As Thomas pushed himself in a vain effort to eke out a few more yards, he could almost feel the nagging doubts that he harbored over the future of his country. Unable to go on, he slowed and lapsed into an easy walk. For several minutes he ambled on, staring up into the cloudless morning sky as fat beads of sweat formed on his forehead before starting their downward race along the sides of his face. A few made their way down through his thick blond brows until they were stinging his brown eyes. Exhausted from his vain effort to beat one mile’s worth of track, GO wiped the sweat from his eyes. With a shake of his head, he looked about, enjoying the last few moments of solitary peace he would have until he closed his bedroom door some time around ten P.M. that night.

What little joy he derived from his run on this late summer morning was further diminished by the prospect of the coming day. This would be the day when a Federal judge in Boise would hear arguments concerning a change in venue for the militiamen accused of planning and executing the May raid against the FBI in Wyoming. Though it was clearly a Federal case, the manner in which the FBI and the Justice Department had conducted its investigation of the men, their arrests, and their prosecution to date was considered an affront to many in Idaho. From the state’s Attorney General, to the average citizen, there had been ceaseless cries of outrage over the incident. This was particularly true in Pocatello, where a fire started by the FBI during one of their arrests had resulted in the loss of an entire city block.

Thus far Thomas had been able to stay clear of the fracas, save for an occasional speech in which he condemned the FBI and the Justice Department. Under his state’s constitution and Federal law, there was nothing he could do other than use the incident as political capital. How long this “hands off” policy would last depended on where the defendants were to be tried. Polls in Idaho showed that an overwhelming majorty of the people wanted to see the trial held in Boise, where the men could be judged, according to one radio talk show host, by their peers. Montana, while not quite home, came in a close second.