Francis August Schaeffer Cox (born February 11, 1984), known as Schaeffer Cox, is an American political activist, convicted felon, and founder of an organization called the Alaska Peacemakers Militia.Sam Friedman. "The Schaeffer Cox File: The trail of a young man". Fairbanks Daily News Miner, 4/10/2011.
Early life Francis August Schaeffer Cox was born on February 11, 1984, to Gary and Jennifer Cox. Around the year 2000, Cox's family moved to Alaska. He received a high school diploma in May 2003 through a correspondence program. He then briefly studied business at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, before dropping out to start his own small construction company.
Political activities and ties
In 2008, Cox ran for the Alaska House of Representatives from House District 7."Gun rights group leader has to leave his guns at home". Anchorage Daily News, 4/10/2011.
Cox was a supporter of Sarah Palin, but harshly criticized her support for Real ID in 2008, saying "If Sarah Palin loses who she is, then I won't support her".Alan Sunderman. "McCain, Palin differ on Real ID". Juneau Empire, 9/22/2008.
Cox was a delegate from Alaska to a gathering called the Continental Congress 2009.Craig Medred. "Searching for the real Schaeffer Cox". Alaska Dispatch, 5/19/2011. He was also an organizing member of the Fairbanks-based Second Amendment Task Force."If you're packing, flaunt it, group says". Anchorage Daily News, 2/21/2009.Jeff Richardson. "Second Amendment Task Force leader Schaeffer Cox arrested on weapons charge". Fairbanks Daily News Miner, 3/19/2011. At a 2009 gathering of the group, Cox drafted a declaration that the United States Government must be abolished if it further restricts gun rights. The declaration was signed by many, including United States Representative Don Young.Mike Stark. "Rep. Young and indicted militia leader Schaeffer Cox". Daily Kos, 5/11/2011. Cox has also reportedly identified himself as a member of the sovereign citizen movement."Schaeffer Cox, 'sovereign citizen'," Dec. 23, 2010, Alaska Dispatch at .David Holthouse, "Infringed or unhinged? Alaska's not-so-well regulated militia leaders," Dec. 22, 2010, Anchorage Press, at .Eric Christopher Adams. "Schaeffer Cox pleads not guilty to federal weapons charge". Alaska Dispatch, 3/23/2011.
Cox is said to be a close friend of Alaska politician Joe Miller,Yereth Rosen. "Alaska militia charged in murder-kidnap plot". MSNBC, 3/11/2011. although Cox has said that he did not support Miller in Miller's unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate in 2010. Cox stated, "[Miller's] going to try to run things in a more conservative way, but he's still trying to run things -- so he has the same fundamental problem of all the other politicians".Justin Elliot. "The militias' man in the Senate?". Salon.com, 23/9/2010. After Cox was arrested, Miller released a statement saying "Mr. Miller has never had any connection to any of Mr. Cox's militia organizations, and in no way condones any lawless behavior."Justin Elliot. "Joe Miller in hot water for ties to militia leader". Salon.com, 3/16/2011.
Legal problems and conviction
In March 2010, Cox was arrested by state authorities in Alaska for failing to disclose a concealed weapon.Casey Grove. "Militia members charged in '241' plot to kill judge, troopers". Anchorage Daily News, 3/12/2011. It was reported that he assaulted his wife and pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment,"2010 in review: The top stories in Fairbanks". Fairbanks Daily News Miner, 1/1/2011 but his wife joined him to publicly deny the claims, and to explain the allegations completely as lies to defame Cox."Schaeffer Cox - Trouble in Fairbanks - Part 4". YouTube, 5/23/2010
In 2011 he was arrested for alleged involvement in a murder conspiracy known as "241" where two law enforcement officers were to be killed for each member of the Peacemakers Militia killed in anticipation of government action against Cox and weapons charges.Sam Friedman. "Prosecutors release photos of '241' weapons to argue against bail". Fairbanks Daily News Miner, 7/7/2011.
In March 2011, Cox was arrested on federal charges in Fairbanks, Alaska, by the United States Marshals Service. He was charged with conspiracy to possess unregistered silencers and destructive devices, possession of an unregistered destructive device, possession of an unregistered silencer, possession of an unregistered machine gun, and other related charges under , and and Internal Revenue Code sections 5861(d), 5871, and 5861(f).Docket entry 3, Indictment, March 17, 2011, United States v. Cox, case no. 3:11-cr-00022-RJB, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska (Anchorage Div.). Also charged for involvement in the plot were Lonnie Vernon, Karen Vernon and Coleman Barney."UPI NewsTrack TopNews". United Press International, 3/11/2011. Cox's lawyers argued unsuccessfully that the charges should have been thrown out because the grand jury that served the indictment was flawed.Jillian Rayfield. "Attorneys For Schaeffer Cox Want Murder Conspiracy Charges Thrown Out". TPMMuckracker, 4/7/2011.
