Jailed Mich. militia members could be released [View All]

Source: AP/Yahoo

Nine jailed militia members accused of conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government have won the latest round in the fight over whether they will be freed while they wait for trial. In a ruling late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts said she would not further suspend her Monday order that releases the militia members with strict conditions, including electronic monitoring and curfews.

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"Defendants are presumed innocent of all charges against them. ... This presumption of innocence is part and parcel of why, 'In our society liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or without trial is the carefully limited exception,'" Roberts wrote, quoting a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The members of the southern Michigan militia, called Hutaree, are charged with conspiracy to commit sedition, or rebellion, against the government and the attempted use of weapons of mass destruction. They have been in custody without bond since late March.

Authorities, citing secretly recorded conversations, say the group planned to kill a police officer and bomb the subsequent funeral. Defense attorneys say it was nothing more than hateful talk.
Prosecutors claim the suspects are too dangerous to be released from jail. But Roberts has set many restrictions and appointed third-party custodians, mostly family members, to keep watch.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100506/ap_on_re_us/us_fbi_raids_militia

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Ruling came late Wednesday, AP reported 3:17 am ET