Militia member 'filled with rage,' plotted ambush

The Grand Rapids Press ^ | Friday, October 17, 2003 | Ed White

[FourPeas]

Militia member 'filled with rage,' plotted ambush

Friday, October 17, 2003

By Ed White
The Grand Rapids Press

It was a rural arsenal fit for war.

After the peaceful arrest of a Cadillac-area man, authorities who searched his 40-acre compound discovered a stunning collection of firepower, including an anti-aircraft gun capable of firing 550 rounds per minute up to four miles away.

A van and a Jeep Cherokee, described by the suspect as his "war wagons," had machine guns inside, with one "locked, loaded and ready to go," Assistant U.S. Attorney Lloyd Meyer said.

Agents found an underground bunker, thousands of rounds of ammunition, hundreds of pounds of gunpowder and manuals on guerrilla warfare, "booby traps" and explosives.

There were chilling pictures of President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with the cross-hairs of a high-

see MILITIA, A4

powered rifle scope drawn over them, Meyer said.

Norman Somerville, 43, was arrested last week on federal gun and drug charges as he shopped at Home Depot in Cadillac. Authorities then spent the weekend combing his property in Wexford County's Antioch Township, about 20 miles northwest of Cadillac.

Details of the search were disclosed in a court document filed Thursday in federal court in Grand Rapids, four days before a judge will decide whether Somerville should remain in jail while his case is pending.

Somerville was "filled with rage and intended to ambush people, mowing them down in a hail of machine-gun bullets," Meyer said, quoting informants. He belongs to a "self-styled radical militia unit" whose members are upset over the death of Scott Woodring, the prosecutor said.

Woodring was the Newaygo County man fatally shot by state police during the summer, days after a trooper died while trying to serve him with an arrest warrant.

State police were told in September that Somerville wanted to cause a car accident, then "ambush and kill" any responding officers with a machine gun mounted in his Jeep, Meyer wrote in the court document.

An unidentified source, described as one of Somerville's "trusted associates," feared he had become "mentally unbalanced and would kill an innocent person or be killed," Meyer said.

Somerville may face additional charges linked to the search of his property, although Meyer declined to elaborate.

Two years ago, Somerville moved to Wexford County from elsewhere in northern Michigan. He served in the Army from 1978 to 1984 and was trained as an intelligence analyst assigned to the elite Special Forces.

During a brief court appearance last week in Grand Rapids, Somerville said: "The people will have their day. ... There's a quiet civil war going on in the country."

In Antioch Township, five miles outside Mesick, neighbors said he is not the type to share a cup of sugar.

"We told our kids to stay off his property. There was gunfire a lot," said Lynda Sherburne, a former township clerk who lives nearby. "Who knows where the stray bullets are going.

"He got angry very easily. No contact with him was the best contact."

Sherburne said her nephew's house shook as state and federal authorities detonated explosives found on Somerville's property.

"I don't think anyone realized he was stockpiling back there," she said.

[wimpycat]

All for merely sleeping in a car, too!

John Wesley Hardin--shot a man, just for snorin'.

[Cultural Jihad]

Did Mary and Joesph have a marriage license?

Were they sociopaths and neighborphobes, too?

[Catspaw]

John Wesley Hardin--shot a man, just for snorin'.

*snort*

Ooops, I meant *snicker*

Don't shoot me, wimpycat!

[Dan from Michigan]

And, I acknowledge that if someone is plotting to murder policemen, then he should be picked up and have his guns confiscated until we're sure he isn't a threat.

Here's the problem with that. Innocent till proven guilty.

It's real easy if you get a "Dan Harmon", "John Mitchell" or a "Janet Reno" to make up something like that to take away someones guns.

I do think violent criminals should not be allowed to own firearms. On the same note, violent criminals should not be out on the streets.

[tpaine]

You think there is nothing incongruent about Bibles, marijuana, and cohabitation outside marriage.

Is that a fair summary ?
Would you classify your political leanings as Libertarian, Democrat, or ?
362 af_vet_1981

---

yep i think you got it right...

...Did Mary and Joesph have a marriage license? Why did GOD create marijuana? I believe he did for medical reasons.....
-376-

---

Cultural Jihad wrote:

Were they sociopaths and neighborphobes, too?

