Militia Brings Threats of Violence to Montana

While anti-government “freemen” involved in a standoff with federal agents in Jordan, Mont., met with negotiators Thursday, armed militia members were busy setting up base camps in the area, threatening to kill authorities if the incident ends in bloodshed.

One of those groups, the Ohio Unorganized Militia of Columbiana County, has set up operations at a cabin near Winnet, Mont., about 75 miles west of Jordan. The cabin is owned by Lyle Chamberlin, a freeman and supporter of the estimated 20 people holed up at the 960-acre farm.

In a telephone interview from the cabin Wednesday night, Ohio militiaman Don Vos said: “There will not be another Waco that the government will survive.” He was referring to the deadly 1993 confrontation near Waco, Texas, between federal agents and Branch Davidian cult members.

“Federal agents may have that Jordan farm blocked off,” he said. “But if they shoot or burn the kids inside, they will never leave Montana.”

Vos has conveyed similar statements to local law enforcement authorities.

“Vos told me that he was here to monitor the situation in Jordan and that if the FBI moved in and there was bloodshed, he would retaliate,” said Fergus County Undersheriff Tom Killham.

“These guys are very disturbing,” he added. “I’m worried about more Don Voses coming in here--and that one guy with a Saturday night special who might crack off a round at somebody and start a real mess.”

Given that April 19 is the anniversary of both the tragedy at Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing, authorities and residents in Montana are nervous about the arrival of these hard-core, anti-government contingents.

They also fear that threats of violence could upset the delicate negotiations between FBI agents and the freemen at the farm, dubbed “Justus Township.” FBI officials said this week that they are considering several people to act as mediators in the dispute.

On Thursday, four of the freemen, sitting on folding chairs on a dirt road, met with negotiators for the first time in the 11-day standoff. The freemen met for about 1 1/2 hours with four negotiators at the edge of the compound. At least one of the negotiators was said to be a federal agent.

The standoff began March 25 when freemen leaders LeRoy Schweitzer and Daniel Petersen Jr. were arrested at the farm in an undercover operation. They are charged in schemes involving fraudulent checks and money orders, as well as with threatening the life of a federal judge. Another member, Richard E. Clark, turned himself in Saturday. All three remain in custody, held without bail.

Authorities believe that three fugitives from North Carolina and two from Colorado with anti-government views similar to the freemen remain holed up at the farm, along with some women and children.

Winnet residents say that Chamberlin and his wife, Gerry, this week expressed regrets about allowing the militiamen to move into their cabin, which is about 20 miles from a major highway in a draw surrounded by high cliffs and reachable by one dirt road.

Gary Gershmel, who owns a general store, is among many who wish they would leave. The 400-square-mile Petroleum County, with less than one person per square mile, is patrolled by only two full-time deputies, Gershmel said.

“We don’t need these people in Montana--they are the scary part of this thing now,” Gershmel said. “We don’t want to be the battleground of America, and we won’t be if we are left alone.”

Internal militia communiques obtained by The Times show that Vos is in daily contact with Norman Olson, commander of the Northern Michigan Regional Militia.

In one telecommunication, Olson praised Vos for establishing a “beachhead” and acting as “a forward observer for the militia in the Montana theater of operations.”

Olson also advised: “Reinforcements are on the way. Present plans call for mobilization to continue throughout the next two weeks.”

Facing an influx of hostile intruders, Winnet resident Paul Densmore said law enforcement authorities are considering plans to activate the county’s 91-member sheriff’s posse.

“The sheriff’s office called me Thursday morning and asked me how far I’m willing to volunteer,” said Densmore, who is a posse reservist. “Personally, I believe this has the makings of an insurrection.”

Even the Militia of Montana wants the out-of-state militiamen to leave immediately.

“We do not need any loose cannons running around,” said David Trochman, a spokesman for the Militia of Montana. “And we’ve told the FBI that if there are people coming into this state armed and they are not using sound judgment, then they should do whatever they have to do.”

Trochman added that his group has received threatening telephone calls because “we’re not grabbing our guns.”

Both Vos and Olson dismissed the negative reaction they are getting from many Montana residents.

“People like Don Vos, myself and a host of others who might be called hard-line,” Olson said Thursday, “represent the worst possible nightmare--the loosing of the dogs of war.”

But without hard-liners, he added, cooler heads in the anti-federal government movement would lack the leverage to negotiate the freemen’s demands with federal authorities--including calls for the FBI to leave Montana.

“Are the negotiators who are responsible for restraining law enforcement also responsible for restraining the dogs of war? Sure,” Olson said. “But because of us they can say: Either you talk to us or you talk to our Doberman.”

Lynn John Van Huizen, elected state commander for the Michigan Militia Wolverines, said Olson is a renegade who speaks for a handful of militiamen.

“Olson was voted out of our unit about nine months ago because of his hard-line views,” Van Huizen said. “Norm gets out there on national television and talks like he’s one of us, but we have no way of shutting him up--we support free speech.”

In any case, FBI and local authorities are trying to keep a close eye on the new militia activity in Montana.

“We gave Vos’ name and license plate number to the FBI,” Killham said.