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Tuesday, May 27, 1997

Republic of Texas splinter deepens with mounting legal woes

DALLAS (AP) - Arrests and indictments following the recent siege of Republic of Texas leader Richard McLaren's West Texas hideout appear to have driven the three Republic factions even farther apart.

McLaren and his followers face seven federal indictments alleging a $1.8 billion fraud scheme, and McLaren remains jailed on state charges related to the siege.

Another Republic faction led by Archie Lowe of Rice faces similar legal troubles. Lowe faces a contempt warrant and several of his followers already have been served with warrants.

And the third faction, led by David Johnson of Odessa, faces state contempt warrants.

But instead of banding together against the state government they call illegitimate, the Republic members appear to be splintering even farther in recent weeks.

Johnson said he plans to try Lowe in a "common law" court next weekend for masquerading as the group's president, and neither group has come to McLaren's aid.

Tim Perkins, who calls himself a "judge" in McLaren's faction, said the other two factions are "a bunch of doggone candybutts" for ignoring pleas for help during the weeklong standoff that started when McLaren's followers held two neighbors hostage.

"If we as citizens would have stood our ground and not buckled and run as we did, things would have probably turned out much to our favor," Perkins told The Dallas Morning News for Sunday editions.

Separatists tried to mend fences at a May 4 meeting, but the attempt failed. The McLaren and Lowe factions, however, did manage to agree on a July 4 constitutional convention in the Irion County town of Sherwood.

Johnson argues the date is too soon to persuade enough Texans to support a movement to leave the United States.

Ron Dusek, spokesman for Texas Attorney General Dan Morales, said state officials are pleased to see the turn of events.

"The Republic of Texas clearly has an understanding now that they cannot do what they were doing," Dusek said. "It should be pretty clear to them now that there are proper and legitimate ways for them to go about spreading their message."

Lowe said he doesn't like the way all Republic members have been lumped with McLaren since the Fort Davis standoff.

"It's sort of like what happened to the patriot community after the bombing in Oklahoma City," he said. "It's real scary."

That fear has caused some Republic sympathizers to "scurry back to their holes," Lowe said.

"I don't want to compare patriots to rats," he said, "but it's an analogy. It's the idea that when someone is afraid of something they will tend to back away until they rediscover courage and stand up again ... I really wish they had more backbone."

Charles Duncan, co-publisher of the Republic of Texas Magazine, wishes the factions would stop the infighting and focus on gaining Texas' independence.

Last week, the magazine Duncan publishes came out with a new format and new name - Texas Independence Magazine - dropping its direct link to the Republic. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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