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.

[Prodigal Son]

Absolutely. I don't believe I have a constitutional right to own Anti-aircraft weapons.

You realize that a .50 caliber is an anti-aircraft weapon?

[Maelstrom]

Make the next question about the size of a .12-guage shotgun slug.

[MineralMan]

"How do you know which calibers, cartirdges, and actions you should have a right to. Where do you draw the line? How do you know where to draw the line?"

I don't. I have the firearms I've purchased, and the ones given to me by dead relatives. All are normal sporting firearms, with the exception of the Sharps carbine, which was military issue. All were purchased through commercial channels, except for the Sharps.

None fall into any category likely to be affected by any bans.

I'm not planning to go to war.

[Joe Brower]

Well, you certainly have your stereotypes all wrapped up in one handy package. You are letting your prejudices blind you to what you are advocating. By your statement, then, it is desireable to penalize all citizens because of the potential actions of a few miscreants.

You do realize that is one of the most-repeated and fundamental positions of the gun-grabbing left, do you not?

[Ribeye]

"a ranch is what hollyweirdos buy. you live in a compound!"



No really it's "ranch". Yeah, that's it a ranch. Or maybe a "farm". But, no, not a "compund". Well, maybe a fort, but not a compound.

lol.

[Junior]

Where do these guys get the money to buy this stuff? Hell, a single handgun will set you back a few hundred bucks.

[Maelstrom]

Yes, they do fall under weapons to be banned.

You're guilty of everything this guy is guilty of, absent a bit of hearsay to bring the fuzz down on you. Paint you as a lunatic, owner of an arsenal, someone who uses guns, why, you probably even transport them to a targetting range...that could make your vehicle a "war wagon".

Your Sharps qualifies as "anti-aircraft" and the BATF is happy to tell you that it doesn't matter how well it works.

[wimpycat]

It seems rather redundant to add the phrase, "filled with rage" to "militia member".

[Maelstrom]

Chancellor Palpatine always has...

[FourPeas]

Perhaps he has a, uh, job?

[from occupied ga]

Where do these guys get the money to buy this stuff? Hell, a single handgun will set you back a few hundred bucks.

Like anyone else any American who is not on the government dole, they work for a living.

[headsonpikes]

It's a memory piece for me.

You're lucky to have such a link to your family's past. ;^)

[John H K]

Norman Somerville, 43, was arrested last week on federal gun and drug charges

Would be a fun experiment to change "Norman Somerville" to "Nuwasid Somiryya" and leave the rest of the story the same and see how the replies change.

[hattend]

What exactly is a "compound?" What makes it a "compound?"

It's a compound if the press wants to smear you...it's a 40 acre ranch if they don't.

[azcap]

40 acres = a farm

40 acres + a gun = a compound

40 acres + a bible + a gun = a cult compound

40 acres + a copy of the federalist papers + a gun = a right-wing militia compound

 

 

[hattend]

That about sums it up.

[dirtboy]

40 acres + a copy of the federalist papers + a gun + the BATF + CNN = a fedgov photo op

[Junior]

I have a job, and a good-paying one at that. However, I can't afford to plunk down the umpteen thousand dollars this guy's arsenal is worth.

[mountaineer]

This guy sounds like a low level lunatic and loser. With the President and VP in his cross-hairs.

Sounds like someone who would frequent Liberty Post.

[Area51]

To: Chancellor Palpatine

Well, you certainly have your stereotypes all wrapped up in one handy package. You are letting your prejudices blind you to what you are advocating. By your statement, then, it is desireable to penalize all citizens because of the potential actions of a few miscreants.

You do realize that is one of the most-repeated and fundamental positions of the gun-grabbing left, do you not?


64 posted on 10/17/2003 11:20 AM PDT by Joe Brower ("If you need a lawyer to tell you what your rights are, you don't have any rights.")
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OPHie would have made a dandy Torie back in the Revolutionary war times. NO way in hell would he have taken up arms against the king. Maybe tried to screw the Queen but never fight the King.

And of course he would have justified his actions as doing his part.

That or he would have taken a vacation and gone fishing!