Local Officials Seek FBI's Help With Extremists

The FBI said Monday that it is being inundated with calls from local government officials asking for assistance in dealing with anti-government extremists, officials said.

Stuart McArthur, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, said the extremists -- part of the "sovereign citizen" movement that advocates a rejection of government authority, taxes and laws -- have the potential to prompt violence in their day-to-day encounters with police, judges, inspectors and other local government officials.

McArthur said the movement, which first rose to prominence in the 1990s when anti-government fervor produced Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, has shown signs of escalating criminal activity. "Our focus has been increasing," McArthur said.

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