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How Gerald Olson infiltrated the Alaska Peacemakers MilitiaEditor's note: This is the second of a two part-series on Gerald Olson, a government informant who has been helping the FBI in its case against the Alaska Peacemakers Militia. Part I, "Alaska militia infiltrator exposed," chronicled his past run-ins with the law and what he may be getting in return for cooperating. Part II looks at Olson's relationship with Schaeffer Cox, the leader of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, and how Olson has helped investigators. How exactly contractor Gerald Olson earned the trust of Alaska Peacemakers Militia leader Schaeffer Cox isn't known, but he may have rekindled previous associations to get the job done. The man the Alaska militia community knew as "J.R." and to be a close confidant of Cox had "claimed some inside knowledge from days gone by," according to a post on an Internet forum for the Alaska Citizens Militia. Cox and four other militia members stand accused of plotting to kill state and federal officials. It is now clear that the joint investigation between the FBI and Alaska State Troopers depended on two paid informants, who for at least 10 months prior to the March arrests of Cox and others involved in the alleged plot, had been assisting authorities in their probe. Olson is one of the informants, along with Bill Fulton, the former owner of an army surplus shop who also helped provide security for Republican candidate Joe Miller during his failed campaign for U.S. Senate last year. Olson's interactions with Cox, as well as militia members Coleman Barney and Lonnie Vernon, were secretly recorded by investigators. Barney gave Cox a place to stay and allegedly aided him in moving weapons around and helped formulate an out-of-state escape plan. Cox tasked Vernon with making appearances on his behalf and with obtaining explosives and guns. Although the recordings have not been made public -- Cox and the others are in jail awaiting trial in spring 2012 on federal and state charges of weapons violations and conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder -- a picture is emerging of the role Olson played in the probe and what he got in return. As detailed in the first part of the series, Olson has been described as a shoddy contractor who was charged with stealing a construction tractor, fleecing homeowners and other criminal acts. But as he began cooperating with authorities in the militia investigation last year, it appears state prosecutors cut him some breaks for his past acts in return for being a government informant. Olson puts himself in positionAfter the March arrests of Cox, Barney, Vernon and his wife Karen, and Michael Anderson, it didn't take long for other militia types in Alaska to figure out that something was amiss. Those involved in the movement -- self-described patriots and, in some cases, members of other regional militias -- began openly questioning Olson and his background. Among them was Norm Olson, commander of the Alaska Citizens Militia and the former head of the Michigan Militia. Bill Fulton was threatened with loss of his gun shop license, so he was under duress, and Mr. Sewage is a petty criminal facing indictment. That's what the feds had to stoop to, to get an indictment for "thought crimes". As far as I can see, all these people did was (1) assert their Second Amendment rights in a way that was offensive to a judge in Fairbanks, and (2) plan for a "what if" scenario that assumed that one or more of them would be attacked and/or killed by Dudley Do Right law enforcement officials. The federal officials should dust off their copies of the Constitution and tell us all what is so difficult to understand in the phrase "shall not be infringed"? Then they should justify the creation of a "crime" without a dead or injured body---the corpus delecti required by our law? We should all be asking ourselves---since when did talking and thinking become a crime in America? If I wanted to bad mouth a politician or a federal judge or a police captain, don't I have the right to do so? If I felt threatened by police (for example) don't I have a right to talk to my friends and family and prepare to defend myself? There have been two police killings in Arizona this past month---one where they broke into a home and gunned down a young husband and father with zero evidence of any crime, and then another case where a police officer barged into a private home and shot a man point blank in response to being told that he needed a warrant. I think it is pretty clear that the law enforcement officials are the ones who conspired against Cox, and that our law enforcement process is getting dangerously out of hand when police do things like these incidents in Arizona. Cox and his friends had reasonable cause to be worried and to plan for their own defense and that of their families. The police ARE out of control. Their worry was realistic and the police have only themselves to blame. If they acted reasonably and within the law, people wouldn't be hatching up contingency plans. That said, Schaeffer Cox didn't do anything to anyone. No corpus delecti, no crime. He is being held under false arrest and subjected to a lot of invective and fear-mongering for no valid reason. Please go to the Stand By Schaeffer Cox website and send a donation to his wife, Marti. She and the kids need help while he is incarcerated. Another compelling read Ms. Burke- Well done! What is striking is the extent to which Judge Kristiansen has become emotionally involved evidenced by her very subjective opinion that when it comes to Mr. Olson being allowed leniency and a 'hands-off' approach by the justice department, Mr. Olson has suffered the "equivalent or greater than any sentence that the courts might impose." That's quite a statement! Apparently Judge Kristiansen see's fit to remove the blindfold on 'Lady Justice' whenever in her opinion she 'feels justified'. Not only is that a road less traveled, it's a one way street. |
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