Pothead Survivalists Elude Massive Search
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 17:53:29 -0500 From: Anarchist News Service <news@overthrow.com> Reply-To: news@overthrow.com Organization: Utopian Anarchist Party MIME-Version: 1.0 To: "news@overthrow.com" <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
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