Defendant Cleared in Supremacist Case
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FT. SMITH, Ark. — U.S. District Judge Morris Arnold directed a verdict of acquittal Friday for a defendant in the trial of alleged white supremacists accused of seditious conspiracy and plotting to assassinate federal officials.
He directed the verdict in favor of Robert N. Smalley, 32, a native of Corona, Calif., and a Ft. Smith resident, saying there was not enough evidence to convict him.
Smalley was among 10 men accused of scheming to overthrow the government and replacing it with an Aryan Nation in the Pacific Northwest.
The prosecution had said that Randall Rader, 36, a former member of a white supremacist group known as The Order, had ordered illegal weapons through Smalley and had told Smalley that they were for a right-wing group. The judge said the prosecution did not show that Smalley had reason to believe the weapons would be used to try to overthrow the government.
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