LUDOWICI, Ga. -- A Georgia prosecutor has announced he will seek the death penalty against three soldiers accused of killing two people to protect an anti-government militia.
District Attorney Tom Durden said Thursday in Long County Superior Court he will seek the death penalty for Army Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, Sgt. Anthony Peden and Pvt. Christopher Salmon.
Isaac Aguigui is from Cashmere, Washington. The 20-year-old is accused of being the founder and leader of the anarchist militia group.
Prosecutors said the group of active and former U.S. military members called themselves F.E.A.R., short for Forever Enduring Always Ready. They said the group spent at least $87,000 buying guns and bomb components.
Prosecutors allege the plot included bombing a Washington State Dam and poisoning the state’s apple supply.
Fellow soldier Michael Burnett said Aguigui ordered the murder of former soldier Michael Roark, originally from Everett, and his girlfriend Tiffany York, 17, to clean up “a loose end is the way Isaac put it.”
Aguigui, Peden and Salmon were arraigned on charges of malice murder, felony murder and criminal gang activity in the Dec. 4 slayings of Roark and York.
York's stepfather had to be restrained after a disturbance in court.
As Peden sat with his attorney during the hearing, York's stepfather, Wesley Thomas, tried to rush the defense table. Court officers wrestled Thomas to the floor and handcuffed him.
The following video of Aguigui was filmed by WSAV in Savannah, Georgia.
