This is the Affidavit that was attached to the warrants. ATTACHMENT A Your affiant, Stephen W. Di Rito is a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assigned to investigate domestic terrorism activities and has been so assigned since January, 1997. Your affiant has been a Special Agent of the FBI since September of 1996, and has over eleven years of prior law enforcement experience as a United States Air Force Security Police Officer. The below recited information has been gathered by your affiant as a result of personal interviews with the persons named below. In each instance the person named below has related the information directly to your affiant. PART A 1. On May 1, 1997, your affiant participated in a search of the house located at 2439 South Kittredge Way, Aurora, Colorado. Just prior to the search, your affiant was told by Special Agent Robin Brown of the FBI, that Robin Brown observed Ronald D. Cole, Wallace Stanley Kennett, and Kevin I. Terry leave the house. Your affiant entered the house and observed a cylindrical pipe bomb in one bedroom of the house. The pipe bomb had attached to it a military style firing mechanism and appeared to be about one and one half inches in diameter and approximately 18 to 24 inches in length, with threaded end caps. The pipe bomb was consistent in appearance to the one described to your affiant by David Joseph McNasby in paragraph 7 and 25 below. Sitting next to the pipe bomb was a can of what appeared to be black powder, which is a type of explosive. PART B On April 23, 1997, Daniel Joseph McNasby, of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, met in person with your affiant and provided the following information: 2. McNasby joined the Marine Corps-Reserves in January of 1994, and spent his first three months in boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruitment District, San Diego, California. McNasby said he finished boot camp and then attended Marine Corps Training School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he learned his primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) - artillery. After finishing training, he was assigned to an artillery unit at Buckley Air National Guard base in Denver, Colorado. In January of 1995, McNasby was given an honorable discharge after developing exercise-induced asthma. He enjoyed the military and believes it was a turning point in his life and helped him establish priorities. 3. McNasby said he began working at the Westminster Mall Sam Goody music store in July of 1996 and he quit in October, 1996 because they wanted him to work over the holidays. The assistant manager of this store was a man named Kevin Terry. Terry learned of McNasby"s background in the Marine Corps, and the two shared a common interest in firearms and tactics. McNasby was invited to go shooting with Terry and his two roommates named Ron Cole and Wally Last Name Unknown (LNU) one weekend in August 1996. McNasby said the three have told him that they have their own militia called the Colorado First Light Infantry and Cole is the person in charge of the group. They 2 live at a single-family detached home in Aurora near Interstate 225 and Iliff, however, McNasby does not recall the address. McNasby said Terry, Cole, and Wally LNU wanted him to train with them so they could learn military tactics and have a fourth person to complete their fireteam. 4. McNasby said during this first encounter with the group in August, 1996, he witnessed and was allowed to fire several firearms in an automatic mode. Cole told him he converted the firearms himself at his home and described how he accomplished the feat by getting required parts from a gun company along with a new bolt carrier group. Cole then made the conversion by a process which involved cutting the gas tube and using a Dremmel tool to grind down other parts. McNasby said he did not know all the steps involved, but later witnessed Cole converting a firearm from semi-automatic to full-automatic at his workbench in the basement of the group"s house. McNasby said he is very familiar with firearms and firearm nomenclature from his Marine Corps training. 5. McNasby said he has trained with Terry, Cole, and Wally LNU about five or six times on Saturdays between August, 1996 and January, 1997. The group used to train in Left Hand Canyon, located in Boulder County, until a recent encounter when they saw a man in the parking area where they normally shoot who had a police badge attached to his belt. Along with the man was a woman who appeared to be his girlfriend. McNasby said many people use the area to shoot firearms, however, Terry, Cole, and Wally LNU, are paranoid and decided to find another place to 3 train. Cole recently told McNasby they are now training at a new place, but he has not been to this new location and does not know where it is. McNasby said he wears his old Marine Corps Battle Dress Uniforms to these training sessions, and the others are similarly dressed. Terry, Cole, and Wally LNU all have flak vests they wear along with other tactical gear such as harnesses for carrying equipment. 