FEAR (terrorist group)

The FEAR militia (Forever Enduring, Always Ready) was an American terrorist group of between four and eleven individuals that the State of Georgia alleged in 2012 to have planned to destroy a dam and poison apple orchards in Washington State, set off explosives in Forsyth Park in Savannah, Georgia, and assassinate President Barack Obama.[1][2] Four of the individuals charged were soldiers stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The group killed two people in an attempt to prevent them from revealing their plans to the public. The group used the Army to recruit militia members, who wore distinctive tattoos that resemble an alpha and omega symbol.

FEAR
LeaderIsaac Aguigui
Michael Burnett
Anthony Peden
Christopher Salmon
Dates of operation2011-September 11, 2012
Active regionsUnited States Georgia and Washington
IdeologyFar-right, Neo-Fascist

Murder of Deirdre Aguigui

On July 17, 2011, Isaac Aguigui strangled his wife Deirdre. She was approximately 7 months pregnant at the time. He received $100,000 in death benefits and an additional $400,000 from a life insurance policy; part of the funds were then used to arm the group.[3]

Murders of Michael Roark and Tiffany York

On December 6, 2011, the bodies of 19-year-old Michael Roark and his girlfriend, 17-year-old Tiffany York, were found by two fishermen near a rural road in southeastern Georgia.[4] On December 10, four soldiers based in nearby Fort Stewart were arrested in connection with the killings - Private Christopher Salmon, Sergeant Anthony Peden, Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, and Private First Class Michael Burnett. The soldiers ranged in age from 19 (Aguigui) to 26 (Burnett). Two days later, Salmon and Peden were charged in Long County court with malice murder. Aguigui and Burnett were charged with being a party to murder. All four were denied bond.[4] According to Salmon, Roark was killed for taking money from the group's bank account and out of suspicion that Roark was going to expose the group to police.[5]

FEAR's leaders, clockwise from top-left: Michael Burnett, Anthony Peden, Christopher Salmon, Isaac Aguigui

In August 2012, Burnett agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in exchange for testifying against Salmon, Peden, and Aguigui.[2][6]

On September 11, 2012, five more men (Christopher Jenderseck, Timothy Martin Joiner, Adam Dearman, Randall Blake Dearman and Anthony Garner) were indicted on various counts of tampering with evidence, burglary, theft, criminal damage to property, and violations of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act in connection with the militia.[2] On October 15, Jenderseck, a former Army medic, pleaded guilty to destruction of evidence of the murders (specifically, a mobile phone, spent shotgun shells, and blood-spattered clothes), and received seven years of probation in exchange for agreeing to testify against the remaining defendants and any future defendants in the case.[7]

Verdicts and sentences

In July 2013, ringleader Aguigui pleaded guilty to malice murder, felony murder, criminal gang activity, aggravated assault, and using a firearm while committing a felony. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[8] Salmon pleaded guilty to malice murder in April 2014 and accepted a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole.[5] Salmon's wife, Heather Salmon, took a plea deal and was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Heather had served in the National Guard for two years before enlisting full-time in 2006. She served one tour in Iraq before being discharged by the Army in April 2010. The reason was that Heather had fired a gun at her husband and was caught illegally using drugs. Prosecutors said she wanted her children to grow up to kill on the militia's behalf.[9][10]

In March 2014, Aguigui was convicted by a military court of murdering his pregnant wife, Deirdre Aguigui, and their unborn child in July 2011.[11] Aguigui was sentenced to a second life sentence with no possibility of parole.[12]

In May 2014, Peden pleaded guilty to malice murder and received a life sentence that included the possibility of parole after at least 30 years in prison. Leniency was granted on the grounds that he'd served in combat Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder. Peden as deployed twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq between 2006 and 2011. His attorney, Burt Baker, said Peden suffered multiple brain injuries from explosions which he survived saw some of his friends die in combat.[13]

In February 2016, Burnett was sentenced to 8 years in prison and 40 years of court supervision. Additional defendants pled to lesser charges of illegally purchasing guns, theft, and selling drugs in order to purchase guns and land to set up a compound in Washington state.[14]

References
  1. Shapiro, Eliza (August 30, 2012). "FEAR Militia Group Faces the Music". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  2. Martinez, Michael; Valencia, Nick. "5 more charged in anti-government militia plot linked to Fort Stewart". CNN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  3. "Army private convicted of murdering pregnant wife". cbsnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  4. Bluestein, Greg. "4 soldiers charged in Ga. killings". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017.
  5. Bynum, Russ (April 4, 2014). "Fort Stewart soldiers plead guilty in 2011 militia slayings". Online Athens. Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  6. "Georgia soldier accused in militia case, now charged with killing pregnant wife". cbsnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  7. Bynum, Russ (October 17, 2012). "Former soldier pleads guilty in militia case". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  8. "Fort Stewart soldier pleads guilty in F.E.A.R. plot, receives life in prison". Savannah Morning News. July 20, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  9. Redman, Wendi (August 8, 2015). "Family disappointed after FEAR Militia murder case plea deal". MS News Now. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  10. "Prosecutor says former soldier wanted to kill for Georgia militia group". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  11. "Army private convicted of murdering pregnant wife". www.cbsnews.com.
  12. "Ga. soldier gets life, no parole in wife's death". The Seattle Times. March 27, 2014.
  13. "Soldier gets life sentence for murders with Georgia anti-government militia". The Guardian. May 1, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  14. "Last Fear Militia Member Sentenced in Connection with 2011 Long County Double Murder". February 11, 2016.
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