James Ellison (polygamist) - Operations

Operations

After it was set up, the CSA began targeting local and federal agents, including the sheriff who participated in the later siege on the organization's compound and U.S. Attorney Asa Hutchinson, who would negotiate a peaceful conclusion to the siege and later prosecute CSA members. CSA assassins would monitor the homes of their targets and practice mock assassinations of the targets with scoped rifles and practiced attacks in a mock "Combat City". The perimeter of the CSA compound had 100, 200, and 300 yard indicator plates nailed to trees to allow the defenders to adjust their sights accordingly to engage attackers. In the event of attack, the central rallying point would be a concrete bunk house that contained the communications radios next to a 95 foot tower constructed for defense. The perimeter of the compound had built-in bunkers for one to three men. Each was numbered as a post and assigned to an individual as an 'area of responsibility'.

Training weapons were purchased through a member's federal license (FFL). The line infantryman carried a Ruger Mini-14 .223 rifle. Many of these were illegally modified to fire selectively. As in the early days of the Marine Corps, the squads were set up in four-man fire teams. One man carried a Heckler and Koch Model 91 rifle in .308 Winchester (7.62 NATO) that was modified via a technique the organization sold to 'brother groups' that converted the rifle to a select fire weapon (machine gun). The Elite "A" Team had black SWAT clothing and some fairly sophisticated weapons such as, the .22 caliber Ruger target pistol fitted with integral silencer, and several of the MAC-10 submachineguns in both 9MM and .45 Auto, also with attached suppressors. These men trained in the covert aspects of military action, and were to be the core of the defense initiative.

By the end of their operations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) obtained 155 Krugerrands, one live light antitank rocket (LAAW), 94 long guns, 30 handguns, 35 sawed-off shotguns and machine guns, one heavy machine gun (a Japanese copy of the WWI Lewis, in .303 caliber), and a quantity of C-4 explosives. Much of this arsenal was stolen. In 1983, CSA member William Thomas accompanied Richard Wayne Snell and Steven Scott in an attempt to dynamite a natural gas pipeline near Fulton, Arkansas. Scott was arrested for the attempt. Numerous other members had been incarcerated by 1985 for offenses ranging from racketeering to weapons deals.

The CSA also had links with other radical organizations, including the Aryan Brotherhood, The Mountain Church, and The Order, all of which were dangerous white supremacist organizations that advocated the violent overthrow of the United States Government. Many of their members were seen traveling in and out of the compound. After a search of the compound, several stolen vehicles were recovered, including one belonging to The Order.

Things began to go downhill for the organization after alleged member Richard Wayne Snell was arrested for killing an African-American police officer. Snell was later tied to the killing of a gun store owner in 1981 with the very same gun. The serial number of the weapon had been removed by CSA armorer Kent Yates, who himself was arrested on Friday, July 13, 1984 on a warrant for firearms violations out of New Mexico for firearms violations. He was later also charged and convicted of weapons manufacture and modification for the CSA. He wrote a few books on survival, weapons modification and silencers that are out of print.

After the incident with Snell, the FBI began hunting for ways to infiltrate the CSA compound and stop the organization. They finally obtained warrants under Arkansas state law to arrest Ellison for multiple firearms violations. The FBI later claimed that at all times they had an "inside man" at CSA.