Richard Lee Jr Guthrie

An admitted member of a right-wing extremist group of bank robbers was found dead of an apparent suicide Friday morning in a county jail in Kentucky, jolting a growing federal investigation into white supremacist violence. The death of 38-year-old Richard Lee Guthrie Jr. came little more than a week after his pledge--according to a sealed plea agreement in U.S. District Court--to provide authorities with information about organizations "whose goal is the overthrow of the U.S.

An admitted member of a right-wing extremist group of bank robbers was found dead of an apparent suicide Friday morning in a county jail in Kentucky, jolting a growing federal investigation into white supremacist violence. The death of 38-year-old Richard Lee Guthrie Jr. came little more than a week after his pledge--according to a sealed plea agreement in U.S. District Court--to provide authorities with information about organizations "whose goal is the overthrow of the U.S.

For nearly two years, a gang of bank robbers roamed the Midwest, displaying a warped sense of humor, a fondness for pipe bombs and sympathy for the militia movement. Depending on the season, they left their bombs in a Santa Claus hat or nestled in the grass of an Easter basket. In one holdup, they wore caps that said ATF, as in the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms--the agency involved in the fiery siege in Waco, Texas, in 1993.

For nearly two years, a gang of bank robbers roamed the Midwest, displaying a warped sense of humor, a fondness for pipe bombs and sympathy for the militia movement. Depending on the season, they left their bombs in a Santa Claus hat or nestled in the grass of an Easter basket. In one holdup, they wore caps that said ATF, as in the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms--the agency involved in the fiery siege in Waco, Texas, in 1993.