Summary: Five Fairbanks-area residents involved in a loose-knit militia group have been arrested in connection with a plot to kidnap or kill Alaska state troopers and U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline. The group includes Francis “Schaeffer” Cox, the 26-year-old leader of the so-called “Sovereign Citizens” movement, which considers individuals to be sovereign nations not subject to any state or federal laws. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on March 14, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Afghan insurgents said deadly bomb attacks in the southern city of Kandahar were a warning to NATO’s top commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, that the Taliban were ready for in their heartland.
Summary: The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has released its annual report on hate and extremism in the United States, titled “The Year in Hate & Extremism, 2010.” The report claims that more than 1,000 hate groups are now active in the United States, the most the SPLC has tallied since it began track these groups in the 1980s. In addition to “hate groups,” the SPLC also catalogued 824 anti-government “Patriot” groups and 319 “nativist extremist” groups. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on February 28, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Pope Benedict XVI, saying “I pray for the victims,” urged survivors of Chile’s devastating earthquake to be courageous and asked the Catholic Church to play a role in relief efforts.