North Pole Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison on Explosives and Weapons Convictions

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.

North Georgia Men Who Plotted to Purchase Explosives and Silencers Sentenced to Prison

GAINESVILLE, GA—Frederick Thomas, 73, of Cleveland, Georgia; and Dan Roberts, 68, of Toccoa, Georgia, were sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard W. Story to federal prison on charges of conspiring to obtain an unregistered explosive device and silencer.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “These defendants didn’t just talk about killing government officials and law enforcement officers, they purchased equipment, including a silencer and what they thought were explosive devices, to carry out their plans. Now they will spend five years in prison.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “The FBI’s number one priority is to prevent another terrorist attack, irrespective of whether that attack or plot to attack originates from an international group or a domestic one. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) here in Atlanta, along with its many and varied agency partners, after gathering actionable intelligence regarding this domestic based threat, launched a comprehensive criminal investigation to dismantle and disrupt this threat before an attack could occur and did so while remaining within the rule of law.”

Thomas was sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Thomas was convicted of these charges on April 10, 2012, upon his plea of guilty.

Roberts was sentenced to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Roberts was convicted of these charges on April 10, 2012, upon his plea of guilty.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: defendants Thomas and Roberts were members of a known militia organization who sought to form what they referred to as a “covert group” that would plan and execute armed attacks on government buildings and federal employees including law enforcement agents. The firearms the defendants sought to obtain were to be used in those attacks.

In March and April 2011, the defendants met with each other and others to discuss the formation of the self-described “covert group,” its purposes, and their need to acquire weapons, ammunition, food, and survival gear.

Defendant Thomas discussed overt and covert operations for the group, stating that he had compiled what he called a “Bucket List,” which is a list of government employees, politicians, corporate leaders, and members of the media that needed to be “taken out” to “make the country right again.” Defendant Thomas further described the need for the group to acquire more weapons, ammunition, food, and survival gear and the need to establish a silent means of performing assassinations. To this end, defendant Thomas suggested silencers for handguns, stating, “In order to do what we want to do, take out the right people, we have to have some silent means of doing it. That means suppressors on handguns.” Defendant Thomas talked about his “Bucket List” of people he thought should be killed. Defendant Thomas further said that he thought they could “fight off a SWAT team” and that “I’ve been to war, and I’ve taken life before, and I can do it again.”

Defendant Thomas also made the following statements during the meetings:

■“The right people have to be taken down and taken down soon.”

■“There is no way for us, as militiamen, to save this country, to save Georgia, without doing something that’s highly, highly illegal. Murder. That’s f***ing illegal, but it’s gotta be done.”

■“When it comes time to saving the Constitution, that means some people gotta die.”

Defendant Thomas wished for the group to start taking action on some of their previously discussed plans, including a number of assassinations on various government officials. Defendant Thomas explained that he intended to model their actions on the plot of an online novel called “Absolved.” The plot of “Absolved” involves small groups of citizens attacking United States federal law enforcement representatives and federal judges. Defendant Thomas said that the covert group should conduct a number of assassinations on various government officials, and he particularly expressed a desire to kill Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service employees. He also provided those in attendance at the meeting a list of IRS office addresses.

During the same meeting, Thomas also made the following statements:

■“Civilian government operatives is who we’re going to be shooting at: IRS, ATF, FBI, and the cops.”

■“Who is the primary topics, targets? DOJ. Everybody in DOJ. That includes judges, ATF, IRS, and the hierarchy thereof.”

■“I could shoot ATF and IRS all day long.”

On April 30, 2011, defendant Thomas met with an individual he believed could obtain weapons for the covert group, including explosives. This individual is an active duty military employee who reported the activities of the covert group to military personnel after growing concerned about a potential attack. During a recorded meeting with this individual, defendant Thomas provided a handwritten list of 28 items including firearms, silencers, and explosives and asked the individual to obtain them for the group. Defendant Thomas told the individual that the covert group was looking for ways to conduct assassinations.

