Alaska Militia Leader Sentenced to Nearly 26 Years

[Blue_In_AK]

Source: Anchorage Daily News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The leader of a self-described militia group was sentenced Tuesday to serve nearly 26 years in prison following his conviction on nine felonies, including conspiring to murder public officials.

U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan sentenced Schaeffer Cox, 28, during a two-hour hearing at U.S. District Court in Anchorage.

Cox's sentence came a day after another foot soldier in the Alaska Peacekeepers Militia, 57-year-old Lonnie Vernon, received the same sentence.

Before he was sentenced, Cox broke down several times, grabbing tissues and fighting back tears.

"I put myself here, with my own words," he said before pausing. "And I feel horrible about that."

Cox came to the attention of the FBI in late 2009 after speeches in Montana that claimed the Fairbanks militia had 3,500 members and was armed with mines and other military weapons. But the group only had about a dozen members and, as Bryan noted, never trained for military duty.
<snip>



Read more: http://www.adn.com/2013/01/08/2745957/militia-leader-sentenced-to-nearly.html

---

Some of you may remember this case. Schaeffer's co-conspirator, who also received a 26-year sentence, wasn't nearly as apologetic. http://www.adn.com/2013/01/08/2745644/alaska-militia-member-gets-nearly.html#storylink=relast

<snip>

Throughout his hearing, Lonnie Vernon was vocal, demanding several times that prosecutors and the judge prove their jurisdiction over him.

"I want to find out who the hell you people really are," Vernon said. "Nobody has proved jurisdiction."

"I reside in the state of Alaska, not in your government realm. I am sovereign," Vernon said.

The militiaman steadfastly maintained his sovereign rights, and asked marshals to arrest prosecutors. "I want you to arrest these people until they prove who they are."

<snip>

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/01/08/2745644/alaska-militia-member-gets-nearly.html#storylink=relast#storylink=cpy

Mr. Vernon's wife got 12 years.

[tabasco]

1. Good news

Traitorous scum.

[krispos42]

2. Good.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

3. Ask not for whom the 'bagger weeps

It's nice to see he was contrite at the end of the trial, after demanding that the judge be arrested for being "in the government realm" (all three) during the course of the trial.

[billh58]

4. Poster children

for the NRA and the 2nd Amendment as interpreted ("individual right&quot by the right-wing, neoconservative 5-4 SCOTUS decision in Heller. If ever there was a justification for the confiscation of weapons, this group and their counterparts around the country would be at the very top of the list.

[bossy22]

7. Heller didn't endorse the insurrectionist view

it only endorsed keeping a handgun for home defense. Interestingly enough the ruling happen to fall right in line with what the overwhelming majority of americans believe.

If there was ever a justification for confiscation of weapons, this group and others like it SHOULD NOT BE at the top of the list. Tell me, how many crimes do "militia" members commit every year? How much of a real societal problem do they cause day to day? Very little. Yes, they are whackos, and some of them are dangerous, but the matter of fact is they are a very very very small group of people. If anyone should be on the top of the list, it should be anyone who lives in innercity neighborhoods. Atleast that would make a sizable dent in firearm related crime.

Also, look at any unintended consequences of focusing on these nutjobs. you essentially play into their hands. Now their paranoia has a basis in reality. You could potentially make them even more violent and get others to join their cause.

I find the best thing do with these people is essentially ignore them. When they committ a crime you arrest and prosecute- but don't turn it into an ideological/political battle. When my father went to work one day and found a swastiza spray painted on the side of his office, he didn't call the police, he didn't call the Anti-defemation league, he didn't call the media and "take a stand against hate"- he went down to the hardware store and bought spray paint remover. Their hasn't been another incident since (20 years). To counter that, the same situation happened at my HS about 10 years ago and a whole big-to-do was done- meetings, "press conferances", etc....All it did was cause more vandalism to occur (IIRC 4 more incidents occured in the following 3 weeks).

The moral of the story is- sometimes it is better not to bring attention to things. Treat these "militias" as your "crazy grandpa". Let them speak and then say "okay thats great, now its time for you guys to go back to the hole you came out of".

[billh58]

9. Actually, Heller

was the first and only SCOTUS decision which held that the 2nd Amendment conferred an "individual" right to keep a firearm, as opposed to a "collective" right keep and bear arms. This was a right-wing, neoconservative 5-4 decision which overturned almost a century of common sense law, and gave rise to the NRA-bought and insane SYG and concealed-carry craze we see around the country.

Heller also found that gun regulation does not violate the 2nd Amendment. Heller did not specify which types of guns an "individual" can keep in their homes, and it is safe to assume that assault, and assault-type, weapons are not necessary for home protection.

Crazy-assed "militias" with a stockpile of weapons are a danger to society even if they are deep in the woods. What is it about these asshats and the woods anyway? Do they believe that if they hide in the woods, no one can find them to take away their guns?

Yes, these idiots should be at the VERY top of the list to have their bang sticks taken away -- not only in the interest of public safety, but for their OWN safety. And if that incites even more asshats to take up arms against the government -- good. It will get their asses off of the streets (or out of the woods) as well. It is time to make a stand against these ignorant, armed, soldier wannabes.

Stiffer gun regulation is coming, and its momentum is growing everyday. The overwhelming majority of legal, sane, and responsible American gun owners will most likely have to do nothing more than register their guns with a local authority (police) in order to comply with the new laws. This registration will go into a national database for tracking purposes.

The sale or transfer of ownership of firearms, however, will in all likelihood be subject to a thorough background check, which will be easier to accomplish through a licensed gun dealer -- similar to an auto safety check. As with other types of hazards (pools, animals, etc.) the presence of guns in the home should cause insurance premiums to go up.

