No bond for Hutarees during appeal review

DETROIT, May 11 (UPI) -- An appeals court ruled Hutaree followers charged with plotting to overthrow the U.S. government will remain jailed during an appeal of their release on bond.

The three-judge panel of 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday continued the temporary stay of U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts' decision to release the Lenawee County, Mich., Christian militia followers pending a review of the appeal, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

The panel, which promised an expedited review, also expressed concerns about releasing the men to third-party custodians, including relatives.

"Each of the appointed third-party custodians is a close relative of his or her defendant -- a family member who would presumably have a strong natural incentive not to cooperate with the very government that is prosecuting his or her loved one," the judges wrote.

Roberts ruled last week the defendants could be released on bond until trial but prosecutors obtained a temporary stay while the order was being appealed.

The nine members, including suspected Hutaree leader David Stone, 45, of Clayton, Mich., were arrested in FBI raids in March on charges of plotting the violent overthrow of the U.S. government and attempting to use weapons of mass destruction.

"It sounds to me like we're just going to have to continue working and advocating on behalf of our clients,"

William Swor, a Detroit attorney representing Stone, told The Detroit News. "We're not quitting. We're not giving up. We're going to continue to try to get them released."