Alex Constantine - April 8, 2010
Prosecutors Played Tape of Hutaree's David Brian Stone Saying Killing Police Would Deter People from Joining Force
April 8, 2010
Brian Stone, one of the suspects from the Michigan-based group called Hutaree. Stone, accused of plotting to incite a violent revolt against the government, says in a transcript of a secretly recorded audio tape that killing police would deter people from joining the force.
Also see: Hutaree "Heavy Gunner" Denies Role in Death Plot and FBI Agent Had Infiltrated Hutaree
(AP) A Christian militia leader accused of plotting to incite a violent revolt against the government says in a transcript of a secretly recorded audio tape that killing police would deter people from joining the force.
The Associated Press obtained the transcript Thursday. It lists David Brian Stone of rural southern Michigan as saying: "You kill enough cops, you can't get enough people to take the job."
Audio clips of the tape also were obtained by CNN and were available Thursday on its Web site. Parts of the tape were played during a March 31 bond hearing in Detroit federal court.
Stone, his two sons, wife and five other suspects face seditious conspiracy and other charges.
Defense attorneys argue their clients are protected by the right to free speech.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/08/national/main6376406.shtml?tag=topnews
Alleged Militia Leader Rants on Secretly Recorded Tape
(CNN) -- In a secretly recorded audiotape, the alleged ringleader of an anti-government Michigan militia expresses anger over the "new world order" and the "brotherhood" of law enforcement officers.
"These are permission slips from the terrorists organization called the new world order," Stone says in the tape, which was recorded clandestinely by an FBI agent who infiltrated the militia and obtained exclusively by CNN.
Government prosecutors played the recording during an April 2 bond hearing for alleged Hutaree members, arguing that the defendants would be a danger to the community and a flight risk if they were freed on bail before trial.
A federal magistrate in Detroit, Michigan, agreed and ordered eight militia suspects to be held in jail pending their trial.
Stone, his sons, Joshua, 21, and David Brian Stone Jr., 19; as well as the eldest Stone's wife, Tina Stone, 44, have been charged with seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Joshua John Clough, 28; Kristopher Sickles, 27; Michael David Meeks, 40; Jacob Ward, 33; and Thomas Piatek, 46, face the same charges. Piatek, of Whiting, Indiana, is being held in Indiana.
The eight ordered held in Michigan have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said the tape was recorded last winter when Hutaree members were driving to Kentucky for a meeting with other militias but were forced to turn back due to bad weather. Stone allegedly gave a speech inside the van.
"People in this nation as well as some around this world are waiting for those individuals like you see sitting in this room to actually make the decision to go to war against this evil, greedy new world order," Stone says on the tape.
"They need leaders who are not afraid to stand up and actually mean, 'No more.' We are free and we should not be afraid or ashamed to admit that we are the American militia. We outnumber them. As long as we let them terrorize any American through fear and intimidation, then they are winning this battle and we should step up to the fight that they have started and finish it."
Defense attorneys dismissed the tape as just talk -- words protected under freedom of speech.
But prosecutors have portrayed the Hutaree militia as a dark-hearted group with evil intent. They said Stone's plan was to create his own country carved out of four Michigan counties, then defend that country against attack by the "One World Order" army.
The group allegedly planned to incite that attack by making a false 911 complaint, shooting any police who responded, and then attacking attendees at the funerals of those officers with improvised explosive devices.
"Every day, we watch ever so close for those evil blue helmets to appear on our streets -- but as long as through Interpol, law enforcement mercenaries called the brotherhood working for the new world order are doing such a great job, then we don't need to watch for these foreign armies to come to our shores. They are already here," Stone says.
Conviction on the charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction would carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, while seditious conspiracy and teaching the use of explosive materials each would carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; the firearm charge would carry a mandatory minimum penalty of at least five years in prison, according to authorities.
I love that they asked for “Public Defenders” (and they thought they could bring down our government), undercover FBI agent, sweet. Since their inception the Teaparty crowd (not a movement since they do have the numbers or clout) because they are haters not debaters or as others have dubbed them screamers not dreamers. The simpleton Tea baggers are the same whiners that were crying when the McCain/Bailin ticket lost. Now that their yelling and screaming failed to stop the health care debate and the bill from passing they are crying again. Lets face it the Republicans had eight years to deal with health care, immigration, climate change and financial oversight and governance and they failed. The Republicans are good at starting wars (two in eight years, with fat contracts to friends of Cheney/Bush) but not at winning wars as seen by the continuing line of body bags that keep coming home. Instead of participating in the health care debate of ideas the Republicans party turned inward to your old fashion obstructionist party. In my opinion the Republican Waterloo loss was caused by the party allowing a small portions (but very loud) of the republican party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” to take over their party. I will admit that this fringe is very good at playing “Follow the Leader” by listening to their dullard leaders, Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush, Savage, Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the Blowhards and acting as ill programmed robots. The Teaparty crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and presidents like Hamiliton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believe that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now its about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. Although some Republicans are trying to distant themselves from this fringe most of them, having no game plan/ vision for our country, are just going along and fanning the flames. For a party that gave us Abraham Lincoln, it is tragic that the ranks are filled with too many empty suits. But they now claim they have changed, come on, what sucker is going to believe that? All I can say to you is remember Waterloo.