In late October 2011, all state charges against Cox and his fellow defendants were dismissed. The dismissals followed a court ruling that kept prosecutors from using, as evidence, secret FBI recordings made without a search warrant. According to Assistant District Attorney Dway McConnell, the state charges cannot be refiled.State drops all charges in Fairbanks '241' militia case; Anderson released
Cox continued to face the federal weapons charges. In November 2011, additional federal charges were brought against him. The new charges related to the alleged purchase of hand grenades and silencers, and alleged possession of a loaded grenade launcher."Feds charge Cox, Barney with having grenade launcher, grenade," Nov. 18, 2011, Alaska Dispatch, at .
On January 20, 2012, Cox and two co-defendants were charged in the same case with conspiracy to kill officers and employees of the United States, including law enforcement officers, "in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1111 and 1114...."Docket entry 239, p. 18, Third Superseding Indictment, Jan. 20, 2012, United States v. Cox, case no. 3:11-cr-00022-RJB, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska (Anchorage Div.).Jill Burke, "Alaska militiamen slapped with new federal murder-conspiracy charges," Jan. 23, 2012, Alaska Dispatch, at . The trial began on May 7, 2012. The case went to the jury on Thursday, June 14, 2012.Richard Mauer, June 15, 2012, "Militiaman's wife says he's guided by God's law," Anchorage Daily News, at .
On June 18, 2012, Cox and codefendant Lonnie Vernon were each found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. The jury was unable to reach consensus on the conspiracy charge against codefendant Coleman Barney.Ben Anderson, "Alaska militia trial: Cox, Vernon found guilty of conspiracy to murder," June 18, 2012, Alaska Dispatch, at .Richard Mauer & Lisa Demer, "Jury convicts militiamen on most charges," June 18, 2012, Anchorage Daily News, at . Barney was, however, convicted of conspiracy to possess unregistered silencers and destructive devices and possession of unregistered destructive devices.Judgment, United States v. Barney, Sept. 24, 2012, case no. 3:11-cr-00022-RJB, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska (Anchorage Div.).
On September 24, 2012, Coleman L. Barney was sentenced to five years in federal prison. On January 7, 2013, Lonnie Vernon and his wife, Karen Vernon, were sentenced to 25 and 12 years, respectively.
On January 8, 2013, Cox was sentenced to 310 months, or nearly 26 years, in federal prison.Schaeffer Cox Sentenced to Nearly 26 Years in Militia Plot The conviction and sentence were appealed in the same year.Docket entry 561, Jan. 8, 2013, United States v. Cox, case no. 3:11-cr-00022-RJB, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska (Anchorage Div.). Cox was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute, and was originally scheduled for release October 26, 2033.Francis August Schaeffer Cox, inmate #16179-006, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Dep't of Justice, at , Retrieved November 25, 2018.
On December 13, 2013, Cox recanted his claim of mental illness and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner published a thirteen-page letter in which he alleged the Federal government is part of a broad conspiracy that led to his conviction and sentencing. He stated, regarding a forensic psychologist who evaluated him, "She was a short frumpy woman with frizzy hair, beady eyes." She had testified that he suffers from several paranoid disorders. At the sentencing hearing, Cox told the judge, "I put a lot of people in fear by the things that I said." "Some of the crazy stuff that was coming out of my mouth, I see that, and I sounded horrible." "I couldn't have sounded any worse if I tried." "The more scared I got, the crazier the stuff. I wasn't thinking, I was panicking."Sam Friedman, "Former militia leader Schaeffer Cox says mental illness account was sentencing ploy," Dec. 12, 2013, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Fairbanks, Alaska), at
In February 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Cox permission to fire his fourth attorney, one who was currently handling his appeal.Fairbanks militia leader Schaeffer Cox denied request to fire fourth attorney, Fairbanks Daily News Miner, Sam Friedman, Feb 9, 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2016.See generally United States v. Cox, case no. 13-30000, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
On August 30, 2017, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found there wasn't evidence to uphold his conviction for solicitation to murder, but affirmed his conviction for conspiracy. Cox's sentence of nearly 26 years was vacated in light of the decision, and his case was sent to a lower court for re-sentencing.Judges overturn Schaeffer Cox 'solicitation' murder sentence, upholds conspiracy, webcenter11.com
On 5 November 2019, as a result of the appeal decision, Cox’s sentence was reduced, reports said, by 10 years, but, as of 1 Aug 2024, he is still shown as held at Residential Reentry Management (RRM) field office Seattle and his release date is shown as 6 Sep 2024. (Ten years before the original release date of October 26, 2033 would obviously have been October 26 2023, already passed, so, presumably, there'd no longer be a record for him to find on bop.gov/inmateloc GUI.) Francis August Schaeffer Cox, inmate #16179-006, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Dep't of Justice, (EITHER {in Find By Number tab, with "BOP Register Number" selected from drop-down-list, into text entry box labelled 'Number', enter "16179-006"} OR {in Find By Name tab, into text entry box labelled 'First', enter "Francis" AND into text entry box labelled 'Last', enter "Cox"}, then click 'Search' button.)
U.S. Supreme Court In March, 2018, Cox's public defender, Michael Filipovic, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. In May, the federal government's Solicitor General's office filed a brief arguing that the established facts of the case contradicted Filipovic's brief. On June 11, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a denial of certiorari. This action then re-opened the possibility that Cox's case could be sent back to a lower court for re-sentencing.
See also
Freemen on the land
References