Media Report
March 28, 2012Wayne State law professor Peter Henning quoted in New York Times article about Michigan militia's acquittal
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/us/hutaree-militia-members-acquitted-of-sedition.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=hutaree&st=cse
Members of a Christian militia accused of plotting an antigovernment uprising were acquitted on sedition and conspiracy charges on Tuesday by a federal judge who said prosecutors had failed to prove that the group had concrete plans to attack anyone. Judge Victoria A. Roberts of Federal District Court dismissed all charges against five members of the Hutaree militia, who the authorities claimed had plotted to kill a police officer and then ambush those who attended the funeral. She dismissed the most serious charges against the group’s founder, David Brian Stone Sr., and his son Joshua, but said they must remain on trial for some lesser weapons charges. All of the defendants had faced possible life sentences if convicted. “It shows how hard these cases are when you’re talking about groups engaged in political speech,” said Peter J. Henning, law professor at Wayne State University and former federal prosecutor. “This was a fairly disorganized group that talked big but didn’t seem to be doing much.” Henning predicted that the Hutaree’s acquittal “will make the F.B.I. more hesitant to intervene early on when you’re talking about domestic threats.”
Members of a Christian militia accused of plotting an antigovernment uprising were acquitted on sedition and conspiracy charges on Tuesday by a federal judge who said prosecutors had failed to prove that the group had concrete plans to attack anyone. Judge Victoria A. Roberts of Federal District Court dismissed all charges against five members of the Hutaree militia, who the authorities claimed had plotted to kill a police officer and then ambush those who attended the funeral. She dismissed the most serious charges against the group’s founder, David Brian Stone Sr., and his son Joshua, but said they must remain on trial for some lesser weapons charges. All of the defendants had faced possible life sentences if convicted. “It shows how hard these cases are when you’re talking about groups engaged in political speech,” said Peter J. Henning, law professor at Wayne State University and former federal prosecutor. “This was a fairly disorganized group that talked big but didn’t seem to be doing much.” Henning predicted that the Hutaree’s acquittal “will make the F.B.I. more hesitant to intervene early on when you’re talking about domestic threats.”
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