6. McNasby said he has seen the following described firearms. Cole has an AR-15 assault rifle, HK-91 assault rifle, .308 assault rifle, Uzi pistol, MP-5 assault rifle, and AK-47 assault rifle, which have all been converted by Cole to fire in an automatic mode. Terry has an AK-47 assault rifle, and AR-15 assault rifle which are both converted by Cole to fire in an automatic mode. Terry also owns an AK-47 assault rifle which has not been converted and fires only in the semi-automatic mode. McNasby said Terry"s AR-15 is currently giving him problems and jams frequently when fired. Wally LNU has an AK-47 which has not yet been converted and fires only in the semi-automatic mode. Wally LNU wants to convert his firearm, but does not currently have the money to do so. McNasby said the roommates have told him the penalty for converting a firearm to fire in an automatic mode could get a person 10 years in prison. 7. McNasby also described explosives that he has seen or has been told that are in possession of the three roommates. McNasby has been invited to the home of Cole, Terry and Wally LNU on South Kittredge Way, Aurora, Colorado. During visits there 4 McNasby has observed some of the above described firearms, ammunition, and explosives. The visits have occurred since the fall of 1996, the most recent visit being April 25, 1997. McNasby said Cole, Tarry and Wally LNU (the three roommates) keep a small home-made hand grenade by the front door which is attached to the wall and has a trip wire attached to the door. The three roommates have told McNasby that the trip wire is attached to the door at night so that if their house is raided by law enforcement, the grenade will detonate and give them the upper hand. McNasby described the grenade as the size of a pineapple grenade with a typical military style firing mechanism on the top. McNasby has also seen an audible warning alarm connected to the interior of the door which goes between the house and garage. This alarm is activated by a trip wire attached to the door and door jamb. McNasby has also seen a "cylindrical pipe bomb" in the house with the same type of military style firing mechanism as the "bomb" which is kept at the front door. McNasby has also seen that Terry, Cole, and Wally LNU have approximately 10,000 rounds of ammunition scattered in various places around the house. McNasby said each of them has a cache of ammunition in their bedroom with other resupply points throughout the house. McNasby said Cole has a backpack with clothes in it and his boots attached at the top of the stairs. The roommates have all told McNasby that they won"t hesitate to open fire if confronted by law enforcement officers. McNasby has seen the roommates carry their rifles with them 5 throughout the house and even take them into the bathroom when they relieve themselves. McNasby has also seen six ammunition canisters the same size as ones which the military uses to store .50 caliber ammunition in. These ammunition cans are in the basement workshop and the roommates told McNasby they contain explosives, however, they have never specified what type of explosives are inside the containers. 8. McNasby has observed that Cole has a laptop computer in the house that Cole uses to communicate with other militias. Cole has his own Internet web site for the Colorado First Light Infantry. In mid-March McNasby went to a Coffee shop on South Broadway in Denver with Cole and Terry. Cole told McNasby this coffee shop exists solely to finance the EZLN, a Mexican resistance group which has declared war on the Mexican government in support of peasants in Chiapas, Mexico. McNasby said that Cole told him that Cole keeps in constant touch with other terrorist groups throughout the world through his computer and is trying to organize all anti-government groups against their common enemy. Cole has told McNasby that he is in touch with the Mujahideen, the Shining Path in Peru, and others McNasby can"t recall. Cole told McNasby he has opened a second Internet Web site for his new group, the North American Liberation Army which has links to domestic and international terrorist groups. 9. McNasby has never participated, but the roommates told McNasby they also train with a militia in Colorado Springs whom they describe as a bunch of "AR-15 freaks". McNasby does not 6 know if this group has converted firearms but said Cole, Terry, and Wally LNU have ridiculed this group because their firearms are always jamming. 10. McNasby said the three roommates are always criticizing the U.S. Government and have discussed the evils done at Waco and Ruby Ridge. The roommates have told McNasby that they believe their telephone line is bugged by the government and they often act paranoid. 