TWO MILITIA MAN IN POSSESION OF 130 GRENADES, A GRENADE LAUNCHER, A MACHINE GUN, A SHORT BARRELED SHOT-GUN, TWO SILENCERS, NUMEROUS OTHER FIREARMS, 2500 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION, EXPLOSIVE COMPONENTS AND 100 MARIJUANA PLANTS. I am wonder if Lou Dobbs will want to put this case on CNN. Probably not he has too many reason not to do so?

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Randall Garrett Cole and James Ray McElroy were sentenced today in U.S. District Court on federal weapons charges. The men were charged earlier this year along with other members of “the Free Militia” with conspiracy to make a firearm or destructive devices, and both pled guilty to the charges in June 2007.

Cole, 23, of Gadsden, was sentenced to 37 months in prison and will serve two years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. McElroy, 21, of Collinsville, was sentenced to 41 months in prison and will also serve two years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

The sentencing hearings for the remaining defendants in this case will be scheduled by the Court.

During the execution of search warrants which occurred in April, 2007, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with state and local law enforcement recovered 130 grenades, a grenade launcher, a machine gun, a short barreled shot-gun, two silencers, numerous other firearms, 2500 rounds of ammunition, explosive components, approximately 70 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), and commercial fireworks, and ammunition, along with over 100 marijuana plants. While executing the search warrants, officers encountered booby traps at one location.

This investigation involved numerous federal, state and local law enforcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is the lead agency assisted by the Bomb Squads from Huntsville Police Department, Jefferson County, and Gadsden County Sheriffs’ Departments and Alabama Department of Public Safety Bomb Squad who worked with ATF Bomb Techs in securing the IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). Other Agencies include, The U.S. Marshal Service, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Alabama State Fire Marshals, The Alabama Bureau of Investigation, and the Sheriff’s Offices and District Attorneys’ Offices of DeKalb, Etowah, Marshall, and Jefferson Counties.