JAN. 6 SUSPECT LINKED TO BROWNSVILLE MILITIA GROUP

"In 2014, the records state, the FBI identified Coffman as a participant at Camp Lonestar, a reported gathering place for Texas militia groups that patrol the border for illegal aliens. At Camp Lonestar, Coffman was armed with a “crack barrel 12-gauge shotgun and a 9mm pistol.”

“In his motion, Mr. Coffman attempts to downplay any such militia connections, but on the day of January 6, 2021 itself, Mr. Coffman was carrying the contact information for an individual identified by law enforcement as a member of a militia group from Southeast Texas, known as the ‘American Patriots,’’' the order states. “Mr. Coffman was also in possession of an address from Brownsville, Texas, which law enforcement linked to Camp Lonestar."

By Carol Robinson

AL.com

A north Alabama man facing multiple charges in connection with the January riots at the U.S. Capitol must remain in jail until trial a federal judge ruled, citing in part new revelations that he drove to the home of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and he seemed “unbalanced” in a call to the senator’s office.

Lonnie Coffman, a 70-year-old Falkville resident up until his arrest, was arrested by federal authorities just hours after the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Since then, he has been indicted on 17 charges following the seizure of nearly a dozen Molotov cocktail explosive devices from his pickup truck, as well as a number of guns, ammo and concerning handwritten notes. A federal judge on Monday denied Coffman’s request that authorities reconsider a previous decision to keep him behind bars.

Coffman’s truck was parked just a few blocks from the Capitol on the day of the Jan. 6 breach. Authorities noted he had apparently been living in the truck in the D.C. area for a week prior to the breach. 

Surveillance footage showed he parked the truck near the Republican National Club, a few blocks from the Democratic National Committee Headquarters, both targeted for reports of explosive devices, about 9:20 a.m. that Wednesday.

Investigators spotted a gun in Coffman’s truck and later carried out a search of the vehicle. He was detained later in the day when he returned to his vehicle.

Other items found in Coffman’s truck and used as exhibits as to why he should remain in federal custody pending trial include a loaded 9 mm handgun, a loaded rifle, several large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices loaded with more than 10 rounds of rifle ammunition, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a crossbow with bolts, several machetes, camouflage smoke devices, a stun gun, and the
11 mason jars filled with flammable liquid, which authorities said was the equivalent to homemade napalm.

(Another of the so-called "Rusty's Rangers" named after Rusty Monsees, was Kevin “KC” Lyndel Massey, 48, of Quinlan, Texas, who was identified by authorities as a member of “Rusty’s Rangers” militia, also known as “Rusty’s Regulators.”

The rag-tag militia set up a base camp it called “Camp Lone Star” near Brownsville, Texas, in 2014 and ran a vigilante-style border patrol operation, looking for people illegally entering the United States.

On Aug. 31 of that year, U.S. Border Patrol agents conducting routine patrols came across Massey and another member of Rusty’s Rangers, John Frederick Foerster. A federal agent shot at, but did not hit Foerster when he initially refused to drop his firearm. 

Massey was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. Upon his release, he was found to have smoked marijuana and the government moved to revoke his probation. Rather than going back to prison, Massey committed suicide as the feds moved in.) 

To read rest of story, click on link: https://www.al.com/news/2021/05/alabama-capitol-riot-suspect-lonnie-coffman-drove-by-ted-cruzs-home-court-records-say.html