No Optimism for Quick End to Standoff

As the standoff between anti-government “freemen” and FBI agents neared the end of its second week Sunday, one negotiator said he was not optimistic about a quick resolution.

“It’s a very, very volatile situation,” said Montana state Rep. Joe Quilici, who has met with freeman representatives twice, along with three other legislators. “Right now, I can’t be optimistic. It’s so deep and complicated, it’s hard to get a handle.”

Quilici said minor progress was made in negotiations Thursday and Friday, but he would not discuss specifics.

“Things are better than they were when we got over there,” he said in a telephone interview from his home Sunday.

Quilici said freeman leaders and the FBI will decide when and if talks will resume.

Easter services at St. John’s Lutheran Church here included prayers for the freemen and the law enforcement officers, who have been stationed outside their compound since March 25.

The Rev. Helen Young asked God to “turn [the freemen] from their ways, to the peace and mercy you proclaim.”

Temperatures, well below freezing when the standoff began, climbed to the 60s Sunday, and the warmth seemed to buoy the spirits of townspeople. Talk among churchgoers after services was more of calving and planting crops than of the controversy 30 miles away.

After days of activity, the compound was quiet Sunday. A mother and her daughter left Friday night, and on Saturday, two cars carrying relatives of the freemen were allowed to visit.

About 20 men, women and children are believed to be barricaded inside the freemen’s compound. Neighbors have said the group has stockpiled weapons and enough food and supplies to last months.

About a dozen freemen face state or federal charges.