11. McNasby said Wally LNU in particular has a very bad temper and gets emotional when he talks about the U.S. Government. McNasby described Wally LNU as a white male, approximately 33 years old with long brown hair extending past his shoulders. Wally LNU has told McNasby the following. Wally LNU attends a technical training school during the day located near Interstate 225 and Iliff Avenue. Wally LNU also works parttime at a credit bureau and makes nasty telephone calls to those who have bounced checks. Wally LNU drives a maroon 4-door vehicle and normally carries his semi-automatic AK-47 in the trunk of his car. He keeps his AK-47 under his bed at night. 12. Terry has told McNasby the following. Terry works as an assistant manager of Sam Goodies record store and was transferred to the Aurora mall location. Terry works six days a week and has a girlfriend somewhere in the Denver area. Terry drives a white 2-door newer model foreign car. He has a Sig Sauer P226 9mm handgun which he carries in a black fanny pack. McNasby estimates Terry makes approximately $6.50 per hour at his 7 job. Terry normally carries his semi-automatic AK-47 in the trunk of his car. He keeps his AK-47 under his bed at night. 13. McNasby said he is not sure what Cole does during the day. He does not know if Cole is employed, but said Cole has told him that his father is wealthy and is a US Government employee in Denver. McNasby said Cole told him he and his father don"t get along as his father doesn"t approve of his activities. McNasby said Cole told him his father also gave him a credit card with a high limit. McNasby said Cole told him that he likes to carry his MP-5 in a black backpack and sometimes carries a homemade grenade with him. Cole sleeps with a police scanner in his room which is turned on at night. 14. McNasby said the roommates described problems they had with law enforcement officials while living in Gunnison, Colorado. He was not sure of the details, but said they talked about being in full combat gear and ready to repel an attack at their home by police. McNasby said he believes this incident occurred in the summer of 1995. 15. McNasby said he was pulled over by local police in Steamboat, Colorado, in mid-February, 1997 for speeding downtown. The police checked his license plate number and it came back initially as stolen. A second check by the department came back clear. McNasby said he also was interviewed by a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Special Agent named Kenneth J. Bray from Cheyenne, Wyoming, telephone 307-772-2346. McNasby said Bray contacted him over a shotgun he sold through a second 8 party which was later used in a Wyoming crime. Special Agent Bray was tracing the ownership history of the firearm. 16. McNasby said Cole has a small 8mm video camera and uses it to tape every training session he attended in Left Hand Canyon. McNasby gave your affiant a copy of one video titled "LIVE FIRE" which he says shows some of the weapons firing in an automatic mode. He also provided a second tape titled "(1) Ch. 9 - Ward Lucas int. w/Ron (2) Confession of an Assassin: James E. files on JFK (3) Independent Hearings on DOJ (Lyndon LaRouch)". McNasby said the second tape was just "interesting stuff" he got from Cole. PART C On April 25, 1997, Daniel Joseph McNasby of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, met in person with your affiant and provided the following information: 17. McNasby gave your affiant a small plastic bag containing machinegun parts he said were needed to convert an AK 47 type firearm from semi-automatic to automatic. McNasby said these parts were going to be used to convert his firearm, but he never bought the additional parts needed to complete the job. He said Ron Cole offered to do the work for him. 18. McNasby also gave your affiant a sheet of paper with handwritten notes. The paper gave information about where Wally LNU goes to school, and where he works. It also listed the roommates" address as 2439 Kittredge Street, Aurora, Colorado. The paper listed Cole"s new Web site for the North American 9 Liberation Army (NALA) as Cole told McNasby the following. The NALA is Cole"s latest attempt to unite groups from around the world whom he says are fighting oppression from their government. Cole wants the NALA to act as a link to these groups in the hope that a free exchange of ideas will help them unify and support each other. McNasby also gave your affiant a list of names and telephone numbers of people to call if Cole was ever arrested which McNasby copied from a bulletin board near a telephone in the home where Terry, Cole, and Wally LNU live. McNasby also listed terrorist groups the roommates deal with over the Internet. 