Washington County : Militia leader arrested
Posted on Friday, November 10, 2006
FAYETTEVILLE - Phone lines at KOFC-AM, 1250 buzzed Thursday with calls about a local militia leader's arrest by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Hollis Wayne Fincher, 60, of the Militia of Washington County was arrested Wednesday in an ATF raid related to possession, manufacture and transfer of machine guns.
Fincher, lieutenant commander of the group with headquarters south of Fayetteville, was in the Sebastian County jail Thursday without bond. A detention hearing is set for 1: 30 p.m. Monday in U. S. District Court in Fort Smith.
Radio host Johnny Tittle said talk of Fincher's arrest dominated his KOFC morning show Thursday, with callers questioning the timing and rationale.
Tittle said Fincher went on KOFC in 2000 and announced he and other militia members were in possession of several automatic weapons. It wasn't until Fincher was photographed in a local newspaper holding a semiautomatic machine gun that he was arrested, Tittle said.
The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas pictured Fincher in a March 18 article about the militia. The ATF said in a news release Wednesday that the investigation of Fincher and others began in March.
"For some time now, Mr. Fincher has discussed openly that the Arkansas Constitution has a provision for citizens to outfit themselves in a military fashion in whatever armaments are in common use,"Tittle said. "It's been no secret that he and the group are armed. A lot of what [radio ] callers were questioning today was why he was arrested almost eight months to the day after he showed up on the front page of the newspaper."
Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton said he heard there was talk Thursday on Don Bright's KOFC radio show blaming him for Fincher's arrest. Bright didn't immediately return a call.
Hunton said Fincher has been to Quorum Court meetings opposing an ordinance that would implement different degrees of zoning in unincorporated parts of the county. The proposed ordinance was set for its first reading at Thursday night's Quorum Court meeting.
"I understand there was talk that I didn't want him at tonight's meeting, but that is not true and I want to set the record straight,"Hunton said. "I think I know what caused Wayne's arrest, and it's a simple as this: The picture of him on the front of the newspaper cradling a machine gun."
The ATF said it seized illegal guns Wednesday at Fincher's home, 16085 E. Black Oak Road, about a quarter-mile from the militia headquarters - a small block building at 15566 E. Black Oak Road. Calls to the militia and Fincher's home weren't answered Thursday.
The ATF news release said 14 search warrants were executed Wednesday in the Fayetteville and Fort Smith area. Fincher was the only person arrested.
Tittle said callers Thursday questioned whether Fincher legally possessed machine guns.
ATF Senior Special Agent Austin R. Banks said a person can legally possess a machine gun if it's licensed in accordance with the National Firearms Act.
"And it's illegal to manufacture [machine guns ], too, unless you have a manufacturer's license,"Banks said.
Banks declined to comment specifically about the case involving Fincher, beyond the news release he issued Wednesday.
The militia's Web site says it is a nonviolent group dedicated to the preservation of the U. S. and Arkansas constitutions, specifically the Second Amendment's right to bear arms.
In 2002, the militia filed a public declaration at the Washington County circuit clerk's office that says the Arkansas Constitution allows citizens the right to bear arms.
The document, signed by Fincher, said the militia takes issue with those "who scoff at we the people and consider themselves immune to our state laws and boundaries."
It said the militia is bringing attention to the "possibility of conflict with predatory agencies,"such as the ATF.
The ATF news release said Fincher was arrested as part of the federal Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which works to prevent gun violence.
The militia's Web site mocks the federal program, showing a Project Safe Neighborhoods billboard and adding the caption," Your tax dollars at work."
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