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Today's Feature:August 27, 2012

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Prosecutors: U.S. Soldiers Plotted to Kill President Obama

John Hudson 1:13 PM ET

Update (4:51 p.m.): Isaac Aguigui, the alleged leader of the anarchist militia group, bears a striking resemblance to one "Isaac Aguigui" identified as a 2008 Republican National Convention page by Reuters, as Gawker's John Cook points out. View the side-by-side comparison of his current mug shot and 2008 RNC photo here.

Update (3:45 p.m.): Local NBC affiliate WSAV 3 has video footage of the alleged militia members being handcuffed and charged in connection with the killing of Michael Roark and his girlfriend Tiffany York. The local report does not include details of the alleged plot to overthrow the government and assassinate President Obama. For those details, see our previous update:

Update (3:15 p.m.): More details are surfacing about the four soldiers accused of stockpiling assault weapons and bomb components and plotting to assassinate the president. According to the AP's Russ Bynum, the group calls itself F.E.A.R., which stands for Forever Enduring Always Ready. While authorities don't know how many members are in the group, they did accuse it of plotting some ambitious domestic terrorist plots:

The prosecutor said the militia group had big plans. It plotted to take over Fort Stewart by seizing its ammunition control point and talked of bombing the Forsyth Park fountain in nearby Savannah, she said. In Washington state, she added, the group plotted to bomb a dam and poison the state’s apple crop. Ultimately, prosecutors said, the militia’s goal was to overthrow the government and assassinate the president.

All are charged by state authorities with malice murder, felony murder, criminal gang activity, aggravated assault and using a firearm while committing a felony. A hearing for the three soldiers was scheduled Thursday.

The above photo shows U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Peden, left, and Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, identified by prosecutors as F.E.A.R.'s leader, after appearing before a magistrate judge at the Long County Sheriffs Office in Ludowici, Georgia. As we noted earlier, the members of the anarchist militia group allegedly bought $87,000 worth of "guns and bomb-making materials" for the plot, which was uncovered following a murder investigation into the deaths of former soldier Michael Roark and his girlfriend Tiffany York. According to prosecutors, Roark was killed after members of F.E.A.R.

discovered that he knew of their plot. On Monday, 26-year-old Army Pfc. Michael Burnett plead guilty to manslaughter and illegal gang activity in connection with the murder case. He also gave testimony backing up some of the claims made by prosecutors. Bynum says that Burnett testified against Aguigui, who he said ordered the killings of Roark and his girlfriend. The plots were allegedly financed by a $500,000 insurance settlement Aguigui received from the death of his wife.

Original post: In a disturbing report out of Georgia, prosecutors say four U.S. soldiers plotted to overthrow the government and assassinate President Obama. Details remain slim about the case, but the AP's Russ Bynum says the soldiers allegedly bought $87,000 worth of "guns and bomb-making materials and plotted to take over Fort Stewart, bomb targets in nearby Savannah and Washington state, as well as assassinate the president." The plot was apparently uncovered in relation to a murder case surrounding the killing of former soldier Michael Roark and his girlfriend Tiffany York in December. On Monday, Pfc. Michael Burnett, one of the accused soldiers, plead guilty to manslaughter and gang charges in the murder case. "Burnett told a Long County judge that Roark, who had just left the Army, knew of the militia group's plans and was killed because he was 'a loose end,'" reports Bynum.

As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jay Bookman notes, "Sometimes these things get blown out of proportion, but $87,000 in weaponry suggests otherwise. And when you’re willing to murder two people to keep the plot secret, you’re pretty serious about it." The news follows a controversial report published by Reuters' Daniel Trotta last week that the U.S. Army is battling soldiers within its ranks who enlist in the Army and Marine Corps "to acquire the skills to overthrow what some call the ZOG - the Zionist Occupation Government. Get in, get trained and get out to brace for the coming race war." At the time, Business Insider's Geoffrey Ingersoll pushed back against the report in a piece titled "Don't Believe the Report Going Around About Veterans Flocking to Right Wing Extremist Groups." The AP report doesn't say if the motivations to overthrow the government were racial or anti-semitic in nature in this case but much more details are likely to come.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jhudson@theatlantic.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

U.S. soldiers killed two to shield anarchist plot: prosecutor

ATLANTA By David Beasley (Reuters) - Four soldiers in Georgia who belonged to an anarchist militia that wanted to overthrow the U.S. government killed a former soldier and his girlfriend because he had learned of their plans, prosecutors said on Monday.

Prosecutors revealed the suspected motive as one of the soldiers pleaded guilty on Monday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors over the December 5, 2011, shooting deaths of Michael Roark, 19, and his girlfriend, 17-year-old Tiffany York.

During his plea hearing on Monday, Private First Class Michael Burnett said Roark had learned of the militia while serving at Fort Stewart near Savannah, and the group came to see him "as a loose end," according to Long County assistant district attorney Isabel Pauley.

The four accused militia members, who were all stationed at Fort Stewart, operated under the name "FEAR," or Forever Enduring Always Ready, the prosecutor said. They plotted to assassinate President Barack Obama and to attack their Army base and a dam in Washington state, Pauley said.

They also discussed poisoning the apple crop in Washington state, the prosecutor said, and purchased $87,000 worth of weapons to carry out their attacks.

Burnett, who wore his Army uniform in court on Monday, agreed to cooperate with authorities in the prosecution of the three other members of the militia charged with the killing, Pauley said.

Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty for the other three soldiers, who all face murder and gang charges. No trial dates have been set.

