A Michigan militia figure said he planned to try again Wednesday to step into the 24-day-old standoff between the Freemen and the FBI.
Norman Olson was turned away by armed agents when he tried to enter the FBI's command center late Tuesday afternoon. He said he wanted to meet with the FBI field commander.Olson, leader of the Michigan Wolverine Corps, then drove 24 miles northwest to the main FBI checkpoint at a crossroads, where he held a news conference saying he would try again Wednesday to meet with the FBI.
"We are trying to come with an extended hand, trying to find some resolution, so that his people and the militia do not have to converge on a field of battle where there is going to be bloodshed and there's going to be violence," Olson said in an interview aired on WCBS radio.
Olson announced plans two weeks ago for a relief convoy to bring food, medicine and other supplies to the anti-government extremists, although they reportedly have stockpiled such supplies for months.
A Freeman on a tractor finished plowing an alfalfa field Tuesday, a job that started Monday. It appeared to signal that the Freemen, most of whom are farmers by trade, have no intention of surrendering soon.
The standoff began March 25 when FBI agents captured two Freemen leaders during a sting operation.