Oregon occupation 'reporter' has history of bomb making, illegal weapons

Michael R. Emry figured out on his own how to build a potent bomb that a major drug dealer needed to kill an associate. Emry cobbled together the parts – a clock from Walmart, a circuit board from Radio Shack and a pound of plastic explosive bought off an acquaintance. He put the finished device in a paper bag, which in turn went into the shoe box he presented to a man who originally hired him to fix car transmissions. Emry is the man some residents of Grant County turned to in recent weeks to help them air their anti-government views and form a private committee to press those views. Emry, 54, described himself as an "embedded reporter" with an Idaho militia group during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildilfe Refuge earlier this year. He left Boise recently for John Day to start up a media venture with pro-militia leanings. Now, Emry is heading back to federal court, this time in Eugene and to face his own charges. The FBI arrested him Friday, charging him with illegally possessing a .50-caliber machine gun. An affidavit described how agents found the weapon during a search of his travel trailer and vehicles at the county-owned RV park in John Day...more