Six Montana Freemen with attitudes head into court Monday for the first trial resulting from the anti-government group's 1996 armed standoff with the FBI.
The trial may last several weeks, but how long the defiant Freemen will remain in the courtroom with a no-nonsense federal judge is anybody's guess.All six have refused court-appointed lawyers and will defend themselves. They deny the American courts have any jurisdiction over them. They dump documents on the courtroom floor, argue with judges and generally express contempt. One has threatened a federal magistrate in court.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour of Seattle, however, has laid the groundwork to swiftly expel Freemen who cross the line.