with law enforcement officers over domestic-violence charges and weapons charges. At the time of his arrest Thursday, he was the subject of a warrant for failure to appear in court on a weapons charge.
He is also the founder of a Second Amendment group, the “Alaska-based Second Amendment Task Force, a “pro-gun rights” group. Its website details a supposed United Nations-orchestrated conspiracy to deprive Americans of theirs constitutional right to bear arms,” per Media Matters, and has in the past advocated the use of force against the government.
ThinkProgress on Friday reports that a member of Congress has in the past associated himself with Cox’s Second Amendment beliefs:
Alaska Republican congressman Don Young has signed an insurrectionist pledge written by Alaska militia organizer Schaeffer Cox that advocated for opposing our government in response to gun control laws. Watch this video:
The Homeland Security Department caused an uproar on the right in 2009 when it issued a report warning that right wing militias posed a serious threat to domestic security. Conservatives have preferred to focus on what they say is the threat of Muslim extremists and “Sharia law.”
Media Matters: right wing extremism in the United States
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