PITTSBURGH -- An FBI agent said men arrested in a Pittsburgh Joint Terrorism Task Force sweep this week were the subject of an undercover investigation targeting people associated with militias.

FBI Agent Daniel Yocca said the joint investigation with state police focused on individuals with "a propensity towards violence" against the government, judges, police officers and elected officials who were deemed to be a "valid target."

Yocca's testimony came at a downtown detention hearings Wednesday for Marvin E. Hall, of Rimersburg, 41, of Clarion County, and Perry E. Landis, 61, of DuBois who face federal weapons charges in Pittsburgh after a raid on their homes.

Tapes of separate conversations between the men and an undercover agent were played at the federal courthouse, where authorities asked U.S. Magistrate Amy Reynolds Hay to keep Hall and Landis in custody until a trial can be held.

A third suspect, Morgan A. Jones, 64, of Lucinda, is scheduled to be in court on Thursday. Yocca's testimony included references to grenade launcher parts, a homemade cannon and more heavy weaponry, and a "flame-thrower" party on Jones' property where an undercover agent met Hall.

On one tape, Landis describes how to make "one hell of a mean grenade" out of explosive powder, BB shot and medicine bottles.

You hear Landis, who is allegedly the Sergeant at Arms of the Brookville Tiger Militia, say Clearfield County Magistrate Patrick Ford should be the first to "get whacked." He also said he'd like to see Ford blown up or shot.

A three-count indictment alleges that Hall transferred two exploding golf balls to an unidentified informant in January, without a firearms license.

Hall -- who has a 1999 federal weapons conviction -- is also accused of illegally possessing a 12-gauge shotgun and an SKS assault rifle. His live-in girlfriend, Melissa Huet, 34, is accused of helping him possess the weapons in violation of the law.

On undercover tapes of Hall, you can hear him talking about how to use ammonium nitrate to make a bomb of the type Timothy McVey used in Oklahoma City.

"They're a bunch of old men who sit around and talk and don't do anything," Huet told the Associated Press, when asked about Hall, Jones and Landis.

On Wednesday, an undercover agent said Landis described how he could blow himself up in a court appearance before Clearfield County Magistrate Patrick Ford.

The agent quotes Landis as ranting against Gov. Ed Rendell, saying someone "should plink him." But Landis' defense attorney, William Schmalzried, said the tape plays "drunken ramblings and stupid, foolish talk."

"Once those things are said, they're interpreted and taken out of context," said Schmalzried. "Without one being there, they're very inflammatory and very damning."

Jones was charged with illegally transferring a Romanian AK-47 assault rifle to someone who lives out of state in February, according to the indictment, and was arrested as he left church over the weekend.

Landis is charged with illegally transferring blasting caps in September and March, according to the indictment. He will remain in jail until his trial. No date has yet been set.

Hall will also remain jailed until his trial. Again, no date has been set.

Jones and Landis are represented by the Federal Public Defender's Office in Pittsburgh, which does not comment on ongoing cases.

Meanwhile, Bradley Kahle, of Troutville, Clearfield County, faced a detention hearing before a U.S. District Magistrate Judge in Johnstown on related charges. Kahle was freed bond under court supervision. He was ordered not to have contact with any witnesses.

---

Related Links:
More County News
Get RSS Headlines | Free Desktop Alert

---