"Convoy of Tears" Organizers Solicit Militia Support
Montana Human Rights Network

The Montana Human Rights Network (MHRN) has discovered that organizers for Kalispell's convoy to Klamath Falls are keeping the Militia of Montana updated on the convoy's plans. This fits with a problem MHRN has noticed at the national level: the militia movement is using the frustrations of Oregon farmers to promote its anti-government ideology.

"The situation faced by these Oregon farmers is bad enough," Greg Haegele of the Network said. "Having militia types involved in the convoy could push an already volatile situation over the edge. The dispute in Klamath Falls deals with issues and policies that deserve to be debated and discussed. However, the militia activists who are interested in Klamath Falls are more likely to target federal employees than contribute to any constructive dialogue."

The Militia of Montana has distributed four separate e-mails concerning the Kalispell convoy. The first was sent directly from Cathy Aastrom's e-mail account to a militia account. Aastrom has been listed as a main contact point for the Kalispell convoy in both mainstream media sources and "The Sierra Times."

"The Sierra Times" is an internet publication run by JJ Johnson, a founder of the Ohio Unorganized Militia. The publication has a section of its website dedicated to following the convoys leaving for Klamath Falls from across the country. Johnson was a major player in the 1990's militia movement. Along with Militia of Montana founder John Trochmann, Johnson testified before a Senate committee on the militia movement in 1995. Johnson's dislike of politicians is well known. He has said, "The most important reason you can't go out here and shoot these people [law officers, politicians] is because ammunition is just too expensive. And don't hang'em either. Rope's too expensive." He also circulated a document, "Project Worst Nightmare," during the Montana Freemen standoff that advocated kidnapping federal employees if the standoff ended violently. In 2000, he was an unindicted co-conspirator in a case against a Florida "patriot" who was convicted of plotting to bomb Florida power plants and sentenced to five years in prison.

Johnson's "Sierra Times" has published first-hand accounts from Klamath Falls by extremist activist Jeff Head. Head also authored a petition that is circulating to support the Oregon farmers. The Klamath petition isn't Head's first. He authored the "Modern Declaration of Liberty" in 2000 that protested the supposed move towards one-world government. It was featured in "The Jubilee," a tabloid directed at Christian Identity adherents. Identity believes that Jewish people are the literal children of Satan, and people of color are sub-human "mud people." In the same issue of "The Jubilee," an article by Head says, "Let the power mongers [politicians] hear the resolve of patriots and shake at the sound thereof." He says patriots are "a veritable chorus calling for a reckoning, calling for a return to the Constitutional intent of our founders." Also in 2000, Head organized the "50 Million Round March." According to Head, participants were to go to firing ranges and discharge 50 million rounds of ammunition. Participants were encouraged to send used targets or spent cartridges to their elected officials to show their support for the Second Amendment. Head said this was not to be threatening; however, he quickly added, "the 2nd amendment [sic] was MEANT to be a latent threat to politicians [emphasis in original]."

Cathy Aastrom signed Head's Klamath Falls petition. In the comment section, she wrote that the situation in Klamath Falls is another way for "the government to controle [sic] our FREEDOM." She said this needs to be stopped all over "Amerika." The use of the "k" in America is a hallmark of anti-government rhetoric. It generally refers to the belief that the federal government has been taken over by socialists. Aastrom again uses "Amerika" in leaving a note on the Montana Defense Militia's website. The site includes lots of information on the supposed plot of the United Nations to subvert America's government in order to create a one-world government. Aastrom's husband, Mike, also signed the Klamath petition. He says he would love to be at Klamath Falls "preferably armed."

The Network has also obtained an e-mail written to the head of the Oregon State Militia about Klamath Falls. The writer says he would be ecstatic to "fire the first shot at the feds," because it would be "a great honor and privilege" to "fire the second 'shot heard 'round the world."

The Network worries that participants in the Montana convoy are unaware of militia activists in their midst. The Network has watched as the militia movement increasingly uses disputes over land-use issues as a vehicle to express its extreme anti-government message. MHRN worries that the Oregon farmers are the latest victims for the militia movement to exploit.

"It's disturbing that convoy organizers are using anti-government groups as recruiting grounds," Haegele says. "It's a no win situation. Either the militia movement is using this to mainstream its message and looking for new recruits, or the convoy's organizers are in the militia's camp. The real losers are the everyday Montanans joining the convoy. They are left wondering if they are supporting Oregon farmers or an ideology that wants to destroy the federal government."

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