Posted on 03/28/2010 4:48:22 PM PDT by marstegreg
ADRIAN, Mich. – The FBI said Sunday that agents conducted weekend raids in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and arrested at least three people, and a militia leader in Michigan said the target of at least one of the raids was a Christian militia group.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Federal warrants were sealed, but FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said there had been activity in two southwest Michigan counties near the Ohio state line. She wouldn't say whether they were tied to the raids in the other states.
FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said agents arrested two people Saturday after raids in two towns in Ohio. A third arrest was made in northeast Illinois on Sunday, a day after a raid took place just over the border in northwest Indiana.
Michael Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, said one of his team leaders got a frantic phone call Saturday evening from members of Hutaree, a Christian militia group, who said their property in southwest Michigan was being raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"They said they were under attack by the ATF and wanted a place to hide," Lackomar said. "My team leader said, 'no thanks.' "
The team leader was cooperating with the FBI on Sunday, Lackomar said. He said SMVM wasn't affiliated with Hutaree, which states on its Web site to be "prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren't."
"We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ. All Christians must know this and prepare, just as Christ commanded," the group's Web site said. "Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment.
An e-mail sent to the group by The Associated Press wasn't returned Sunday, and phone numbers for the group's leadership were not immediately available.
Berchtold, the FBI spokeswoman in Michigan, said she could neither confirm nor deny whether the raids were connected to Hutaree.
Lackomar said none of the raids focused on his group, which is affiliated with the Michigan Militia, a larger militia umbrella group. Lackomar said about eight to 10 members of Hutaree trained with SMVM twice in the past three years. SMVM holds monthly training sessions focusing on survival training and shooting practice, Lackomar said.
FBI agents in Ohio made arrests in Huron and Sandusky on Saturday night, Wilson said. No further information would be released until after they appeared in court Monday, he said.
One of the raids occurred at Bayshore Estates, a trailer park in Sandusky, a small city on Lake Erie between Toledo and Cleveland, park manager Terry Mills said. Authorities blocked off the street for about an hour Saturday night, he said.
"Needless to say, this has everyone talking," said Mills, 62. "We have a lot of retirees here who don't want all this commotion."
Mills said he didn't know the identity of the person arrested.
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The FBI’s just out to protect their Marxist leader.
I’m starting to wonder if this Hutaree group isn’t an FBI front group. The fact that they asked the Michigan Militia if they could hide on their property sounds like a good way to hand access to the FBI.
Fortunately the Michigan Militia has been around long enough to know how to deal with the FBI and do anything stupid like hiding people the FBI wants.
That's pretty astounding; however, I don't read DU, and maybe they are congratulatory to the LEOs about this??
BATFE was looking for NFA weapons and pipebombs, found it to be from a militia group, and the FBI took lead in the investigation fearing a Waco repeat.
I do not doubt that there are some quasi-Christian cults out in the woods that are up to no good, but there is probably an equal or larger number of groups that are Saudi government funded, on our campuses and sprinkled throughout the states, that are radical muslims and are a real threat to the rest of the world.
This raid is the result of a Muslim "whistle blower" said to be a member of CAIR.
CAIR complained to the FBI.
Oh and that they were birthers also.
The MSM wants to drastically demonize this group, they are not perfect but the democratic left desperately needs to sway public opinion against any and ALL militias, they want people convinced that they are evil dirt anti-semantic people.
I don’t know all the facts but it is apparent that the MSM is trying to manipulate this story.
The thing that strikes me as odd is the fact that the Hutaree group asked if they could hide on Michigan Militia property. That seems not only stupid but too stupid to be believable.
if that is true or not I have no idea. Medved says a lot of things that are incorrect or distorted.
“brake windows”
That has to be code for “something else”...
Same thing with “hide us”...
Ooooh. They're Christians. We're they caught with any subversive hymnals?
ML/NJ
It is back to the old 'guns-drugs-hicks' out of control canard,
How Clintonesque.
The big difference is that at least some of us understand Alinsky tactics now.
He emerged from the same cesspit/law school as Hillary Clinton (was one of her classmates) -- can't do that without getting some of the slime on you, too. Medved should stick to movie reviews.
Probably a gov’t employee surfing this site looking for hot responses.... move on, dude.
Right off the top I find it odd that the writer would say islamic descent to begin with. Islam isn’t a racial group in any way shape or form. He may be of middle eastern heritage but that doesn’t mean much. Danny Thomas and Jamie Farr were Lebanese.
It may the the elitists Achilles heel, they assume we don’t know what playbook they are reading from, that conservative “repugs” are inbred morons, now I know a lib lurker just got all wee wee’up at that description but yes no matter what they have deemed themselves as gods and we are weak minded mortals.
Mark from Michigan out of prison yet?
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