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Posted: October 23, 2001
A radical Kentucky militia member, Steve Anderson, opened fire at a Bell County, Kentucky, sheriff's deputy during a routine traffic stop near Middlesboro on October 23, hitting the police cruiser repeatedly before escaping into the woods. Although no one was injured in the assault, the attacker remains at large.
Anderson, 53, was pulled over because of a broken taillight by Deputy Sheriff Scott Elder. According to reports, Anderson, a member of the Kentucky Rifleman Militia, allegedly told the sheriff that he was a "militia member on patrol." The deputy noticed an ammunition magazine inside the truck and asked Anderson if he had any weapons. At that point, according to authorities, Anderson stepped out of his vehicle and opened fire at the officer and his patrol car.
A chase ensued, with Elder following Anderson in his cruiser. A Pineville police officer joined in the chase, until the militiaman drove onto an unpaved road and the authorities lost him. Police later found Anderson's abandoned vehicle, which allegedly contained two pipe bombs.
Warrants have been issued for Anderson's arrest. Meanwhile, federal and local law enforcement officers searched Anderson's home, finding weapons and explosives.
ADL has been monitoring Anderson for some time due to the hateful and violent rhetoric he promotes on his pirate shortwave radio station, United Patriot Radio. Anderson is an adherent of Christian Identity, a racist religion that teaches that whites ("Aryans") are God's chosen people, while Jews are the descendents of Satan and non-whites are soulless "mud people."
A one-time member of the Kentucky State Militia, Anderson was kicked out of the group this past April because of the controversy over his radio broadcasts, which were filled with anti-Semitic rhetoric and calls to violence. Anderson used his radio show, "The Militia Hour," as a platform for anti-Semitic, racist, anti-immigrant and anti-gay rhetoric. However, he reserved his most virulent comments for the government and law enforcement.
On his radio show, Anderson promoted the use of weapons and advocated violence against law enforcement officers. In July 2001, he exhorted his listeners to come out shooting if they are pulled over by police. On an August show, Anderson stated that federal officers who subvert the Constitution should be arrested, and that those who resist or "go for their weapon" should be shot. Focusing on the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, he added, "I hope they try to get me, I want to see them get in here alive and then try to leave."
Anderson's hatred of the federal government and law enforcement, as well as his survivalist skills, may make him a difficult person to capture. On a shortwave radio show in September 2000 he encouraged fellow militia members to confront and kill federal agents:
Dead men don't arrest anyone, dead men don't kick in doors, dead men don't prosecute anyone, dead men don't sit up on a high bench and knock their rings and black robes and judge and sentence anyone. If you've got to go to the guy's house and wait in his front yard until he gets home or gets up, TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS. It's not a federal matter, it's a state law, they're kickin [sic] in your doors...WHEN, WHEN, WHEN brothers? If you're going to call yourself militia, then BE militia. That's it. They don't try that in KY because we will ENGAGE
Law enforcement authorities have labeled Anderson "armed and dangerous" and at least one fellow militia figure has begun calling him "Eric Rudolph # 2." Authorities continue to search for him.
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