Friday, July 1, 2011
SWAT Team Honored For Raiding Wrong House?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHZnNG_QEUw
Labels: Minneapolis-St.Paul, police, police brutality, raids
Monday, February 14, 2011
USA Today
Dressed in black and carrying assault rifles, members of a local multi-jurisdiction police unit burst into a dark home in Ogden, Utah, one night in September shouting, "Police! Search warrant!"
A video of the incident made by the Weber-Morgan counties Narcotics Strike Force and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency shows a man suddenly appearing in a hallway holding a shiny object that an officer thought was a sword, but was really a golf club, according to Weber County Attorney Dee Smith.
In the instant he appeared, the video shows, three shots rang out and the man, Todd Blair, 45, fell to the floor, dead.
The Ogden incident was among a growing number of no-knock police raids last year, a tactic that has grown in use from 2,000 to 3,000 raids a year in the mid-1980s, to 70,000 to 80,000 annually, says Peter Kraska, a professor of criminal justice at Eastern Kentucky University who tracks the issue.
That increase has raised questions about the tactic, including whether the surprise element poses an unnecessary threat to people whose residences are invaded.
Judges can issue no-knock warrants when they believe the element of surprise could help officers avoid danger or keep people from destroying evidence, Kraska says.
Critics say the no-knock tactic gives residents — some innocent — seconds to decide if they face a police raid or a home invasion...
[Full Article]Labels: no-knock, police state, raids
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Agents raided the Minneapolis homes of five antiwar activists, seizing computers and documents.
The FBI raided the Minneapolis homes of five antiwar activists, including three leaders of the Twin Cities peace movement, Friday morning as part of what it called a probe of "activities concerning the material support of terrorism."
The Minneapolis office of an antiwar organization was also raided, protest leaders said. No one was arrested in any of the raids...
[Full Article]Labels: FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, protest, protesters, raids
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
...There is ample evidence that many if not most white supremacist groups are directed by the FBI and the government. During the trial of white supremacist Hal Turner, it was revealed that he worked closely with the FBI as an agent provocateur.
In addition, the SPLC has been linked to white supremacist groups. In 2004, a declassified FBI memo obtained by an Oklahoma newspaper revealed that the SPLC had operatives inside the Identity settlement in Elohim City, Oklahoma.
The California raids are a significant development and will likely be exploited by the government and the SPLC to bolster their fallacious argument that patriot groups are racist and violent.
Labels: California, FBI, raids, SPLC, white supremacist
LOS ANGELES —
The Southern California homes of dozens of white supremacists were raided Tuesday as part of a probe into a string of potentially deadly booby trap attacks targeting police officers, authorities said.
Federal and local officers converged on 35 homes and took 16 people into custody in Riverside County for a variety of crimes, including weapons, narcotics and parole violations, Hemet police Capt. Dave Brown said.
None of the arrests were directly related to the booby trap attacks that have plagued the small Hemet Police Department since New Year's Eve.
"But we hope some (arrests) will lead us to our suspects," Brown said.
District Attorney Rod Pacheco said everyone arrested was connected to white supremacist groups.
"They are upset with our aggressive posture against all gangs," Pacheco said. "White supremacist gangs have been very violent, especially toward law enforcement."...
Labels: California, raids, white supremacist
Monday, March 29, 2010
(CNN) -- Nine suspected members of a militia group were charged Monday with seditious conspiracy and related charges in an alleged plot to kill a Michigan law enforcement officer and then attack other officers at his funeral, federal prosecutors said.
A federal grand jury in Detroit, Michigan, indicted six Michigan residents, two Ohioans and an Indianan on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade and Andrew Arena, FBI special agent in charge, announced.
The five-count indictment unsealed Monday charges that since August 2008, the defendants, acting as a Lenawee County, Michigan, militia group called the Hutaree, conspired to oppose by force the authority of the U.S. government...
Labels: Christian militia, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hutaree, Indiana, Michigan Militia, Ohio, raids
Mar 29, 12:07 PM EDT
DETROIT (AP) -- Nine suspects tied to a Midwest Christian militia that was preparing for the Antichrist were charged with conspiring to kill police officers, then attack a funeral using homemade bombs in the hopes of killing more law enforcement personnel, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The Michigan-based group, called Hutaree, planned to use the attack on police as a catalyst for a larger uprising against the government, according to newly unsealed court papers. U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said agents moved on the group because its members were planning a violent reconnaissance mission sometime in April.
Members of the group, including its leader, David Brian Stone, also known as "Captain Hutaree," were charged following FBI raids over the weekend on locations in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana...
