McLaren, 47, and the five other defendants were charged with violating the National Firearms Act for possessing illegal firearms, explosive bombs and bomb-making materials, and deploying the devices in a tactical manner at their self-proclaimed embassy in the Davis Mountains.
When McLaren and his followers surrendered May 3, 1997, to Texas Rangers, a search of the Republic's base found pipe bombs, anti-personnel explosive devices, a propane tank bomb and 5-gallon gasoline cans wired with detonating devices, the indictment alleged.
McLaren and four other Republic members surrendered peacefully after negotiations with the Rangers, but two members fled into the rugged mountains. One was killed in a shootout with pursuing officers, and the second was captured months later in southeast Texas.
Republic of Texas members believe the state was illegally annexed by the United States in 1845 and remains an independent nation. McLaren, who called himself the Republic's ambassador, led the movement from a small shack he called the "embassy."
In addition to McLaren, the indictment charged Robert "White Eagle" Otto, 49; Robert Jonathon Scheidt, 46; Richard Frank Keyes III, 25; Gregg William Paulson, 49; and Karen Simon Paulson, 37. All of the defendants, except Scheidt, were already in custody, federal officials said.
Schiedt was arrested Thursday in Albuquerque, N.M., on the federal charges, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Carruth. He was held after a detention hearing Monday and ordered returned to Texas to face the new charges.
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