Mark Tyson
Member
http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/104961-6145-093.html
Indiana militia leader faces charges
Associated Press
December 23, 2003
SPENCER, Ind. -- A militia leader convicted of plotting to attack another member of the group has been arrested on federal firearms charges.
Fred Keuthan, 64, of Cloverdale, was arrested on the federal charges following his release from the Owen County Jail.
Keuthan faces federal charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, making a false statement during a firearm purchase and selling firearms to unauthorized persons. It was not clear today whether Keuthan was in custody and there was no number under his name in published phone listings for Cloverdale, about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis.
Keuthan, the leader of the 14th Regiment of the Indiana State Militia, received a suspended sentence last week on charges of conspiracy to commit battery with serious bodily injury and dealing marijuana.
He initially was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but that count was reduced as part of an agreement with prosecutors in September.
Owen Circuit Judge Frank Nardi on Thursday sentenced Keuthan to 10 years on the reduced charges but suspended all except the time Keuthan already has served. He also fined Keuthan $10,000 and placed him on probation for about five years.
Keuthan and fellow militia member Dallas Fultz were arrested Aug. 11, 2001, hours before the premiere of an Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne student production of "Corpus Christi," a play featuring a gay, Christ-like character.
Police said the pair planned to demonstrate against the play to have an alibi for the murder of a third member of the militia group, Donald Mayo. Keuthan believed Mayo was informing the government about illegal drug activity that he used to buy weapons and finance the militia's activities, federal authorities alleged.
The two were unaware that the man they had hired to kill Mayo was an undercover state police trooper, authorities said. Also, they mistakenly went to Bloomington, thinking the play was being performed at IU's main campus, police said.
Fultz later was sentenced to about three years in prison on a federal weapons charge. A third militia member, Michael Smoot of Cloverdale, received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit battery with serious bodily injury.
Indiana militia leader faces charges
Associated Press
December 23, 2003
SPENCER, Ind. -- A militia leader convicted of plotting to attack another member of the group has been arrested on federal firearms charges.
Fred Keuthan, 64, of Cloverdale, was arrested on the federal charges following his release from the Owen County Jail.
Keuthan faces federal charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, making a false statement during a firearm purchase and selling firearms to unauthorized persons. It was not clear today whether Keuthan was in custody and there was no number under his name in published phone listings for Cloverdale, about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis.
Keuthan, the leader of the 14th Regiment of the Indiana State Militia, received a suspended sentence last week on charges of conspiracy to commit battery with serious bodily injury and dealing marijuana.
He initially was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, but that count was reduced as part of an agreement with prosecutors in September.
Owen Circuit Judge Frank Nardi on Thursday sentenced Keuthan to 10 years on the reduced charges but suspended all except the time Keuthan already has served. He also fined Keuthan $10,000 and placed him on probation for about five years.
Keuthan and fellow militia member Dallas Fultz were arrested Aug. 11, 2001, hours before the premiere of an Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne student production of "Corpus Christi," a play featuring a gay, Christ-like character.
Police said the pair planned to demonstrate against the play to have an alibi for the murder of a third member of the militia group, Donald Mayo. Keuthan believed Mayo was informing the government about illegal drug activity that he used to buy weapons and finance the militia's activities, federal authorities alleged.
The two were unaware that the man they had hired to kill Mayo was an undercover state police trooper, authorities said. Also, they mistakenly went to Bloomington, thinking the play was being performed at IU's main campus, police said.
Fultz later was sentenced to about three years in prison on a federal weapons charge. A third militia member, Michael Smoot of Cloverdale, received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit battery with serious bodily injury.
