Alleged Alabama Militia Men Plead Not Guilty to Planning Attack on Mexicans
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Six men described as members of a self-styled militia pleaded not guilty to federal charges brought following the seizure of an arsenal of weapons in raids in four Alabama counties.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Armstrong Jr. set a July 9 trial date Thursday for five of the men, who were indicted on federal charges of conspiring to make a firearm.
The five — Adam Cunningham, 41; Raymond K. Dillard, 46; James McElroy, 20; Bonnell Hughes, 57; and Randall Cole, 22 — have been held without bond after federal agents said they were members of an anti-government Free Militia group and had plans to attack Mexicans.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The sixth defendant, Michael Wayne Bobo, 30, was arraigned separately Thursday on drug and weapons possession charges. He was released earlier on $10,000 bond.
Authorities said agents recovered 130 homemade hand grenades, a grenade launcher, about 70 hand grenades rigged to be fired from a rifle, a machine gun, a short-barrel shotgun and 2,500 rounds of ammunition in the raids April 26.
Adam Nesmith, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified May 1 that the five planned a machine-gun attack on Mexicans in Remlap, a town north of Birmingham, and went there on a reconnaissance mission April 20.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Dillard's attorney, Scott Boudreaux, said the case is "not a big deal" and has been blown out of proportion by authorities. He denied that the men were planning an attack on Mexicans.