Militia Trial: Armed Guards & Being Followed
Witness Victoria Thompson enters the court room wearing a long bright red cable-knit cardigan sweater. She is the News director for KJNP radio/TV in North Pole and she says she lives “on the KJNP compound.” KJNP stands for ‘King Jesus North Pole.’ The radio station has a gospel music format. She seems unhappy to be here. She doesn’t turn her head to face the prosecutor, but looks sideways while facing straight ahead. She is 72 years old and has been “in the news business” since she was 15. The prosecutor asks her if her allergies are bothering her. She says…
Militia Trial: Insider Witness Surprises
Michael Orion Anderson is on the stand when I arrive in court at the 2-4-1 Militia Trial, also known as the US vs. Scheaffer Cox, Coleman Barney and Lonnie Vernon. Anderson is the “insider” that the prosecution promised to produce for the jury in their opening statement. But what we learn from Anderson doesn’t quite live up to the previews. It’s not that his testimony isn’t dramatic or compelling. It’s that and more – a desperate suicide attempt in prison, destroying a hard drive with a hammer, a first person account of an enraged FBI informant threatening to slit the…
Militia Trial – The Book of Armaments, Chapter Three
I rushed in to the court house on Day 3 of the trial of Schaeffer Cox, Coleman Barney, and Lonnie Vernon, and did the security drill. I passed the first checkpoint, but the second screening caused the security man to say, “Do you have any batteries in there?” Asking me if I have any batteries in my bag is like asking me if there’s a loose button in my house. I’m sure there must be, but I cannot verify it for sure, or tell you exactly where it is… And so the rifling through my giant saddle bag began –…
Militia Trial – Day 1
Day 1 I showed up at the Federal courthouse at about 8:15 this morning, and was met outside by an armed officer who told me that there would be 100% screening today. That meant everybody, and there was a line. I counted six uniformed guards, and two dogs. It was an interesting, although not totally unexpected way to start Day 1 of the Scheaffer Cox, Coleman Barney, and Lonnie Vernon trial. I dutifully removed my jacket, and put my stuff on the conveyer belt. I could bring my laptop and phone into the courtroom as long as I didn’t turn…