Schaeffer Cox resumed his testimony Tuesday , taking the stand in his own defense in the federal trial in whichhe is accused of weapons crimes and conspiracy to murder. For morethan three hours, the militia commander from Fairbanksdeconstructed the government's narrative of him, and recast hispredicament as a big misunderstanding. He claimed to be the victim of an elaborate, double jeopardyscheme. In June 2010 he had come to believe that U.S. Marshals wereout to kill him, and that they intended to use the welfare of hisyoung son as an excuse to start the bloodshed. He had also come tobelieve that an acquaintance was trying to bully him into violentwarfare, with the same child welfare issue at heart of theconflict. That acquaintance was none other than Bill Fulton , a weapons dealer from Anchorage who was working as an informantfor the FBI. "There were U.S. Marshals that were trying to corner me and my wifeinto a shoot-out to fix the 'Schaeffer Cox problem,' and using myson to do it," Cox told jurors from the stand Tuesday. The'Schaeffer Cox' problem, in Cox's mind' was the growing success ofhis grassroots, liberty activism. Cox felt he had the right to defend himself and his family if such a situation was to erupt. But he'd also recently taken thecounsel of a man who'd had some experience with child services andthe court, who had advised Cox to be cooperative. De-escalating thetension was something Cox said he was working hard to do. But there was another threat looming, he said: Bill Fulton, one ofthe government's paid informants. Fulton had more than onceencouraged Cox to instigate violent conflict, Cox said, and Coxfeared Fulton would "slit his throat" if he didn't get on boardwith Fulton's agenda. "I was instilled with a very real fear that if I kept trying to'pull a Ghandi,' Bill Fulton would kill me, blame it on the Fedsand try to start a war," Cox testified. Cox suggested that because Fulton was so unpredictable, it left Coxno choice but to become a fugitive. By missing a court date in amisdemeanor case, Cox would be assured that he would have noimmediate conflict with law enforcement or the courts. By not beingthere, he couldn't be arrested -- if it came to that -- one of theconditions he feared would be a trigger for Fulton to unleashviolence. By being a no-show in court, Cox suggested he had savedthe lives of the very people he has himself been accused ofthreatening. This is a developing story. Return for updates and the completestory tonight. Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as LED Manufacturer , LED Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits China Indoor Led Screen&&Indoor Led Screen Supplier.
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