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Friday, January 28, 2022

Militia Trial: Day 4 – The Handbook

Due to the fact that Judge Bryan will be flying out on Thursday evenings to take care of business back home in Washington state on Fridays, we had a few days off from the trial.

Here’s a brief recap of the portion of the trial that happened after I left Wednesday, to catch you up to speed for my post below from Thursday morning.

Cox, the 28-year-old leader of the Alaska Peacemaker Militia and an ideological force in the Alaska “sovereign citizen” movement, once rescinded a guilty plea to a 2010 reckless endangerment charge by filing a notice to the recorder’s office in Fairbanks. A copy of the notice and other filings in his case were among the documents seized in the search of the home of co-defendant Barney, 37, a major in the militia.

The jury saw a copy of the seized set of documents — the standard court order dated March 10, 2010, accepting his plea deal, providing for no jail time and two years probation, and the surreal documents Cox used to abrogate the plea, including the paperwork for his now-famous “trial” in a Denny’s restaurant before a jury of his pals in which he was acquitted. Among the papers was the document filed in the recorder’s office — a repository mainly for land transactions — in which Cox captioned his case, “State of Alaska, a fiction, plaintiff, v Schaeffer Cox, a natural Man, victim and witness, waiving no rights, EVER.”

This story was filed by Richard Mauer of the Anchorage Daily News. Also covering the trial are Sam Friedman of the Fairbanks Daily News Miner, and Jill Burke of the Alaska Dispatch. I also saw Michael Carey there today, and I’ve seen Lori Townsend of APRN, and Yereth Rosen from Reuters. I’m sure there are others I’ve missed.

Here is our cast of characters:

Defendants: Schaeffer Cox (attorney Nelson Traverso), Coleman Barney (attorney Timothy Dooley), Lonnie Vernon (attorney MJ Hayden).

Judge: The Hon. Robert J. Bryan

Prosecution: Representing the United States, Yvonne Lamoureux, Steven Skrocki, others

We’ve now moved on from munitions to paperwork. Fascinating stuff.

The witness on the stand when I enter is Alaska State Trooper Kelly Howell.

She is discussing Exhibit 196, which is a green portfolio that was found in the office area of Coleman Barney’s house, the source of our evidence for today.

I’ll have to warn you right away, that I typed as fast as I could, and that I’d have loved to have gotten it all word for word, but there was not enough time. This kind of evidence is far more interesting than buckets of grenades to me, but alas it’s harder to type it all down and get everything accurately. So, I’ll give you what I have to the best of my ability, with some holes, and perhaps a slight and inadvertent error here or there. The slides showing the paperwork were all coming at a break-neck pace – much faster than my fingers could go.

Whenever you see (…), it means there was more that I didn’t have time to copy. Wording in parentheses is my addition. Pages are separated by “*******”. Contents of pages are indented.

The first sheet of paper from Coleman Barney’s office was a form that said:

3 Steps (to a common law trial – I think this is about the Denny’s trial)

  • Fill out a common law complaint form
  • Declare your status as a sovereign and rebut you status as a legal fiction
  • Stamp your license (I think this means your drivers license, like the one belonging to Schaeffer Cox yesterday, that was entered into evidence. It had an embossed stamp on it that said, “Without Prejudice – Non Asumpsit – Sovereign – All Rights Retained Without Recourse”)

*******

Next page:

Possible jurors:

Mom
Dad
me
Rach
Adam
Sara (crossed out)
Dave (crossed out)
Val
Ken Theising
Lonnie Vernon
Karen Vernon
JR
Gary
(…)

Please note that the selection of these jurors for Cox’s trial at Denny’s apparently used quite a different process than the selection of jurors for the trial I’m now attending.

Exit Team:

Bill Renzel
Val Marchbanks
Lonnie Vernon (defendant)
Mike McManus
Gary Brockman
Joe Nichols
JR Olson (government informant)
Scott Walker
Coleman Barney (defendant)
Bill Barney
Mike Anderson (who will turn on them, eventually)
Paul Harrel
Ben Finwick
Ben Svenson
Bill Lathrop

3:30 Friday, Court Room 202

*******

The name “Ken” was written in the left margin next to some of these names, and there were also stars and check marks indicating several of the names. And I chuckled (in light of the upcoming Wisconsin gubernatorial recall) to see the name Scott Walker on the list.

