It seems the ATF and DeKalb county law enforcement may not have found all the explosives stored up by the Alabama Free Militia. They got a tip that more explosives are hidden in a Collinsville cave and are planning to search it this morning.
Federal, state and local law enforcement officials raided the homes of six members of the Alabama Free Militia last week. Among the ammunition and weapons found during the raids by law enforcement officers were 130 homemade grenades, a grenade launcher, 2,500 rounds of ammunition and a machine gun. Five of the men face federal charges of conspiracy to make a firearm. [I assume that refers to the homemade grenades.]
The weapons found during last week’s raid don’t seem like a huge cache to me, but I have to say I’m not thrilled about the grenades and grenade launcher. Wonder what they’ll find in that cave? Maybe the Iraqi WMDs?
From the outside looking in, it’s hard to say whether these people were an imminent danger or not. They may have been just talking big, but the erstwhile leader (who is a fugitive on unrelated charges) had his land booby-trapped with trip wires and hand grenades. Someone who would do that where, presumably, children and animals would be at risk, is not a sane, healthy member of society.
Law enforcement has taken some crap for the raid, presumably because the militia hadn’t blown anyone up yet, but I’m going to wait and see what other news emerges about this, particularly what else the informant may have heard during his time with the militia. The sheriff’s department and the ATF are in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation. They may have just busted some pot farmers with delusions of grandeur, or they may have prevented an attack that would have injured or killed a bunch of people. If it’s the former, shame on them for wasting the resources. If it’s the latter, then I’m glad they were on the ball.
[...] Looks like law enforcement did what we’re always asking them to do — prevented a crime. The Alabama Free Militia was planning to attack a group of Hispanics in Blount County and had gone on a reconnaissance mission to Remlap six days before they were raided. [...]