19. McNasby told your affiant that Cole keeps his computer on a table in his home which is located in the dining area. This area of Cole"s home is used as an office and the table has a computer, printer, and fax machine on top of it. 20. McNasby said he was invited to Terry, Cole, and Wally LNU"s house on 04/23/97 to watch a movie. Cole showed McNasby his HK-91 and MP-5 at this meeting which he recognized as the same ones Cole had altered to fire in an automatic mode. McNasby recognized these firearms as the converted firearms he fired previously in Left Hand Canyon and said it"s easy to tell them from unconverted firearms as they have a plastic lower receiver. Cole used tritium cut from a compass to attach to the sights of these firearms. The tritium makes the guns easier to fire in low-light conditions. 10 21. When McNasby entered the house, he noticed there were approximately 2000 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition sitting by the stairs along with approximately 40 rounds of incendiary ammunition which was loaded into two magazines connected by a metal clip. McNasby said the incendiary rounds use white phosphorous which burns without oxygen. 22. McNasby said he also saw a pistol Uzi which belongs to Cole while at the home. He knows this is also an altered firearm as it has a third "automatic" selector notch which Cole etched into the side along with visible marks on the metal caused by grinding when Cole converted the firearm. McNasby has not shot this firearm but viewed a tape which Cole made in November or December 1996 showing the weapon being fired in an automatic mode. McNasby saw another video of the Uzi firing in a full automatic mode which was made in January, 1997. 23. McNasby said Cole also has an AK-47 assault rifle which has been converted to fire in an automatic mode. He has never seen this weapon fire, but has examined the internal mechanisms and saw the conversion parts installed. In addition, Cole has an AR-15 assault rifle which he converted to fire in an automatic mode. McNasby said he knows this firearm is converted because he shot it on "full-automatic" in August or September, 1996. McNasby said he can tell this firearm was modified by looking at it. McNasby also observed the following. Cole also owns an unmodified AK-47 and numerous 9mm handguns. Cole keeps his firearms hung on the wall of his bedroom at night. 11 24. McNasby said Terry told him that Terry has a converted AK-47 which McNasby has seen fired in an automatic mode in August, 1996. Terry told McNasby that Terry keeps this firearm under his bed. Terry also owns an AR-15 which was converted but keeps jamming when fired. McNasby saw this weapon fired in an automatic mode in September, 1996. 25. McNasby said he has seen a pipe grenade with a firing pin attached at the residence and last saw this "bomb" in December, 1996. The roommates also have a dummy pineapple-type grenade which has been altered to operate as a live grenade. McNasby has observed that this grenade is normally kept at the front door and is attached to the wall. One end of a trip wire is attached to the door and the other to the grenade firing pin so that if the house is raided at night, the grenade will detonate as law enforcement officers enter the house. McNasby reiterated the roommate"s stated intentions to kill any law enforcement officers who raid or serve a search warrant at their home. 26. McNasby also has seen gas masks at the home and said all three of the roommates have kevlar vests and six .50 caliber ammunition cans in the basement which the roommates have told him are full of explosives. McNasby last saw these cans in October, 1996, but the roommates talked about the explosives in January, 1997. 27. Cole told McNasby that he (Cole) is currently carrying a black satchel or large camera bag with his mini-Uzi at all 12 times when away from the house. McNasby said Terry and Wally LNU told him that they are carrying their "legal" AK-47s in the trunk of their car when away from home. PART D On April 25, 1997, your affiant telephonically contacted Curtis Bartlett of Washington D.C. who provided the following information: 28. Bartlett is a Firearms Enforcement Officer (FEO) and the Assistant Chief of the Firearms Technology Branch for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in Washington, D.C. FEO Bartlett is an expert witness on firearms and has testified numerous times in court as an expert witness. Bartlett said a search warrant involving firearms which were converted to fire in an automatic mode should include the firearms themselves, any firearm parts, jigs, templates, or patterns used to manufacture machineguns or to convert firearms into machineguns, and books, magazines, or other literature which describes how to convert firearms to an automatic mode. Also included should be gunsmithing tools, purchase receipts for firearms and firearm parts, telephone billing records which might show contact with gun stores to purchase parts, credit card receipts and credit card statements which might show purchases made at gun stores. PART E On April 25, 1997, your affiant telephonically contacted Thomas Waskom of Washington D.C. who provided the following information: 13 29. Waskom is an Explosives Enforcement Officer (EEO) for the ATF in Washington, D.C. EEO Waskom is an expert witness on explosive materials and