On Friday, March 6, gun activists, militia members, Tea Partiers, Threepers and other far-right activists plan to hold an armed rally in Spokane. 

The rally is scheduled for 11am to 2pm, at the Tom Foley Federal Courthouse (920 W. Riverside Ave) in downtown Spokane.

Organized to show support for an activist who was recently arrested when he brought his firearm onto federal property, the event is part of dangerous intensification of conflict with authorities over guns. Adding to the volatility of the rally is the announcement that the leader of a rival faction declared his intention to attend the event.

Backstory

On February 25, 2015, Anthony Bosworth was detained outside the Tom Foley Federal Courthouse in Spokane, WA after refusing to leave the grounds with his firearm. The open carry of firearms is prohibited on federal property.

Video of the event shows Bosworth, who arrived early for a Tenth Amendment rally with his firearm on his back, refusing to comply with requests by DHS Police and the US Marshalls Service to leave federal property. He was eventually detained and cited for failing to disperse, according to Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.

His wife, Maria Bosworth, who filmed the event, crystallized their position when she tried to argue with law enforcement officials at the scene. “We have the right to bear arms regardless. Federal property don’t trump state constitution. No, it doesn’t. The state constitution is superior to federal,” she argued. The Bosworth’s brought along their children, who were also armed.

Bosworth has been a core member of a group of far-right gun activists who have been ratcheting up confrontation with authorities since the passage of Initiative 594 last November. Bosworth, who was a speaker at the December 15, armed “We Will Not Comply” rally, was part of the contingent who took guns into the Washington State Capitol Building in January, and one of the small group of activists who tried (unsuccessfully) to get arrested by taking guns into the Capitol last month.

In addition to being a core member of the far-right group, Liberty for All, Anthony Bosworth’s Facebook page shows “likes” for numerous far-right outfits, including the Oath Keepers of Spokane County, WA; Oath Keepers of Grant County, WA; Oath Keepers of Pend Oreille;  the 2A Militia Washington, Gavin Seim’s Bold Liberty, and several national Tea Party groups.
Last year, Bosworth unsuccessfully ran on a “constitutionalist” platform for Yakima County sheriff. He came in fifth (out of six) in the primary election.

Internal Conflict Brewing

An intra-movement conflict among leaders of the so-called Three Percenters, or Threepers, adds an additional source of possible conflict to this event.

To date, Bosworth and the rest of the new core of gun activists in Washington State have received encouragement and support from Mike Vanderboegh, an Alabama Threeper leader. Vanderboegh travelled all the way to Olympia in December 2014 and again this February to lead armed gun rallies.

Mike Vanderboegh speaking the the December 15, 2014 “We Will Not Comply” Rally, Olympia, WA

A longtime activist, going back to the militia movement of the 1990s, Vanderboegh is probably best known for writing that people should break the windows of Congressional offices at the height of the ObamaCare debate in 2010. After he wrote that, several Congressional offices were vandalized, including the office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Vanderboegh has also published parts of a novel online called, Absolved, in which underground militia groups plan to assassinate law enforcement and judges to protest gun control and gay marriage. Vanderboegh called the book “a combination field manual, technical manual, and call to arms for my beloved gunnies of the armed citizenry.”

Vanderboegh’s longtime activism and incendiary rhetoric have made him a popular figure in the gun crowd in Washington State, and with local branches of groups like the Oath Keepers. Vanderboegh announced that he will be in attendance at the Spokane rally.

Not everyone feels the same way about Vanderboegh. In fact, one of Vanderboegh’s biggest detractors announced yesterday that he will be in attendance at the Spokane rally.  Christian Kerodin, is a self-proclaimed Threeper leader who recently moved to northern Idaho to set up an armed compound in Benewah County. IREHR’s expose of Kerodin can be found here in The Nation.

Kerodin himself has a history of advocating violence, particularly against law enforcement. Take, for instance, this passage from his website, where he makes the argument for killing law enforcement “monsters” enforcing laws he has unilaterally decided are unconstitutional.

Remember, you’re not really under arrest until you’ve been cuffed and rendered defenseless.  Until then, you may be told you’re under arrest, but I assure you, you won’t feel like you’re under arrest until it happens.

Patriots, until we take the decision that we will not endure unconstitutional injuries, until we take the decision that we will defend our Rights under Natural Law, until we take an active disposition against the Enemies of Liberty, we will all remain enslaved to the degree we permit the chains to weigh upon us.

We have been cautioned not to set out into the world for monsters to slay.  I mentioned this to a friend in email recently.  I have reflected upon it since writing him.

I have changed my mind.

Until a few Warriors among us take the decision to set out to find and slay the monsters among us, and set an example for the patriotic among us, our Countrymen will remain enslaved.

There is a history of bad blood between Kerodin and Vanderboegh going back to 2010. Though Kerodin was initially an active participant on Vanderboegh’s Sipsey Street Irregulars website, the two split in an ugly feud.

Kerodin attacked Vanderboegh after the break the windows incitement.  In return, Vanderboegh exposed Kerodin’s real name, Christian Hyman, and his conviction for extortion.

Kerodin responded by creating a website called failedanddiseasedsoul.com, where he wrote, “The moment Mike takes the ATF c-ck out of his mouth, he starts internecine arguments like the sad, pathetic, failed little b-tch he is.” The two have repeatedly hurled threats and insults at one another.

Not only does Kerodin have a beef with Vanderboegh, he has also repeatedly expressed disdain for the Oath Keepers. He wrote that the Oath Keepers “have their agenda…don’t assume it matches yours, whatever they put in their slick Membership brochure. Remember, any active LEO must injure the Constitution every day he is on the job, even if he wears that OathKeepers tab on his weekend gun range fatigues.  The list of crimes for which he arrests people that are unconstitutional is very, very long.”

The Spokane event will be Kerodin’s first real entry into local far-right politics since finally moving to northern Idaho this winter.  Kerodin also recently announced that he will be holding an Idaho PatCon (Patriot Convention) on his group’s property July 22-27.

In response to Kerodin’s announcement, Vanderboegh posted a retort entitled “Well, looks like I’ll get to meet that convicted extortionist Kerodin after all,” on his website yesterday.

It will be interesting to see how the crowd on hand in Spokane handles the appearance of Kerodin, if he  shows at all.

Update: This story originally included the wrong date for the event. The story has been corrected to reflect the correct date.