EXCLUSIVE: FBI Militia Informant Tells All
Bill Fulton, undercover FBI informant in the “Alaska Militia Trial,” gave a lengthy interview to The Mudflats about his role in the case, and his controversial life in Anchorage before it was revealed. In this article, he shares his candid opinion about local Anchorage media, national progressive media, Joe Miller, and what they got wrong. Yours truly didn’t even escape entirely unscathed. Bill Fulton came to Alaska, the biggest small town in the world, and became instantly “known.” He owned a shop in Anchorage that was utterly unforgettable. A military supply store, which doubled as offices for a security company,…
Militia Leader Cox Gets 25 Years
“Well, this proves one thing. Schaeffer Cox can still draw a crowd.” Reporter Michael Carey made the observation while sitting next to me on a wooden bench in the lobby outside Courtroom 2 in the federal courthouse in Anchorage this morning. It’s true. At the end of the day, Cox will be sentenced to 25 years, 10 months in prison, and his new lawyer will reveal the results of a recent psychological evaluation that diagnoses him for the first time as a paranoid schizophrenic, with paranoid personality disorder, and delusional personality disorder. But as the day begins, the courtroom is…
High Drama at Militia Sentencing
Today is the sentencing for the Salcha couple accused of conspiring to murder a judge and his family, and IRS agents as they anticipated seizure of their home due to a tax dispute. Lonnie Vernon is also being sentenced for his role in the “2-4-1 Militia trial” with co-defendants militia leader Schaeffer Cox, and militia Major Coleman Barney. Lonnie Vernon plead guilty of conspiring to murder the judge in exchange for the dismissal of many of the charges against him. Of all the characters in this tale, Lonnie Vernon is the most volatile and angry, and Karen Vernon is the…
Militia Major Sentenced to Five Years
Another day in court that brings us closer to the end of the Fairbanks militia trial. Today saw the sentencing of militia Major Coleman Barney, and also a status conference with Lonnie and Karen Vernon that left more questions than answers. For those wanting to cut to the chase, Coleman Barney was sentenced to five years in prison, half the time of the ten year sentence the prosecution was seeking, but hardly the house arrest, or time served sought by the defense. How they arrived at the sentence was fascinating, though, and all the details are below. LONNIE AND KAREN…
Vernons Plead Guilty to Conspiracy
Lonnie Vernon, 56, and Karen Vernon 66, a couple from Salcha, Alaska, wore matching yellow jumpsuits when they appeared in court to plead guilty to count 1 of an 8 count indictment, conspiring to murder federal officials – Judge Ralph Beistline, and IRS officer Janice Stowell. Beistline had ruled against the couple in a tax case in which Stowell was also involved. Lonnie Vernon was one of three defendants, with Schaeffer Cox and Coleman Barney, in the recent 2-4-1 Fairbanks militia trial, where he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder of federal employees, and conspiracy to posses silencers…
Militia Trial – The Verdicts are In
After six weeks of listening to testimony, and weighing the evidence, the jury in the case of the United States v. Schaeffer Cox, Coleman Barney, and Lonnie Vernon has reached a decision in all but one of the charges against the three. I entered the courtroom, after almost two weeks out of state. I’d been following the reports of the trial closely, and was glad to be able to be here for this important day. Schaeffer Cox looks ashen, and is wearing a charcoal grey suit jacket and white shirt, open at the collar. Coleman Barney’s brow is deeply…
Militia Trial: Cox’s 2nd in Command Testifies
FBI informant Bill Fulton was the star of the show on the last day of court this week, no doubt about that. But, we shouldn’t overlook the rest of the witnesses because there were some good ones. The morning started with motions from the defense, which the judge resolved by mid-morning. I wrote about that HERE. Next up were a string of witnesses for the defense, beginning with Mr. Harold M. Hume, Jr. of Fairbanks who was completely adorable, and I basically wanted to adopt him as my grandpa. He’s actually probably closer to being the age of my dad,…
Militia Trial – FBI Informant Bill Fulton Speaks
Next up for the defense: Bill Fulton This is the one I’d been hoping for. Insider turned state’s evidence for immunity Michael Anderson, FBI informant for leniency in another case JR Olson, and FBI informant Bill Fulton were the three big witnesses for the prosecution. Or so we thought. It turned out that the prosecution did not call Fulton as a witness. This seemed rather odd. Why not call your own informant as a witness? There were disturbing tales of Fulton’s behavior. Nobody seemed to like him. He was described as abrasive, a drunkard, nasty, violent and mean. Michael Anderson…
Militia Trial: FBI Informant Testifies
What an interesting day in court, in which we find out that one Mr. Bill Fulton, (now disappeared, and formerly of the Drop Zone military surplus store) has one giant potty mouth. I’m guessing his mother wasn’t an “open up, here’s the bar of soap” kinda gal. Monday’s only witness for the afternoon session was JR Olson, one of two FBI informants in the case, and someone whose testimony I’ve been eagerly awaiting. He is “an unsavory character with a checkered past” as my grandmother would say. You might even call him a “ne’er do well.” And in exchange for…
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…