Labels: Christian militia, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hutaree, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, raids
(AP) Eight suspects arrested by the FBI this weekend were part of a plot by members of a Christian militia group to kill police officers, according to federal authorities.
According to a federal indictment unsealed this morning in Detroit, members of the Midwest group called the Hutaree had planned multiple attacks on police officers or other law enforcement personnel as a way of acting out their hatred for the government.
Weekend raids by the FBI in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana stopped the plot, authorities said, before any attacks could be carried out.
A federal grand jury has charged six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and one from Indiana, with seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.
The five count indictment charges that between August 2008 and the present, a Lenawee County, Mich. militia group called the Hutaree was preparing to engage members of local, state, and federal law enforcement in armed conflict.
Indictment
DOJ Press Release (3.29.10)
The Hutaree allegedly planned to kill a law enforcement official in Michigan and then launch an attack against other officers gathered for the funeral procession, using Improvised Explosive Devices.
IEDs with Explosively Formed Projectiles, according to the indictment, constitute weapons of mass destruction...
Labels: Christian militia, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hutaree, raids
Leader of Michigan Militia Group Says Christian Extremists Begged for Help After FBI Raid
Investigators are expected to release more information today in the raid on a Christian militia group, with one person involved in the militia movement suggesting the shadowy group had made threats against Muslims.
"Obviously someone has a source or a wiretap or intel is coming to them in some form or fashion to trigger, 'Alright we are not going to let these guys take one step further in this operation. We are going to take them down,'" ABC News consultant and former FBI agent Brad Garrett said.
Federal officials have remained tightlipped about the three-state raid Sunday that nabbed eight people and arrest records have been sealed. Michael Lackomar, the leader of Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, a separate Michigan-based militia group, told ABC News he heard that threats toward Islamic groups made by extremist group the Hutaree may have fueled the arrests.
The suspects are due in court today.
A person claiming to be a member of the Hutaree posted a message online pleading for help and claiming that officials "broke into homes and took children and used the tasers on wives ... AND my son who is 12."
The raids were conducted Sunday in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, federal officials confirmed to the Associated Press, though they did not mention the Hutaree specifically.
Lackomar, said several members of the Hutaree, which have trained with the SMVM on occasion, showed up on the doorstep of one of his colleagues shortly after the raid.
"They were asking for a place to hide as it were and he wasn't willing to assist them in that manner," Lackomar said.
On their Web site, the Hutaree -- which they say means "Christian warriors" -- say they are prepared to defend all those who belong to Christ and save those who aren't." A video shows members patrolling the woods with camouflage and weapons preparing for the arrival of the anti-Christ."
"The Hutaree will one day see its enemy and meet him on the battlefield if so God wills it," the Web site claims.
Militia Leader: Hutaree Like a Cult
Despite the connection between the groups, Lackomar said the Hutaree are not truly part fo the militia movement, but more like a cult.
"They believe that this is the end of the world as prophesized by the Bible and it is their duty to take up arms to fight alongside Jesus against the impending forces of Satan," he said.
"We are community-based," Lackomar said of the SMVM. "We are willing to accept anybody that lives among us that wants to protect themselves, their neighborhood, wants to help out in times of emergency."
Going after a group like the Hutaree can be dangerous, Garrett said.
"This crowd tends to be heavily armed and they are all conspiracy theorists that the government is trying to take over," he said. "And so you have to be very careful and cautious when starting arresting people like this because you can walk right into an ambush."
Lackomar said members of the Hutaree dressed identically, carried the same equipment and weapons and called themselves by biblical-sounding names.
Labels: Christian militia, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hutaree, raids
FBI agents have arrested seven people in a series of raids targeting a Christian militia group.
The raids took place in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio over the weekend and were reportedly carried out by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The suspects are expected to make an initial appearance in US District Court in Detroit later today.
A source close to the investigation in Washington, D.C. told the Detroit News that FBI agents were conducting activities in connection to Hutaree, a Christian militia group whose members describe themselves as Christian soldiers preparing for the arrival and battle with the anti-Christ.
WXYZ-TV reported that helicopters were spotted in the sky on Saturday night, as agents set up checkpoints throughout the area.
It wasn't clear what prompted the raids, but Michael Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, said one of his team leaders got a frantic phone call Saturday evening from members of Hutaree. They said their property in southwest Michigan was being raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"They said they were under attack by the ATF and wanted a place to hide," he said. "My team leader said, 'no thanks."'