devices and has testified numerous times in court as an expert witness. EEO Waskom said a search warrant involving explosive devices should include components which could be used to fabricate an explosive device including the shell casing and firing mechanism, any explosive powders or explosive compounds, equipment or tools which could be used to make an explosive device, and books and literature which describe how to make an explosive device. The warrant should also include any devices which could be used to remotely or automatically detonate an explosive device including booby traps and trip wires. PART F On April 28, Special Agent Deborah Dassler of the ATF office located in Denver, Colorado, met with your affiant and provided the following information: 30. SA Dassler conducted telephonic queries on 04/25/97 and 04/28/97, of ATF Licensing databases regarding National Firearms Act (NFA) Branch, the Firearms Licensing Branch, and Explosives Licensing Branch, which revealed Ronald D. Cole, Wallace S. Kennett, and Kevin I. Terry, are not licensed by ATF to possess or manufacture any firearm which is designed to function as a machinegun. Furthermore, these same individuals are not licensed by ATF to possess or manufacture any explosive device. 31. SA Dassler said the possession and/or manufacture of firearms designed to function as a machinegun, and the possession 14 of explosive devices, without being licensed or registered by ATF are a violation of Titles 18 USC 842, 18 USC 922, and 26 USC 5861. PART G On April 26, 1997, Daniel Joseph McNasby of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, met with your affiant in person and provided the following information: 32. McNasby said that he has observed that Cole always answers the door to his home with his MP-5 assault rifle in one hand behind the door. McNasby has heard Cole, Terry and Wally LNU state that if confronted with a warrant by law enforcement officers at the door, the roommates plan to shoot their firearm and retreat into the house, then grab a bag of ammunition and their clothes on the way to escaping out the back door. The roommates have told McNasby that they alternate turns sleeping so that someone is always awake during the night at their home. They do this so that they can better repel a raid by law enforcement officers. McNasby said he was told explicitly by the roommates when he first started meeting with them that they would kill anyone who infiltrated their group for the FBI. McNasby was also told that anyone who joins their group must be willing to not only kill a law enforcement officer, but the law enforcement officer"s family. McNasby said he did not consider himself a part of their group as he saw their association more as a shooting club. 33. McNasby described the pineapple grenade that he 15 observed in the house as having the shape of a lemon or lime and with a smooth outer surface. He said the bottom has a hole which Cole told him was threaded and plugged with a final wax seal over the plug. The top of the grenade has a typical military-style fuzing system with pull ring and flip-spoon handle. 34. McNasby said he contacted Cole and visited his home during the evening of 04/25/97. During his visit, McNasby followed Cole into his bedroom and saw the pipe bomb described earlier to FBI agents. McNasby said the pipe is about 2" in diameter and 24" long with threaded end caps that are flush with the sides of the pipe. The top of the "pipe bomb" has the same military-style fuzing system described for the pineapple grenade. McNasby said he held the bomb for several minutes and was able to examine it closely. McNasby asked Wally LNU what was inside the pipe and got no response. He then asked Wally LNU if it contained black powder, and Wally LNU shook his head to answer no, but would not say what the pipe contained. During the visit McNasby was also downstairs in the workshop and saw the same six .50 caliber ammunition cans which the roommates earlier told him contained explosives. McNasby said the cans are an olive drab color and are stacked under a work table. Three of the cans had labels on them similar to the type of label which can be purchased at the U.S. Post Office. One of the labels said "fragile", and the other two said "this end up". McNasby asked Wally LNU if he wasn"t afraid to keep explosives so close to his room, and Wally LNU replied yes, but if they detonated, he 16 wouldn"t be alive to feel it. 35. McNasby said he actually saw Cole convert Terry"s AK-47 to a fully automatic mode in October or November of 1996. He said the roommates spread their firearms throughout the house to ensure they have fast access when needed. During this visit to the residence, McNasby saw Cole"s HK-91 assault rifle near the kitchen and his AR-15 assault rifle by the computer table. McNasby said that he has observed that Cole is "always on the computer" and likes to surf the Internet. McNasby also stated that he has observed that ammunition is also scattered in the home and the roommates have told him that it is primarily kept in case their home is raided by law enforcement agencies. McNasby said Cole refers to his MP-5 as "my baby". McNasby said that he has observed that the roommates also have at least one 12-gauge shotgun in the house. 