Hutaree Website: Christian Militia Raided by FBI were "Preparing for the Anti-Christ"
ADRIAN, Michigan (CBS/AP) A Michigan Christian militia group called Hutaree was raided over the weekend as part of a three state, multiple raid action by the FBI, including raids in Ohio and Indiana.
PICTURES: Hutaree Militia Raided by FBI
According to a website purportedly run by the group, Hutaree.com, Hutaree are Christian "soldiers" who are arming themselves and training in anticipation of the coming of the Anti-Christ, which they believe is imminent.
A quote from the website reads: "Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment."
Law enforcement swarmed a rural, wooded property Saturday evening near Adrian, Mich., about 70 miles southwest of Detroit. Two ramshackle trailers sat side-by-side on the property. The door to one was slightly ajar late Sunday as if it had been forced open.Michael Lackomar, a spokesman for the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, which is not connected to Hutaree, said one of his team leaders got a frantic phone call Saturday evening from members of Hutaree.
"They said they were under attack by the ATF and wanted a place to hide," Lackomar said. "My team leader said, 'No thanks."'
The raid in Michigan was reportedly connected to three other raids in Ohio and Indiana. FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said agents arrested two people Saturday after raids in two Ohio towns.
One of the raids took place at Bayshore Estates, a well-kept trailer park in Sandusky, Ohio, a small city between Toledo and Cleveland, where neighbors said the man taken into custody lived with his wife and two young children.
"They took over the block like it was the Army. I thought we were being invaded," said Michael Morin, who lives two lots away.
18-year-old George Ponce, who works at a pizzeria next door to a home in Hammond, Ind., about 30 miles southeast of Chicago, that was raided, said he and a few co-workers stepped outside for a break Saturday night and saw a swarm of law enforcement, according to CBS affiliate WBBM.
"I heard a yell, 'Get back inside!' and saw a squad member pointing a rifle at us," Ponce said.