National Perspective / LAW ENFORCEMENT : The Standoff

Now in its second week, the standoff at the Montana farm pits federal agents against a group that denies the right of a government to be part of their lives. Stung by criticism of the handling of the 1993 siege near Waco, Texas, and other similar incidents, the FBI has not sealed off the area and is seeking to end the standoff through negotiation, but various militia members have been gathering in the area. Here’s a look at the situation.

* How standoff started: The compound has been surrounded by more than 100 FBI agents since March 25, when LeRoy Schweitzer and Daniel Petersen Jr., two Freemen leaders, were arrested. A third member of the group, Richard E. Clark, surrendered Saturday.

* The charges: Schweitzer and Petersen were charged with threatening public officials and millions of dollars worth of bank, financial and mail fraud. The people still on the farm are believed to be wanted on various state and federal charges. A federal indictment, recently made public, charges 12 Freemen with issuing fake checks that cost businesses and public agencies more than $1.8 million.

* The freemen: They reject government authority, refuse to pay taxes, question the validity of U.S. currency and adhere to so-called “Christian Identity” beliefs about white supremacy. They have set up their own government and created “common law” courts where justice is based on their interpretations of the Bible, the Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution.

30 Miles From the Nearest Town

Farm where the militants are holed up and watched by FBI agents

Main checkpoint

Freemen have blocked access here

FBI road checks

Jordan, closest town, population 550

Other farms in area

The Compound

The freemen have been confined to the farm for nine days, watched by federal agents who have a direct phone line to the compound.

Militias in America

A new national survey by the Anti-Defamation League found that the militia movement has continued to grow in the United States since the Oklahoma City bombing. The organization says the growth goes contrary to the widespread expectation that public shock and revulsion at the bombing might prompt the militias to disband.

STATES WITH MOST MILITIA GROUPS

1. Michigan: 50

2. Florida: 43

3. California: 34

4. Pennsylvania: 26

5. Alabama: 22

6. Texas: 21

7. Indiana: 20

8. Ohio: 18

9. Colorado: 17

10. Missouri: 17

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“Any time any public official said ‘no’ to them for any reason, they were put on this hate list and would receive these harassing, intimidating and I think terrorizing documents.”

--Garfield County Attorney Nick Murnion

Who They Are

Among the suspected freemen who face charges and are either in custody or believed to be holed up at the Montana farm:

Daniel Petersen Jr.

LeRoy Schweitzer

Ralph Clark

Rodney Owen Skurdal

William Stanton

Richard E. Clark

Emmett Clark

Dale Martin Jacobi

Ebert Stanton

John Patrick McGuire

TENSIONS MOUNT

January 1994: Freemen file documents creating the Supreme Court of Garfield County/comitatus, holding what the county attorney termed a “kangaroo” court in the county courthouse.

March 1994: Freeman reportedly put up notices around Jordan offering $1 million for the arrest and conviction of the county attorney, the sheriff and others involved in a foreclosure on a Freeman ranch.

August 1994: The group allegedly tries to deposit a fake certified money order for $7,777,777.77 drawn on a U.S. District Court bank account.

March 25: FBI arrests two leaders; standoff begins.

Sources: Montana Department of Agriculture, Klanwatch, Anti-Defamation League, Associated Press, Reuters, Times staff