Posted on 05/04/2010 12:49:40 PM PDT by marktwain
"Judge grants bond for Hutaree militia members," The Detroit News headline reads.
A federal judge has found that all nine members of the Hutaree accused of plotting a violent battle with government forces should be released from custody pending their trials.
Go ahead and read the rest of the article for the judge's statement and the conditions of release.
What I want to bring up here is a discussion we had over at The War on Guns last week about this article:
FBI agent short on details on militia inquiry
An FBI agent who led the investigation of nine Michigan militia members charged with trying to launch war against the federal government couldn't recall many details of the two-year probe yesterday during questioning by defense lawyers.
That was followed up by this commentary, from Anchorage Libertarian Examiner Kevin Wilmeth:
Aw gee whiz, who didn't see that one coming?
For all the noise made by the government and the media, and noting reports about embedded assets in the Hutaree, one can only wonder about all the fanfare generated with the arrests.
And while some of us were on record urging to see what comes out before forming judgments, and reminding that we are legally innocent until proven guilty, St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner Kurt Hofmann showed us some didn't miss a beat in exploiting this to attack our right to keep and bear arms. Also see Kurt's related article today.)
I still urge not jumping to conclusions. While I would not be surprised to find taking on folks likely to generate little public sympathy was misjudged by the feds to be easy PR, my bet would be they are trying like hell to manipulate someone to either inform or plea.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Not MSM front page news.
You think they will convert to Islam in jail? (if they did, they would be treated a lot better!)
DETROIT—A federal judge has agreed to delay until Wednesday the release of nine members of a radical, Christian militia group in Michigan who are accused of plotting to kill a police officer in order to spark a "war" with the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts originally ruled on Monday to release the defendants on bond, denying the government's motion to hold them until trial. The eight men and one woman, who belong to an anti-government group they call Hutaree, were supposed to be released Tuesday morning.
But federal prosecutors asked the court to delay the release to give the government more time to file an appeal of the release order, and Judge Roberts agreed. The Hutaree members will now be held until 5 p.m. Wednesday.
WSJ On-Line Posted MAY 4, 2010, 10:53 A.M. ET
IOW:Give us more time to find a compliant appeals judge and/or manufacture more evidence.
Its because of these types of prosecutors that I have changed my mind on the death penalty. Use to be strongly for it, now I view it with caution...
Bad kabuki theatre. FBI agents arrested ATF undercover agents and vice-versa.
Had the misfortune of briefly working with the FBI in Michigan back in the 1990s. I came away with the impression of “How can anyone possibly be this stupid...” The agent came equipped with a bag of rocks he talked to for professional advice.
Not your grandfather’s FBI.
...I’m guessing the rocks would have made more intelligent conversation.
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