This guy deserved it, and gives REAL militias another black eye. http://www.tampatrib.com/fr121006.htm
"Militia rhetoric watched closely
By MICHAEL FECHTER and ACE ATKINS of The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA - Authorities are keeping their eyes on antigovernment groups after an arrest of a St. Petersburg militia leader.
Wednesday's terrorism and conspiracy indictment of a St. Petersburg militia leader is the latest in a series of law enforcement actions against antigovernment groups whose talk turned to plans for violence.
Donald Beauregard, the leader of a militia umbrella group called the Southeastern States Alliance, remains in jail without bail after a grand jury charged him with conspiracy to burglarize National Guard armories in Tampa and Haines City and use seized explosives to blow up utilities and government offices.
``These groups are still out there and still functioning,'' said Oliver ``Buck'' Revell, a former FBI deputy director of operations. ``You simply never know when the rhetoric is going to incite someone.''
Mark Dubina, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement intelligence agent, declined to assess the number or strength of antigovernment groups in the Bay area.
``I will say we make it a priority to investigate anyone who advocates violence for political purposes,'' Dubina said. ``But [Beauregard's] arrest proves there are local people who have bought in to a militia mind-set.''
Militia groups came to public attention after the Oklahoma City federal building was bombed in 1995, killing 168 people.
Law enforcement counted as many as 858 groups nationally in 1996 but say that number has been cut in half. In some cases, smaller groups of people pursue ``leaderless resistance,'' which has similar antigovernment positions but is harder to monitor.
Last week, California agents arrested two men near Sacramento who they say planned to blow up a propane tank.
The FBI is jittery over potential violence from groups focusing on the millennium. In October, it issued a report called ``Project Megiddo,'' which detailed the varying significances extremists place on New Year's Day. Followers of fringe religious ideologies such as Christian Identity may be acquiring weapons and surveying targets, the report said.
Some antigovernment groups and militias believe the new era will be ushered in with the New World Order, a United Nations-led takeover of the United States fraught with gun confiscations and concentration camps.
Indictments against the California men and Beauregard are the product of separate investigations that are independent of millennium worries, said FBI spokesman Brian Kensel in Tampa.
``There's no hidden meaning to the timing,'' said Kensel.
It still stokes paranoia among militia members.
An Internet bulletin board for militia-oriented discussions included one message raising that question by Wednesday night.
``BE AWARE,'' the posting said. ``The round-up may have already begun!!! This could be a sweep by law enforcement (FBI included) to ensure what they think will be a leaderless militia by the time their `FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Administration] PLAN' is put into effect.''
Beauregard's Southeastern States Alliance is an important body among four militia umbrella groups nationally, said Mark Pitcavage, an Ohio-based militia expert who trains local law enforcement about extremist groups. They were established and communicated well.
Beauregard himself was regarded as ``one of the flakier ones, one of the more radical ones,'' Pitcavage said. ``His words and personality, the rhetoric, was enough to cause suspicion or alarm.''
Beauregard's conspiracy spread over three years, the indictment said, and flared up periodically as other extremist groups faced trouble with the law.
It never created a public threat, the FBI said.
Talking tough for years, as Beauregard stands accused of doing, does not mean he wouldn't have tried to carry out a terrorist plot, said Brian Levin, a California State University-San Bernardino professor and director of the Center on Hate and Extremism.
``Do you want to wait and find out?'' Levin asked. ``That's why we have laws that deal with conspiracies and unlawful training with a particular intent.''
Even when a group is infiltrated, as a Haines City police officer did with Beauregard, law enforcement can't control the group's actions, Revell said.
``You have to make that judgment as to when it is time to act and when you risk endangering lives by not acting.''
Beauregard's planning increased in 1996, as FBI agents engaged in an 81-day standoff with the Freemen militia of Montana.
An unnamed co-conspirator distributed copies of ``Project Worst Nightmare'' among Beauregard's group March 28, 1996 - three days after the standoff began. The document advised militia groups to prepare for a violent response if the standoff ended in force.
Beauregard's group then discussed potential targets in Polk County, the indictment said. Beauregard also sent a ``Declaration of War'' to the Orlando FBI office later that month.
The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., obtained a copy of ``Project Worst Nightmare'' shortly after it was issued. The paper provided The Tampa Tribune with a copy Thursday.
The use of force to end the standoff would be viewed as an act of war, the document said.
``Our mission is to shut down federal capabilities, disrupt federal communications and detain key federal leaders for trial,'' it said. It also offered a suggested target list including federal satellite uplinks, military fuel depots, communications centers and Internal Revenue Service records storage facilities.
It is that kind of specific planning that law enforcement official say crosses the line from free speech to criminal conspiracy. Beauregard and his followers are accused of scouting armories and potential bombing sites in person.
Beauregard tried to buy blasting caps in Kentucky on Oct. 8.
``We don't investigate people because they espouse a certain view on the government, only people who seek a violent response,'' Dubina said. ``We need a lot more than a bunch of guys sitting under an oak tree with a Budweiser talking big.''"
