briefly took over a county courthouse in Montana
and proclaimed the establishment of their own
government and court. Many of the Freemen who
faced charges from the incident refused to appear in
court and took refuge on ranches in Roundup and
Brusett, Montana. Fearing violence with the armed
Freemen, local law enforcement did not seek to take
the ranches by force. In addition to the conflict with
local law enforcement, several Freemen faced con-
flict with the federal government for threatening a
federal judge, tax evasion, and bank fraud. The Free-
men had been printing fake money orders with
which they defrauded banks, credit card companies,
and other businesses for over one million dol-
lars. Like local enforcement, the FBI sought to avoid
an armed conflict with the Freemen, but federal
agents maintained surveillance around the ranches.
In 1995, the Freemen abandoned the ranch in
Roundup and combined their forces at the ranch in
Brusett. They named the ranch Justus Township and
proclaimed it an independent state, free from the ju-
risdiction of the federal government. In March, 1996,
two of the Freemen leaders, LeRoy Schweitzer and
Daniel Peterson, were arrested after being lured to a
secluded location by an undercover FBI agent who
had infiltrated the fringe group. Eighty-one days after
the arrest of Schweitzer and Peter-
son, the remaining Freemen surren-
dered peacefully. Schweitzer was sen-
tenced to twenty-two years in prison,
and Peterson to fifteen years. Several
other Freemen were also sentenced
to lengthy prison terms.
Impact After the violent standoffs
between the FBI and the Branch
Davidians in Waco, Texas (1993),
and the Weaver family in Ruby
Ridge, Idaho (1992), it was feared
that a standoff between the FBI and
the heavily armed Freemen would
also end in violence. The patient
and relatively hands-off approach of
the FBI and the subsequent peace-
ful surrender of the Freemen ended
what could have been a deadly con-
flict. The surrender of the Freemen
also effectively marked the end of
their organization.
Further Reading
Crothers, Lane.Rage on the Right: The American Mili-
tia Movement from Ruby Ridge to Homeland Security.
Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.
Neiwert, David.In God’s Countr y: The Patriot Move-
ment and the Pacific Northwest.Pullman: Washing-
ton State University Press, 1999.
Damon MitchellSee also McVeigh, Timothy; Militia movement;
Oklahoma City bombing; Ruby Ridge shoot-out;
Waco siege. Moore, Judge Roy
Identification Former chief justice of the
Alabama Supreme Court
Born February 11, 1947; Gadsden, Alabama
Moore was dubbed the “Ten Commandments Judge” for his
controversial display of the Ten Commandments in his
courtroom.
Moore graduated from U.S. Military Academy at
West Point and studied law at the University of Ala-
bama School of Law. Following law school, he be-582 Moore, Judge Roy The Nineties in America
Judge Roy Moore addresses the media during a news conference in his Etowah County
courtroom in February, 1997. Behind him is the controversial wood carving of the Ten
Commandments.(AP/Wide World Photos)