• Read the charging documents.
FAIRBANKS — Authorities arrested the leader of the Second Amendment Task Force, who also helped form a citizens militia, on a charge of felony assault with a weapon on Monday.
Schaeffer Cox, 26, is accused of using a weapon to harm a family member, according to Alaska State Trooper Mark Hendrickson. Whether the alleged weapon was a firearm was not known late Monday. The trooper investigating the assault report was not available.
Hendrickson, a supervisor, said the complainant is a family member who went to Wasilla to report the assault. The incident reportedly happened a few days ago in the Fairbanks area.
A warrant was issued, and Cox turned himself in Monday at about 3 p.m. without incident, Hendrickson said.
An official with the booking office at the Fairbanks Correctional Center said Cox posted $3,500 bail.
According to Alaska Statute, second-degree assault involves causing physical injury to another person by means of a dangerous instrument.
Cox is accused of assaulting a woman Thursday on a drive to Anchorage. The assault did not involve a firearm, according to Alaska State Troopers.
An affidavit by an investigating officer said Cox got in an argument with the victim and punched her in the arm.
After the victim commented again, Cox grabbed her throat, pinned her against the door and squeezed her neck, choking her, the affidavit alleges. Cox eventually stopped and sat back in his seat before driving on to Anchorage.
According to the complaint, an Anchorage police officer contacted the victim and saw a fingernail scrape and minor bruising, redness and swelling on her neck.
An attempt to reach Cox on his cell phone was unsuccessful.
Cox is a mountain climber, carpenter and the son of a Baptist preacher. He started the Second Amendment Task Force early last year after an unsuccessful bid for the Alaska Legislature. He challenged District 7 Rep. Mike Kelly in the 2008 Republican primary.
The purpose of the Second Amendment Task Force, according to Cox’s Web site, www.schaefferforstatehouse.com, is to fight laws that infringe the right to bear arms.
Cox has organized multiple high-profile meetings and rallies promoting gun rights and personal freedoms. A three-hour “Freedom Fest” was held at the Carlson Center last April.
Cox’s efforts have caught the attention of groups such as the Interior Alaska Conservative Coalition and the Alaskan Independence Party.
In December, Cox was a speaker at a rally in Post Falls, Idaho., organized by the Friends of Liberty Coalition, the Spokesman-Review newspaper reported.
Cox spoke about the need to remove the stigma from the word militia, the newspaper reported. About 3,500 people reportedly belong to an Alaska militia organized by Cox.
Contact staff writer Amanda Bohman at
459-7544.
Remember what Ron Paul always says: "This is not my Revolution, it's yours."
We are all human, we make mistakes, this event does not change Schaeffer's message, but it definitely make a mockery that will make it very hard for him to redeem himself.
The message stays the same. Perhaps we can all learn from this.
Also, the NRA is a much more organized way of supporting gun rights. I encourage all who support our right to bear arms to join. I always encouraged Schaeffer to remember what the 2nd Amend. first line is: "A well regulated militia..." This means that the leaders of militias need to be of sound mind.
Those out there who are discouraged and have lost faith in the movement, DON'T. We can all learn from this.
Again, pray for Schaffer, that he will learn of his mistake, and find peace.
Violence is about reinforcing power and control by using whatever means necessary: threats, cajoling, manipulating, humiliating, harassing, name-calling, degrading, etc.
And when those things don't work, resorting to a physical tool to reinforce power and control: Violence, threats of violence toward self or others (aka physical abuse or sexual abuse).
Healthy relationships are equality based.
I honestly can say I haven't been tempted to slam my spouse's head in a car door during a vicious argument. Of course we've never had vicious arguments...
/15 years...
Schaeffer has, for better or for worse, worked hard to make himself a prominent member in the Fairbanks community. So when something like this happens to him, it's going to generate local interest. I don't think the News-Miner's coverage of this event is an attempt to defame the man out of a dislike for his movement or policies, it's just that publishing this ---> local interest ---> more eyeballs glued to their website ---> their traffic numbers go up...
