William Cooper, activist, killed in raid this morning on his Arizona home

[Tim May]

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