Two Alaska militia members convicted of conspiracy to commit murder

Source: Reuters

ANCHORAGE, Alaska | Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:34pm EDT

(Reuters) - The leader of an Alaska militia movement and one of his followers were found guilty on Monday of conspiracy to commit murder and various weapons offenses in a plot to kill government officials and law enforcement officers.

But a federal court jury in Anchorage deadlocked on a murder conspiracy charge against a third member of the group who was on trial in a case that prosecutors said highlights a rise in anti-government militants in recent years. The third member of the Alaska Peacekeepers Militia, however, was convicted on two weapons charges.

The two men convicted of conspiracy face a maximum penalty of life in prison when they are sentenced in September, prosecutors said.

(Reporting by Yereth Rosen in Anchorage; Editing by Steve Gorman and Cynthia Johnston)

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/19/us-usa-milita-alaska-idUSBRE85I00L20120619