Founder of White Supremacist Group and 3 Companions Seized

Federal agents firing tear-gas canisters into a mobile home arrested the founder of the White Patriot Party and three other reputed white supremacists Thursday, authorities said.

The pre-dawn raid came less than a week after 15 suspected white supremacists were arrested in Arkansas and Colorado on a federal indictment charging them with conspiracy to overthrow the government.

Among the four arrested Thursday was Glenn Miller, 46, of Raleigh, N.C., who allegedly wrote a letter two weeks ago to other white supremacists urging them to take up arms against minorities, civil rights activists and judges, said U.S. Atty. Sam Currin of Raleigh, N.C.

Miller, founder of the White Patriot Party, was arrested on a warrant charging him with violating bond restrictions confining him to North Carolina or Virginia while he appealed a prison sentence, Currin said. Miller was sentenced in July to six months in prison for disobeying a federal court order prohibiting the operation of a paramilitary group.

Two other reputed White Patriot Party members, Eugene Jackson and Lawrence Sheets, were wanted for failing to appear for trial in North Carolina as defendants in a case involving conspiracy to purchase stolen military weapons, authorities said.

Miller, Jackson and Sheets were held without bond in Springfield, Mo., pending a detention hearing Monday. A fourth alleged member of the group, Tony Wydra, was released without being charged.

Federal investigators tracked Miller, a retired Green Beret, to Missouri after discovering he had purchased a van in Louisiana.