Kansas militia men convicted of bomb plot try to bar Somali videos

WICHITA — Attorneys for three Kansas militia members convicted of plotting to bomb a mosque and apartment complex housing Somali immigrants in a western Kansas meatpacking town have asked the court to bar at sentencing any victim impact statements, arguing no one was actually hurt in the plot.

Federal prosecutors have countered that the men are trying to “minimize their actions and de-personalize their crimes.” They say that “runs directly afoul” of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.

“Despite the overwhelming evidence that led a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants conspired to commit a hate-motived mass murder, the defendants now make the extraordinary claim that the targets of their plot — the defendants’ would-be murder victims — are not in fact ‘victims’ and should not be heard at sentencing,” prosecutors said Tuesday in a filing.

The dispute has derailed the two-day sentencing hearing that had been scheduled to begin Monday, with U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren now instead planning to hear oral arguments Monday about whether to consider victim statements. A court notation Thursday indicated only that the sentencing would be scheduled for a later date.

Read more: https://www.cjonline.com/news/20181115/kansas-militia-men-convicted-of-bomb-plot-try-to-bar-somali-videos