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Hutaree Militia Trial Defense Lawyer: Group Was Preparing for the Antichrist

The Michigan Hutaree militia accused of plotting to attack the U.S. federal government was in reality preparing for the antichrist, the group's defense lawyer revealed. 

Seven members of the Hutaree militia from Lenawee, Mich., are currently on trial in the U.S. District Court in Detroit for allegedly plotting to kill a police officer, and afterwards bombing the officer's funeral procession as a springboard for a bigger revolt against the U.S. federal government.

The seven members of the group, which include leader David Stone Sr., his wife, two sons, and three others, were arrested after a large collection of weapons was confiscated in March 2010.

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When the trial opened on Monday, Feb. 13, prosecutors showed the jury the various weapons, bullet proof vests, sniper gear and military bags that were recovered from the group. 

"These individuals, led by David Stone Sr., wanted an armed confrontation with law enforcement and the federal government," Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Graveline told the jury, according to the Detroit Free Press. "They didn't just talk. They planned. ... They were ready, willing and able to go to war." 

Graveline added that the group trained in a boot camp setting in the woods and purchased night-vision goggles.

The defendants in the case argued the opposite, saying that the prosecutors were contriving a fantasy story of government revolt, when in reality the Hutaree militia is more of a "social club."

"You will have to decide whether this is a real conspiracy or David Stone exercising his God-given right to blow off steam and open his mouth," David Stone's lawyer, William Swor, told jurors. "These are ordinary people living ordinary lives. Doing this stuff was merely their form of recreation."

Swor went on to say that many of the weapons seized were over 20 years old, therefore proving that this group was not destined for extreme revolt but rather saw their "militia" as a recreational hobby.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Swor also told the jury that Stone was raised by a preacher father who focused heavily on the Book of Revelation and the coming of the antichrist. According to his defense attorney, Stone was simply trying to protect his family from this potential antichrist threat, which he expected to come from overseas. Therefore, he had no reason to attack the federal government, Swor argued.

 The defendants of the case include Stone Sr., 47, and his wife, Tina Stone, 46; their sons Joshua Stone, 24, and David Brian Stone Jr., 22; Michael Meeks, 42, Thomas Piatek, 48, and Kristopher Sickles, 29. 

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