North Pole Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison on Explosives and Weapons Convictions

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ANCHORAGE—U.S. Attorney Karen L.Loeffler announced today that Coleman L. Barney from North Pole, Alaska, wassentenced in federal court in Anchorage to five years in prison for conspiracyto possess grenades and silencers and to five years in prison for possession ofan unregistered destructive device, with the two sentences to run concurrently.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert J.Bryan presided over the trial in this case and also imposed the two five-yearconcurrent prison terms on Coleman Barney.
On June 18, 2012, a jury returned guiltyverdicts against Coleman Barney, Schaffer Cox, and Lonnie G. Vernon on amajority of charges alleged in the superseding indictment and acquitted them onseveral other charges. Cox, a local militia leader, and Vernon, a fellowmilitia member, were found guilty of conspiring to murder federal officials,which carries a possible life sentence. Barney, a fellow militia member, wasconvicted of conspiracy to possess unregistered silencers and destructive devices,as well as possession of unregistered destructive devices. The jury could notreach a verdict as to one of the counts, which charged Barney with conspiracyto murder federal officials, and that count was later dismissed. The verdictsrepresented the culmination of an extensive investigation that includedobtaining recordings of Vernon, Cox, and Barney discussing the murder ofnumerous state officials in retaliation for attempting to arrest Cox.
Barney’s sentencing is an important steptoward concluding this investigation, which resulted in a six-week trial inJune. Sentencing for the Vernon’s and Schaeffer Cox are scheduled to occur thiscoming November.
Ms. Loeffler said, “The actions of Mr.Barney and his co-conspirators presented a very real and dangerous threat toour community.” She commended “the professional work and dedication of lawenforcement in protecting citizens and public servants from these threats.”
Mary Rook, Special Agent in Charge ofthe FBI in Alaska added, “This investigation and prosecution found its genesisin the voice of concerned citizens that a group of people, operating under theauspices of a sovereign militia, were planning to murder state and federalofficials. As a result of the investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism TaskForce and the Alaska State Troopers, Coleman Barney and his co-conspiratorswere arrested before they could carry out their murderous plans.”
Ms. Loeffler commends the Federal Bureauof Investigation; the United States Marshals Service; the Bureau of AlcoholTobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Alaska State Troopers; and the FairbanksPolice Department for the investigation of this case.