36. McNasby described a black powder mortar which he observed in the garage of the house in January of 1997. He said the mortar tube is 4" in diameter and 36" long. The tube is pointed upwards at an angle and is connected to a heavy piece of wood. McNasby said the roommates told him the mortar is used to shoot cement filled coke cans and can launch them pretty far. He has never seen the mortar used, but said the roommates told him they have fired it before. 37. McNasby has observed the following. The front door to the house has a deadbolt lock on it. The screen door has bars on it and the roommates also keep it locked at all times. Whenever 17 someone comes to the front door, the roommates always check to see who it is by pulling aside a curtain by the front door window. He said the roommates told him they use black plastic trash bags to cover the windows because they are cheap and drapes cost more than they can afford. 38. McNasby drew a floor plan of the residence at 2439 South Kittredge Way, Aurora, Colorado. He said the back yard is open with no homes to the rear. The floor plan was created by McNasby from his observations of the house during his visits. The floor plan shows Wally LNU sleeps in a bedroom downstairs. Terry sleeps in a upper-floor bedroom which faces the street, and Cole sleeps in an upper-floor bedroom which faces the backyard. The drawing also shows where McNasby last saw firearms in the house. Cole"s HK-91 assault rifle was near the kitchen, Cole"s AR-15 assault rifle was near the computer, and the "pipe bomb" was in Cole"s bedroom. Explosives in the .50 caliber ammunition cans were downstairs in the workshop under a workbench. McNasby did not see the pineapple-style grenade on April 26, 1997, but believes it may be inside Cole"s black pack which Cole currently carries when he leaves the house. PART H From January, 1997, through the present date, your affiant has personally monitored Internet activities of Ronald David Cole. Your affiant has extensive computer experience, has written a computer database approved for use at every U.S. Air Force base worldwide, and has previously served as an assistant 18 Local Area Network administrator at two Air Force units with 65 and 80 computers linked together by a common network. 39. In numerous Internet postings read by your affiant, the messages sent are always ended with the words "Ron Cole Commander, Colorado First Light Infantry
The Partisan World Web" 40. Cole appears to be an experienced Internet user and very adept with the computer. Descriptions of how to convert firearms to fire in an automatic mode as well as how to build an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) are easily available over the Internet. It is the affiant"s experience that those who are active on the Internet use it"s vast wealth of knowledge to find information on various topics. Cole has displayed such an interest and affiant believes Cole"s laptop computer likely stores evidence of "how to" manuals for converting firearms and building IEDs. 41. Cole converses with others often in the "misc.activism.militia" newsgroup which is a public forum for discussions open to all. In a 01/30/97 posting, a writer states "they (Davidians) brought it on themselves. If Khoresh (sic) had paid the $200 tax, none of this would have happened!" to which Cole responds "...$200 tax? We did not then, nor do we now, recognize the authority of the federal government over us." 42. In a 03/04/97 Internet Posting, your affiant has read 19 the following which purports to be written by Cole "I used to keep all my firearms in a storage unit, figuring that if I got raided by ATF I could just let them tear my house apart and sue them later...now I have no choice but to be prepared to shoot to kill if I"m raided." 43. Through investigation conducted from January 1997 to the present date, your affiant knows Wally LNU is actually Wallace Stanley Kennett. Cole mentions Kennett in his Colorado First Light Infantry Web site and gives a brief biography of Kennett. Surveillance on 03/31/97 at the home located at 2439 South Kittredge Way showed Kennett is driving a maroon Honda with Texas license plate HGV68R. This vehicle is shown registered to Wallace Stanley Kennett. ________/s/____________ STEPHEN W. DI RITO Subscribed and sworn to before me this 1st day of _____________/s/_________ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 20 DATE: May 1, 1997
ESTIMATED TIME OF TRIAL: ___X___ five days or less other _______ over five days _______ other THE GOVERNMENT [X] will seek detention in this case. [ ] will not seek detention in this case. Return to Ron Cole Index
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