Court Views Videotapes of Viper Militia Explosions

The Viper Militia, accused in a plot to attack government buildings, practiced blowing things up in the remote woods and deserts of Arizona, cheering as the explosions sent plumes of smoke into the air.

“It felt good,” one of them exults on a 20-minute videotape of the practice sessions that prosecutors played in court Friday.

Authorities say the tape shows some of the 12 militia members arrested Monday practicing detonating bombs and firing machine guns. Now, a federal magistrate must decide whether they will be released before trial.

Prosecutors decided not to show a second videotape in which a militia member purportedly describes how to “collapse” the local IRS headquarters and notes that taking over the Phoenix Police Department would be a “major political statement.”

Defense attorneys had demanded a hearing over that tape, saying it would prejudice potential jurors.

Earlier Friday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent who supervised the investigation presented the first videotape, which shows group members in outings to two sites in the desert and woods.

In one segment the tape showed a man lighting a fuse and then running closer to the camera. A loud bang was followed by gray smoke drifting into the woods and group members could be heard cheering.

Another segment filmed in the woods showed two members carrying a bucket-size container across a clearing. The tape’s narrator described it as “the largest firecracker we’ve ever made.”

Twelve members of the unofficial militia were arrested Monday following a seven-month investigation, and charged with conspiring to make bombs and other weapons charges. All 12 have pleaded not guilty.

Agents removed at least 50 weapons from the house of defendant Gary Bauer, as well as truckloads of shotguns, rifles, grenades, gas masks, body armor and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the homes of militia members.

They also found 400 pounds of ammonium nitrate, one of the ingredients in the deadly Oklahoma City bombing.

ATF Agent Steve Ott acknowledged under cross-examination Friday that the undercover government agent who infiltrated the militia had asked during one of the group’s meetings how they felt about committing bank robberies to finance their operations.

However, Ott denied that he was encouraging illegal activity. “He asked them in order to ascertain what their mind-set was,” Ott said.

Ott told the court that at a Jan. 4, 1996, meeting, members took a “Militiamen’s Oath” and pledged to kill informants.

At the meeting, he said, Ellen Belliveau--one of two women members arrested--suggested the group find out about federal agents’ children and where they lived in order to “take action” against them.

Ott also said Bauer told the undercover agent he had once had a law enforcement officer “in his cross hairs.” Another suspect, Randy Nelson, once suggested that if the group ever became involved in a trial, they should “kill a juror.”

Deborah Williams, attorney for defendant Randy L. Nelson, argued that the informant’s identity should be revealed because the government said it had apprehended all members of the group.

“At this point, the cover is blown,” she said. “There’s no need for secrecy.”

But U.S. Magistrate Barry Silverman ruled that the government did not need to reveal the identity of the agent, a Fish and Game officer who resembles a biker with a beard and tattoos.

The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that the worker’s Fish and Game colleagues are concerned for his safety now that he has helped bring indictments against the militia members.