RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Freemen were a group of people who did not recognize any form of the U.S. government, be it the Justice Department, be it the banking system, be it the IRS. They had set themselves up on this 900 acre ranch in this very remote part of Montana. What they called their own sovereign state. They began writing bogus checks, billions of dollars worth of liens against people all over the state of Montana, state legislators, law enforcement people. There were threats made to kill a federal judge. The first week in June, the FBI cut off all electricity to the ranch, which really, you know, they could no longer send their faxes, they could no longer send out their checks, make phone calls. It did become the longest standoff in U.S. history. It lasted 81 days. In the days preceding the time that they surrendered. Edwin Clark, who actually owned the ranch, was taken off the ranch and flown to Billings. He, apparently, talked about what the terms of the surrender would be. He came back, that was June 11th, and by the 13th of June, that was when 16 of the Freemen surrendered to the FBI. There was not a shot fired. It was very peaceful. Twelve of them were convicted of charges, including bank fraud and writing false checks.
CNN 20: Freemen Standoff Ends, June 13, 1996