"Terror case tossed out, 2 admit gun charges" March 30, 2012
DETROIT - A Michigan militia leader and his son pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing a machine gun, giving prosecutors their only gain in a domestic terrorism trial that was upended when the judge dismissed charges of plotting war against the government.
Hutaree leader David Stone rocked in a chair at the defense table after pleading guilty and told reporters he was a “stand-up true American patriot’’ whose antigovernment comments and bravado about wanting to kill police were not a call to attack the United States.
He and six militia members were cleared Tuesday of conspiracy charges, which he called a “victory for everyone’’ who cherishes the First Amendment.
Gun charges were all that remained for Stone and his son Joshua, 23, both from Lenawee County, after US District Judge Victoria Roberts said prosecutors had failed to present evidence of a specific plan to go to war against law enforcement and federal authorities.
Jurors heard hours of secretly recorded conversations between David Stone and an FBI informant and agent. He talked about killing police, building bombs, and engaging an international coalition of freedom-hating law enforcers dubbed the “brotherhood.’’
“The government’s case is built largely of circumstantial evidence,’’ the judge said Tuesday.
US Attorney Barbara McQuade said she disagreed with the judge but conceded that “reasonable minds can disagree on where legal lines are drawn.’’
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Also see: Hutaree Ha-Ha
