Freemen members plead not guilty
April 12, 1996
Web posted at: 3:50 p.m. EDTJORDAN, Montana (CNN) -- A mother and son were arraigned on various charges Friday, a day after the two left the Freemen compound and surrendered to federal agents.
A judge released Agnes Stanton under house arrest and ordered her son, Ebert Stanton, held without bond.
Ebert Stanton, the seventh indicted member of the Freemen group now in custody, is charged with mail fraud, bank, fraud, armed robbery and a federal weapons charge. His mother is charged with conspiracy. Both entered pleas of not guilty and, unlike other Freemen arraigned in recent weeks, accepted court-appointed lawyers.
After lengthy negotiations, the Stantons drove a pickup truck out of the Freemen compound Thursday in a blowing snowstorm. They were handcuffed and driven away from the ranch in a government truck, reporters at the scene said.
Tom Stanton, who said he is a distant cousin of the two and a critic of the Freemen, welcomed their surrender. "They are family, and I feel they haven't done anything so horrible that they need to lose their life over it," he said.
Carol Hellyer, dispatcher with the Garfield County Sheriff and the sister of Agnes Stanton, said the surrender was a relief. "People in town were feeling restless and feel things should be stepped up. But after two more have come out this is finally giving them hope that this thing is working," she said.
Officials gave no details on why the two surrendered, but Hellyer said another son of Agnes Stanton, Tom Spillum, was very instrumental in coaxing Agnes and Ebert to come out. "He talked with Agnes over the phone for a long time on Wednesday and then again on Thursday trying to convince them to come out and end this thing," Hellyer said.
With their surrender, a total of four members of the Freeman group have left the remote Montana ranch since their standoff with federal agents began on March 25. Ebert Stanton's wife, Val Stanton, and their 5-year-old daughter left the ranch voluntarily a week ago.
Up to 20 people, including children, remain on the property, which the Freemen call "Justus Township."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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