A reduction in gun violence and easy access to guns will not happen overnight, but we must start now with the framework of sensible and tough gun control legislation in order to put a stop to this madness.

[kestrel91316]

29. I fully support prosecuting these people to the fullest extent of the law.

They always talk about the law, and the constitution, and making sure everybody else obeys all laws and doesn't tread on THEIR rights.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If you want an authoritarian nation, then you must be willing to submit to that same authoritarianism.

[Ikonoklast]

5. Love these big-mouthed morons, so tough, so full of shit.

And others just like these guys are going to overthrow the government.

What a laugh.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

6. This isn't good news from where I sit.

It's only going to make reactionary, conspiracy theorists like Cox (who get info from this very Internet we communicate on here) angrier and more determined to fight with even bigger weapons and irrational fears.

We need to have a nationwide town hall meeting with right wingers and left wingers at the table discussing the problems of fear and mistrust combined with guns and violence in a democracy.

[onehandle]

8. You had me at 'Militia.' nt

[Angry Dragon]

10. are these the same guys Joe Miller hired to guard him while running for the Senate??

[Blue_In_AK]

11. Not directly,

although there are connections.

This piece is pretty informative. http://www.salon.com/2011/03/16/joe_miller_militia_kidnap_plot/

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. 26 years seems excessive

He's a young man.

12 years would seem reasonable here.

I don't know why we insist on sending people to prison for 30, 40, 50 years. It's barbaric.

[countryjake]

13. I'd bet he's being made an example to all other Sovereign Citizens...

that they'd better forget their wacko delusions, ditch their weapons of insurrection, and distance themselves from any others in that "club" who believe that they're (extra)-ordinary members of our society. I'm glad that the Feds are on their case now; this movement was ignored and practically condoned by some right-wingers for far too long and now, they're dug in like land-mines, ready to blow.

If you don't have any living in your area, you are lucky never to have run into such asshats.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. These guys were pretty extreme,

But we have a lot of wackos here, as you might imagine. Do you know of Norm Olson, formerly of the Michigan Militia? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Olson. He's set up camp down on the Kenai peninsula. Lovely guy.

[countryjake]

15. No, never heard of that one, but we have our problems down here...

with those "Sovereign Citizens".


‘Sovereign’ Washington group draws federal fire
Four indicted in ongoing investigation into radical anti-government group; threats against officials
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Sovereign-Washington-group-draws-federal-2230474.php#photo-1689039

Federal prosecutors contend members of the organization have been deputizing themselves as “County Rangers,” issuing their own license plates and trying to dupe the IRS. They’ve also been accused – and in one case convicted – of threatening to abduct elected officials, including Gov. Chris Gregoire and King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

Across the country, the number of such groups has been on the rise in recent years. Adherents to the ideology have also been accused in attacks on public officials and police, including a shooting in Arkansas that saw two police officers killed.

“We’re in the middle of an absolutely explosive growth of this movement,” said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the nation’s leading monitors of extremist groups.


Sovereign Citizens Movement
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/sovereign-citizens-movement


This article mentions your guy that they just put away:


Another ‘Sovereign’ Guilty of Filing Bogus Tax Returns
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2011/11/08/another-sovereign-guilty-of-filing-bogus-tax-returns/#more-8176

[Blue_In_AK]

17. I would imagine that these various militias

with such similar MOs are networked. I think these groups are a threat, and if they're plotting terroristic activities, they need to be dealt with.

[Comrade Grumpy]

22. I agree in this case and in general. We have a serious imprisonment fetish in this country.

And harshly punitive attitudes. You see them on display here every day.

There is a reason the US is the world's leading jailer, and it's not because Americans are worse than everybody else.

[Judi Lynn]

16. Very interesting news. Had assumed the creepy little Schaeffer Cox

had enough powerful supporters in Alaska to keep him permanently out of real trouble.

I'm certain he won't really be missed by the sane people of Alaska.

[center]

Schaeffer Cox, front and center.[/center]

[Blue_In_AK]

18. No doubt.

Schaeffer was all over the news for his antics well before this case came up. He won't be missed.

[Steerpike]

19. I suppose

He'll serve 12-13 years and out. Still seem like a long time for talking shit. What else did he do? was he the fool that tried to hire a hit man (FBI Agent) to assasinate some judges?

[Blue_In_AK]

20. Yes, that's him,

the judge assassinator, and some others, too, I believe were on his list. I thought federal prisoners only got 15% good time?

[Steerpike]

21. lol

15% sounds fine to me. I just pity the guy...he's a loser encouraged by all the other losers. He probobly thought the citizenry would rise up and free him just like the French Revolution and the Bastille.
When he was convicted and sentanced he lost his wife and his home and his family. You could see his whole reality folding up into a little box and going pfffft! The reality of his folly must be maddening.

[Comrade Grumpy]

23. That's right. We'll pay about a million bucks to keep him behind bars for the next 22 or so years.

Basically for talking shit.

[Steerpike]

24. And

trying to arrange assasination of FEDERAL officers (lol..he hired undercover Feds to do it...oops..)...They really frown on that...regardless of how much it costs incarceration is truly serious punishment. I really do feel he has shed some real tears of horror at this turn of events. The fact that he did this to himself is a terrible realization. His wife also is going to prison too...he is a real bozo, but he loves her.

[Blue_In_AK]

25. I'm not sure schaeffer's wife is going to prison.

The other bozo's wife is, though, for 12 years. At least, schaeffer expressed some remorse unlike OB (Other Bozo) who was going on about his "sovereignty" all the way through his sentencing hearing.

[Steerpike]

26. Lol

I keep forgetting which bozo is which...I got the feeling he was having a mental break...just blathering on and on...

[jberryhill]

27. "Why don't they go after far right loonies?"

They do.

[Turbineguy]

28. Hopefully

they will enjoy their new freedom.