Posted on 11/11/2006 7:29:21 AM PST by Firefigher NC
FAYETTEVILLE — A Fayetteville militia member was arrested Wednesday by teams of special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other federal and state agencies and local police in connection with illegal firearms.
Fayetteville police Lt. Mike Reynolds said 14 search warrants were executed Wednesday in Fort Smith and Fayetteville and one of the warrants was for a lieutenant commander of the Militia of Washington County, Hollis “Wayne” Fincher, of 16085 East Black Oak Road. “We assisted ATF and several other agencies in arresting Fincher. I don’t believe he has a criminal history with us. That’s all I can tell you,” Reynolds said.
Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder said he couldn’t comment on the arrest or Fincher.
Fincher was arrested without incident at his residence, according to an ATF news release.
Senior ATF Special Agent Austin R. Banks said he was restricted to releasing anything beyond the news release. He did confirm Fincher has no criminal record and he was the only person arrested.
The arrest and search warrants were the result of an eight-month investigation relating to the unlawful manufacture, possession and transfer of machine guns, Banks said.
A machine gun that can fire 550 rounds a minute and assorted 9 mm Sten submachine guns are stored in the Washington County militia’s concrete and steel vault, according to information gathered from an interview conducted by The Morning News in March. Each weapon is stamped with the word “non-commercial” to prove the group holds the arms for militia purchases only and not for trade or sale.
Owners of automatic weapons must pay $200 to license each automatic weapon they own. Militia members avoided that by re-building government-destroyed automatic weapons for their own use, Paul Smith, militia commander said in March.
Fincher said in the March interview he believes Americans should proudly uphold the right to bear arms, stand up for land rights and not always accept the federal government as the supreme law of the land.
“What we’ve got to do today is hold our ground,” Fincher said in March.
According to the militia’s Web site, the headquarters is down the road from Fincher’s address at 15566 E. Black Oak Road. The militia was formed July 4, 1994.
Thirteen additional federal search warrants were executed at different places in the Fort Smith-Fayetteville area, Banks said. The warrants are under seal at the direction of the U.S. Attorney for the Western Judicial District of Arkansas. All evidence seized during the execution of the warrants will be submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the preparation of indictments in this investigation.
ATF, FBI, Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Fayetteville Police Department, Springdale Police Department, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas State Bomb Squad and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department participated in the investigation.
The investigation was conducted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, the U.S. Department of Justice initiative that combines federal, state and local resources to combat violent gun crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas will prosecute the case.
I was wondering how long it would take to go from killing terrorists overseas (that the Libs abhor) to killing Americans here at home (which the Libs delight in-see Ruby Ridge, Waco, etc). Guess it won't take long at all...
Plus they're stamped with the word “non-commercial". How much safer can you get?
2nd that.
I rented one at a range during a recent Las Vegas trip, and while fun, it darn sure wasn't reliable. Though I expect that could be fixed, somewhat, with some appropriate parts.
And you're right, these guys clearly were asking for it.
And yet, the BATF is a function of the executive branch, which was unchanged by the election. You don't suppose.... nah.
If this runs true to form, by the time it's all over he'll also be accused (and convicted) of everything from jay-walking to (and including) child molesting. From the comments published in the local paper, it appears the locals are more pissed off at the feds than they are at him. Since Uncle Sugar doesn't like that the spin cycle will go to full speed and he'll suddenly have child porn on his hard-drive, be HIV positive and have the cell-phone number of Osama Bin Laden.
There were some societies that punished male heretics by castrating them so they couldn't reproduce. Our government has a variation on that theme that works just as well. Remember how David Koresh was supposed to be molesting children? Once that rumor saw the light of day any talk of sending him help quickly died out. A few years back a patriot in Michigan (I think) was accused of making some sort of sexual comment to a girl. The police drove him into his home, then set it on fire. He escaped somehow but was later shot to death a few miles away. Again, since he was "a pervert" there was no outcry loud enough to need answering.
So prepare yourselves folks. If you ever become a thorn in the side of Big Brother, you can expect to become a sex maniac too.
Based on the history the ATF has, I choose to withhold judgment. The ATF is well known for stomping on American rights without fear of being held accountable.
This agency should be banished forever in my opinion.
I choose not to break the law, but in my opinion, every American has the right to possess any firearm he chooses if he/she uses them in a responsible manner.
For those who choose, pick that idea apart all you want, but the persons abusing them need punished, not the other 99.999% of us who have had their rights taken away in the name of liberalism and arms control.
Yeah but funding for the BATFE has increased during the Bush administration so you can thank both parties for that.
###
Not just funding, the size increased too. Bush couldn't be bothered hiring all the Border Patrol Agents Congress mandated but he sure saw to it that the BATFE got more thugs.
When Clinton was in office Republicans wanted to get rid of the BATF. Once Bush got in they wouldn't fight a president in their own party to do it.
That point will be at issue in court, no doubt.
There is no doubt of course, that a 'well regulated' militia can keep arms; -- or there should be no doubt.
You never know tho in FReeperland, as many of our loudest mouths claim that fed, state or local governments can prohibit any arms they choose.
There is something fishy to this story, hes not a "white separatist" nor did he commit suicide by inferno...
OMG!!!!! That's such a high rate of fire!!!!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Yeh, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand and so open to "interpretation.
Wouldn't the resources be better utilized going after Jihadies who want to kill us all? Nah, they might shoot back.
They are supposed to be using the money to go after terrorists, which this guy most assuredly is not.
Only crazy thing is thinking the Supreme Court might actually rule based on the simple words of the Constitution, and of the people who wrote and ratified it.
Still, the Court isn't going to get any better any time soon than it is right now, given events of last Tuesday.
What was the violent crime?
Do you have a link on that?
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