Video Shows Ariz. Militia Detonating Bombs



PHOENIX (Reuter) - A video showing militia members firing weapons and

setting off bombs in the Arizona wilderness was shown in court Friday as

federal authorities outlined the case against a group of alleged

anti-government plotters.



Ten of the 12 defendants arrested in a series of raids Monday were in

U.S. District court for a bail hearing at which a federal agent

testified the members of the so-called "Viper Militia" were planning to

spark civil unrest.



Friday's hearing was adjourned before Judge Barry Silverman could rule

on whether bail should be set for the defendants. The other two

defendants were due to appear in court Monday.



As part of the government's effort to keep the defendants behind bars, a

15-minute videotape seized last Monday was played in court Friday in

which the defendants were seen in camouflage clothing carrying out

quasi-military exercises in remote areas of Arizona.



At one point, two members are seen carrying a large chemical drum and

one militiaman is heard saying: "This is the biggest firecracker we've

ever made."



Another sequence shows an explosion and a huge pillar of smoke rising

into the air, and a voice is heard asking: "Was that good or what?" to

which someone replied it seemed like "a mushroom cloud."



After another explosion, one man exclaims: "Yes, yes, that felt good!"



The militia members, who sat in court in orange prison jumpsuits, were

also seen on the video firing weapons. One man fired what appeared to be

a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.



Defense lawyer Deborah Williams said that most of the defendants were

legally certified to carry weapons and that the grenade was inert and as

such, perfectly legal. They also had permission from the land owner to

carry out their exercises, she said.



She argued that the group's members were merely concerned for their

families' safety in the event of civil unrest.



After a six-month undercover investigation, U.S. officials charged 12

people Monday with conspiring to blow up federal and local government

buildings in Phoenix, including those housing the Secret Service, FBI

and Internal Revenue Service.



The 12, some of whom also face weapons charges, were described by

authorities as members of a rightwing paramilitary group seeking to

resist supposed threats to individual liberty from what they viewed as

steps toward a supra-national "One World Order."



The government had been expected to show the court another seized video,

which reportedly gives instructions on how to build bombs and target

buildings. But Silverman upheld Williams' objection that it was two

years old and irrelevant.



Steve Ott, an agent for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms -- one of the agencies allegedly targeted by the Viper Militia

-- testified that the video shown Friday supported the government's case

against the militiamen.



He said that at a March 1996 meeting of the group, which was infiltrated

by two undercover agents, the militia members discussed "rally points"

in case of civil unrest and designated "ambush points" in case they

suspected they were being followed. One member suggested a topless bar

where he worked as a rally point for the group.



Ott said the group was well organized, with a treasurer and an officer

reponsible for research and development.



At a Jan. 4, 1996, meeting, members took a "Militiamen's Oath" and

pledged to kill informants, Ott told the court.



At the meeting, he said, Ellen Belliveau -- one of two women members

arrested -- suggested the group find out about federal agents' children

and where they lived in order to "take action" against them.



Ott also said one of the undercover agents reported that militia member

Gary Bauer said he had once had a law enforcement officer "in his cross

hairs." Another suspect, Randy Nelson, once suggested that if the group

ever became involved in a trial, they should "kill a juror."