Anti Federalist
11-01-2011, 02:41 PM
Militia: State drops charges against Alaska Peacemakers, but what about the federal case?
Ben Anderson, Jill Burke | Oct 31, 2011
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/militia-state-drops-charges-against-alaska-peacemakers-what-about-federal-case
A recent ruling by an Alaska Superior Court judge to nix more than 100 hours of surveillance recordings sounded the death knell for the state case against the five members of the "241" murder conspiracy plot.
On Friday, state prosecutors dropped all charges, which included the more serious charges of conspiracy to kidnap and murder. It’s a huge win for those caught up in the probe, but one that only means freedom for one of the co-defendants, Michael Anderson.
"With the suppression of the recordings, the state prosecution of these individuals is no longer possible," the Alaska Department of Law explained in a prepared statement.
Alaska Peacemakers Militia leader Schaeffer Cox and associates Coleman Barney, Lonnie Vernon and Karen Vernon still face federal weapons charges and will remain in jail.
For reasons unclear, state charges were also dropped against Ken Thesing, a sixth Cox associate. Thesing was not charged in the murder conspiracy and faced only minor state charges for serving the court with false legal documents.
The state's decision to drop case came in the wake of an Oct. 17 ruling by Alaska Superior Court Judge David Stewart, who ruled that more than 100 hours of audio and video surveillance could not be used as evidence in the state's case. Under state law, which offers greater privacy protections than the U.S. Constitution, the judge ruled the warrantless recordings unconstitutional.
The secret surveillance began as part of a federal investigation into militia activities in Alaska's Interior, and relied mostly on two confidential informants, later revealed to be military surplus store owner William Fulton -- who vanished five days after the initial arrests in the militia case -- and Gerald "J.R." Olson, a shady contractor who agreed to assist in the investigation in exchange for getting out of convictions and prison time in a string of separate crimes.
Robert John, a defense attorney representing Schaeffer Cox, said he had anticipated the judge's decision to not allow the audio and video evidence might eventually lead to the case's dismissal. He just didn't think it would be so quick.
"I saw this coming," said John, adding he thought the defense would have to go through a few more motions, "but I did anticipate that this is where it would go."
Tim Dooley, who represents Coleman Barney in both the state and federal cases, called Stewart's decision to suppress the tapes "very courageous," but added that, in his opinion, the tapes would have been more help than harm for his client's case had they been entered into evidence, rather than resulting in the dismissal of the state's case.
"Actually, it's really ironic that they got suppressed. We could have used them," Dooley said.
Cox, Barney, and Lonnie and Vernon each still face federal weapons charges. And in a separate federal case, the Vernons are accused of plotting to kill a federal judge and IRS agent.
Where does the case go from here? What does it mean for other militia members around the state, and the country? And what about Mike Anderson, who went free after Friday's dismissal?
Ben Anderson, Jill Burke | Oct 31, 2011
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/militia-state-drops-charges-against-alaska-peacemakers-what-about-federal-case
A recent ruling by an Alaska Superior Court judge to nix more than 100 hours of surveillance recordings sounded the death knell for the state case against the five members of the "241" murder conspiracy plot.
On Friday, state prosecutors dropped all charges, which included the more serious charges of conspiracy to kidnap and murder. It’s a huge win for those caught up in the probe, but one that only means freedom for one of the co-defendants, Michael Anderson.
"With the suppression of the recordings, the state prosecution of these individuals is no longer possible," the Alaska Department of Law explained in a prepared statement.
Alaska Peacemakers Militia leader Schaeffer Cox and associates Coleman Barney, Lonnie Vernon and Karen Vernon still face federal weapons charges and will remain in jail.
For reasons unclear, state charges were also dropped against Ken Thesing, a sixth Cox associate. Thesing was not charged in the murder conspiracy and faced only minor state charges for serving the court with false legal documents.
The state's decision to drop case came in the wake of an Oct. 17 ruling by Alaska Superior Court Judge David Stewart, who ruled that more than 100 hours of audio and video surveillance could not be used as evidence in the state's case. Under state law, which offers greater privacy protections than the U.S. Constitution, the judge ruled the warrantless recordings unconstitutional.
The secret surveillance began as part of a federal investigation into militia activities in Alaska's Interior, and relied mostly on two confidential informants, later revealed to be military surplus store owner William Fulton -- who vanished five days after the initial arrests in the militia case -- and Gerald "J.R." Olson, a shady contractor who agreed to assist in the investigation in exchange for getting out of convictions and prison time in a string of separate crimes.
Robert John, a defense attorney representing Schaeffer Cox, said he had anticipated the judge's decision to not allow the audio and video evidence might eventually lead to the case's dismissal. He just didn't think it would be so quick.
"I saw this coming," said John, adding he thought the defense would have to go through a few more motions, "but I did anticipate that this is where it would go."
Tim Dooley, who represents Coleman Barney in both the state and federal cases, called Stewart's decision to suppress the tapes "very courageous," but added that, in his opinion, the tapes would have been more help than harm for his client's case had they been entered into evidence, rather than resulting in the dismissal of the state's case.
"Actually, it's really ironic that they got suppressed. We could have used them," Dooley said.
Cox, Barney, and Lonnie and Vernon each still face federal weapons charges. And in a separate federal case, the Vernons are accused of plotting to kill a federal judge and IRS agent.
Where does the case go from here? What does it mean for other militia members around the state, and the country? And what about Mike Anderson, who went free after Friday's dismissal?