Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 17:53:29 -0500
From: Anarchist News Service
Reply-To: news@overthrow.com
Organization: Utopian Anarchist Party
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: "news@overthrow.com"
Subject: Pothead Survivalists Elude Massive Search; One Dead, Two Still
Eluding a Continent-wide Manhunt
Pothead Survivalists Elude Massive Search
One Dead, Two Still Eluding a Continent-wide Manhunt
November 18, 1998
Reprinted from Revolutionary Times, November, 1998
Much thanks to our comrade and friend of anarchy, Terry Mitchell, editor
of Revolutionary Times
Cortez, Colorado -- Like the plot of a farfetched Hollywood movie, three
potheads have proven impossible for police and the military to catch,
and the cops are stumped.
On May 29th, police officer Dale Claxton stopped a stolen water
truck 50 miles east of Cortez, Colorado. Before he could exit his
patrol car, three men, dressed in camouflage military fatigues, raked
his car with rifle fire. He was struck four times and killed. The
chase was on, and the three were determined not to be captured.
Then men then drove to their own pickup and continued on with their
water truck. It didn't take long for police backups to discover officer
Claxton's body and put out an All Points Bulletin. A short while later,
another lone policeman stopped the water truck, lights flashing. As he
sat behind the large tanker, a pickup pulled up behind him and stopped.
One camo clad man, wearing a combat helmet, rose up from the pickup bed,
pointed his rifle over the top, and began firing. At the same time, the
drive reemerged from the pickup, blasting away at the cop. The officer
was struck in the back, covered by his bulletproof vest, and his leg.
Then, seeing he was down and dazed, they abandoned the tanker and sped
off again.
Police set up roadblocks on all the key roads, expecting to be able
to use "stop sticks" and their cars to apprehend the shooters. But, the
savvy survivalists raced up, guns blazing, and literally shot their way
through a state-of-the-art roadblock. Afterwards, police picked up
close to 5000 spent casings.
The skill and boldness of the three left Colorado police stunned and
frightened. They had no idea who the three were and, had it not been
for a bitter ex-girlfriend who snitched them out, they never would
have. She identified the men as Alan "Monty" Pilon, 30, Jason McVean,
26, and Robert Mason, 26.
Police quickly raided the mobile homes of the three, ripping
them to shreds. At one home they found a pickup truck loaded with food,
ammunition and other gear; as though they had been planning to leave
for the countryside as soon as they had secured the water truck. At
another of the three's home, police found a small amount of weed, a
pipe, and a pack of papers. Also found was a map indicating the
locations of 17 cache sites in the desert mountain region.
As with any situation where the powers of the state were
challenged, the government responded with overwhelming force; an army
of 200 National Guard and active duty military, plus 300 state, local
and federal police. An enormous manhunt began for the trio in western
Colorado and eastern Utah.
Helicopters using latest-generation night vision equipment scoured
the cliffs and valleys in vain. Special listening, motion and heat
sensing equipment was brought in, but detected no movement or sound that
could lead them to the three.
Police found the pickup abandoned with tracks leading into the
brush. But this presented another problem; FBI and Colorado SWAT teams
going through the tamarisk complained "they can stand ten feet apart and
not see each other."
A geyser of propaganda erupted, claiming the three were suspects in
the robbing of a gambling casino a year before and that they were
members of the Four Corners Militia. These lines were repeated over and
over in print and on television. But there were obvious holes in the
stories. First, there is no Four Corners Militia. The entire militia
connection was a fabrication designed to smear all paramilitary groups
with a broad brush. Second, if the men were suspects, why had they
never been picked up or even questioned about the robberies?
On July 5th, a Colorado social worker driving along a desert highway
spotted a pair of combat boots beside the road. Having heard all the
intense "gotta hate 'em" propaganda, he quickly dialed the police on his
cell phone. But this was not going to be just another easy snitch. As
he sat looking at the surrounding area, he caught the reflection of
sunlight off the telescopic sight of a rifle. Just then the dirt began
to kick up around him with bullet strikes, and he sped away to clean up
his pants.
Sheriff's Deputy Kelley Bradford raced to the scene, only to be met
with a hail of gunfire that left him shot twice and lucky to be alive.
That brought the total to one policeman killed, four wounded, and six
police cars riddled by bullets. The cops were freaking out.
Then came a strange twist to the tale. Robert Mason was found dead,
a victim of what police claim was a suicide. His body was found in a
bunker-like structure just back from the highway were his boots were
set. He was wearing body armor and had several pipe bombs near him.
Oddly enough, he was shot between the eyes, a place rarely chosen for
suicide. He may have actually been executed on the spot by the police,
or shot by his accomplices.
Cooperation between local police agencies and Navajo Nation police
was sabotaged by racism from the white officers. Navajo police
complained that their reports of sightings of the men were ignored.
Local police responded by saying the Navajos "were difficult to work
with." SWAT teams ran here and there chasing reports that came in
through their sources.
Searchers found the 17 cache sites marked on a map discovered at one
of the residences, but they had already been cleaned out. The map had
actually been turned over to the US Army Topographical Intelligence
Division where sites were matched to military maps, which were then
given to the police.
The mighty Colorado River was effectively closed off to bat traffic,
with rafters pulled to the shore by police and questioned. A ban on
boating was put into place for a time, but was called off after it began
to impact local economies.
At the present time, the search has been scaled back significantly.
Blackhawk helicopters make routine patrols over the Colorado/Utah
borders looking for the two surviving masked me. Rumors are flying in
Colorado, with the latest being that the two are being hidden by local
supporters.
-----
Editor's (Terry Mitchell's) commentary: While I do not support the
theft of other people's vehicles, I have a high respect for the
determination of the three to not be stopped. Had they pooled their
money, all were gainfully employed, and bought a water truck instead of
stealing one, the entire incident would not have happened. From the
looks of things, the theft was part of their plan to immediately pull
back from the cities and into the desert. Do they know something we
don't?
Their struggles have revealed something important to all oppressed
victims of the War on Drugs -- the emperor truly wears no clothes. We
have all heard about how high-tech devices used by the police and
military can "count the kernels on an ear of corn from outer space" and
how their is no longer any place to hide. Well, this is bullshit.
Those pot smoking gunmen have proven that people can fight the
government , win, and disappear indefinitely. Big Brother isn't as
tough as he would have you believe. "Pay no attention to the man behind
the curtain."
-----
Terry Mitchell is editor of Revolutionary Times and head of the
Green Panthers, a radical marijuana legalization organization. The
Green Panthers can be reached at http://www.greenpanthers.org , at
panthers@eos.net . or at Panthers Press, PO Box 31231, Cincinnati, OH
45231, 513-522-6264, Fax:513-522-6234 .
The Green Panthers provide free referrals to defense lawyers who
specialize in marijuana defense in all 50 states, among other
activities.
Revolutionary Times is printed by Panthers Press and can be reached
at the above address. A one-year subscription costs $20. Other
contributors to Revolutionary Times includes Thomas Chittum, author of
Civil War II: The Coming Breakup of America , soon to be available in
the UAP Book's "Leaders of the Far Right" section at
http://www.overthrow.com , and available now from UAP Book and is
Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0929408179/utopiananarchist .
-----
For more anarchist news and information, contact:
Utopian Anarchist Party
Post Office Box 12244
Silver Spring, MD 20908
uap@overthrow.com
http://www.overthrow.com
