ANCHORAGE—U.S. Attorney Karen L.
Loeffler announced today that Coleman L. Barney from North Pole, Alaska, was
sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to five years in prison for conspiracy
to possess grenades and silencers and to five years in prison for possession of
an unregistered destructive device, with the two sentences to run concurrently.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert J.
Bryan presided over the trial in this case and also imposed the two five-year
concurrent prison terms on Coleman Barney.
On June 18, 2012, a jury returned guilty
verdicts against Coleman Barney, Schaffer Cox, and Lonnie G. Vernon on a
majority of charges alleged in the superseding indictment and acquitted them on
several other charges. Cox, a local militia leader, and Vernon, a fellow
militia member, were found guilty of conspiring to murder federal officials,
which carries a possible life sentence. Barney, a fellow militia member, was
convicted of conspiracy to possess unregistered silencers and destructive devices,
as well as possession of unregistered destructive devices. The jury could not
reach a verdict as to one of the counts, which charged Barney with conspiracy
to murder federal officials, and that count was later dismissed. The verdicts
represented the culmination of an extensive investigation that included
obtaining recordings of Vernon, Cox, and Barney discussing the murder of
numerous state officials in retaliation for attempting to arrest Cox.
Barney’s sentencing is an important step
toward concluding this investigation, which resulted in a six-week trial in
June. Sentencing for the Vernon’s and Schaeffer Cox are scheduled to occur this
coming November.
Ms. Loeffler said, “The actions of Mr.
Barney and his co-conspirators presented a very real and dangerous threat to
our community.” She commended “the professional work and dedication of law
enforcement in protecting citizens and public servants from these threats.”
Mary Rook, Special Agent in Charge of
the FBI in Alaska added, “This investigation and prosecution found its genesis
in the voice of concerned citizens that a group of people, operating under the
auspices of a sovereign militia, were planning to murder state and federal
officials. As a result of the investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task
Force and the Alaska State Troopers, Coleman Barney and his co-conspirators
were arrested before they could carry out their murderous plans.”
Ms. Loeffler commends the Federal Bureau
of Investigation; the United States Marshals Service; the Bureau of Alcohol
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Alaska State Troopers; and the Fairbanks
Police Department for the investigation of this case.
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