There was a second page of this list with names as well.

Walt Ames

Larry Dotson

Boss Josh

Marie Renzel

Sara Barney (…)

Then we paused so that Barney’s and Vernon’s defense could leaf through a yellow pad, to approve which sheets could be viewed on the screen.

As they did this, the Judge explained to the jury that this was part of the due process of law. “Defense counsel has the right to notice of what the government is going to do and have an opportunity to object if an objection is appropriate,” he explained. “It’s part of our system that protects everybody’s rights.”

Dooley says that the actual documents aren’t paginated and it’s going to be a mess, but he has no objection.

Exhibit 199 is 4 notepads seized from the office in Coleman Barney’s house. The writing is in very uniform box-like and neat letters all about the same height. The notes are organized well, with bullet points, indentations, headers, and other indicators. There are many misspellings. The ones I caught, I’ll mark with (sic).

The first sheet they look at says:

Commissioned August 11

  • Val Marchbanks
  • JR Olson
  • Bill Barney
  • Scott Walker (…)

Prospectives – (list of other names)

********

Public reach out campaign

2 approaches if there is breakdown

1) High profile display of defense of family and community

If we have total breakdown, show up on street corners, all geared up to deter anyone who could have ideas of mischief (…)

2) Stealth approach just go and take care of business. Super high speed, light weight (…)

*******

There was also a description of how the Alaska Peacemaker Militia is organized.

5 man teams

4 privates and one corporal

Need to get new guys active immediately while the fire in their spirits is fresh. Encourage them to have their wives get to know each other and get involvd with each other.  (…)

*******

New activity (Activities of the organization)

Range

Paintball

Weekly contact

Monthly meeting

(…)

*******

Invited to Commissioning so far (list of 16 names including)

Josh

Larry Dobson

Rand Daily

(…)

Then, there was an illustration with four stick figures that looked something like (insert this). Funny that I’m drawing stick figures of someone else’s stick figures.

 

*******

Testimonies – Schaeffer Marty and Ken

The hudle (sic)

Uniform

Security detail for KJND (radio station in North Pole)

Call friends and everyone to cram the court house

Get guys scripted one liners about how the Alaska court system is a fraud

People to bail us out?

Get building scheduled for big meeting prior to court date

(…)

*******

Coleman

Call APM guys for Denny’s hudle (sic)

At court 2 guys in uniform close to Schaeffer

At court bring Camera’s (sic)

(…)

*******

Parable of the Duck Hunt

Complaining about your life or the situation are (sic) country is in without action is like going duck hunting with blanks there will be a lot of noise but the effect is pointless.

Now is the time (…) Make it count.

*******

The next page had completely different handwriting. It was much less blocky, and more fluid with more variation in the height of the letters. It was large, and filled the space between the lines. I don’t know who wrote it. I want to say it looked like a woman’s handwriting, but I couldn’t be sure.

Schaeffer’s court hearing was today. The judge put out a warrant for his arrest for not showing up. Asked for $1000 fee and not be released with bail until after an appearance in court (…)

*******

The Judge objects to the next exhibit, and feels it’s an oversight by the government. He suggests rather than to recess to deal with it right then, that they should go on to something else, which they do.

Exhibit 201 is The Alaska Peacemakers Militia manual, 4 invoice sheets, and some DVDs.

First was a packing slip from:

US consumer products

Close Combat Training

Shipped to Coleman Barney 5/14/10

“Scientific Self Defense” DVDs, volumes 1-3

(As far as I can tell, here’s a website for Close Combat Training, and here is a link to the guy who does the DVDs. The description of the DVDs promises that you’ll learn “Secrets so vicious, you can kill another man with just one or two movements. Yet, so simple, you can MASTER them in just a couple hours—without ANY practice whatsoever.”)

Then the DVDs themselves were entered into evidence, including another DVD about “Basic Brutality” from the same company, described on the website as “Dark, grungy, and absolutely brutal (hence the name), learn the 6 tools of how to quickly, easily, and permanently finish any street or battlefield encounter.”

Also were 4 DVDs called “Accelerated Battlefield Combatives – Close Combat Training.”

The manual was next. The cover read:

Alaska Peacemakers Militia

Defend All Aggress None

No-fluff Training Manual

The name C. Barney was written in marker on the top in the first handwriting from the notepad. I’m assuming it’s his own.

