NC’s Version Of Y’all Qaeda Wanted To Go To War To Stop Jade Helm

Left to right, North Carolina's Y'all Qaeda--Christopher Barker, Christopher Campbell, and Walter Litteral (mugshot courtesy United States Department of Justice via WTVD)
Left to right, North Carolina’s Y’all Qaeda–Christopher Barker, Christopher Campbell, and Walter Litteral (mugshot courtesy United States Department of Justice via WTVD)

Believe it or not, before the Bundy brothers and their friends rose to infamy this winter, a mini-militia was rearing its head just a few miles west of me in Gastonia, North Carolina. Last spring, a former Marine and two of his friends got bitten by the conspiracy bug. They thought the Jade Helm exercises were a prelude to martial law–and were prepared to go to war to stop it. Well, all it got them was an all-expenses-paid trip to federal prison.

Early in 2015, Walter Litteral of Gastonia grew really worried about Jade Helm. He was one of many people from across the country who thought Jade Helm was the first step to a full-fledged military takeover. With his two friends, Christopher Campbell of Gastonia and Christopher Barker of Mount Holly, he began preparing for the impending battle. Starting in June, Litteral, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm who earned a Bronze Star, began stockpiling gunpowder, gas masks, ammunition, and body armor.

Litteral planned to create a host of explosives with Campbell’s help. He boasted about making pipe bombs with as much firepower as a couple of grenades. He also wanted to build IEDs made of coffee cans and tennis balls. He was also prepared in case the government barged into his house in Gastonia or a bunker he planned to build in Clover, South Carolina–just over the border from Gastonia. Both houses would have been booby-trapped.

I know what you’re thinking–this doesn’t sound like a guy going to war, but someone on drugs. Well, that may have been literally true. According to court documents, Litteral was popping hydrocodone and oxycodone like candy. He was taking over 300 pills per month, and sold several of them to Barker.

Unknown to Litteral, his scheme ran aground soon after it was launched. He got most of his arsenal from a gun dealer in Gastonia. That dealer soon got suspicious about Litteral’s talk, and tipped off the FBI. Litteral may have realized something was amiss when he tried to buy an AR-15-style assault rifle for Barker. By this time, the FBI knew that Barker was a convicted felon–and thus banned from even possessing a gun. When the FBI kiboshed the sale, Litteral snarled on the phone that he would have “no problem shooting the suits” if he encountered them.

That conversation, along with several others, was recorded. On the strength of those conversations, all three of these “patriots” were arrested in August and charged with numerous firearm and drug offenses. Unlike the members of Oregon’s Y’all Qaeda, Campbell and Barker saw the handwriting on the wall and pleaded guilty to firearms charges in September. In January, both learned that the price for their attempt to start a war would be 21 months in federal prison.

Litteral joined them on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States, making false statements about the purchase of the AR-15, and aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Litteral’s lawyer, John Davis, claimed his client was suffering from PTSD. Hogwash, said federal prosecutor Michael Savage, who claimed that Litteral and his cohorts posed a serious threat. Federal judge Frank Whitney chastised Litteral for breaking his oath to uphold the Constitution, and sentenced him to 22 months in prison and three years’ probation. With credit for time served and good behavior, all three men could be out of jail by this time next year.

These three “patriots” really don’t know how lucky they got after their attempt to start a war was foiled.. Given the circumstances, they could have spent the rest of their lives in prison–the same fate that awaits the Bundy gang. From where I’m sitting, the real patriot is that gun dealer who was unnerved by Litteral’s rants. Someone needs to get this guy a medal.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.