KC STAR/09-19-95 Survivalists prepare for war JUDY THOMAS Staff Writer Sunlight glimmered through the trees, casting shadows on two men kneeling in a secluded wooded area near Grandview and loading two artillery canisters. Inside went a black 12-gauge shotgun. A .357-caliber Magnum revolver. Ammunition. Army-issued MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), bottled water, medical supplies. Enough survival gear to last 90 days. ``These are kind of hard to get,'' said George, as he screwed a lid on one container. ``They're in high demand these days.'' Then George and his buddy Randy - two Belton mechanics in their 30s who are afraid to give their full names - buried the 3-foot canisters in a pile of wood. They're also afraid their phones are tapped. ``We don't want the government coming after us,'' Randy said. ``We're not ashamed about what we're doing; we're concerned about retribution.'' Like others across the United States, George and Randy are preparing for war. While few in number, survivalists and those in the so-called patriot movement are getting ready for what they say will be a civil uprising. They fear U.N.-led troops storming the homes of law-abiding citizens and confiscating their weapons. And many of them believe that the time is nearly at hand. One scenario they foresee: Unable to reach an agreement on a budget, the federal government will shut down at the end of this month, resulting in riots nationwide when welfare checks are cut off. At the same time, Congress is likely to pass anti-terrorism legislation, which will prompt the government to go after militias and gun owners. Add a verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial that could have racial overtones, and they see a deadly combination. Carl Stern, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said such beliefs are ill-founded. For one thing, Stern said, the anti-terrorism bill the groups fear so much has stalled in Congress. And if a government shutdown were to take place, Stern said, the distribution of government checks would not be affected. As for spying and wiretaps, Stern said, the government doesn't have the ability to keep tabs on patriot groups, even if they wanted to. Last year, he said, only 850 federal wiretaps were arized nationwide. The patriots, however, say they still see warning signs every day, from foreign troops training on U.S. soil to a possible stock market crash - despite the market's record highs. ``We're starting to see a countdown,'' said Randy, a member of Cass County Citizens for the Constitution. ``And at the end of September, it all looks like it will come to a head.'' Patriots have been stockpiling assault weapons and ammunition and planning escape routes from urban areas for when the enemy - the U.S. government - comes after them. ``Bulk sales of assault weapons and firearms and ammo have skyrocketed,'' Randy said. ``You go to the gun shows, and people are coming in there with 200 cases of ammunition, and at the end of the weekend they're all gone. People are storing it; they're burying it.'' Militias across the country are taking similar precautions, said Jim McKinzey, commander of the Missouri 51st Militia. ``I can confirm that a lot of people are stockpiling,'' McKinzey said. ``There's a lot of people out there who are getting their stuff bought and stationed and distributed across the country.'' Chuck Samuel, director of the Missouri Valley Arms Collectors Association, agrees that many attending the gun shows are buying more weapons. ``I do see a lot of people stockpiling guns and ammunition,'' he said. ``But now, people are more interested in high-tech weaponry than sporting-type weapons. There's a lot of popularity for the AK-47s and the SKS rifles and things like that.'' Rumors of government conspiracies are nothing new. For years, various groups have spoken of plots to disarm citizens and implement a one-world government run by the United Nations. But now, spurred by conservative talk-radio programs such as those broadcast on the People's Radio Network, people are taking the talk to a higher level. Jerry Hughes, host of ``Washington on Trial'' on the People's Radio Network, doesn't think that the patriots are being paranoid. ``I think it's a very cautious attitude that a lot of people have right now,'' Hughes said. ``We've seen the hearings on Waco and Ruby Ridge now, and yet two years ago we were assured that nothing went wrong at Waco and nothing was improper at Ruby Ridge.'' Ann Funk, chairman of the Mid-America Constitution Conference, said people she knows are scared. Her group's mission is ``to educate and inform the general populace about what's going on in our country.'' Funk said patriot groups had formed in Cass and Jackson counties in Missouri and Johnson County in Kansas. Members include such persons as Ralph, who owns a business in Lee's Summit that designs and builds electronic control systems for machines. He worked for years as an operations and design engineer in the aircraft industry. ``Why am I doing this? Because I owe it to America,'' said Ralph, who doesn't want his full name used because of fear of retribution by the government. ``In my mind, I'm a dyed-in-the- wool American. I'm a God-fearing Christian man. I believe in this country. And I would rather die in fighting for freedom than be enslaved.'' Stan, a 56-year-old engineer, has similar sentiments and reasons for not wanting his full name used. ``I was raised in a generation where we basically trusted the government,'' he said. ``But in the past three years, my eyes have been opened. ``In all my years, I never owned a pistol or a shotgun. Now, I'm fully equipped.'' No last name either for Jeff, an Overland Park businessman with a degree in criminal justice. He said he got involved after concluding that the nation's tax laws are unconstitutional. And he said he doesn't own more weapons than the average hunter ``They're just different kinds.'' Laird Wilcox, an Olathe author and expert on extremist groups, said he saw no reason for concern about Jeff and others who share his beliefs. ``Right-wing groups always tend to be more active during Democratic administrations,'' Wilcox said. ``I really think it's a cyclical thing. I don't see anything too alarming about it.'' An interesting phenomenon, Wilcox said, is that some of today's so-called patriots also were part of the 1960s counterculture. ``Back in the '60s, (some people) said communists were going to take over the country by 1972,'' he said. ``Then it was '75, then '78. ``What's going to happen is, 10 years from now, these guys are going to be out there digging up their rotten food and feeling kind of silly.'' @@ART CAPTIONPreparing for a civil uprising, a member of the Cass County Citizens for the Constitution loaded a 12-gauge shotgun, a .357-caliber Magnum revolver and ammunition into an Army surplus plastic artillery canister. @@ARTPhoto (color) @@ART CREDITCRAIG SANDS/The Star