A brief shot of the first page…

*******

Big Ideas – Section I

Structure & Leadership  – Section II

(…)

Team, Unit, Company, Division

5 men form a team

3 teams of 5 form a unit

2 units of 15 form a company

2 companies of 30 form a division

*******

And the most interesting page so far, I thought…

Qualifications:

Be male

Make confession

Have gear

Show up or be excused

Recommendation from member, and interview with commanding officer

You must follow orders or turn in your uniform

(…)

*******

Then there were several pages that showed line drawings of men in military gear making different hand signals for things like:

Tear gas, cover me, sniper, door, window, commander, regroup, down, don’t worry, ammo, and others. It looked very much like this:

There was also a list of voice commands for instructions like: moving, move, loading, load, clear, and so on.

*******

Team job description:

Leader – calls the commands

Full auto guy – pins enemy down

Grenadier – helps pin enemy down

Rifleman – move in on enemy to kill

Sniper – cover and long shots

Then came a couple illustrations of patrolling formation graphics. I couldn’t find something really close, but it was sort of like this, only more  professional, and militaristic looking.

Wedge – can fire in all directions

V – to envelope an enemy

Line – max fire power to the front

It looked something like this, but a little more professional and militaristic.

Tactical Rifle Section 4 showed shooting positions illustrated.

Prone

Kneeling

Standing

There were detailed speed reloading instructions, followed by “should be able to do this fast with eyes shut.”

Malfunction Drills

SPORTS stands for

Slap mag

Pull charging handle

Observe chamber

Release bolt

Tap

Shoot

(…)

Tap, Rack, Bang:

Tap the magazine

Rack the bolt

Bang!

Remember! Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

*******

Sight adjustment for AR15 rifle instructions:

Sighting and Aiming:

The shooter is concerned with correctly pointing the rifle so the bullet will hit the target  when fired. To do this, the shooter must have the rear sight, the front sight blade and the target or aiming point in their proper relationship. (…)

Trigger Control:

Trigger control is the skillful manipulation of the trigger causing the rifle to fire without disturbing the alignment of the rifle with respect to the target (…)

Zeroing:

To understand the principle of zeroing you should have a basic knowledge of the relation between the path of the bullet in flight and the line of sight. In flight a bullet does not follow a straight line, but travels in a curve or arc, which is called its trajectory. The maximum height of a bullet’s trajectory depends on the range of the target. The greater the distance a bullet travels before impact, the higher the trajectory (…)

*******

At this point, Nelson Traverso wants the first page of the manual read aloud, since the rest is being read. The Judge says this can happen in cross-examination. I think this is the “Big Ideas” section that will discuss the philosophy of the militia.

The prosecution has “culled the documents” but Traverso still objects to including an affadavit from Wendy Williams, a social worker with child protective services (OCS.) He feels that not only is it hearsay, but doesn’t want Cox’s domestic violence case to be mentioned because it is irrelevant to this case.

The prosecution argues that the paper was found in Coleman Barney’s office, and will “show their intent” regarding Wendy Williams. Schaeffer Cox links the OCS investigation to what he believes was a federal plot to kill him, and it’s all part of the motive in this case, argues the prosecution.

Judge Bryan agrees with Traverso that it is hearsay. He said it may come later, but it needs to be tied more closely before it can be admitted as evidence.

MJ Hayden, Vernon’s attorney, objects to Exhibit 194, page 52 and 53 because of a whole range of things including confrontation, hearsay and relevance. Judge says it’s overruled, or will be. if she objects to it when the court is in session.

Then the judge with his gruff, and gravely voice said that many were “thanking me for my patience. There is no patience. You can thank me for waiting.” There was chuckling, but you could tell that the judge was not enjoying all the waiting and organizational issues.

The jury re-enters. Today’s juror hoodie count is only one. On the first day, there were four jurors in hoodies. The second day there were three. I don’t know why I mention this except that I find it interesting. It’s quite a contrast to the defendants in their snappy suits. Cox was back with the shiny baby pink tie today.

Exhibit 194 –was a whole bunch of pages from a notepad.

First was a page of signatures in ink – Kenneth Thesing, JR Jerry Raymond, Mae Lynn, Bill Renzel, Coleman Lee, (…).

