Christian Militia Busted

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 1, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

               Arresting and charging a Michigan-based Christian militia called the Hutaree March 28 with seditious conspiracy, the FBI prevented a potentially deadly attack on local law enforcement, planning to overthrow the U.S. government.  No one knows for sure the extent of which supremacist militias in the U.S. or the extent to which they hide behind the First Amendment, namely, organized religion.  FBI agents moved swiftly to arrest seven men and one woman March 28, arresting one other male a day later in Wheatland Township, Mich.  Ringleader 45-year-old David Brian Stone of Clayton thought it OK to post his expected plans on the militia’s Web site, revealing to humanity the group’s intent to wage war against the U.S.  Planning to stage a phony 9/11 call, the group plotted to lure a peace officer to his death at a routine house call and bomb crowds at a police funeral.

            Militia groups came to light in 1992 when FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents descended on Ruby Ridge Aug. 22, 1992 in northern Idaho to confront heavily armed militiaman Randy Weaver.  On Aug. 26, FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi shot Randy Weaver in the armpit, hit Vicki Weaver in the head and struck Kevin Harris in the thorax, eventually charging him with the murder of U.S. Marshal William Degan. One year later, FBI and ATF agents torched the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas April 19, 1993, killing 82 men, women and children.  Two years later, U.S.-home-grown terrorist Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma City Alfred P. Murrah Federal Buidling April 19. 1995, killing 168, injuring 450.  Recent events in Wheatland Township, Mich. can be traced to the U.S. government’s firm response to religious and secular cults.

            All religious and secular cults have in common paranoid leaders, whose twisted internal and external worldview leave them suspicious of government motives.  Together with cloistered followers, cult leaders amass weapons to defend themselves against real or imagined threats, eventually drawing attention of law enforcement.  Arrests of the Michigan-based Christian militia dealt “a severe blow to a dangerous organization that today stands accused of conspiring to levy war against the United States,” said Atty. Gen. Eric Holder.  Hutaree’s Web site revealed a paramilitary organization, led by “Capt. Hutaree,” David Brian Stone and staffed by “radoks” and “gunners,” anticipating eventual war with the U.S.  “It started out as a Christian thing,” said 44-year-old Donna Stone, David’s wife.  “Your go to church.  You pray.  You take care of your family.  I think David started to take it a little to far.”

            What makes the Hutaree cult so relevant is its insistence by Stone that the militia was designed to fight the Anti-Christ or devil.  “We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ . . . . Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive with equipment,” read Hutaree’s Web site, bearing striking parallels to right wing attacks against President Barack Obama.  A recent Harris Interactive Poll indicated the 24% of Republicans believe that Barack is the Anti-Christ, with another 29 % believing he wants to turn the country over to a hostile foreign power.  More extreme right wing groups believe Barack is a dangerous revolutionary, disrespecting the nation’s most sacred documents.  With enough secular and religious preachers on U.S. airwaves grinding out pernicious propaganda, Obama-hatred reached a fever’s pitch.

            Radio talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and politicians like former Alaska Gov. Sara Palin have a way of inciting militia or cult types, typically living in remote areas, preferring isolation for themselves and their families, developing dangerous levels of paranoia and serving as a magnet for disenfranchised souls capable to committing violent acts.  When Palin campaigned during the 2008 as Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) running mate, she frequently whipped audiences into a rage, sometimes calling then candidate Obama racial epithets or Islamic terrorist.  Today’s health care debate brought about similar reactions on the steps of Capitol Hill, where some over-zealous Tea Party revelers spewed racial insults and spat on black members of Congress.  Politicians and radio personalities need to know the limits of free speech, where spewing racism and hate crosses the line.

            Acting swiftly to contain a dangerous Michigan-based Christian militia, U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade promised to “take them down.”  “The time had come that we needed to arrest them and take them down,” said McQuade, acknowledging an imminent threat to local law enforcement.  Seizing illegal guns and bombs, the FBI recognized the seriousness of the treat, watching the Hutaree members undergo paramilitary training.  What makes the Hutaree case so relevant is the emergence of extremist groups on U.S. soil, attracting mentally unstable followers.  Calling themselves “Christian Warriors,” the militia was willing to commit violent acts in the name of “Christ.”  Sound familiar?  While fingers point toward Islamic extremists, they should look no further than domestic misanthropes easily seduced by persuasive secular and religious cults, listening to persuasive voices on talk radio and cable TV.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.