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Several of the Hutaree Militia Members Entered Not Guilty Pleas
Undercover Agent Attended Hutaree Training Camps
March 31, 2010
Eight of the nine members of an alleged Christian extremist group accused of plotting to kill police officers, entered not guilty pleas at an arraignment held today at a U.S. District Court in Detroit.
The ninth member, Thomas Piatek, was ordered held without bond in an Indiana court room until he is transferred to Michigan to join the other defendants.
The accusedringleader of the group, David Stone Sr., was one of the eight to plead not guilty today.
Stone and other members of the Christian extremist militia Hutaree was arrested earlier this week in a series of raids in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Stone's wife, Tina Stone, and two sons, David Stone Jr. and Josh Stone, also entered not guilty pleas today.
Josh Stone was the only one to speak at the hearing, entering his own plea of "not guilty" while attorneys for the other defendants spoke on behalf of their clients.
An undercover federal agent attended Hutaree training exercises in 2009, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet said today, according to The Detroit News. The paper also reported that this agent witnessed the Hutaree detonating explosive devices.
Waterstreet also said that the leader of the group "wanted to own his own country," according to the newspaper.
Mark Satawa, the attorney for one of the accused, 40-year-old Michael David Meeks, said in a statement today that his client "looks forward to being vindicated."
The indictment alleges that the Hutaree planned to kill a police officer and then assault those who attended his funeral with home made bombs, which constituted "weapons of mass descruction," according to the indictment.
Eight Militia Members Plead Not Guilty in Detroit Court - ABC News
EDIT:
One of the plans discussed by the Hutaree was to lure law inforcement officials with a fake 911 call that would develop into a "more wide-spread uprising against the Government," according to the indictment.
"It's not about a religious group," Waterstreet said. "It's not about the militia. It's about a group who decided to oppose by force the U.S. by using violence and weapons."
The Stone family has been at the center of the investigation since it began.
Those who have met the family describe them as socially awkward, a trait that some say as on display at the wedding earlier this month of Josh Stone.
The bride wore white, but the groom -- and all of his family, including the tyke who was the ring bearer -- wore camouflage combat uniforms.
"I was really surprised. It just seemed so inappropriate," Donna Spurgeon, the wife of the minister who directs the church where the March 13 wedding was held, told ABCNews.com."She was a beautiful bride and had a beautiful white dress and it seemed really odd" next to the military uniforms.
Photographs were posted on a Facebook page that belongs to Karen Belcher. Belcher is a friend of the bride, Shannon Witt, and was asked to photograph the wedding. She said that most of the men at the ceremony were in full military fatigues.
Even a young ring bearer, who appears to be no more than 6 years old, was wearing the uniform.
"I knew [the Stones] were different, I just didn't know how different," said Belcher. "That was my first meeting."
Belcher said that Witt's family did not approve of the wedding, because they did not "like" the Stone family. Only Witt's mother, aunt and sister attended, according to Belcher.
"I think Shannon was pretty much brainwashed. She had no clue of what all what went on," said Belcher. "She's pretty innocent, naive. It was a shock to her like it was to the rest of us."
Belcher said the Stone family members were all very nice to her at the wedding, but that she did not have any lengthy conversations with any of them.
Spurgeon, whose husband is the pastor of theThornhill Baptist Church, said the Stones preferred that a "chaplain from their group" officiate at the wedding.
She said that about 40 people attended the wedding and reception, and that at least 15 were wearing military uniforms.
"I was surprised," said Spurgeon of the whole ordeal. "But the bride looked very happy."
The Stone family attended the Thornhill Baptist Church "about once every three months," according to Spurgeon, but were always polite and well behaved when they did show up. Spurgeon said that her church did not condone anything the Stone's are said to believe in. "That's not the teaching that they got at our church," Spurgeon said.
Josh Stone and David Stone Jr. were both home schooled and seemed to lack friends their own age, according to Spurgeon.
"They needed to be exposed to kids their own age," she said. "But they were not wild children at all. They were very polite, very respectful and very kind."
The parents, David Stone Sr. and his wife, Tina, were always very polite, although he always seemed like he had drank too much coffee," said Spurgeon.
"David just always seemed really hyper, like, calm down," said Spurgeon.
Despite their personalities and the military garb, Spurgeon said she never suspected anything out of the ordinary. She figured that the men in the family, like many in the rural town of Clayton, Mich., just enjoyed hunting.
