Alaska News

Militiaman frowned at comrades' ideas but held silence

In his second day on the witness stand, defendant Coleman Barney said repeatedly that he disagreed with some of the "wacko" ideas that floated among the leadership cadre of his Fairbanks militia but admitted just as often that he never challenged them either.

And when Schaeffer Cox, the lead defendant and militia commander, once threatened a Fairbanks judge in open court with retaliation by his force, Barney said he was upset with Cox but never went to the authorities with the names of the men he thought would carry out such a mission.

After testifying on his own behalf for nearly a full day last week and most of the morning Monday, Barney underwent grueling cross-examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Skrocki as the trial entered what will likely be the last week of testimony.

Cox, 27, Barney, 38, and Lonnie Vernon, 56, are charged with federal weapons violations and two conspiracy counts, including conspiracy to murder, which carries a maximum life sentence. Vernon's attorney, M.J. Haden of the Federal Public Defender's office, said Monday afternoon that his defense would be relatively brief, and Skrocki said he would only call three rebuttal witnesses, making it likely that testimony would conclude by Wednesday. Jurors had been told to prepare for a trial that could extend into July.

The veteran federal District Court judge hearing the case, Robert J. Bryan of Tacoma, Wash., told attorneys after the jury left for the day to prepare for a relatively arduous process writing jury instructions later this week. Bryan, an appointee of Ronald Reagan, said his long experience with jury instructions -- he's served on judicial committees on the subject in both Washington state and federal judiciary -- tells him this case will be difficult.

He didn't explain further, but from opening statements the case has been overlaid with fundamental constitutional questions that the jury will have to sort through -- the First Amendment rights of the defendants to speak freely, and their Second Amendments rights to possess firearms. Prosecutors have charged that the three men went too far, obtaining an automatic weapon, silencers and grenades that must be registered, even under the Second Amendment, and by advocating the killing of judges and law enforcement officers, even though ultimately none were harmed.

In the midst of those heady constitutional questions, the jury also got a glimpse of militia love during Barney's testimony Monday, the trial's 20th day. Barney was major in the Alaska Peacemaker Militia.

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At several points in his cross-examination of Barney, Skrocki dramatically reached behind the prosecution table into the pile of evidence for Barney's menacing AR-15 rifle, crossing the courtroom with it to the witness stand, where he would hand it to Barney. The semi-automatic weapon, the civilian version of the Army's .223 caliber M16 assault rifle, had a night-vision scope and a place for Barney to attach his 37mm grenade launcher. He admitted he even wanted to buy a silencer for the rifle.

Once, however, Barney told Skrocki he had fetched the wrong AR-15 -- it was Cox's weapon Skrocki had brought to the witness stand. Barney knew which one was his. His wife, Rachel, a regular visitor in the courtroom, had bought it for him for Valentine's Day, he said.

During a break, Rachel Barney confirmed the gift, which she bought in 2010, she said. It cost $2,300, she said.

Reach Richard Mauer at rmauer@adn.com or 257-4345.

By RICHARD MAUER

Anchorage Daily News

Richard Mauer

Richard Mauer was a longtime reporter and editor for the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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