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Show Statesman Campus News Page 4 April 2, 2010 FBI says ruse created to arrest militia members DETROIT (AP) — Five members of a Midwest Christian militia accused of conspiring to overthrow the government were lured to a warehouse to attend a phony memorial service so they would be unarmed when authorities arrested them, Michigan's chief federal agent said Thursday. The ruse in Ann Arbor was part of a series of weekend raids in several states that resulted in the indictment of nine people in the alleged plot, officials said. "We basically set up a scenario where we were able to draw them all to one location," Andrew Arena, the FBI's special agent in charge in Detroit, told The Associated Press. "And the reason we did that was to obviously get them away from their weapons." Nine suspected members of a group called the Hutaree based in southern Michigan's Lenawee County were charged this week with seditious conspiracy, or plotting to levy war against the U.S., attempting to use weapons of mass destruction and other crimes. They planned to make a false 911 call, kill responding police officers and set off a bomb at the funeral to kill many more, according to prosecu- tors. The FBI said it broke up the plot with the help of an undercover agent and informants. Eight of the suspects are in custody in the Detroit area. The ninth is being held in Indiana. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Donald A. Scheer in Detroit said Thursday he needed more time to decide whether to grant prosecutors' request that the eight remain locked up until trial. A decision was expected Friday. Urging Scheer to deny the request for bond, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Falvey Jr. said that while there is nothing wrong with owning guns or hating the government, it is illegal when "people with dark hearts and evil intents" gather to discuss ways to commit violence. Releasing the defendants would allow them to regroup and would increase their fear of law enforcement, Falvey said. The Hutaree are self-proclaimed "Christian warriors" who trained themselves in paramilitary techniques in preparation for what they say on their Web site is a battle against the Antichrist. Defense attorneys told Scheer that no evidence against the group has been aired outside the indictment. Kristopher Sickles, 27, of Sandusky, Ohio, issued a statement late Thursday in which he said he is "not an extremist, racist or a cop killer." In the statement, released by his brother, Alec Romick of Huron, Ohio, Sickles said he is "simply guilty by association and personally had no intentions of harming any person, member of law enforcement or the United States government." Arena said the FBI started looking into the Hutaree nearly two years ago based on "information from the public" he wouldn't disclose. An undercover agent infiltrated the group, becoming part of suspected ringleader David Brian Stone's inner circle, making explosive devices under Stone's supervision and attending meetings and special family events, authorities said. They said the agent accompanied Stone and others to a planned meeting of militias in Kentucky in February. They were forced to turn back in Indianapolis because of bad weather, but the agent recorded a speech to those in the van by a speaker identified as Stone. "Now it's time to strike and take our nation back so we will be free WILLIAM SWOR, LEFT, attorney for David Brian Stone, Christian militia group Hutaree's leader, talks with attorneys Lisa Kirsch-Satawa, and husband Mark Satawa outside of the federal courthouse on Thursday, April I, in Detroit. The Satawa's are attorneys for co-defendant Michael Meeks. AP photo of tyranny," the speaker said on the recording played Wednesday in U.S. District Court. "The war will come whether we are ready or not." Stone's attorney, William Swor, objected on free speech grounds, saying the tape and government's testimony shows only "my client has an opinion and knows how to use his mouth." Arena said the FBI investigation found that Stone, 44, and his followers did more than just talk. "We've got evidence ... that it wasn't just paramilitary training," he said. "It wasn't just a bunch of guys out playing army in the woods." Grants: Of seniors, 26 percent have been part of independent research I continuedfrom page 1 a quality that needs to be shared within their field of study," Kinkead said. Undergraduate researchers present their research at events such as Research on Capitol Hill and the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR). They share their ideas with other students and government officials from around the state. Many students have even shared their results at national conferences. ASUSU funds a lot of the travel expenses for students to go to conferences and present their research, Kinkead said. Students can request money from the Academic Opportunity Fund through the Academic Senate president. At the last UCUR conference, USU was