Hutaree

I find the arrest of nine members of a religious group(?) or cult(?) or extremist militia(?) or terrorist organization(?) or survivalist organization(?) known as Hutaree very interesting.  But facts about who they are and what they did to warrant arrest are hard to come by.  It's easier to find out the secrets of the Freemasons than to figure out what these folks did to deserve (or not deserve) arrest - just ask Dan Brown.

Don't take this the wrong way.  They may be extremist wackos who were ready to take innocent lives and, in fact, need to be behind bars.  Or they just may be extremist wackos.  Given the dearth of information, I just don't know.

Apparently, according to the opposing lawyers on the case, these folks are either law abiding citizens who are merely exercising their constitutional rights under the First Amendment and Second Amendment by "possessing weapons and voicing opposition to the government," or they are violent folks with "dark hearts and evil intent" who "broke the law by conspiring to oppose the U.S. government by using violence and weapons."  (Link to story here.)

What are the facts?  What is the truth?

The indictment says Hutaree planned to kill a police officer then ambush the funeral to kill more police officers.  But the charges include "seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence."

How did they attempt to use WMDs?  And what WMDs did they have when they attempted to use them?  As a friend put it today, were they the same ones we found in Iraq?  Is an improvised explosive device now considered a weapon of mass destruction or was there something else?

And what "crime of violence" did they carry out while possessing a firearm?  Is there a robbery - rape - murder involved?  And why are there no charges mentioned for that underlying crime?

Finally, how far did the conspiracy go?  Did they take any action or was it all talk?  Are they being prosecuted for meaningless talks about never-gonna-happen fantasies?

The government either deserves an "atta boy" or it has overstepped its bounds.  Is there a journalist out there to get to the bottom of this story?  My kingdom for a journalist.