Next page was titled:

Jury Sign in

Joe Schwartz

Nicole

JR Olson

Coleman Lee

Lonnie and Karen Louise (Vernon?)

Bill Rensel

Adam Jiban

(…)

*******

Page three just had scrawled in very large letters at an angle:

Miranda Rights?

Exhibit 4 was an envelope from the Alaska Court System addressed to “Francis August Schaeffer Cox”, at his Fairbanks address, with a postmark dated 12-17-2010.

There were documents inside, which the agent removed and read  for the jury.  These were part of the documents described by Richar Mauer above as “surreal” and having to do with the famous trial at Denny’s.  These were written just like actual legal documents, and the wording was technical, and the type was small and hard to copy quickly, so I didn’t get much.

One talked about “foreign agents” including Jane Kauvar whom the document said was “masquerading as a district court judge.” According to the  Alaska Court System, she is an actual District Court Judge.

There were two official looking seals on the document. When asked, the agent says she didn’t recognize either of them. One incorporated the outline of the state of Alaska. In the space that looked like it had been signed by a judge, the name was “Daniel Bartels, sovereign.”

“Do you recognize that judge?” Skrocki asked. “No,” the agent replied.

There was also an image that was American flag-like, but it was turned 90 degrees so the stripes were vertical. There were blue stars on a white field. I did a little poking around and found that this flag is associated with the sovereign citizen movement and found out it is known as the “Civil Flag.” This was the flag on the document:

Here’s part of an article titled ‘The Civil Flag’ – Forgotten Flag, or Flag of Fiction?” that I found. Neither the article, nor the Civil Flag were discussed at the trial, but I thought it was interesting.

“It is believed by some historians that the Civil Flag was discontinued after the Civil War when the federal government imposed military governments in the States and disbanded civilian government. As a show of its power over the States, Civil Flags were discontinued and Old Glory became the sole emblem representing the People of the United States of America, united under military (or admiralty) rule. For over 100years, the Civilian U.S. Flag was flown by a select citizenry that could afford to buy them. While most were of the design of the Customs Bureau and its American Eagle, many continued to adorn the original look from 1777 with a constellation of stars on a blue field and with red and white vertical stripes. By 1900, the Civil Flag had all but disappeared except for the occasional use by the government’s revenue cutters and more recently, the Coast Guard with a modified design. By 1980, nearly all documentation of the Civil Flag had been omitted in school text books and its existence left as a mystery in a few old photographs and a rare mention in classic books”.

There was a reference in the document  to the “Corporate Agency State of Alaska.” This one was signed “David-Clair Bartels” from Big Lake, Alaska.

*******

Page 14 included

Directed to any and all agents of the Corporate Entity and assigns DBA:

Alaska, State of

Fairbanks, City of

Alaska Court System – private corporation DUNS #(…)

State of Alaska Department of Public Safety

(…)

*******

I think there were more items that had DUNS numbers listed.  There were at least four or five of them, but I don’t remember which ones they were, but the numbers were all listed out, next to the relevant agency.

Restraining Order

This order is issued for the following reasons:

It has come to the attention of this justice that agents/officers of your foreign administration, bankrupt corporate de facto entities have invaded the Republic under color of law, with acts of war, under arms with threats of violence, attempted seizure of the man Francis August Schaeffer Cox without proper due process of law of Alaska Criminal rules of procedure (…)

Note for show cause hearing set for January 16, 6pm ,1929 Airport Way Fbx AK

Date 14th day of December.

If you Google the address, you discover that’s the location of Denny’s.

Page 50 has State Trooper Tiffany Weir’s name and other OCS personnel highlighted in yellow.

There is more description of the OCS worker Wendy Williams coming to the Cox residence, and listed the counts against the defendants.

They returned again later that day, and again on 4/2. This is harassment, stalking, trespassing, and attempted kidnapping . They trespassed his property and demanded to see his son (…)

Count 4 –  Agency officials and State Troopers conspired to create fraudulent criminal charges against Francis August Schaeffer Cox, a secured party jurisdiction of the corporation, nor do I consent to give any statutes the force of law by contracting with the de facto corporate government. If the third party defendants have nay lawfully documented evidence to the contrary let them come forth now… (…)

Then came Cox’s proposed remedies for this unlawful conduct by agents of the government.

