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Show Page A4 THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah, Thursday, December 7, 1995 i 1 "He is one of THE popular leaders ... definitely one of the most organized and most charismatic" in the "patriot" movement in the United States, said Ken Toole of the Montana Human Rights Network. I By CHRISTOPHER SULLIVAN Still, he and others in monitorAP National Writer ing groups said they wonder about Gritz's motivation. Some contend It was more VISALIA, Calif. "New than an hour into James "Bo" his vitriol for a U.N.-le- d Gritz's speech and he noticed that World Order," his religion-tinge- d folks in the friendly crowd patriotism and his charges of govmembers of militia ernment corruption and violence many of them and and constitutionalist groups that amount to a zeal. possibly the desert in stretches thick grow and farmland of the San Joaquin Fueling paranoia, they say, won't hurt sales of land that Gritz were getting restless. Valley is subdividing in compounds in It was time for the big finish. Idaho. They note that he charges do have "Richard, , you your U.N. flag?" Gritz said, turning to $100 a head for a military-styl- e Richard Cabral, a local National training program (defensive, he Guard sergeant who earlier this insists) around the country. A gold trading company advertises on his year won acquittal on nationally distributed radio show. charges. Left with thousands in legal expenses, he had During his speech here, Gritz asked Gritz (rhymes with rights) to urged audience members to buy gold in anticipation of chaotic speak to help raise defense funds. and he pointed out Cabral produced a large blue times ahead n the table set up at the United Nations flag. "But I'm told the alarms will go off, and the fire back of the hall by his radio sponsor. Dozens swarmed it afterward, department " he started to say. about many signing up for consultations. ,. "I don't care anything In an interview, Gritz said he alarms or fire departments. recommends people buy precious their They're doing job," Gritz metals because it's part of being in he a growl interrupted might like buying a year's have used when commanding his prepared old Green Beret unit in Vietnam. supply of storable food, something The crowd of 450 chuckled and he also recommends. "I don't get a he said, for such straightened in their seats in the mill, not a cent," Ex-Gre- en Beret curries favor vith militias self-servi- self-enrichi- assault-weapo- ns coin-lade- hotel ballroom. The men doused the flag in a liquid, then lit it. Flames jumped. After a few seconds they dropped the burning flag into a metal container that looked like a cooking pot and shut the lid, smothering the lire. The crowd rose, whistling and stomping. Gritz, in uniform though long retired, called out: as long as .they were on their feet, how about 'joining in an oath, the one he swore when entering the Army. More cheers. "I will defend the Constitution," the crowd murmured, echoing Gritz at the oath's conclusion, i "against all enemies foreign 'and domestic." ' It was vintage Bo Gritz 'devil-may-ca- re the developments precluded profits there, and he has lost $50,000, he said, on the training program, called SPIKE, for Specially Trained Individuals for Key Events. He said the purpose of the training program was defensive. "I cannot see any time when I would lead any force against the federal government," he said in an interview. What's the covenant? "They agree to stand in defense of their neighbor's constitutional rights," he said. Such rhetoric is effective, Toole says, but he feels Gritz's motivation is profit, "first and foremost." Mozzochi of the Coalition for Human Dignity in Portland, Ore., another watchdog group, said, "SPIKE training and the land are what makes him money," but that does not mean Gritz is Jonathan smile, the attitude, the broadcaster's baritone, the chestful of ribbons and he left the podium trailing a charisma like a Hollywood star's. "The greatest weapon in America today," crowed one man in the crowd, Pat McCarthy, "is talk radio, the Internet, and people like Bo Gritz, who're turning the country around." Who was this man by appearance a paunchy grandfather with silver hair and gold jewelry? Why is he a hero to so many? Why do others call him dangerous? endorsements. The cost of building roads and other improvements at his Idaho not sincere in his message. "I think there's some of both; they're not incompatible," he said. After Gritz's speech, David Beckman, echoed others in the audience, declaring, "I'll go home and write more letters." That's just what Gritz had urged: To press for prosecution of ? If ' ' government agents whose shots killed Randall Weaver's wife and son during the now famous 1992 siege at the white separatist's compound at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Gritz helped negotiate Weaver's surren- 1 ' ! : der. To question the government's version of the Oklahoma City federal building bombing. Was it really just the work of the two men charged, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols? He doubted it. To support a young U.S. soldier, Michael New, facing court martial for refusing to wear a U.N. patch and helmet w hen assigned to duty in Macedonia. Gritz said he would award one a Legion of of his own medals to New in recognition of Merit the soldier's "moral courage." In his memoirs, former Gen. William C. Westmoreland, who commanded U.S. troops in Viet- nam, describes Gritz's S3 6 ( 7 Tr? Ji ' if U J I 8 - Army exploits, including leading a mission behind enemy lines to recover the black box of a downed U.S. spy plane. "A daring young commander," Westmoreland calls him. Later, Gritz led a series of unsuccessful forays into Southeast Asia in search of prisoners of war who might still be alive. Though officially private, these missions sometimes had backing from the highest levels of government, he said. , , . ) - , jf . , IS AP Photo Former Green Beret Lt. Col. James "Bo" Gritz salutes during a rally that attracted local militia members to !7rr Although live POWs eluded him, Gritz claims he found someevidence of a thing else instead "parallel government," through which federal officials use drug trafficking, arms smuggling and other illegal acts to enrich themselves and support covert activi- the Holiday Inn in Visalia, Calif., Nov. 7. The PGW- MIA flag behind mm reaas, rou nre moi rurgwen A ((&FcE?(Q H ties. If this sounds like the stuff of militia fax networks, Gritz was in the vanguard as usual. He first made his accusations public years ago and printed them in a 1988 book. He took his message on the road as a 1992 Populist Party presidential candidate. Today, he amplifies his views on his radio program and in his Center for Action newsletter. Some find a troubling subtext in Gritz's message. Residents near Gritz's Idaho property have voiced fear that his fold strongholds of lowers will prompt violence or, at least, give the area an unwanted reputation. One editorial suggested most locally "aren't impressed with Gritz, despite his tales of g adventure and his of oozing Sunday School smarm." Mozzochi calls Gritz part of a movement that seeks to set up its own version of the parallel government he warns about. "They want Christian government. For some, it a white, Christian government," he said. 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