Militia movement figure moves to Las Vegas

      A national figure in the patriot movement says he has severed his militia ties, moved to Las Vegas and may run for sheriff next year.
      "Clark County has the highest rate of IRS raids in the country," said J.J. Johnson, a former utility company worker who co-founded the Ohio Unorganized Militia in 1993. "Perhaps Clark County needs a new sheriff."
      Johnson said he has committed no crimes, supports the U.S. Constitution and -- like 72 percent of the American population -- is disgusted with federal policies.
      "Clinton complains to the Chinese premier about Tiananmen Square, but nobody mentions Waco," he said.
      Johnson, 35, works as an investigator in the 500 N. Rainbow Blvd. law office of his wife, Nancy Lord. She is a physician and a lawyer who in 1992 was the Libertarian Party candidate for vice president. Their practice is national, according to Johnson, and Lord frequently represents patriot leaders.
      They moved to Las Vegas last May, but Johnson said he has not contacted any local militia groups.
      Despite Johnson's statement that he has left his militia days behind him, the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., places him on its list of the most prominent patriot leaders in America. The poverty center publishes a Klanwatch newsletter and monitors militia, hate groups and anti-government movement leaders.
      Mark Potok, center spokesman, said that in a September speech, Johnson called for the naming of a street in New Hampshire after Carl Drega. In August, Drega killed a judge, a weekly newspaper editor and two police officers. The New Hampshire militia quickly disassociated themselves from Drega, who was killed in a shootout with police.
      Potok's organization also is watching Johnson's ties to Aaron Russo, the former Hollywood producer who is a Republican candidate for Nevada governor.
      "There are two faces to J.J. Johnson: The nonviolent patriot who testified to Congress and the activist who calls for naming streets after mass murderers," said Potok, a former USA Today reporter who covered the Waco standoff and the Oklahoma City bombing.
      "It is hard to think of him as a fighter for patriotism when he is saying the murderer of four people 'left a few less folks for us to deal with.' "
      Eighty members of the Branch Davidian religious group died in a fire in their headquarters near Waco, Texas, in 1993 after a 51-day standoff with federal agents.
      Johnson was one of the handful of patriot leaders who testified before the U.S. Senate in 1995 in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing in which 169 died.
      His critics have labeled him the token black of the patriot movement, a political faction they say attracts mostly white supremacists.
      "J.J. Johnson has been put forward again and again to portray that the patriot movement is not lily white," Potok said. "He has become a big man in the movement for that reason. I have no reason to believe he is out of the movement. He continues to speak at patriot gatherings."
      Both Russo and Johnson are incensed by the Southern Poverty Law Center's charges that there is something wrong with their relationship.
      Russo, who is running on an anti-federal government theme, said he has met twice with Johnson and nothing came of those meetings.
      "Some guy walks into my office and they want to smear me," Russo said. "I'm a peaceful guy out of Hollywood who believes in personal freedom. I have never been a militia guy, but I am sick and tired of the federal government dictating our lives."
      Johnson said he is too busy to become involved in Russo's campaign and has not even decided who he supports for governor.
      "My role in his race is none at all," Johnson said.
      But he wants to register more minorities, inform people of their rights as jurors and contemplate a run for sheriff.
      "Freedom and guaranteed civil rights are issues all people should focus on," Johnson said. "People feel alienated in this country."
      He said Potok took his comments that he wanted a street named after a mass murderer out of context. Still he apologizes for what he said about Drega.
      "The fact the poverty law center is still in existence is an indication of their lies about the patriot movement," Johnson said. "If the patriot movement was half as dangerous as they say, then they wouldn't be around."
      On its Internet Web site, the Poverty Law Center lists 858 patriot and militia groups in the United States, including six in Nevada.
      Their Nevada list includes:
      --Nevada Volunteers of Carson City.
      --Common Law Court of Clark County.
      --American Patriot Fax Network in Las Vegas.
      --United States Constitutional Rangers in Las Vegas.
      --U.S. Taxpayers Party of Sparks.
      --Guardians of American Liberties throughout the state.
      Janine Hansen, national treasurer for the Taxpayers Party, bristled at the listing by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
      A veteran Nevada legislative lobbyist for conservative, pro-family causes, Hansen said the Taxpayers Party was on election ballots in 39 states last year. In Nevada, the party is known as the Independent American Party.
      She called the Poverty Law Center a "radical left-wing group that smears anyone with whom they disagree."
      Johnson is more blunt. He accuses the Poverty Law Center of racism and anti-semitism. His wife is Jewish.
      The Montgomery Advertiser reported last year that 12 of 13 former black employers at the center complained of racial problems. The newspaper also said the center has raised $62 million since 1984 but spent only $21 million.
      "I wouldn't give that organization a bit of credibility," Johnson said. "They are engaging in fearmongering to fill their coffers."