Lindstedt asks Joos to consider attorney change

As the trial date in a federal weapons case involving Robert Joos nears, another self-proclaimed white supremacist has written Joos in prison, asking “someone like myself” represent the Powell man.

In a letter written Wednesday and posted on his blog site, Martin Lindstedt, pastor of the “Church of Jesus Christ Christian / Aryan Nations of Missouri,” asked Joos to consider asking for a delay in the trial.

“So could you ask for someone like myself to be your counsel of choice?” Lindstedt wrote. “Then, if you do get convicted, you can put in a claim that the district ‘korts’ and ‘prostitutors’ violated yet another one of your rights under the ‘CONstipation” and ‘Bill of Goods’.”

Lindstedt also told Joos it would be best if he fired his public defender.

“But if you are going to try your own case, or get your counsel of choice, then you need to have access to a law library before you get railroaded,” he said. “So you will need another couple of months for a continuance to prepare while the ‘kort’ digests your objections. It is stupid to help the railroad continue.”

Joos has filed motions with the federal district court in Springfield to delay the trial, due to start Monday, so he could have his public defender, Darryl Johnson, removed from the case. According to the handwritten motions, Joos wants to act as his own attorney and requests 60 days to prepare for trial.

Joos has pleaded not guilty to federal weapons charges and is being held without bond. He was arrested in late June as part of an investigation into a 2004 mail bombing in Scottsdale, Ariz., that injured a black city official.

Federal prosecutors say an investigation found that people involved in the white supremacist movement in the U.S. met for survival training at Joos’ property in McDonald County. Joos owns 200 acres near Powell, and is pastor of the Sacerdotal Church of David.

Two twin brothers, Dennis and Daniel Mahon, were arrested at their home in Davis Junction, Ill., in late June in connection with the bombing. A probable cause affidavit filed to support the arrest alleges the first call Dennis Mahon made after the bombing was to a cell phone registered to Joos. One of the Mahons has described Joos as “an expert on weapons, explosives, bomb making and general survival skills,” according to a probable cause affidavit.

Joos is also seeking some $23 million in damages from the federal government for alleged constitutional rights violations.

Lindstedt repeatedly claimed he had been railroaded by various law enforcement agencies, including the Newton County Sheriff’s Department and the county prosecutor’s office, when he was charged in 2005 with child sexual abuse charges involving a young family member. The incidents allegedly took place sometime between March and August 2003. The charges were dropped in early 2009 by the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney Jake Skouby, although, according to Bill Dobbs, assistant prosecutor, the charges could be refiled at a later date. The prosecutor’s office has until 10 years after the child’s 18th birthday to refile the charges.
Lindstedt was charged with 22 counts of contempt of court in the summer of 2005, issued after several outbursts during court proceedings. Those counts were set aside in June 2006 when he was admitted to the Fulton State Hospital.

In July 2007, Lindstedt was ordered to allow the court to appoint a public defender to act as his legal counsel after the Granby resident balked at reading and signing a waiver for court appointed counsel. The document would have allowed Lindstedt to act as his own attorney. However, Lindstedt said he balked at the waiver because he wanted to enter a 10-page motion and writ of habeas corpus declaring he has been improperly imprisoned, a violation of his civil rights. Lindstedt contended the state did not have the authority to commit him to the state hospital as it was done without trial. While in the state hospital, Lindstedt called the Daily News several times, telling reporters he was denied access to a law library.

In 1985, Joos was charged with simulating legal process when he attempted to serve a bogus federal injunction on retired trooper Merle Graham to prevent the arrest of Taren Wood, a Joos associate. The following year, a McDonald County jury found Joos guilty of the misdemeanor and he was sentenced to six months in the county jail, plus a $400 fine.

Joos appealed the verdict, but it was upheld by the appellate court, which issued a warrant for Joos’ arrest in 1987. Joos remained at large until June 29, 1994, when two troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol — Sgt. Steve Dorsey and the late Cpl. Bobbie Harper — arrested Joos after a scuffle. A search of Joos’ van revealed a loaded .32 caliber, five-shot revolver, which was in an opaque plastic bag between the van’s seats.

In September 1994, Harper was shot sniper style through a window of his home while he was preparing a dish of ice cream. Harper, who was recovering from a liver transplant, did not die in the attack, but never returned to work. Harper died in 1996 after a heart operation. A Joos associate, Timothy Coombs, was suspected in the shooting. Coombs remains at large.

In 2004, Joos was convicted of operating a motor vehicle without a license. During a 2002 hearing, he told the court he had no intention of obtaining a Missouri driver’s license, saying he is a “servant of God and can have no covenant with the heathen government.” After a court appearance that year, he told a Daily News reporter that he believes he does not have to have a driver’s license as he does not transport goods or people for hire.

Joos was hospitalized in November 2004 as a result of a hunger strike.