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Fear And Loathing In Montana
Fear And Loathing In Montana
by By Ryan Lenz | Illustration By Sunny Paulk
February 17, 2016
On a decaying former Air Force base, antigovernment ‘sovereign citizens’ are battling the few remaining locals for control
ST. MARIE, Mont. — Howling winds sweep across the high plains. Weeds spring up in gravel streets that bend through the empty neighborhoods that once housed a vibrant community of airmen at the forefront of the Cold War. Only the sight of an occasional human dispels the atmosphere of total abandonment.
....
Three years ago, much to the consternation and bewilderment of those who lived there, odd signs began to appear around the bleak remains of the community, posted on homes, the dilapidated officers club, the former school and more.
....
It was in late 2012 when the three strangers showed up, {Pat Kelly, a former Air Force officer with dreams of turning St. Marie into a retirement community where military veterans could swap stories and maybe play a round of golf on the course he planned to build,} said, telling him that they had plans to build camps for the surge of workers then flocking to the Bakken. They said they represented a Washington state company called DTM Enterprises. Welcoming them, Kelly put them up in a guesthouse he kept on his property. Then, to his shock and surprise, DTM Enterprises paid $187,086.43 in back taxes on 371 of his properties, leaving Kelly with only 60 days to regain them by settling the tax debt. Although that worked out to an average of just $504.28 per home, Kelly was unable to come up with the money and lost out to DTM.
....
Kelly has some historical reasons to be concerned. It was just two years ago that Craig Cobb, a foul-mouthed neo-Nazi, attempted to take control of another near ghost town, Leith, N.D., to build a white supremacist enclave. And just two hours’ drive from St. Marie, the Montana Freemen, whose beliefs were close to those of today’s sovereigns, declared their own independent “Justus Township” in 1996. That group engaged in an 81-day standoff before finally surrendering to the FBI.
by By Ryan Lenz | Illustration By Sunny Paulk
February 17, 2016
On a decaying former Air Force base, antigovernment ‘sovereign citizens’ are battling the few remaining locals for control
ST. MARIE, Mont. — Howling winds sweep across the high plains. Weeds spring up in gravel streets that bend through the empty neighborhoods that once housed a vibrant community of airmen at the forefront of the Cold War. Only the sight of an occasional human dispels the atmosphere of total abandonment.
....
Three years ago, much to the consternation and bewilderment of those who lived there, odd signs began to appear around the bleak remains of the community, posted on homes, the dilapidated officers club, the former school and more.
....
It was in late 2012 when the three strangers showed up, {Pat Kelly, a former Air Force officer with dreams of turning St. Marie into a retirement community where military veterans could swap stories and maybe play a round of golf on the course he planned to build,} said, telling him that they had plans to build camps for the surge of workers then flocking to the Bakken. They said they represented a Washington state company called DTM Enterprises. Welcoming them, Kelly put them up in a guesthouse he kept on his property. Then, to his shock and surprise, DTM Enterprises paid $187,086.43 in back taxes on 371 of his properties, leaving Kelly with only 60 days to regain them by settling the tax debt. Although that worked out to an average of just $504.28 per home, Kelly was unable to come up with the money and lost out to DTM.
....
Kelly has some historical reasons to be concerned. It was just two years ago that Craig Cobb, a foul-mouthed neo-Nazi, attempted to take control of another near ghost town, Leith, N.D., to build a white supremacist enclave. And just two hours’ drive from St. Marie, the Montana Freemen, whose beliefs were close to those of today’s sovereigns, declared their own independent “Justus Township” in 1996. That group engaged in an 81-day standoff before finally surrendering to the FBI.
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
On a similar note check out mtcowgirl.com. there is a good article to read.
