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Posted: October 18, 2002
Federal court documents released recently in Idaho reveal that a small militia group calling itself the Idaho Mountain Boys plotted to kill a federal judge and a police officer, as well as help an associate escape from jail.
The plot to assassinate U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge of Boise, Idaho, was foiled in 1999 when associates from the San Joaquin County Militia were arrested for planning to blow up two 12 million-gallon tanks at the Suburban Propane plant in Elk Grove, California.
However, as recently as September 2002 members of the Idaho Mountain Boys plotted to murder a police officer in Northern Idaho.
They also discussed escape plans to break James Michael Newmeyer out of the Latah County Jail in Moscow, Idaho; Newmeyer is being held on federal charges of illegal possession of eight firearms, including a machine gun.
The court documents are part of a developing case against Larry Eugene Raugust, 54, of Spokane and Odessa, Washington. Raugust was arrested on October 3 at a rest stop near Lenore, Idaho, initially charged with 16 counts of making and possessing destructive devices. The arrest was made by a task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
U.S. Attorney Tom Moss said that among the devices found were pipe bombs and pressure-detonating booby-traps designed to explode when stepped on.
The indictment also charges that Raugust gave an explosive device to an undercover detective and that he had 13 firearms and over 13,000 rounds of ammunitions. He has been identified in court documents as a conspirator in the murder plots but has not been charged in connection with them.
Raugust is affiliated with the Northwest Theater Command - part of a now largely defunct militia umbrella organization based in Michigan called U.S. Theater Command - and the Idaho County Posse, a local anti-government group that drew attention in 2001 when members sent a letter to Sheriff Larry Dasenbrock threatening that "if the sheriff refuses to serve those who have elected him, he is part of the problem in Idaho County and will be dealt with accordingly."
At one time, Raugust and another member of the Idaho Mountain Boys, Michael Cain, lived in "Almost Heaven," a housing development near Kamiah, Idaho, created by James "Bo" Gritz, a former Green Beret colonel and prominent anti-government extremist.
Cain and two other members of the Boys (originally called the Freemen Patriots), Chad Erickson and Ed LeStage, grew disenchanted with what they perceived to be a lack of action on Gritz's part and formed the group, as LeStage told a reporter in 1996, "not to hide, but to act."
Their actions included demonstrating in support of the Montana Freemen in 1996 and threatening in 1997 to intervene if county officials enforced building codes.
According to law enforcement officials, however, Erickson, LeStage, and Cain are trying to separate themselves from Raugust and more radical members of their group. Erickson said that there are several factions that will never get along because of philosophical differences. "I wish we could have tempered him," Erickson said of Raugust. Cain has reportedly left the state.
Authorities say the investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected.
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