Opportunity to cure

The several individual third party defendants have 14 calendar days to cure their dishonor by a combination of the following determined by the (…)

Dismiss any and all claims against the third party plaintiff with prejudice

Pay the plaintiff the amount of $250,000

Expunge from the record all past judgments proceedings, allegations, liabilities etc., against secured party creditor

Pay all damages as indicated by counterclaim contained herein with real money.

In addition to the monetary penalties in this counterclaim, all defendants must confess in public (…)

Damages assessed against you should you fail to meet the requirements as provided in the opportunity to cure contained herein

Failure to state claim upon which relief can be granted will be $2 million per defendant, per count, per violation (…).

This was followed by page 101, a long typed list of who exactly would owe $2 million to Cox, and for what. The list ran down the full length of the page and totaled $32 million.

Page 102 stated that failure to pay the counterclaim in full within 30 calendar days of defulat contained therein would result in $1 million interest per month and 1.5% interest per month compounded daily from the date of default.

“The defendant must expunch from the record all past judgments prodeedings, allegations liabilitied against secured creditor.

The document was signed Francis August $chaeffer Cox, Secured Party Creditor, and the S had two lines through it, like a dollar sign. The document was dated 5-19-2010.

Page 104 was a list of names:

Wendy Williams (Children Services Specialist II OCS worker)

Yvonne Hill (supervisor social worker)

Sara Alden (Staff manager)

Colleen Turner

Sonja Zasrow

Mary Anderson

Tammy Sandoval

Patrick Hefley

William Hogan

(…)

Attorney General Daniel Sullivan

Agent Howell’s current assignment is to work child abuse situations, she said. “Any time Troopers respond to a domestic violencev call, if there are children, we have to make a report to OCS.” She explained that this automatically happens and is part of AST policy. If there’s just an argument between people, it may be at their discretion, but they will make a report.

No other questions for this witness from the prosecution.

Neal Traverso then asks her to refer to the APM manual, and to read the introduction.

Big Ideas

If you are to defend your individual liberty effectively these days, you will need others who are willing and able to come to your aid, and join with you in a necessary use of force that will be far easier to do, if we all have in common skill at arms, and some other basic (…)

Oath:

“Before God and men, for the sake of my conscience and the safety of my family: I will defend and observe the principles of individual liberty embodied in our founding documents by example, persuasion and force of arms and assist my neighbors as they do the same, never abandoning another who is fighting to live free! I will Demand liberty, Destroy tyranny, Discern justice, Defend all, aggress  none and follow orders to that end.”

I get the impression that this Alaska Peacemakers Militia oath will play a central part in the defense of Cox, because it’s been referenced before as a self-defense issue, “Protect All – Aggress None.”

Timothy Dooley, Barney’s attorney, brings an exhibit to the witness on the stand, and the prosecution objects. The judge says he can’t rule, because he has no idea what the exhibit is. The prosecution doesn’t know what it is either, which is why they objected in the first place, they say. They move forward to see.

“This is an empty box correct? For 22 rounds, correct?” asks Dooley. Yes, says the agent. “Winchester brand?” Yes. “Look at the upper right, it says that box would hold 5000 22 rounds. Correct?” Yes.

There had been testimony earlier that there were 20,000 rounds found in Barney’s office and 10,000 of them were 22 rounds. He just wanted to point out that 5000 rounds of 22 caliber ammunition “…fit in a box like that. That’s the box they fit in.” The box was about 7”x7”x14ish” if I had to guess. Dooley’s point , I think, was that 5000 rounds sounds like a crazy big amount of ammunition, but in reality it just fits into this harmless-sized little box. The empty box was admitted into evidence.

Dooley went on to remind the agent that she had just testified regarding a number of weapons and rifles that were admitted into evidence. “All those rifles are perfectly legal for a citizen who is not a felon to own. Nothing you testified to… all the bullets are perfectly legal to own. There is no restriction under the law on how many bullets you can have, or how many legal rifles or pistols you can have. The documents – there is nothing illegal about any of the documents, correct?” “Not that I’m aware of,” said Agent Howell.

Dooley continued,“You testified about a cell phone. You were talking to Rachel Barney at the time you took the cellphone. You took her purse, emptied out the purse, and took from that her cell phone and kept it.” Agent Howell said, “I think she had it in her hand, not the purse.”

