Ex-Militia Chief Wins Jail Release

A federal appeals court says the former head of the Washington state militia must be released on bail pending his January trial in an alleged conspiracy to make pipe bombs.

John Pitner, 45, of Deming in Whatcom County, has been in federal custody since FBI agents arrested him and seven other people July 27.

In a ruling released this week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said federal prosecutors had failed to show that Pitner would be a danger to the community or a flight risk.