...and if the length of this comment thread is any indication, it's working.
I challenge anyone who has been married for longer than a year to honestly say they haven't been tempted to slam their spouse's head in a car door during a vicious argument. A part of being a responsible adult is to recognize that impulse as a mistake, and to not act on it. Schaeffer made a mistake and acted on it.
Reading back over that last paragraph makes it sound like I'm excusing what Schaeffer did, and that's not my intention, domestic violence is a very serious and ugly thing. But to suggest that Schaeffer is off his rocker because of this or that his whole Second Amendment movement is a dangerous gang of violent froth-mouthed thugs seems like a pretty unreasonable extrapolation.
I personally don't agree that it's a good idea for people to walk around with concealed handguns. I can see how some people would. As long as those people don't shoot anybody I don't think there's really that much of a problem. Can't we all just get along?
The reason for this posting is to raise a certain awareness, that we are all capable of making the same mistakes and that instead of attacking each other, we should lift each other up in love.
Let me begin by saying that I do not support many of the ideas that Schaeffer put forward in a lot of his speeches, I have had a many late night conversations with him and I know Schaeffer to be a very hard working young man with a very good sense of humor and a way of looking at the world that is very unconventional.
Schaeffer is human like the rest of us, he made a mistake, and it's entirely possible that he might make more. I would offer this up to the group commenting here: Instead of attacking his hat, or his parents for giving him the name Schaeffer, or wondering where he gets all of his money from, because let me tell you that he earned every single penny of it with his bare hands. Rather, instead of making all of these ridiculous claims, pray for him. Pray that God brings him to a place of repentance and gives him peace. That is what is needed here.
We all make mistakes, and yes, I will admit that Schaeffer is known for his controversial ways, but please, let's offer him and his beautiful wife and child our support during this time so that this family can heal.
It's very easy to tear someone down or make pre-conceived conclusions on a website where your face does not have to be shown.
"Cox Choked Wife"... Seriously? Why didn't you print what the headline is on the online story?
The News Miner needs to STOP with the unprofessional "slip of tongue" headlines. Everyone got all offended when we had "A broad abroad" but no one mentions this one?
I don't even care about Palin or Cox, but seriously: GROW UP, NEWSROOM.
Trial by news paper gossip!
I thought witch hunting went out of favor years ago.
By the way Thomas Jefferson was an atheist.
I appreciate his effort to protect my freedom of thought!
Without it I would lost my head long ago!
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To, me it like taking a side in a "lover's quarrel".
Anyone ever consider, in marital frights calling the cops is done to help leverage a divorce/ child custody cases in court.
One of the more popular complaint filed is a false claim of child child molestation.
vyokr
Truthinnews, ignore them. Some of these people wouldn't know how to hold a real conversation if their lives depended on it.
TAC, I think it would have been deadly for the chicken...
you're correct, not all of us are 100 percent. Some of us try to think for ourselves and don't follow any political Ideology like a religion.
truthinnews
"It's people like C.P.666 that make me want to become a liberal tree hugger"
It bunny hugger you may also hug trees too.
C.P. whines about anti folks, but he is anti liberal bunny hugger. A stand that not only hypocritical but unfair. Again why can only conservatives hug bunnies?
You must not have been around here yesterday, Fred. A whole bunch of comments about Schaeffer's, um, gun got pulled.
I know the feeling, Truth. These days if you aren't 100% with us, you're 100% against us. Things like "middle ground" and "independent thought" are simply not allowed. So choose a side and mindlessly repeat the lines that are drummed into your head. It works for bump, CurtJ, invictus, and LostAlaskan90210, so it should work for you as well.
I've never met him, everything I know about him was read off a few different news miner stories so who knows if I know anything accurate about him anyway. There are however a few positions he supposedly holds that I would agree with.