Undercover Agent Attended Hutaree Training Camps
March 31, 2010
Eight of the nine members of an alleged Christian extremist group accused of plotting to kill police officers, entered not guilty pleas at an arraignment held today at a U.S. District Court in Detroit.
The ninth member, Thomas Piatek, was ordered held without bond in an Indiana court room until he is transferred to Michigan to join the other defendants.
The accusedringleader of the group, David Stone Sr., was one of the eight to plead not guilty today.
Stone and other members of the Christian extremist militia Hutaree was arrested earlier this week in a series of raids in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Stone's wife, Tina Stone, and two sons, David Stone Jr. and Josh Stone, also entered not guilty pleas today.
Josh Stone was the only one to speak at the hearing, entering his own plea of "not guilty" while attorneys for the other defendants spoke on behalf of their clients.
An undercover federal agent attended Hutaree training exercises in 2009, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet said today, according to The Detroit News. The paper also reported that this agent witnessed the Hutaree detonating explosive devices.
Waterstreet also said that the leader of the group "wanted to own his own country," according to the newspaper.
Mark Satawa, the attorney for one of the accused, 40-year-old Michael David Meeks, said in a statement today that his client "looks forward to being vindicated."
The indictment alleges that the Hutaree planned to kill a police officer and then assault those who attended his funeral with home made bombs, which constituted "weapons of mass descruction," according to the indictment.
Eight Militia Members Plead Not Guilty in Detroit Court - ABC News
EDIT:
One of the plans discussed by the Hutaree was to lure law inforcement officials with a fake 911 call that would develop into a "more wide-spread uprising against the Government," according to the indictment.
"It's not about a religious group," Waterstreet said. "It's not about the militia. It's about a group who decided to oppose by force the U.S. by using violence and weapons."
The Stone family has been at the center of the investigation since it began.
Those who have met the family describe them as socially awkward, a trait that some say as on display at the wedding earlier this month of Josh Stone.
The bride wore white, but the groom -- and all of his family, including the tyke who was the ring bearer -- wore camouflage combat uniforms.
"I was really surprised. It just seemed so inappropriate," Donna Spurgeon, the wife of the minister who directs the church where the March 13 wedding was held, told ABCNews.com."She was a beautiful bride and had a beautiful white dress and it seemed really odd" next to the military uniforms.
Photographs were posted on a Facebook page that belongs to Karen Belcher. Belcher is a friend of the bride, Shannon Witt, and was asked to photograph the wedding. She said that most of the men at the ceremony were in full military fatigues.
Even a young ring bearer, who appears to be no more than 6 years old, was wearing the uniform.
"I knew [the Stones] were different, I just didn't know how different," said Belcher. "That was my first meeting."
Belcher said that Witt's family did not approve of the wedding, because they did not "like" the Stone family. Only Witt's mother, aunt and sister attended, according to Belcher.
"I think Shannon was pretty much brainwashed. She had no clue of what all what went on," said Belcher. "She's pretty innocent, naive. It was a shock to her like it was to the rest of us."
Belcher said the Stone family members were all very nice to her at the wedding, but that she did not have any lengthy conversations with any of them.
Spurgeon, whose husband is the pastor of theThornhill Baptist Church, said the Stones preferred that a "chaplain from their group" officiate at the wedding.
She said that about 40 people attended the wedding and reception, and that at least 15 were wearing military uniforms.
"I was surprised," said Spurgeon of the whole ordeal. "But the bride looked very happy."
The Stone family attended the Thornhill Baptist Church "about once every three months," according to Spurgeon, but were always polite and well behaved when they did show up. Spurgeon said that her church did not condone anything the Stone's are said to believe in. "That's not the teaching that they got at our church," Spurgeon said.
Josh Stone and David Stone Jr. were both home schooled and seemed to lack friends their own age, according to Spurgeon.
"They needed to be exposed to kids their own age," she said. "But they were not wild children at all. They were very polite, very respectful and very kind."
The parents, David Stone Sr. and his wife, Tina, were always very polite, although he always seemed like he had drank too much coffee," said Spurgeon.
"David just always seemed really hyper, like, calm down," said Spurgeon.
Despite their personalities and the military garb, Spurgeon said she never suspected anything out of the ordinary. She figured that the men in the family, like many in the rural town of Clayton, Mich., just enjoyed hunting.