represented by students not just from the main campus, but from three of the regional campuses as well, Kinkead said. Right now, 26 percent of graduating seniors from USU report they have been a part of independent research, and 1,300 undergraduate students are employed in on-campus research positions, she said. USU students who have participated in undergraduate research have gone on to achieve many great things, Kinkead said. Many have been awarded Goldwater and Rhodes Scholarships and gone on to very prestigious graduate programs. Others go straight into the workforce, she said. Many are recruited by big companies to do research because of papers they have written or research they have shared. Undergraduate research is not something just done in a lab. Research opportunities are available in all departments and majors. Each department has someone on its staff as a designated Undergraduate Research adviser who guide students through the 161 OPCN /1y. %Wig/000d " cc C cRESTWOODs Sensational BIG BAND SHOW Lynwood Brentwood 736E 900 N A111111110Ngl 880 N 650 E Edgewood 736 E 800 N Stay in the Very Best Single Student Housing! • 'Practically on Campus •Full Bath in each bedroom 'Free Wireless Internet 'Fully equipped kitchen 'Washer & dryer in apartment 'Furnished 'Covered Parking (Edgewood) • Entire Summer from $500 'School Year: Private:$2370-$3390 Shared: $2070-$2490 SINGERS and DANCE IS April 3 12: 2600 N. 200 E. o. Logan 1 V; Call to Schedul your time 435-753-155 755-3181 Only 17 Rehe rsals Download audition packet at www.logancrestwoods.com www.celebrateamericashow.co ir Continuing the tradition of excellence in DERMATOLOGY Kelly W. 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Undergraduate Research invites approximately 25 incoming students to participate in the Research Fellows program every year. Students apply for the program and are interviewed during the yearly Scholar's Day. Getting involved as a freshman is not the only option. "Some people get the spark later rather than sooner," Kinkead said. Students can talk to professors about getting involved in their research or about starting their own projects, she said. The Undergraduate Research Advisory Board is constantly working to make the already-great program even better. "We are always looking to see what we can do to improve communication and access," Kinkead said. "Our goal is to make sure undergraduate research is accessible throughout the entire university." All the work that is done in the Undergraduate Research program could not be done without donors, Kinkead said. Many alumni and faculty donate a lot of time and money to help better the program. "Hands-on inquiry and study builds on classroom knowledge," Kinkead said. "The discovery and application of knowledge is a hallmark of a land-grant university. Undergraduate Research is a critical component of that mission. Undergraduate Research is a terrific marriage of teaching and learning." — megan.allen@aggiemail.usu.edu Humor: Column success from start continued from page 1 ing anyway. Kirby's first satirical column was titled "Five Kinds of Mormons" and ran as an editorial in a small Utah County paper. The publisher of the paper was upset over the column. It turns out he was the only one who was upset and, to Kirby's surprise, the paper was flooded with readers asking for more of Kirby's work. When that column went over so well, Kirby said he realized this is what he was supposed to be doing. He also realized that he needed to get another job. Kirby went to write for The Salt Lake Tribune, using his column to poke fun at the behaviors of the LDS community, and he's been writing his column since 1994. Kirby's writing hasn't gotten him into too much trouble with the LDS church, although it did ask him to tone it down after he wrote in a column that he could beat up now-latechurch President Gordon B. Hinckley. "Here's the thing, if you're LDS like I am, please understand that what I'm about to say has nothing to do with whether or not the church is true. This is actually about whether or not you're an idiot. There's a huge difference. And if you think that because I'm making fun of my own people and you're not Mormon that we're on the same side, think again. You may not be a member of the local herd, but you're still a cow. I don't care what you believe, but I care about how you believe it. Because how you believe it usually has a lot to do with how you treat other people who don't," Kirby said. The column Kirby writes isn't about making fun of the LDS religion. It's about making fun of how people in the cornmunity act and making them realize that no one is as smart as they think they are. Kirby ended his lecture with another joke, "And now could we please have a volunteer for the closing prayer?" — mikayla.rich@aggiemad.usu. edu ,S awe (Unwrapped Math's Paper Trail: The Origins of Mathematics and Origami Join us Friday April 2, at 7 p.m. ESLC Auditorium Dr. Robert Lang www.usu.edu/science/unwrapped Join our Facebook group |