Mountaineer Militia
| West Virginia Mountaineer Militia | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Floyd Looker[1] |
Leader | Floyd Looker[1] |
| Founded | 1994[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Active regions | West Virginia[1] |
| Political position | Right-wing[2] |
| Size | About 200 formal members by fall 1994[1] |
The West Virginia Mountaineer Militia, also known as the Mountaineer Militia, was an American anti-government paramilitary organization formed in West Virginia in 1994 by Floyd Looker.[1][2] Looker organized public meetings in Clarksburg and surrounding towns and appointed himself the militia's "Commanding General". By fall 1994, the organization had about 200 formal members arranged in geographical districts covering several West Virginia counties.[1]
A more militant inner faction later developed within the organization. In October 1996, seven members were arrested by federal authorities on charges related to a conspiracy to bomb the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Justice Information Services complex near Clarksburg.[1][3]
History
Formation and organization
The West Virginia Mountaineer Militia was organized by Floyd Looker in the summer of 1994. Looker held public meetings in Clarksburg and surrounding communities to recruit members for what he described as a civilian militia that could respond to emergencies. His early recruiting also appealed to concerns about gun rights and federal actions during the Ruby Ridge standoff and Waco siege.[1]
By fall 1994, the organization had about 200 formal members. Looker appointed himself "Commanding General" and divided the membership into geographical districts covering several West Virginia counties, with district commanders supervising the general membership.[1]
Whitsel reported that a 1986 West Virginia law prohibited the formation of private paramilitary groups. Looker nevertheless maintained that the militia was lawful, interpreting the state's reference to an "unorganized militia" as applying to able-bodied state residents rather than the National Guard. He presented the organization as a group that could assist county sheriffs and state emergency-management officials during disasters.[1]
During late 1994 and 1995, members took part in training at a 600-acre farm in Lewis County. Training included firearms and marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and exercises involving demolitions. Whitsel reported that the general membership and leadership still regarded the organization as nonviolent during this period, despite the paramilitary nature of some of its training.[1]
Radicalization and plotting
The militia's leadership became increasingly influenced by anti-government conspiracy theories involving the New World Order. The organization produced a recruiting video titled America Under Siege, which alleged that federal law-enforcement agencies and the military were conducting surveillance and other actions against American citizens and militia groups.[1]
The Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995 marked a change in Looker's activities. He claimed that the federal government had orchestrated the bombing in order to blame militia organizations and justify a crackdown on them. Some members left the Mountaineer Militia because they feared government action against militia groups, while Whitsel reported that the majority of the organization was sickened by the bombing and frustrated by efforts to associate militia groups with it.[1]
Looker and a small group of associates nevertheless began preparing for what they believed would be an armed confrontation with the federal government. The faction operated separately from the general membership and never numbered more than about 10 people. Members obtained C-4, TNT, and other explosives through contacts in Ohio and Pennsylvania for possible attacks on federal targets in West Virginia.[1]
Looker and his associates also organized an assassination team called the "Sons of Liberty". The group discussed targeting government officials, including U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, if the anticipated confrontation with the federal government began.[1]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Justice Information Services complex near Clarksburg became another target of the inner group. Several members began planning an attack on the facility, which Looker believed could be used by the government to identify and monitor militia members.[1]
FBI investigation and arrests
The FBI investigation began in June 1995, when agents learned that James R. Rogers, a Clarksburg firefighter and militia member, was collecting explosive materials on his property. Investigators used an informant within the militia and an undercover FBI agent who posed as a representative of a terrorist organization.[4]
During the investigation, Looker identified the FBI complex in Clarksburg and two other federal facilities in West Virginia as possible targets in the event of a conflict with the federal government. Rogers obtained photographs of construction blueprints for the FBI complex from files maintained by the Clarksburg Fire Department. Looker later offered to sell photographs of the blueprints to the undercover agent for $50,000, believing the agent represented a terrorist organization.[4]
On October 11, 1996, Looker exchanged a package containing photographs of the blueprints for $50,000 from the undercover agent and was arrested. Federal agents also arrested Mountaineer Militia members Rogers, Terrell P. Coon, Jack Phillips, and Edward Moore. James M. Johnson, a member of the Ohio Unorganized Militia, and his associate Imam Lewis were also arrested.[2]
Searches conducted during the arrests recovered C-4 plastic explosives, bomb-making chemicals, detonator cord, blasting caps, more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition, 33 shoulder-fired weapons, a .50-caliber rifle, and an Uzi submachine gun. The FBI reported that the arrests occurred before any destruction took place at the Clarksburg facility.[2]
Prosecutions and sentencing
On August 8, 1997, a federal jury convicted Looker of conspiracy to manufacture and deal in explosives without a license. He subsequently pleaded guilty to charges involving the sale of the FBI blueprints and other offenses.[5] Looker's cases were consolidated for sentencing. He was convicted of two counts of transporting unregistered destructive devices, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and providing material support to terrorists, in addition to the explosives conspiracy conviction. He received a combined sentence of 216 months, or 18 years, in federal prison.[6]
Jack Phillips and Edward Moore pleaded guilty to explosives charges before Looker's conviction.[5]
James "Rich" Rogers was convicted on August 25, 1997, of providing material resources to someone planning a terrorist attack. The jury found that Rogers had entered the Clarksburg fire hall basement and taken 34 photographs of blueprints of the FBI complex, which he later provided to Looker. Rogers was the first person convicted by a jury under the federal antiterrorism provision used in the case. He was acquitted of a separate conspiracy charge.[7] On February 2, 1998, Rogers was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison. He was the first person sentenced under the 1994 antiterrorism statute; prosecutors had sought the statutory maximum sentence of 10 years.[8]
Terrell P. "Terry" Coon was convicted on October 27, 1997, of three counts of illegally transporting explosives across state lines and two firearms offenses. On April 13, 1998, he was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was fined $10,000.[9]
The remaining defendants, James M. Johnson and Imam Lewis of Ohio, were acquitted. In total, five of the seven defendants arrested in connection with the case were convicted or pleaded guilty.[10]
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Whitsel, Bradley C. (Summer 2005). "Anti-Government Movements and the Revitalization Process: An Examination of Anthony F.C. Wallace's Theory of Revitalization As Applied to Domestic Terrorist and Extremist Groups". The Journal of Conflict Studies: 72–100.
- 1 2 3 4 Terrorism in the United States 1996 (PDF) (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- ↑ Serrano, Richard A. (October 12, 1996). "7 Militiamen Held in Plot to Blow Up FBI Facility". Los Angeles Times.
- 1 2 Serrano, Richard A. (October 12, 1996). "7 Militiamen Held in Plot to Blow Up FBI Facility". Los Angeles Times.
- 1 2 Terrorism in the United States 1997 (PDF) (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1997.
- ↑ United States v. Looker (United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit December 31, 1998).
- ↑ Associated Press (August 25, 1997). "Firefighter Guilty for Giving Militia Plan of FBI Site". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Associated Press (February 3, 1998). "Firefighter Sentenced As Terrorist He Gave Militia Blueprints Of Complex Housing FBI". The Spokesman-Review.
- ↑ Terrorism in the United States 1998 (PDF) (Report). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1998.
- ↑ Smith, Brent L.; Damphousse, Kelly R.; Roberts, Paxton (March 2006). Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Incidents: The Identification of Behavioral, Geographic, and Temporal Patterns of Preparatory Conduct (PDF) (Report). University of Arkansas. p. 124.