Police targets

There's a scary story moving on the news wires about the alleged activities of a "Christian" militia group, some of whose members have been arrested in a plot to kill police officers.

David Brian Stone, 44, of Clayton, Mich., was the leader of the Hutaree, a group that was "girding for battle with the Antichrist," according to the federal indictment. Stone and eight other people have been charged.

What boggles the mind here are the allegations that the group was going to go after police officers in a bid for a widespread uprising against the U.S. government.

Hutaree members view local, state, and federal law enforcement as the “brotherhood”, their enemy, and have been preparing to engage them in armed conflict, the U.S. Justice Department said.

The Hutaree allegedly planned to kill an unidentified member of local law enforcement and then attack the law enforcement officers who would gather in Michigan for the funeral, the government said. 

"Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment," the Hutaree Web site states.

It also cites a slew of Bible verses to justify their causes. But I don't get where they get the alleged idea that "Thou shalt kill police officers."

"For them to condemn and wanting to kill those police officers -- and the soldiers of the military -- who defend the weak and the oppressed, I don't buy that," Logan Township Police Chief Ron Heller said Monday night.

Heller's reaction to the news of the arrests: "It's unreal!"

"I couldn't believe that that kind of hatred exists in America," he said. "To kill a police officer just to lure other officers to his funeral and then use explosives to kill as many as possible, that's just unreal."

Police officers have enough to deal with on the streets but something like this potentially turns our country into "a war zone," Heller said.

"A police officer has no idea what they're walking into," he said.

Two potentially good things have come out these arrests: When officers moved in to make arrests, the Hutaree called for help from other militia groups and was told "No, thanks," and police stopped this threat before it could be carried out.