BULLETIN: Alaska ‘Sovereign Citizens’ Charged In New Indictment; Feds Say Francis Schaeffer Cox Had ‘Armed Security’ Force That ‘Stop[ed] Private Citizens Without Lawful Authority And Under The Force Of Arms’

Francis Schaeffer Cox

BULLETIN: A new superseding indictment has been returned in federal court in Alaska against purported “sovereign citizens” and “militia” members Francis Schaeffer Cox, Coleman L. Barney and Lonnie G. Vernon.

In addition to the original charges outlined in an the first superseding indictment, the trio now is accused of conspiracy to kill federal officers and officials, according to the FBI.

Cox further is charged with soliciting Barney and Vernon to murder federal officers, the FBI said.

And  Cox, 27, Barney, 36, and Vernon, 57,  “are all charged with additional counts involving the carrying of firearms during a crime of violence,” the FBI said. “In addition to these charges, the indictment includes criminal forfeiture allegations relating to several seized firearms, silencers, and destructive devices.”

Cox allegedly has asserted courts have no authority over him. The superseding indictment alleges that Cox and his militia colleagues, despite their sovereign posturing and beliefs the government has no legitimate authority over them, apparently divined themselves the right to assert authority over private citizens.

Among other things, the indictment alleges that Cox had an armed security force and somehow persuaded himself that a federal “hit team” had been sent to Fairbanks to assassinate him, according to the indictment.

With Cox scheduled to make a television appearance in November 2010, Cox, Barney, Vernon and others “developed a tactical plan to provide security for COX,” according to the new indictment. “Part of the tactical plan included the wearing of body armor, the possession of hand grenades, arming with semi-automatic weapons, the possession of 37mm launchers loaded with Hornets Nest anti-personnel rounds along with the creation and implementation of a deadly force policy in the event the federal agents arrived to arrest or attempt to kill COX.”

On Nov. 23, 2010, according to the indictment, Barney, Vernon and others “established a tactical and armed perimeter security force of militia members around COX while COX was doing the television interview,” according to the indictment.  “This perimeter security force, among other things, trespassed on the private property of local citizenry while ‘patrolling’ on COX’s behalf, constructed a vehicular funneling point in order to stop and inspect the vehicles and identities of private citizens, and did, in fact, stop private citizens without lawful authority and under the force of arms.”

The armed security detail asked citizens “for names and identification and prevented citizens from traveling either to their place of employment or their own private residences,” according to the indictment.

While stopping citizens, Barney had “a semi-automatic assault rifle, an AR-15 .223 rifle,” according to the indictment..

Attached to the “rail mount” of the semi-automatic rifle “was a 37mm launcher,” according to the indictment. “Loaded inside the 37 mm launcher was a ‘Hornets Nest’ anti-personnel round.”

For his part, Vernon had “a semi-automatic assault rifle, a Sig Arms AR-15 .223 rifle,” according to the indictment.

Also in November 2010 — apparently after divining himself the right to use armed guards to interrupt the free travel of private citizens — Cox paid for 16,000 newspaper ads, according to the indictment.

Here is how the ads read:

“The laws of The Judiciary appear to have been fraudulently displaced by a privately owned for profit corporation deceptively named the ‘Alaska Court System.’  This corporation and the Alaska Bar Association are under criminal investigation. If you have had a case decided without full disclosure of the true nature of the ‘Alaska Court System’ the damages can be corrected. Judgments can be overturned and you may be entitled to restitution! A public meeting to explain the process in simple laymen’s terms will be held at the CARLSON CENTER ON DECEMBER 1, AT 6:30 PM . . .”