No bail for Alaska Peacemakers Militia 'Major Barney'

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In the quest to get Coleman Barney out of jail the prayers didn't work, and neither did a dicey court maneuver. Coleman Barney's unusual move to take the stand in his own defense during a bail hearing Thursday in Fairbanks took guts, but the risky move may not have been the best idea. While his testimony did impress the judge, it wasn't in the way Barney was hoping.

"He is naïve and likely to be manipulated by others into illegal acts, including refusal to appear or endangering the safety of others who are attempting to lawfully enforce the law," U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan wrote in a detention order Friday.

In weighing Barney's right to remain free versus his potential danger to others and the likelihood he'll disappear,  Bryan ruled there was "no condition or combination of conditions for release" that would assure community safety and appearance at trial.   

It's a blow to Barney and his tight-knit family, who had hoped the man they remain convinced has a "clear conscience" and is "an innocent man being held illegally" would finally come home after more than four months under arrest. It means the dad of five will have to continue to watch his kids grow without being able to hold or hug them, including an infant daughter born last month while he was in custody. The state-federal murder and weapons conspiracy trials are scheduled to take place in spring 2012.

Judge Bryan found that it didn't matter whether Barney actually owned the illegal weapons he's accused of having, only that he possessed them. He also had concerns that Barney's willingness to offer safe harbor to militia leader Schaeffer Cox, who is also accused in the case, and help facilitate Cox's departure from Alaska "indicate a willingness to use flight to avoid prosecution."

One of the things that fumbled Barney's chances for bail was something for which he isn't even charged, dating back to events that took place late one night last November outside a Fairbanks television studio. Cox had a scheduled appearance at the building and felt he needed security, with Barney in charge. The detail involved about a half dozen, armed militia members patrolling the block, blocking access and turning citizens away. Some of the guards, including Barney, who also had with him an anti-personnel riot control device – a burst of rubber bullets that could be deployed via a grenade launcher, stood watch along the perimeter in the shadows. The judge found the operation, which Barney spoke about on the stand, troubling.

"The defandant's activities in regard to a 'security detail' for co-defendant Francis Schaeffer Cox indicated a very substantial danger to the safety of other persons and the community and, in particular, a willingness to use assaultive behavior illegally to prevent the lawful arrest of another," Judge Bryan wrote.

The decision to hold Barney in custody is contrary to a finding by a state court judge which reduced Barney's bail from $2 million to $100,000, money which Barney has since raised and is ready to post. Barney's defense attorney, Tim Dooley, had argued that if the state court, in which Barney faces the most serious charges (conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder) thought a bail proposal was reasonable, it should follow that the federal court (in which Barney faces weapons charges) would follow.

Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com