The bodies of Roark and York were discovered in a heavily wooded, rural area of Long County and both had been shot to death, Pauley said.

The army is assisting with the case, but the soldiers are being prosecuted in a civilian court in Long County, Pauley said.

Burnett faces 10 years in prison as part of his plea agreement but could still face the death penalty if he does not cooperate, the prosecutor said.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins; and Todd Eastham)

U.S. Soldiers Plotted to Kill President Obama

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2011 file photo, U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Peden, 25, left, and Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, 19, are led away in handcuffs after appearing before a magistrate judge at the Long County Sheriffs Office in Ludowici, Ga. Prosecutors say a murder case against the four soldiers in Georgia has revealed they formed an anarchist militia within the U.S. military with plans to overthrow the federal government, The Associated Press reports Monday, Aug. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine, File)

Associated Press/Lewis Levine, File - FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2011 file photo, U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Peden, 25, left, and Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, 19, are led away in handcuffs after appearing before a magistrate judge at the Long County Sheriffs Office in Ludowici, Ga. Prosecutors say a murder case against the four soldiers in Georgia has revealed they formed an anarchist militia within the U.S. military with plans to overthrow the federal government, The Associated Press reports Monday, Aug. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine, File)

LUDOWICI, Ga. By RUSS BYNUM (AP) — Four Army soldiers based in southeast Georgia killed a former comrade and his girlfriend to protect an anarchist militia group they formed that stockpiled assault weapons and plotted a range of anti-government attacks, prosecutors told a judge Monday.

Prosecutors in rural Long County, near the sprawling Army post Fort Stewart, said the militia group of active and former U.S. military members spent at least $87,000 buying guns and bomb components. They allege the group was serious enough to kill two people — former soldier Michael Roark and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tiffany York — by shooting them in the woods last December in order to keep its plans secret.

"This domestic terrorist organization did not simply plan and talk," prosecutor Isabel Pauley told a Superior Court judge. "Prior to the murders in this case, the group took action. Evidence shows the group possessed the knowledge, means and motive to carry out their plans."

One of the Fort Stewart soldiers charged in the case, Pfc. Michael Burnett, also gave testimony that backed up many of the assertions made by prosecutors. The 26-year-old soldier pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter, illegal gang activity and other charges. He made a deal to cooperate with prosecutors against the three other soldiers.

Prosecutors said the group called itself F.E.A.R., short for Forever Enduring Always Ready. Pauley said authorities don't know how many members it had.

Burnett, 26, said he knew the group's leaders from serving with them at Fort Stewart. He agreed to testify against fellow soldiers Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, identified by prosecutors as the militia's founder and leader, and Sgt. Anthony Peden and Pvt. Christopher Salmon.

All are charged by state authorities with malice murder, felony murder, criminal gang activity, aggravated assault and using a firearm while committing a felony. A hearing for the three soldiers was scheduled Thursday.

Prosecutors say Roark, 19, served with the four defendants in the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division and became involved with the militia. Pauley said the group believed it had been betrayed by Roark, who left the Army two days before he was killed, and decided the ex-soldier and his girlfriend needed to be silenced.

Burnett testified that on the night of Dec. 4, he and the three other soldiers lured Roark and York to some woods a short distance from the Army post under the guise that they were going target shooting. He said Peden shot Roark's girlfriend in the head while she was trying to get out of her car. Salmon, he said, made Roark get on his knees and shot him twice in the head. Burnett said Aguigui ordered the killings.

"A 'loose end' is the way Isaac put it," Burnett said.

Aguigui's attorney, Daveniya Fisher, did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press. Attorneys for Peden and Salmon both declined to comment Monday.

Also charged in the killings is Salmon's wife, Heather Salmon. Her attorney, Charles Nester, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Pauley said Aguigui funded the militia using $500,000 in insurance and benefit payments from the death of his pregnant wife a year ago. Aguigui was not charged in his wife's death, but Pauley told the judge her death was "highly suspicious."

She said Aguigui used the money to buy $87,000 worth of semiautomatic assault rifles, other guns and bomb components that were recovered from the accused soldiers' homes and from a storage locker. He also used the insurance payments to buy land for his militia group in Washington state, Pauley said.

In a videotaped interview with military investigators, Pauley said, Aguigui called himself "the nicest cold-blooded murderer you will ever meet." He used the Army to recruit militia members, who wore distinctive tattoos that resemble an anarchy symbol, she said. Prosecutors say they have no idea how many members belong to the group.

"All members of the group were on active-duty or were former members of the military," Pauley said. "He targeted soldiers who were in trouble or disillusioned."

The prosecutor said the militia group had big plans. It plotted to take over Fort Stewart by seizing its ammunition control point and talked of bombing the Forsyth Park fountain in nearby Savannah, she said. In Washington state, she added, the group plotted to bomb a dam and poison the state's apple crop. Ultimately, prosecutors said, the militia's goal was to overthrow the government and assassinate the president.

Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said the Army has dropped its own charges against the four soldiers in the slayings of Roark and York. The Military authorities filed their charges in March but never acted on them. Fort Stewart officials Monday refused to identify the units the accused soldiers served in and their jobs within those units.

"Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield does not have a gang or militia problem," Larson said in a prepared statement, though he said Army investigators still have an open investigation in the case.

"However, we don't believe there are any unknown subjects," he said.

District Attorney Tom Durden said his office has been sharing information with federal authorities, but no charges have been filed in federal court. Jim Durham, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, would not comment on whether a case is pending.

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