Alaska militia leader seeks retrial after sentence reduction

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska militia leader imprisoned for a plot to kill government officials is seeking a retrial for one of eight charges following a reduction of his sentence.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Schaeffer Cox’s attorney has filed a motion seeking a retrial for a charge of conspiracy to murder federal officials.

Cox was a leader of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, which prosecutors say planned to kidnap or kill government officials.

A Washington state judge took 10 years off Cox’s sentence of nearly 26 years as a result of a 2017 appeals court decision to overturn his conviction for solicitation to commit murder.

Cox’s attorney says the justification for dismissing the solicitation count leaves the conspiracy count in question because prosecutors used the same arguments to achieve both convictions.
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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com