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Monday, June 16, 2008

The Old Man Down the Road is Now in Federal Custody

posted by on June 16 at 13:08 PM

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My dad was born and raised in Lucinda, Pennsylvania, a small town in the western part of the state where a fair percentage of citizens are named Schmader and where my family visited every other summer over the Fourth of July.

A perennial highlight of these trips was a visit to the home of Morgan Jones, a friendly mad-scientist type everybody called Morgie. Morgie was known for his vast collection of explosives, many of which were self-invented, some of which were for sale. (Over the years my dad bought some truly frightening fireworks custom-made by Morgie.) On the night of the 4th, Morgie welcomed visitors to his property, for whom he’d put on a small show, featuring the annual firing of his homemade cannon and various other kaboomy delights.

Yesterday my dad forwarded me the news story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

A Clarion County man who the FBI charges is an officer in a Western Pennsylvania militia will remain in custody at least through the weekend as his federal detention hearing Thursday was continued until next week. Morgan A. Jones, 64, of Lucinda is…one of five people arrested Sunday on weapons charges by the Pittsburgh Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Yocca said Jones is a captain of the 91st Warrior militia, one of three groups under the umbrella group Pennsylvania Citizens Militia that investigators first infiltrated in October 2006. Militia documents introduced in Jones’ hearing included a Pennsylvania Citizens Militia manual, “Get America Up In Arms” pamphlet and a document titled “Defenders of Liberty, Territory 91.”

Testimony from four hearings over two days revealed that Jones hosted annual flamethrower parties on his property. Attending those events, Yocca said, were militia members, gun enthusiasts and neighbors who watched Jones fire a homemade flamethrower and cannon as well as a lightning-making contraption inside a barn.

Good luck, Morgie.

In other weird news news: A couple years ago I met this judge when we both attended my best friend’s wedding. Good luck to him as well. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

RSS icon Comments

1

When they arrest all the crazy people with guns, the only crazy people with guns will be the right-winger gestapo types in the police, Army, and feds.

Posted by Will in Seattle | June 16, 2008 1:36 PM
2

Johnny "no thumbs" sends his regards.

Posted by Vince | June 16, 2008 1:56 PM
3

this is all just down the road from cressona, too. The "real" ringleader.

Posted by McGrouch | June 16, 2008 2:06 PM
4

Poor Judge Kozinski. It's nuts that this is even news.

Posted by Ursula | June 16, 2008 2:08 PM
5

If he'd just cultivated the state cops and county sheriffs instead of his neighbors, rather than arrest him the PA cops would bring confiscated fireworks to his house to set them off. They would invite him to their .45 Magnum bowling pin shooting contests (a bowling pin is about the size and shape of the "kill zone" in a perp's face, neck and chest). He could have illegally shipped explosives in from weirdos in other states, stuff like e.g. exploding gun targets, and the cops would have drunk his beer and blown them up with him instead of raiding his compound.

Morgie was too sincere?

Posted by ATF focus of interest | June 17, 2008 4:56 AM
6

I'm just glad that we live in the wacky sort of steampunk primitivist world where a tesla coil is a 'lightning-making contraption.'

Posted by Corprew | June 17, 2008 7:48 AM

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