“Alright, so she had it in something attached to her person.  Why did you seize the cell phone?”

“The warrant allowed for seizure of electronic devices in the residence.”

“A cell phone is legal, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did you arrest Rachel Barney?”

“No I didn’t.”

“Do you know what is meant by the term assault rifle?”

“Not particularly.”

“Thank you.”

MJ Hayden for Lonnie Vernon has no questions.

And then one final page. It looks like it might be the back cover of the APM manual. It simply says:

Live free or die,

For death is not the worst of evils

 

Underneath it is the colonial flag with a white Roman numeral II in the space in the center of the circle of stars.

Next Witness: Alaska State Trooper and Investigator Albert Bell

He is called to the stand with the most uninteresting testimony of the trial so far. He took a computer tower from the office space of the residence. He took two cell phones from the dashboard of Coleman Barney’s black pickup truck.

(Raise your hand if you totally guessed that he drove a black pickup truck.)

MJ Hayden, Vernon’s attorney wants to see the phone.

“These have been available to the defense for a year, Your Honor.” says Skrocki, visibly exasperated.

“What I saw a year ago, may not be what’s up there right now,” Hayden says by way of explanation, which makes me wonder how on earth she would remember what a cell phone she hasn’t seen for a year looked like. Nevertheless, she and her fellow defender take the phones one by one out of the sealed evidence bags, open the flip thing, stare at them, and turn them over, examining them carefully like they were large jewels.

Skrocki, who had handed the phones over rather like an exaspreated teenager to show his disapproval, stood audibly sighing, and drumming his fingers loudly on the side of the podium.

 

“Thank you. No objection,” Hayden says.

And the phones are admitted into evidence.

More testimony about the custody of the phones, the phone numbers, the date of the seizure, the emptying of the contents of the phones so the data can be analyzed, when the transfer of data happened, what kind of phone it was (3G iPhone), who else performed the “forensic extraction” on the phone, and where the information went.

And that was all from Trooper Bell.

No questions from the defense, and he is excused.

Next witness: Officer Phillip Whitley of the department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (Huh. They added explosives.)

Philip Whitley is a square-faced witness with a little renegade piece of hair hanging down over his forehead. He is soft-spoken with a vague, faded southern accent. He deals with explosives and incendiary devices.  Federal prosecutor Yvonne Lamoreaux seemed quite enamored with Whitley’s job description and reminded me of a little kid who gets to meet a fireman, or an astronaut. He went on about how he collects and processes evidence, disassembles explosive devices, and makes determinations under the law and declares if something is or is not technically and legally an explosive. He also provides testimony in court and has been doing so for 7 years.

~Federal prosecutor Yvonne Lamoreaux, and Philip Whitley from the Bureau of  ATF&E

In his current position he has made in excess of 100 determinations. He was also a bomb technician for over 24 years. As a military bomb technician, he would determine how a device had been built, for intelligence purposes, so soldiers in the field could prepare themselves for what they would find in the field. He did a tour in Afghanistan and another in Iraq while in the Army. He took “post-blast devices,” and reconstructed them to see how they were built, and did forensic analysis of unexploded bombs to figure out how they work, and find clues that would lead his team back to the bomb makers.

He also ran a chemical analysis lab, did analysis of the residue, or (if  the device was intact) determined what kind of explosive they were dealing with. For instance with C4, you can tell whether it’s Iranian or from the US. This way the army could tell if the enemy was stealing American supplies or whether it was being supplied by terrorists. Over 500 devices came through his shop in Iraq.

He also does anti-terrorism assistance visits to embassies around the world to do threat assessments, and to work with local law enforcement.

He first joined the military in 1988, and did 21 years active and reserve. He says he’s lucky to have been an Explosive Ordinance Demolition tech with the US army for entire time. I thought he meant he was lucky not to have been blown up, but he said, “I’m lucky because I enjoyed that profession.” Alrighty then. It is lucky for us that there are people like this, and that they are good at what they do.

He loved the guys in the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Company. He retired from the military in December of 2009.

“Have you received any awards?” Lamoreaux inquired. He’s got a Bronze Star for missions in Afghanistan. And he received the Johnny Massengill Memorial Award for Explosive Investigation work. Massengill was killed in early 1990s doing an explosive disposal. He received the award for taking part in an investigation of a bank bombing in Oregon.

