Armored vehicles moved near Freemen ranch
May 31, 1996
Web posted at: 6:10 p.m. EDTBRUSETT, Montana (CNN) -- The FBI said Friday that it has moved three emergency armored rescue vehicles into Jordan and may fly in a helicopter to use if it decides to raid a ranch where anti-government fugitives have been holed up for 68 days.
The FBI said it acted because the Freemen members "have terminated all efforts at negotiations," but said it still hopes to bring about a peaceful resolution "without jeopardizing the safety of law enforcement personnel or others."
A statement issued by the agency from Washington said 42 third-party intermediaries have been used -- some on multiple occasions -- in an effort to end the standoff since Freemen leaders LeRoy Schweitzer and Daniel Petersen were arrested March 25.
Eighteen adults and three children are staying at the 960-acre ranch in Brusett, dubbed "Justus Township" by the Freemen.
Schweitzer, Petersen and a number of those who remain at the ranch are charged in year-old federal indictments with check forgery, mail fraud and threatening to kidnap and kill a federal judge.
The FBI said electric generators it has positioned a short distance from the ranch will ensure that power to neighboring farms is not disrupted if a blackout is imposed on the Freemen.
The emergency rescue vehicles were moved into Jordan, the closest city to the ranch, located about 30 miles southeast of Brusett.
The FBI described the vehicles as defensive in nature.
The agency noted that a religion expert, Philip Arnold, has been conferring with FBI officials in Jordan this week as a consultant on ways to end the standoff.
Justice Department spokesman Carl Stern in Washington described Arnold as an expert "on the psychology of these sort of barrier situations." Arnold, director of the Religious Freedom Task Force in Houston, had been rebuffed when he offered to help the FBI end the Waco standoff in 1993.
The new rumblings from the FBI came on the day the Freemen received their first visitor in a week -- apparently a neighbor whom the FBI has used in the past to deliver messages to the antigovernment group.
Wednesday, the FBI obtained a court order to evict the news media from the hilltop observation post where it has been able to observe activities on the ranch, citing safety considerations.
Related stories:
- Media forced away from Freemen compound - May 29, 1996
- Montana town observes Memorial Day as Freemen stay isolated - May 27, 1996
- FBI may shut off Freemen's electricity - May 23, 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
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