The team leader was cooperating with the FBI, Mr Lackomar said. He said SMVM wasn't affiliated with Hutaree, but a handful of Hutaree members twice attended monthly training sessions with his group that focus on survival training and shooting practice.
On its website, Hutaree quotes several Bible passages and states: "We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ. ... Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment."
On Saturday, agents swarmed a rural, wooded property belonging to the group, about 70 miles southwest of Detroit. Phyllis Brugger, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said some people who lived there were known as having ties to militia. They would shoot guns and often wore camouflage, according to Mrs Brugger and her daughter, Heidi Wood.
"Everybody knew they were militia," she said. "You don't mess with them."
About a month ago, 50 vehicles showed up on the property, and the women said neighbours assumed something bad was going on.
Labels: Christian militia, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hutaree, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, raids
Sunday, March 28, 2010
At least seven people, including some from Michigan, have been arrested in raids by a FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana as part of an investigation into an Adrian-based Christian militia group, a person familiar with the matter said.
The suspects are expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Monday.
On Sunday, a source close to the investigation in Washington, D.C. confirmed that FBI agents were conducting activities in Washtenaw and Lenawee counties over the weekend in connection to Hutaree, a Christian militia group. Detroit FBI Special Agent Sandra Berchtold told The Detroit News the federal warrants in the case are under court seal and declined further comment...
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100328/METRO/3280313/Seven-arrested-in-FBI-raids-linked-to-Christian-militia-group=#ixzz0jW1vGEbS
Labels: FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indiana, Michigan, militia, Ohio, raids
(WXYZ) - The FBI was conducting raids Saturday night at multiple locations in southeast Michigan.
Action News has learned Homeland Security and the Joint Anti-terrorism Task Force is also involved in a major operation.
Federal officials would not say who they were targeting or where, but the FBI has set up a command center at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department in Ann Arbor, where they have brought in two satellite trucks and a radio tower.
Agents have also obtained search warrants and multiple arrests have been made.
Labels: Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, Michigan, raids
Hammond police assisted with an FBI raid Saturday evening in the Indiana city, but federal officials would not release any details.
Hammond officials did not know the circumstances surrounding the raid, which began about 7 p.m. and lasted two hours, said a police dispatcher.
The raid occurred on the 1900 block of Calumet Avenue, the dispatcher said. There were no injuries reported.
He said police were not notified ahead of time and only provided traffic control.
"We didn't even know about it until they said, 'hey we need your guys,'" he said.
A representative at the Chicago office of the FBI had no comment Saturday night, saying details might be available Sunday.
Labels: FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indiana, raids
SANDUSKY and HURON 
The Toledo Police Northwest Ohio Bomb Squad and a police dog unit from Cleveland's RTA were among those responding with the FBI Saturday, March 27, 2010, at Bayshore Estates in Sandusky. Register photo/SARAH WEBER
A second raid was conducted in Huron. An FBI agent at the scene of the Bayshore Estates raid said a second, related raid was taking place at “another location.” Huron police confirmed late Saturday a raid had taken place in that city, but would say nothing more.
Likewise, FBI agents at the scene and at the Cleveland field office are staying mum on the cause of the commotion.
“We did make some arrests,” said special agent Scott Wilson of the FBI’s Cleveland office.
He said the warrants were sealed in federal court and he could not release any information until after the suspects appear in court Monday.
Sandusky Police, Erie County Sheriff’s deputies, agents from Toledo Police Bomb Squad and Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s K9 Unit assisted at the scene.
Capt. Paul Sigsworth of the Erie County Sheriff’s office said he could not talk about the investigation.
Agents at Bayshore Estates yelled at residents to stay back at least a block from where they conducted the arrest on East Cedarwood Drive. Agents placed a handcuffed white male wearing a black shirt into a silver car.
Some officers in green uniforms carried large automatic rifles.
“We’re definitely in the dark,” said Terry Mills, who manages the trailer park with his wife, Barb.
A resident who asked her name not be used said she was reading in her living room when she heard sounds “like a semi” and a police radio, and looked outside to see two agents in FBI jackets crouching behind her car and more armed officers in her lawn.
She said an armored vehicle at the scene was one she’d seen earlier in the day on West Perkins Avenue.
The quiet east side neighborhood has seen its share of disturbances this year. It’s been the site of three total-loss trailer fires, one of which killed veteran John C. O’Reilly, 66, on New Year’s Day.
“It’s getting to be too much now,” Mills said.
He said he didn’t know who was arrested or why.
Labels: federal agents, Huron, Ohio, police, raids, Sandusky
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