2 Georgia Militia Group Members Face Bomb Counts

Federal agents on Friday arrested two members of a small Georgia militia group for allegedly planning to build and distribute pipe bombs, an incident that prompted jitters about security at this summer’s Centennial Olympic Games here.

Olympic organizers breathed easier when authorities announced that there was no indication that the suspects had planned to disrupt the Olympics this July. Indeed, although the militia members had complained about the large crowds of people expected for the games, they also worried that if a bomb did go off during the Olympics, they would be blamed for the attack, law enforcement sources said.

Arrested Friday were Robert Edward Starr III, 34, of Macon, Ga., and William James McCranie Jr., 30, of Roberta, Ga. Authorities identified them as members of the Georgia Republic Militia, a group of no more than 15 members.

According to a federal affidavit, Starr, who owns an electrical company, and McCranie, a plumber, had wanted militia members to bury the homemade bombs in their backyards in anticipation of a war against the government.

Both men were being held in federal custody pending a hearing Monday in Macon on charges of conspiring to possess unregistered explosive devices.

Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents said they put the case together after a confidential informant attended a meeting with the suspects and others earlier this month. At that time, the informant reported, McCranie “stated that he had enough chemicals to make 40 bombs.”

The informant also reported that on April 18, Starr said he wanted the bombs assembled and distributed among militia members. “Starr suggested that they go ahead and pack the pipe bombs with explosives and wrap them with nails for fragmentation,” the affidavit said.

The informant stated that Starr said on Tuesday that he wanted to “fully arm” the pipe bombs by today.

“Starr said that whoever wanted one could have it but they were to bury them in their backyards,” the affidavit said. “On other occasions, Starr had said that the pipe bombs would be to defend their rights against the invasion of the government.”

The informant also told authorities that Starr and McCranie often carried firearms, and that “both have made statements about shooting law enforcement, even if they were serving a search warrant.”

On Friday, ATF agents served warrants to search large tracts of land owned by Starr and McCranie in Crawford County, Ga. The suspects were arrested without incident, officials said.

Authorities said the search turned up material used in explosive devices, including potassium perchlorate, aluminum powder, precut threaded pipe with washers and wires attached, and end-caps with drilled holes. They said they also found white polyvinyl chloride pipe with black electrical tape, a letter referring to the Georgia militia, nails, screws and staples, and a cloth material with the words: “Check it out and die.”

Neither suspect commented about his arrest. A woman who identified herself as McCranie’s wife said: “I have no idea why this happened. My nerves can’t handle this,” before she hung up the phone.

Starr’s sister, Michelle Wilkes, said: “I have never heard him speak anything about bombs. No way.”

Starr appeared on CNN’s “Talkback Live” show a month after the Oklahoma City bombing last year and spoke in support of the militia movement. He urged President Clinton to invite militia leaders to hold a national conference much like he said the president called for with street gangs around the country.

“I would like to challenge Mr. Clinton, uh President Clinton, to invite militia leaders from across the country and give them the same privilege to discuss these issues and try to resolve them,” Starr said.

“If it is so important, which I think it is, and he obviously does too because he’s been talking a lot about it, then let’s resolve them.”

John Parsons, commander of the Tri-States Militia, an umbrella group that claims to represent 900 militia or “constitutional units” across the country, said he had never heard of Starr or McCranie or their Georgia Republic Militia.

“If they were building bombs, they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Parsons said. “There isn’t a constitutional thing about these jackasses.”

Experts who track militia activities said there are eight active groups in Georgia, a relatively small number for a state in the Deep South, where such states as Florida and Texas have seen a sharp rise in membership since the Oklahoma City bombing a year ago.

Scott Mall, a spokesman for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, said: “Whether the games were the target or not, it’s better to have something connected with a bombing plot to be found out beforehand.”

Mary Ann Mauney, research director for the Atlanta-based Center for Democratic Renewal, which monitors hate groups, said she hoped the episode would help raise public awareness about the potential threat of terrorism, at the Olympics or anywhere else.

“What was behind the Oklahoma City bombing was so easily forgotten by the American public,” she said. “We have become very complacent about the force of the militia movement in the United States today.”

Times staff writer Ronald J. Ostrow in Washington contributed to this story.