---

Why are you calling this woman a "sociopath" and a "neighborphobe", CJ?
-- Take it to the backroom.

Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts.

[Cultural Jihad]

Why are you calling this woman a ...

Is she Mary or is she Joseph? Speaking of which, would Mary claim that she is 'Joseph's girlfriend'?

[Ches]

Well done tpaine.

[tpaine]

Well done?
That was CJ's 'patron saint' operating, not mine.

[tpaine]

Beats me, CJ..
You're FR's resident expert on the more weird aspects of religion, not me.

[tpaine]

And actually, seeing that CJ's personal attack wasn't even pulled, --- I'd guess the back room switch was done because of the arrival of FR's flying monkey squad..

[cavtrooper21]

I can only assume that you've seen this.
You sell your book to anybody in Michigan???

[cavtrooper21]

Oh-o
I'm in BIG trouble...
That would mean that I'm a right wing militia cult compound.
Oh dear me..
I don't think I can fit all that onto the welcome sign...

[Ches]

Never the less, you do an excellent job of exposing people's prejudices and dogmatic approach. I appreciate your ability to disect. As my keyboard skills improve I hope to participate more actively in the future. For now it's lurk and comment and lurk some more.

Thanks.

[Cultural Jihad]

This schedule will get any militia aficionada all the way to Nairobi, after which it's a nominal fee in goats or cooking oil to reach the Shangri-La of Mogadishu, Somalia. Imagine basking on the tax-free beaches, snuggling up with a fully unlicensed bazooka; ... a veritable MYOB Paradise awaits! ;-)

  Trip Summary

Outbound Flight

Thu, Nov 20 9:30pm Depart - Detroit, MI (DTW)			Northwest Airlines   32		Adult Fare Rules
Fri, Nov 21 10:00am Arrive - London Gatwick, UK (LGW)			Nonstop
Flight time: 7 hrs 30 min

Connection Time: 9 hrs 0 min

Fri, Nov 21 7:00pm Depart - London Heathrow, UK (LHR)			Kenya Airways   101		Adult Fare Rules
Sat, Nov 22 6:35am Arrive - Nairobi, Kenya (NBO)			Nonstop
Flight time: 8 hrs 35 min

Total Travel Time: 25 hrs 5 min

AirFare Summary - Prices shown in U.S. dollars	Total:  USD 1541.20

Travelers	Base price per person			Taxes & Fees	Total Price

1 adult	1495.00			41.20	1536.20
Service Fee				5.00	5.00
Please remember that prices are not guaranteed until tickets are purchased. The following prices are for electronic tickets. If your itinerary requires a paper ticket, additional fees may apply.

• Once ticket is issued, it may not be reassigned to a different passenger or airline.
• There is a fee to change this ticket.
• This price includes a nonrefundable 5.00 service fee, which will be charged separately to my credit card.

[cavtrooper21]

Sounds like a fun trip...
BTW, Glad to see you back.
It had been awhile since you had posted (at least as far as I remembered)

[Ches]

"Imagine basking on the tax-free beaches,"

This part sounds nice! How do they treat Christians there? Would I need desert camo or tropical? So many questions, so little time...:)

[cavtrooper21]

If you were to talk to some members of the Takawana Divison of the Former Iraqi Republican Guard, I'm sure there are several of them that would gladly ID me as a violent criminal.
Plus some from Manuel Noriega's "Freedom Battalions"
All depends on who is doing the defining...

[tpaine]

Cultural Jihad:
"Imagine basking on the tax-free beaches,"

______________________________________

This part sounds nice! How do they treat Christians there?
416 -Ches-

---

CJ is only FR's expert in the weird aspects of religion. -- S/he may study a bit of true Christian humility in a year or two.

[Travis McGee]

I've sold at least 20 or so to Michigan. Outside of the south, MI has been huge! That's just the ones I've signed and sent myself, I can't account for where AK-47.net and Amazon sales have gone.

[FreedomCalls]

Do your questions actually have a point

Yes. It is the Socratic method of debate. You don't think private citizens have a right to possess nuclear weapons. But you do allow for nation-states to possess them. I'm trying to determine where you do draw the line and why. What is unique about Tuvalu that New York State is not for instance and why it is OK for Tuvalu to possess nuclear weapons but not any government actor inferior to the federal government in the United States.