On May 24, 2011, defendant Thomas and a confidential source drove from north Georgia to Atlanta and conducted surveillance of the ATF and IRS buildings in Atlanta. During recorded conversations in conjunction with the surveillance of these buildings, Thomas discussed weapons the covert group wanted to acquire illegally, plans for additional surveillance inside the buildings, and methods of attacking the buildings with explosives.

On June 9, 2011, defendants Thomas and Roberts met with an undercover agent to discuss the purchase of silencers and explosives. Both defendants stated that they had specific targets in mind and defendant Thomas informed the undercover agent that they had already conducted surveillance of the targets. Defendant Thomas explained that the covert group was planning to carry out the actions of the main characters from the book “Absolved” and, like the main character in the book, defendant Thomas considered himself to be expendable at his age and was prepared to die if necessary. At one point during the meeting, defendant Thomas also said, “We know what we wanna do. We know how to do it. But we need [unintelligible] prepared to do it, so that’s what we’re doing now....Making the preparations, getting what we need so that when we go about doing it; we are equipped. Don’t know when that’s gonna be; within a year, I’m sure.”

On November 1, 2011, defendants Thomas and Roberts met with the undercover agent, gave him a sum of United States currency and a firearm, and took possession of a silencer for an M4 assault rifle and conversion parts to make the rifle fully automatic and what they believed were C-4 plastic explosives. During the meeting, the undercover agent explained to defendants Thomas and Roberts how to operate the explosives. During the recorded transaction, defendant Thomas said, “Now, I’m gonna want two more suppressors, one for a pistol and one for a rifle,” and defendant Roberts said, “The way my finances, finances are, I got, uh, it comes and goes, I’m only gonna be able to take one [silencer] at a time, probably.” Agents then arrested both defendants.

This case was investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which includes agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Protective Service (FPS), Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey A. Brown prosecuted the case.

Counterterrorism Stories - Domestic Threat: White Supremacy Extremism

It was a gruesome and hateful crime—three men with white supremacist tattoos punching and kicking the face and body of an African-American man at a bus stop in Houston last summer simply because of the color of his skin. All three were recently convicted of the attack, following an investigation by the FBI and its partners.

It’s not an isolated case. It seems like a throwback to a different era, but white supremacy—which sees whites as inherently superior to those of other races—still exists in America today. Having those kinds of beliefs is not against the law…as a matter of fact, it’s protected by the First Amendment. But white supremacy becomes a crime—and for the FBI, a form of what we call extremism—when it is furthered through threatened or actual use of force or violence or other illegal activity.

The Bureau has been investigating the criminal activities of white supremacy extremists like Ku Klux Klan members since as early as 1918. Today’s extremists are more challenging than ever. They’re affiliated with a variety of white supremacy groups, and they can be motivated by any number of religious or political ideologies. We’re also seeing more lone offenders and small, violent factions of larger groups at work, which makes detection of these crimes tougher.

White supremacy extremists specifically target racial, ethnic, and religious minorities; the federal government; and in some instances, even each other. Their tactics include assault, murder, threats and intimidation, and bombings. They also commit other kinds of crimes—like drug trafficking, bank and armored car robberies, and counterfeiting—to fund their hate-filled activities.

Over the years, the federal government has successfully charged white supremacy extremists using a number of federal statutes, including civil rights violations, racketeering, solicitation to commit crimes of violence, firearms violations, explosives violations, counterfeiting and forgery, and witness tampering.

In recent months, the FBI has led or participated in a number of significant investigations involving violence or attempted violence by self-admitted white supremacists. A few examples:

■In February 2012, an Arizona man was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing and transporting improvised explosive devices near the U.S.-Mexico border. Details

■In January 2012, the last of four Arkansas defendants charged with firebombing the home of an interracial couple was sentenced to federal prison. Details

■In December 2011, a Washington man was sentenced to 32 years in prison for attempting to bomb a Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Day march in Spokane. Details

■In May 2010, an Oregon man pled guilty to mailing a hangman’s noose to the home of the president of a local NAACP chapter in Ohio. Details

Moving forward, we see three keys to turning back the ongoing scourge of white supremacy extremism:

■Our increased emphasis on the lawful gathering, analyzing, and sharing of intelligence on current and emerging trends, tactics, and threats.

