WICHITA — A trial begins this week for three members of a militia group accused of conspiring to bomb a mosque and apartment complex housing Somalis in the Kansas town of Garden City.
Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen are charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights. Stein also faces a weapons-related charge and Wright, formally of Manhattan, has an additional charge of lying to the FBI.
They all have pleaded not guilty.
Their trial is expected to last six weeks, with jury selection beginning Tuesday.
Prosecutors say a militia member tipped off federal authorities after becoming alarmed by the heightening talk of violence, and later agreed to wear a wire as a paid informant. The months-long investigation features hours of profanity-laced recordings discussing the alleged plot.
