Ending Freemen standoff may be 'protracted process,' mediator says

May 19, 1996
Web posted at: 10:40 p.m. EDT

BRUSETT, Montana (CNN) -- Although there is "reason for optimism," there will be no immediate end to the stand-off between Montana Freemen and the FBI, the man who mediated talks between the two groups said Sunday.

Hopes for an end to the 56-day standoff had been raised after Colorado state Sen. Charles Duke, who has mediated recent talks at the Montana ranch, reported a breakthrough in the negotiations, saying the two groups had reached a verbal agreement toward resolving the impasse.

The FBI denied there was such an agreement, and Sunday Duke tempered his earlier statements.

"I don't yet see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said Sunday after a day of meetings. "It could be a protracted process."

In one of the busiest negotiating days since the stand-off at their Montana ranch began, members of the anti-government Freemen group met three times with the FBI on Sunday.

Duke, who since Thursday has served as mediator for seven face-to-face meetings between the Freemen and FBI, is a leader in his state's "patriot" movement, a loose confederation of groups which feel that government has exceeded its legal and constitutional authority.

After the last of the meetings Sunday Duke told CNN that his work is done and said he will return to Colorado Wednesday whether or not a compromise has been reached between the Freemen and the federal government.

The Freemen, who have held federal agents at bay since the March 25 arrest of two of their leaders, do not recognize state or federal authority. The FBI believes about 20 people are on the ranch, including several fugitives wanted on conspiracy charges and other alleged federal violations.

Eleven members of the group, including two children, attended meetings with the FBI Sunday.

Among those participating in Sunday's meetings was Gloria Ward who brought her two daughters Cortenay, 10, and Jaylin, 8 to the negotiating table with her. The girls were carrying what appeared to be overnight bags. At one point, in an apparent show of exasperation, Ward threw some papers on the card table where she was sitting with the agents. The Wards later returned to the ranch.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Negotiator says Freemen reach tentative pact - May 18, 1996
• Freemen, FBI hold two more sessions - May 18 1996
• Freemen plan to meet again with FBI - May 17, 1996
• Colorado legislator joins Freemen talks - May 14, 1996

Related sites:

• Montana 'Freemen' clog court system - from the National Law Journal, July, 1995
• The Freemen And The Free Possession Of The Land Itself
• "Patriot" Profile #3: Every Man a King: The Rise and Fall of the Montana Freemen

Related newsgroup:

• misc.activism.militia

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