Militia Watchdog

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Last updated December 12, 1997
Calendar of Conspiracy, Volume 1, Number 3: A Chronology of Anti-Government Extremist Criminal Activity, July to September 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 third quarter 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 to remote rural areas in Texas and Colorado. 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 public officials or committing similar offenses are considerably underrepresented in this report. Such activities occur with a very high level of frequency across the nation. This report includes events from twenty-five states, but activity occurs in every state in the country.

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JULY

July 1, Wisconsin: Anti-abortion activist Dale Pultz goes on trial in Dane County for filing a $700,000 bogus lien against a Milwaukee judge who ruled him in contempt of court. He also filed a "Common Law Arrest Warrant" against the judge. He is charged with slander of title and forgery. Pultz was a member of the group Missionaries to the Preborn, which has advocated forming anti-abortion militias. He will be convicted the next day.

July 3, West Virginia: Jack Phillips, of the West Virginia Mountaineer Militia, pleads guilty to conspiring to manufacture explosives, as part of an alleged plot to destroy the FBI fingerprinting facility in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He is the second member of the group to plead guilty.

July 3, Montana: Lavon Hanson, associated with the Montana Freemen, pleads guilty in a plea bargain to one count of bank fraud relating to his attempt to pass a bogus money order for $428,000 to a bank in Spokane, Washington. Hanson was one of the first Freemen to be arrested, triggering the lengthy standoff at Jordan, Montana. As part of his plea bargain, Hanson agrees to discuss the Freemen’s activities with the FBI.

July 3, California: Isabel Oxx, of Westlake, California, is convicted of jury tampering in connection with the fraud trial of Elizabeth Broderick, convicted for distributing bogus money orders. Oxx herself had previously tried to use such checks to pay off loans and make large purchases.

July 4, Texas: FBI agents arrest two men, Brad Glover of Towanda, Kansas, and Michael Dorsett of Texas, on weapons charges. The two were allegedly on their way to Fort Hood, Texas, where they planned to launch some sort of an attack on the base as the first of a series of planned attacks on military installations they believed to harbor UN troops.

July 7, Kansas: Scott Roeder is sentenced to sixteen months in state prison for parole violations following a 1996 conviction for having bomb components in his car trunk. Roeder, a sovereign citizen and tax protester, violated his parole by not filing tax returns or providing his social security number to his employer.

July 9, Washington: James Bell of Vancouver, Washington, is charged with using false Social Security numbers and with attempting to impede or obstruct agents from the IRS. The latter charge includes having stink-bombed the Vancouver IRS office. Bell, a member of the Multnomah County Common Law Court, is more well known for having written an Internet essay on "Assassination Politics" which advocates the murder of federal officials.

July 10, Wisconsin: Merlon Lingenfelter, Jr., is arrested on weapons charges in connection with the activities of Bradley Glover et al, above.

July 10, Colorado: Terry and Kevin Hobeck are arrested on weapons charges in Creede, Colorado, in connection with the activities of Bradley Glover et al, above.

July 10, Texas: Richard McLaren and three other members of the Republic of Texas who were involved in a week-long standoff with Texas authorities the previous May are arraigned in state district court on charges of organized criminal activity and, for McLaren, burglary. Two others also face kidnapping charges.

July 11, Kansas: Thomas and Kimberly Newman are arrested in Kansas on weapons charges in connection with the activities of Bradley Glover et al, above.

July 17, Washington: James Bell (see above) pleads guilty to obstructing the IRS and using false Social Security numbers.

July 17, Ohio: A $20 million bond is set by an Ohio judge for Chevie Kehoe, one of two Washington brothers involved in a shootout with Ohio police officers in February.