Disgusted Negotiator Leaving Duke Says Freemen Only Interested In Making ‘Government Look Foolish’
The freemen sent out armed patrols around their farmhouse Tuesday for the first time in the 58-day standoff, as an angry and disgusted mediator described those in the compound as criminals hiding behind children.
The mediator, a leader in the so-called patriot movement in Colorado, said only a half-dozen in the compound believe in the freemen cause, and “the rest are nothing but criminals trying to escape prosecution.”
“One can only conclude the adults inside care only for their safety and care not one whit for the safety of their children because they’re willing to sacrifice them and use them as a shield,” said mediator Charles Duke. “I think it’s unconscionable.”
He urged his colleagues in the patriot movement around the country to “avoid this place and allow the FBI to bring it to a conclusion.”
Duke said he is leaving and sees little chance that more talks would be productive, but he predicted the FBI would continue trying.
And he praised the FBI’s patience.
“The FBI has now pursued each and every avenue to a peaceful solution,” Duke said. “… If it should come to a less than peaceful solution, I can tell you for sure the FBI has bent over backwards to avoid it.”
At least a half-dozen freemen, carrying rifles over their shoulders and wearing sidearms, spread out in the fields and hills. The anti-government fugitives have maintained two sentry posts for most of their standoff with the FBI but had not previously conducted foot patrols.
The increased show of force came after a freemen representative had a heated confrontation with Duke, a Colorado state senator who arranged the first face-to-face negotiations between the freemen and FBI.
Duke said the confrontation was with Rodney O. Skurdal. He said he was angry because Skurdal broke his agreement with Duke to bring the rest of the freemen out to meet with negotiators.
Reporters a half-mile away could see Duke waving his arms angrily as groups of freemen and FBI agents looked on separately from a distance.
“They’re not interested in a negotiated solution,” Duke said of Skurdal and his cohorts. “They’re interested in making the U.S. government look foolish.”
The freemen returned to their compound, and armed guards appeared a short time later.
Twice-daily talks in the standoff started last Thursday, when Duke arrived to try to end the deadlock that began March 25 with the arrest of two freemen leaders.
Duke is a leader in his state’s patriot movement, a loose confederation of groups that feel established government has gone beyond its legal or constitutional boundaries. He also is a candidate for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Colorado.