Tough-Talking Host of Montana 鈥楶atriot鈥� Show Arrested on Weapons Charge
An antigovernment extremist who espoused killing police officers, judges and using napalm to burn down a county courthouse has been arrested in Montana after buying a fully automatic shotgun during six-month FBI sting.
William Krisstofer Wolf, 52, who broadcast his extremist views on a weekly webcast called 鈥淭he Montana Republic,鈥� was arrested Wednesday by FBI agents in Livingston, Mont., after paying $725 and taking possession of a sawed-off, fully automatic Russian Saiga-12 shotgun capable of shooting 10 rounds in two seconds, court documents say. His arrest came without incident.
The case will be presented to a federal grand jury for indictment while West remains in jail without bond on a charge of possession an illegal fully automatic machine gun.
Wolf allegedly expressed a desire to buy the illegal gun during a series of meetings he had, beginning last November, with an FBI informant who introduced Wolf to an undercover FBI agent, the documents say. It鈥檚 likely those conversations were secretly recorded by the FBI, although that鈥檚 not specifically detailed in public records.
During those meetings, Wolf also discussed building a 鈥渂lowtorch gun鈥� with a range up to 150 feet 鈥渇or the purpose of protection against law enforcement officers wearing body armor.鈥�
The court documents also say Wolf discussed using his blowtorch gun to destroy a 鈥淏earCAT鈥� armored vehicle recently acquired by the Bozeman Police Department for use in SWAT operations. He allegedly said the most-effective way of destroying the police armored vehicle 鈥渨ould be cooking it from the inside.鈥�
As the FBI continued monitoring West鈥檚 activities, agents learned that possession of the type of flamethrower described by Wolf wouldn鈥檛 violate federal law, the court documents disclose. But during those discussions, they say, Wolf also expressed his desire to acquire the Russian-made fully automatic shotgun.
Wolf began broadcasting 鈥淭he Montana Republic鈥� in November 2013 鈥渢o bring like-minded Patriots from across the country鈥� together to discuss ways to counter local, state and federal officials who Patriots consider to be 鈥渙verstepping on constitutional rights,鈥� the documents say.
In several of his webcasts, West talked about 鈥渢aking out bridges or power grids and seizing law enforcement vehicles and weapons,鈥� they say.
鈥淥ver the next 12 months, Wolf repeatedly espoused his contempt for local judges, law enforcement, the county attorney, city and county commissioners and agents and agencies of the federal government,鈥� the documents say.
When a 鈥� was arrested in Montana, Wolf urged his fellow Patriots to make citizen鈥檚 arrests of judges involved in the case and 鈥渟tated his intention to use a means of force if necessary.鈥�
Wolf advocated targeting police officers suspected of violating their oaths of office 鈥� comparing 鈥渟hooting law enforcement officers to gopher hunting,鈥� the documents allege.
Last October, in another broadcast, Wolf said federal judges who overturned gay marriage bans also 鈥渁re now viable targets because they violated the Constitution.鈥�
鈥淎s it sits folks, please understand, I firmly believe that all agents of the government, all judiciary, and all police officers are targets,鈥� he said on the broadcast.
At a Patriots 鈥渃ommittee of safety鈥� meeting that Wolf hosted in late January, he discussed destroying the Gallatin County Courthouse in Bozeman, Mont. 鈥淢y preferred method, I鈥檓 serious 鈥� would be to drop 500 pounds of napalm through the roof of the courthouse and burn it to the ground and roast some marshmallows on it.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe in doing anything that鈥檚 not extreme and right now, wiping that place out would be my extreme movement and then my next [question] would be, 鈥極K, which county, city building is going to be next?鈥欌��
When someone in the group urged West to exercise restraint and caution, the court documents say, he responded that if 鈥渢hey wanted to put him in jail, they had better bring a coroner and several body bags.鈥�
