Mont. Militia Plotted to Kill Officials, Prosecutors Say

SEATTLE —  A major weapon stash and a purported hit list targeting local government officials have been uncovered in northern Montana, part of what authorities alleged Wednesday was an anti-government plot being developed by a shadowy local militia group.

In a court hearing in Kalispell, Mont., prosecutors said thousands of rounds of ammunition, firearms and booby traps were found near the home of one of two suspects arrested in the case, along with lists naming local police officers, judges and other officials.

Already facing charges in the case are David Burgert, 38, a longtime local anti-government activist thought to be the ringleader in the case, and Tracy Brockway, 32, charged with obstruction of justice for aiding Burgert.

Police said they expect other arrests as the investigation continues.

An informant told police the group had plans to assassinate those named on the list with the goal of triggering a wider conflict in which militia members from throughout the West would stand against the National Guard and international troops.

“Project Seven”--reportedly named so because Montana designates Flathead its seventh county--is the latest in a series of anti-government patriot groups that have sprung up in recent years throughout the rural West. Those groups are dedicated to protecting what is seen as an erosion of constitutional rights, often fueled by resentment over environmentally based land use planning and restrictions on gun ownership.

But the extent of the weapon cache discovered in trailers outside Kalispell was unusual, law enforcement officials said. “I’m talking 24-foot camper trailers loaded with ammunition--25 [thousand] to 30,000 rounds--illegal automatic machine guns, snare bombs, survival gear,” Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont said.

Police also found computers that contained encrypted information, along with lists containing the names of several local judges, the sheriff, and two deputy district attorneys.

“They don’t say, ‘Here’s a list of people to kill,’ but based on the information from the informant, it certainly looked like hit lists to us,” Dupont said. “The basic plan was to assassinate most of the law enforcement in the county, and that would bring in the National Guard, and they would kill all those guys, which would trigger NATO and the U.N. That would create a revolution, all the militias from around the country would come in to defend them, and David Burgert would be president, I guess. I don’t know.”

Burgert was already facing charges of assaulting police officers in two previous cases when he disappeared on the day of his court hearing in January.

Three weeks later, Burgert was accused of assaulting a man who later identified himself as a member of Project Seven and who went to police with a detailed account of the group’s plans and whereabouts.

Police later tracked Burgert to the home of Brockway, a cleaning woman at the Whitefish Police Department, and pursued him into the woods.

Burgert was arrested after a 24-hour standoff; the weapons were found in subsequent searches of Brockway’s property.

“Needless to say, we have a lot of information pointing to a conspiracy of this group to possibly do harm to public officials. Everything the informant’s told us so far has been absolutely true,” Dupont said.

“What their connection is outside of our county and outside the state, we don’t know. That’s why the FBI is here assisting us with that,” the sheriff added.

In a court hearing Tuesday, Brockway’s lawyer, Gary Doran, persuaded a judge to reduce her bond to $100,000. “They want her to rot in jail until she will tell them anything they want her to say,” Doran complained.