Domestic terrorismNine in Michigan-based militia group sought Christian uprising in U.S.

Published 30 March 2010

The FBI raids the homes of members of a Michigan-based militia and arrests nine; the group members are charged in plot to wage war with U.S.; the men planned to kill a law enforcement officer and then attack and bomb that officer’s funeral, where there was certain to be legions of law enforcement attending

 

The Lenawee County village of a few hundred homes, about fifty miles northwest of Toledo, appears to be the base for the militia group known as the Hutaree. The Toledo Blade’s Mark Reiter and Christopher D. Kirkpatrick write that the Christian-based, anti-government group is said to believe that the end times of biblical scripture are near and that the men planned to be soldiers fighting alongside Jesus Christ.

Indicted were David Brian Stone Sr., 45, his wife, Tina Mae Stone, 44, his son, Joshua Matthew Stone, 21, all of Clayton, and his other son, David Brian Stone Jr., 19, of Adrian; Joshua John Clough, 28, of Blissfield; Michael David Meeks, 40, of Manchester, Michigan; Thomas William Piatek, 46, of Whiting, Indiana; Kristopher T. Sickles, 27, of Sandusky, and Jacob J. Ward, 33, of Huron, Ohio.

All of the suspects were in custody yesterday, with the ninth — Joshua Stone — arrested after he surrendered without incident around 8:15 p.m. to law enforcement agents in Wheatland Township, Michigan. FBI spokesman Sandra Berchtold said he was questioned and was to be transferred to the Wayne County jail.

The charges include seditious conspiracy — plotting to levy war against the United States — possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, teaching the use of explosives, and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction — homemade bombs.

The Hutaree’s doctrine alludes to the end of the world: “When the time comes for those without enough faith, they will fall to the anti-Christ’s doctrine. And it will make perfect sense to the whole world; even the elect.”

Hutaree says on its Web site that its name means “Christian warrior” and describes the word as part of a secret language few are privileged to know. An online video depicts men armed with rifles dressed in camouflage and an arm patch with the Hutaree insignia of a red and brown cross flanked by diagonal brown stripes. The gunmen practice shooting from behind a car and practice military maneuvers in a wooded area.

Seven of the nine suspects appeared in Detroit yesterday morning before Magistrate Donald Scheer. All seven were being held without bond. A hearing to determine whether bond should be set for all of the defendants was set for 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.

The FBI’s Berchtold said the arrests and searches related to the indictment were carried out in Lenawee and Washtenaw counties. She refused to comment on the relationship between the eight men and one woman — or whether any of them were arrested at a funeral home. “I can’t confirm of deny the events of the arrests,” she said. “There were search warrants served in both counties. I cannot be specific which was done where.”

The indictment states the men trained with automatic weapons in the Clayton area for a year, planning eventually to kill a law enforcement officer and then attack and bomb that officer’s funeral, where there was certain to be legions of law enforcement attending, said the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Their plan then called for the group to retreat — possibly to Clayton — for a battle they hoped would prompt sympathy and wider revolution.

The federal indictment states the purported leader, David Brian Stone Sr., known to his followers as “Captain Hutaree,” was trying to join forces with a militia group in Kentucky and had planned to travel there. He also was trying to find someone who could make IEDs, (improvised explosive devices), similar to the roadside bombs used by insurgents in Iraq.

 

Reiter and Kirkpatrick write that the group gathered in Clayton on or around 20 February to train for the battle. The indictment states the men were all armed at the training.

Some members of other militia groups distanced themselves from the Hutaree organization. Lee Miracle, coordinator of the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, said none of that group’s members was arrested. “It had nothing to do with our group and nothing to do with the bulk of the militia groups here in the state,” he said. On its Web site, lenaweemilitia.com, the organization posted a notice yesterday stating it had “not been raided by the FBI. We do nothing illegal.”