ARIZONA

     A number of militia supporters and anti-federal
government advocates hail from Arizona. William Cooper of
St. Johns has broadcast a nightly shortwave radio program,
"Hour of the Time,"
promoting militias and "New World Order" conspiracy
theories. Gerald "Jack" McLamb. a former Phoenix policeman
and founder of Police Against the New World Order. aims to
convince law
enforcement officials of a plot to create a one-world
government. McLamb targets a law enforcement audience with
his conspiracy tract, Operation Vampire Killer 2000, and a
newsletter, Aid & Abet, co-produced with Mesa police officer
Rick Dalton. Another lawman, Graham County Sheriff Richard
Mack, has spoken at "patriot" gatherings about his
successful suit against the U.S. Government to avoid
enforcement of the Brady Law in his county, an action that
has earned him the admiration of
militiamen nationwide.

     Actual militia organizing in the state has occurred in
the areas of Phoenix, Prescott, Payson, Snowflake, Kingman,
Pinedale and the Four Corners, with some continued growth
since the Oklahoma City bombing.

     In April 1995. two men from Snowflake with reported
ties to a militia were charged with illegal conspiracy to
manufacture. possess and sell 20 grenades to a federal
undercover agent. Kenneth Zesk, 40. and Danny Fite, 26.
reportedly said that their group was arming itself for a
confrontation with the federal government. The charges are
pending.

     On May 23, 1995, Stephen Gehring, a Mesa attorney and
reputed leader of the Payson-based Militia of Arizona, was
charged with fraudulent schemes and hindering prosecution,
stemming from an alleged attempt to pass bogus money orders.
Gehring is accused of trying to use the notes to pay off a
property tax bill and to post bail for another reported
militiaman, Ricki John Lawhon.


~      
ADL Fact Finding Report, "Beyond the Bombing: The Militia
Menace Grows," Anti-Defamation League, 1995.

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