Freemen reject FBI offer,
release videotape

Gritz says he'll try again to end stalemate

May 2, 1996
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. EDT

BRUSETT, Montana (CNN) -- Freemen leaders have rejected an FBI proposal to meet face-to-face away from their ranch to discuss terms for their surrender. The FBI backed its latest offer with a threat of action. Meanwhile, the Freemen released a video reiterating their desire to end the standoff.

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876K QuickTime movie of the video

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Reporters staked out near the ranch Thursday retrieved a copy of the FBI offer, which was left by a Freemen member at a gate. At the bottom of the letter, the Freemen wrote:

"The FBI does not exist as a government agency. (no) Venue in law. (no) Jurisdiction."

The letter from the FBI was addressed to Edward Clark, the 45-year-old member of the family that owned the ranch until it was sold at a foreclosure auction over a year ago. It proposed that Clark and a Freemen member of his choice meet with two representatives of the FBI, Montana Deputy Attorney General John Connor and Montana state Rep. Carl Ohs.

The meeting was to have taken place Saturday afternoon in Fairview Hall, a community center about 13 miles from the Freemen ranch. The FBI promised Clark safe passage to and from the meeting.

The two-page letter said the meeting would be aimed at drafting a plan for the Freemen's surrender, for their evidence to be protected, and for conducting a legislative forum at the Montana State Capitol to enable them to present their beliefs.

"Failure to pursue meaningful dialogue through this meeting will indicate your lack of genuine interest in seeking a peaceful and equitable solution," the letter said. "In this case, the FBI will reserve the right to take whatever action it deems necessary to resolve this matter."

Gritz: Only arrests will end standoff

The former Green Beret colonel who tried to negotiate a surrender said the Freemen believe God makes them invincible in their standoff with the FBI and have taken an oath never to give in.

Gritz, a leader of the self-styled patriot movement who helped negotiate an end to the deadly 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, spent five days negotiating with the Freemen but left in frustration Wednesday.

He said he planned to return to Brusett next week to attempt to re-start talks.

In a phone call to CNN's "TalkBack Live," Gritz said he would try one more time to convince the Freemen to surrender "before a heavier hand comes down upon them."

But Gritz said he believes the 40-day standoff won't end unless the FBI moves in and makes arrests. He said the Freemen told him they would not shoot anyone trying to arrest them if that person was not trying to harm them.

Freemen term FBI a 'foreign agency'

In its video, the anti-government group repeated its claim that the FBI had no authority to arrest them because it was a "foreign agency." (179K AIFF sound or 179K WAV sound)

The 43-minute videotape was left at the main entrance to the ranch by a Freeman member, who then waved to a group of reporters. The Freemen also left copies of documents that were quoted in the videotaped presentation.

The tape included a rambling lecture by Freeman Russell Dean Landers, a 44-year-old fugitive from Colorado, who challenged the federal government's jurisdiction in Montana and said the Freemen alone had authority over their township. (162K AIFF sound or 162K WAV sound)

He argued that the federal government had no jurisdiction in Montana because it had not filed the proper papers with the Montana secretary of state to allow it to do business as a corporation in the state.

FBI agents have surrounded the Freemen complex near Jordan since March 25, when they arrested two leaders of the anti-government group in a sting operation. Some of the Freemen are wanted on federal and state charges ranging from writing millions of dollars in worthless checks to threatening to murder a federal judge.

The Freemen do not accept the legitimacy of the U.S. government and will not even register their cars. They claim they are sovereign citizens of their own country and are governed only by common law.

Related stories:

• Negotiator: No one coming out of Freemen compound - May 1, 1996
• Mediator says FBI made Freemen an offer - May 1, 1996
• Freemen may meet with state officials - April 30, 1996
• Freemen want leader transferred to Montana - April 29, 1996
• Gritz upbeat after 7-hour Freeman talks - April 28, 1996
• 'Freeman' arrested in Kansas - April 17, 1996

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