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The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
"Militia rhetoric watched closely
By MICHAEL FECHTER and ACE ATKINS of The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA - Authorities are keeping their eyes on antigovernment groups after an arrest of a St. Petersburg militia leader.
Wednesday's terrorism and conspiracy indictment of a St. Petersburg militia leader is the latest in a series of law enforcement actions against antigovernment groups whose talk turned to plans for violence.
Donald Beauregard, the leader of a militia umbrella group called the Southeastern States Alliance, remains in jail without bail after a grand jury charged him with conspiracy to burglarize National Guard armories in Tampa and Haines City and use seized explosives to blow up utilities and government offices.
``These groups are still out there and still functioning,'' said Oliver ``Buck'' Revell, a former FBI deputy director of operations. ``You simply never know when the rhetoric is going to incite someone.''
Mark Dubina, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement intelligence agent, declined to assess the number or strength of antigovernment groups in the Bay area.
``I will say we make it a priority to investigate anyone who advocates violence for political purposes,'' Dubina said. ``But [Beauregard's] arrest proves there are local people who have bought in to a militia mind-set.''
Militia groups came to public attention after the Oklahoma City federal building was bombed in 1995, killing 168 people.
Law enforcement counted as many as 858 groups nationally in 1996 but say that number has been cut in half. In some cases, smaller groups of people pursue ``leaderless resistance,'' which has similar antigovernment positions but is harder to monitor.
Last week, California agents arrested two men near Sacramento who they say planned to blow up a propane tank.
The FBI is jittery over potential violence from groups focusing on the millennium. In October, it issued a report called ``Project Megiddo,'' which detailed the varying significances extremists place on New Year's Day. Followers of fringe religious ideologies such as Christian Identity may be acquiring weapons and surveying targets, the report said.
Some antigovernment groups and militias believe the new era will be ushered in with the New World Order, a United Nations-led takeover of the United States fraught with gun confiscations and concentration camps.
Indictments against the California men and Beauregard are the product of separate investigations that are independent of millennium worries, said FBI spokesman Brian Kensel in Tampa.
``There's no hidden meaning to the timing,'' said Kensel.
It still stokes paranoia among militia members.
An Internet bulletin board for militia-oriented discussions included one message raising that question by Wednesday night.
``BE AWARE,'' the posting said. ``The round-up may have already begun!!! This could be a sweep by law enforcement (FBI included) to ensure what they think will be a leaderless militia by the time their `FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Administration] PLAN' is put into effect.''
Beauregard's Southeastern States Alliance is an important body among four militia umbrella groups nationally, said Mark Pitcavage, an Ohio-based militia expert who trains local law enforcement about extremist groups. They were established and communicated well.
Beauregard himself was regarded as ``one of the flakier ones, one of the more radical ones,'' Pitcavage said. ``His words and personality, the rhetoric, was enough to cause suspicion or alarm.''
Beauregard's conspiracy spread over three years, the indictment said, and flared up periodically as other extremist groups faced trouble with the law.
It never created a public threat, the FBI said.
Talking tough for years, as Beauregard stands accused of doing, does not mean he wouldn't have tried to carry out a terrorist plot, said Brian Levin, a California State University-San Bernardino professor and director of the Center on Hate and Extremism.
``Do you want to wait and find out?'' Levin asked. ``That's why we have laws that deal with conspiracies and unlawful training with a particular intent.''
Even when a group is infiltrated, as a Haines City police officer did with Beauregard, law enforcement can't control the group's actions, Revell said.
``You have to make that judgment as to when it is time to act and when you risk endangering lives by not acting.''
Beauregard's planning increased in 1996, as FBI agents engaged in an 81-day standoff with the Freemen militia of Montana.
An unnamed co-conspirator distributed copies of ``Project Worst Nightmare'' among Beauregard's group March 28, 1996 - three days after the standoff began. The document advised militia groups to prepare for a violent response if the standoff ended in force.
Beauregard's group then discussed potential targets in Polk County, the indictment said. Beauregard also sent a ``Declaration of War'' to the Orlando FBI office later that month.
The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., obtained a copy of ``Project Worst Nightmare'' shortly after it was issued. The paper provided The Tampa Tribune with a copy Thursday.
The use of force to end the standoff would be viewed as an act of war, the document said.
``Our mission is to shut down federal capabilities, disrupt federal communications and detain key federal leaders for trial,'' it said. It also offered a suggested target list including federal satellite uplinks, military fuel depots, communications centers and Internal Revenue Service records storage facilities.
It is that kind of specific planning that law enforcement official say crosses the line from free speech to criminal conspiracy. Beauregard and his followers are accused of scouting armories and potential bombing sites in person.
Beauregard tried to buy blasting caps in Kentucky on Oct. 8.
``We don't investigate people because they espouse a certain view on the government, only people who seek a violent response,'' Dubina said. ``We need a lot more than a bunch of guys sitting under an oak tree with a Budweiser talking big.''"
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.