Five members or associates of a militia group were arrested in Fairbanks, Alaska Thursday in connection with a plot to kidnap or kill state trooper and judges.
Francis "Schaeffer" Cox, Lonnie Vernon, Karen Vernon, Coleman Barney and Michael Anderson were all charged with conspiracy to conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit arson, third-degree misconduct involving weapons, first-degree hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence, according to KTUU.
Cox is known to be the leader of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia.
An investigation into the militia "revealed extensive plans to kidnap or kill Alaska State Troopers and a Fairbanks Judge," according to an Alaska Department of Public Safety statement.
"Cox et. al. had conspired a plan to launch an attack on Alaska State Troopers and Court Judges. Investigation also revealed that extensive surveillance on troopers in the Fairbanks area had occurred, specifically on the locations of the homes for two Alaska State Troopers. Furthermore, Cox et. al. had acquired a large cache of weapons in order to carry out attacks against their targeted victims. Some of the weapons known to be in the cache are prohibited by state or federal law."
An arrest warrant had previously been issued for Cox on a weapons charge.
In March, the militia leader had responded to an online "distress call," where a fellow conspiracy theorist had claimed the police were conducting an illegal search of his house, according to Anchorage Press' David Holthouse.
