Cypherpunks, Various reports are appearing on this, some from the Sierra Times, some at his Web site (http://williamcooper.com/). William Cooper was the radio talk show host/UFO nut/MJ-12 believer/anti-New World Order guy. Much more is available on various sites. (He was one of the first Usenet nutcases, er, "interesting people," I encountered when I began using the New extensively in 1988. MJ-12 (Majestic 12), his book "Behold a Pale Horse," and countless conspiracy theories. Recently he's been carrying articles about the coming police state, the USA-PATRIOT Act and the criminals who passed it, and the need for action. Apparently he was shot and killed in a midnight raid on his home in rural Arizona this morning. The Website, obviously being updated by someone else (who may wish his or her survival to be ensured!), is epressing caution that patriots not jump to any conclusions that Cooper was targetted because of his political views. Hmmmmhhh. Whatever. Time will tell. Perhaps the warrant was being served for his unpaid taxes...but why at midnight for a tax matter? Looks like Waco all over again. Being discussed in alt.conspiracy, misc.survivalism, and, one presumes, a bunch of the UFO, militia, and patriot newsgroups. A search on Yahoo's headline news doesn't yet pick up the (alleged) AP news story quoted below, but it may by tomorrow. Or by more specialized searches. The cautious person might believe the round up of undesirables may be beginning. (Ashcroft can boast: "We have rounded up 350 more suspicious persons. Under the new USA-PATRIOT Act, we will hold them indefiniately. Chief Interrogator Alan Dershowitz is bringing his tools to torture the truth out of these perps. ") The ultra-cautious person would make certain all of the Claymores are set, and that the Sarin antidotes are close at hand for when the automatic release occurs upon entry. Here's a story posted on some of the Usenet groups: --begin story-- MILITIA LEADER KILLED, DEPUTY WOUNDED DURING ATTEMPTED ARREST Associated Press/The Arizona Republic Nov. 06, 2001 12:20:00 EAGAR - A national leader of the militia movement has been killed and an Apache County sheriff's deputy wounded in a shootout, authorities said. William Milton Cooper, 58, of Eager, had hosted a talk show broadcast on the Worldwide Christian Radio out of Nashville, which receives it via phone from his home in St. Johns. He had millions of listeners worldwide, including Timothy McVeigh. The deputy, whose name was being withheld by authorities, was shot twice in the head while trying to arrest Cooper, a state Department of Public Safety spokesman said today. Cooper was killed by another officer. Several deputies were attempting to arrest Cooper, who was armed with a handgun, said Officer Steve Volden, a spokesman for the DPS, which was investigating the shooting. He said details of the shooting would be released later today. The deputy was in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital early today, Volden said. Cooper was one of the most widely known prophets of the "patriot movement," railing at the federal government and talking of doomsday omens in his radio broadcast. McVeigh, who was executed in May for the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, listened to Cooper's broadcasts for inspiration, according to testimony by James Nichols, brother of Oklahoma bombing co-defendant Terry Nichols during a 1996 pretrial hearing. Like some other patriot leaders, Cooper refused to get a driver's license or pay federal income taxes, saying he is willing to risk getting ticketed and has found a legal way to avoid the taxes. The patriot movement grew during the 1990s, fed by a series of news events - the siege of Randy Weaver in Idaho, the raid on the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas and the signing of gun-control laws. --end story-- --Tim May "That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." --Samuel Adams