It was time for me to take off, but as I was walking out, he was talking about all sorts of other explosive achievements, and I even heard something about nuclear devices before the outer door closed.

I was sorry I didn’t get to hear his testimony, but he sure had an interesting resume.

The trial resumesl Monday. It was an interesting first week. More to come.

 

Comments

comments

Comments
13 Responses to “Militia Trial: Day 4 – The Handbook”
  1. seattlefan says:

    I’m riveted! I am especially fond of your stick figure renderings. I think you have a future as a court reporter with a bit of snark and a whole lot of clarity. Keep it coming!

  2. Really? says:

    Wow. You are right. It was an interesting first week. It’s interesting to me how the trial at Denny’s is like when I read about canon law. How many different kinds of “special interest” groups that think they should have their very own laws are there anyway? I just cringed when I read the names of the social workers. I do hope when social workers do have to go into a home that “they” have a body guard with them. It’s the judges job to be patient and wait., I hope he continues to do his job. I sure have learned alot about firearms etc.. from your account, AKM. I keep wondering why “all these people” would spend so much of their time on such negativeness. When people are parents it’s their job to keep their children safe and out of fear. And, yes, I would have guessed he drove a black truck. Thank you for your diligence at keeping up with the trial when you can. Oh, the stick figures are the best.

    • wallflower says:

      Not surprising, I guess, how many of these groups target CPS social workers. Ah yes, those agents of a tyrannical state, fostering their insidious agenda that children will be safe, fed, sheltered, allowed to go to school, and able to live fear-free.

  3. zyggy says:

    AKM, your stick figure drawing of the stick figure drawing is quite impressive. =) I’m holding out for a diorama.

  4. FlictheBic says:

    No surprise that Cox & Co. would throw up a security cordon around KJNP during times of “crisis”. King Jesus North Pole – “50,000 watts of gospel power”. They used to (may still have) a catchy little tag line that went something like this: Broadcasting in the Air til Jesus Comes in the Air. According to their hinky website, their 50,000 watts has a radial reach of about 200 miles in the summer (to make sure they are blasting the villages with their God power) but in Bermuda-triangle sort of way, in the winter they can reach as far as New Zealand. Who knew? Its our own little piece of Wasilla just down the road.

    The coverage is great – it really makes my morning cuppa joe that much more enjoyable.

  5. beaglemom says:

    These militia guys act like kids playing soldier. Except that they have real weapons and are not in the fourth grade. I’m enjoying the trial immensely. I’m glad it is taking place far from where I am. I hope that it comes to a good conclusion: many years inside for the vigilantes who never grew up.

    • hedgewytch says:

      That’s exactly what I thought too! They are playing soldier, but they didn’t ever want to actually BE soldier’s. Probably most of them wouldn’t have even made it through basic.

      What a bunch of putz’s! And I just know as the trial heats up, one of these nut jobs isn’t going to be able to help himself and he’s gonna spew something out of his mouth that will really put the nails in the coffin!

  6. Alaska Pi says:

    So, $overeign $itizen $chaeffer thought/thinks he was due a lot of $$s from an “illegal” corporatist entity?
    In “real money” even .
    And public confession by parties which wronged him
    in the name of a cure for dishonoring him?

    i missed all that when initial reports of the Denny’s “trial” came out.
    Geemenently!

    I sure hope the defense attorneys tread carefully with that defend all, aggress none crap- in context of the whole oath, it is meaningless in any normal sense of “aggress none”.

    Thank you AKM- amongst the many other hats you wear with ease, your court reporting is one of the best. Stylish, colorful, and while cut on a bias, honest and straight forward 🙂

  7. AKjah says:

    Thanks AKM. No doubt you are my fav in covering this story.
    Stick figures of stick figures,i love it as i built lot’s of them.

  8. Motorhead says:

    Notice the acronym of Cox’s full name: FASC. So, are the followers of this particular nut “FASCists”?

  9. Molly says:

    I gotta say I’m disappointed the name Todd Palin never showed up on any of his lists.

    But there is “Scott Walker”. I will assume that is not ‘the’ Scott Walker, our Droopy Dawg governor from Wisconsin.

    Thanks, once again, for the drawings. Especially the drawing of the drawings.