■Continued collaboration with our local, state, tribal, and federal partners, especially on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the nation.

■And most importantly, the support of Americans who find these types of crimes abhorrent and antithetical to our way of life.

If you have information on domestic terror threats of any kind, submit a tip or contact your local FBI field office.

Militia Extremist Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Take Over Plot

KNOXVILLE—On Tuesday, May 15, 2012, former militia member Darren Wesley Huff, 42, of Dallas, Georgia, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to serve four years in prison for his conviction of transporting firearms across state lines with the intent to cause a civil disorder.

Huff intended to arrest public officials pursuant to “citizens arrest warrants,” which were directed at numerous local, state, and federal public officials, including sheriffs, police chiefs, and President Obama. The citizens arrest warrants Huff attempted to execute listed the public officials as “Declared Domestic Enemies” and cited them for treason. On April 20, 2010, Huff traveled from his residence in Dallas, Georgia to Madisonville, Tennessee with the stated intent of “taking over” the courthouse in Monroe County and arresting the public officials for treason. The treasonous acts Huff alleged stemmed primarily from the refusal of the Monroe County grand jury to indict President Obama, who Huff claimed was not the legitimate president of the United States. On the day of the offense, Huff carried in his vehicle a .45 caliber handgun and an AK-47 with ammunition. He told people that day that he had 300-400 rounds of ammunition with the AK-47. During a traffic stop by a Tennessee state trooper on his way to Madisonville, Huff stated, “I’ve got my .45 because ain’t no government official gonna go peacefully.”

“This sentence will send a strong message to those who attempt to take the law into their own hands. Under our federal Constitution and statutes, Mr. Huff and others like him can talk or write about their anti-government views. They cannot arm themselves and make threats to arrest public officials and take over government buildings. The core of our democratic system is to allow peaceful protestbut prohibit armed threats to those who serve our government. His conviction is a great achievement by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Theodore and William Mackie. Their cooperative efforts resulted in this conviction and sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Killian.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was the lead investigative agency on this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Theodore and William Mackie represented the United States.

Five People Accused in Plot to Detonate Bridge Indicted

A three-count indictment was filed today against five people accused of taking part in a plot to detonate a bridge near Cleveland, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

All five men face identical charges: one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction to destroy property used in interstate commerce; one count of conspiracy to use of a weapon of mass destruction to destroy property used in interstate commerce; and one count of attempted use of an explosive device to damage or destroy real property used in interstate commerce.

Indicted are Douglas L. Wright, 26, of Indianapolis; Brandon L. Baxter, 20, of Lakewood, Ohio; Anthony Hayne, 35, of Cleveland; Connor C. Stevens, 20, of Berea, Ohio; and Joshua S. Stafford, of Cleveland.

According to the indictment, the five men conspired between February 20 and April 30, 2012 to use two improvised explosive devices containing C-4 plastic explosives on the Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge.

“The indictment in this case alleges that the defendants took specific and defined actions to further a terrorist plot,” Dettelbach said. “The defendants stand charged based not upon any words or beliefs they might espouse, but based upon their own plans and actions.”

“The safety of the citizens of the Northern District of Ohio is and continues to be our primary focus. The individuals charged in this plot were intent on using violence to express their ideological views,” Anthony said. “The Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue to be vigilant in its efforts to detect and disrupt any terrorism threat, domestic or international.”

This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Duncan Brown and was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Agencies represented on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force include: Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Air Marshal Service, Cleveland Police Department, Cleveland Heights Police Department, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, Westlake Police Department, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, RTA Police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Transportation Security Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Shaker Heights Police Department, North Olmstead Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspectors, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. National Park Service Park Rangers, Sagamore Hills Police Department and Brecksville Police Department, and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent of the charges until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.