"Scores Killed, Hundreds Injured As
Para-Military Extremists Riot.
BOSTON, April 20 - National Guard units
seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were
ambushed on April 19th by elements of a para-military extremist faction.
Military and law enforcement sources estimated that 72 were killed and more
than 20 injured before government forces were compelled to
withdraw.
Speaking after the clash, Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage
declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens,
has links to the radical right-wing tax protest movement. Gage blamed
the extremists for recent incidents of vandalism directed against
internal revenue offices.
The governor, who described the group's
organizers as "criminals," issued an executive order authorizing the summary
arrest of any individual who has interfered with the government's efforts to
secure law and order.
The military raid on the extremist arsenal
followed wide-spread refusal by the local citizenry to turn over recently
outlawed assault weapons. Gage issued a ban on military-style assault weapons
and ammunition earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting
in early April between government and military leaders at which
the governor authorized the forcible confiscation of illegal arms.
One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed
out that "none of these people would have been killed had the
extremists obeyed the law and turned their weapons over
voluntarily."
"Government troops initially succeeded in confiscating a
large supply of outlawed weapons and ammunition. However, troops attempting
to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington met with resistance
from heavily-armed extremists who had been tipped off regarding
the government's plans.
During a tense standoff in Lexington's town
park, National Guard Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government
operation, ordered the armed group to surrender and return to their homes.
The impasse was broken by a single shot, which was reportedly fired by one of
the right-wing extremists. Eight civilians were killed in the
ensuing exchange.
Ironically, the local citizenry blamed government
forces rather than the extremists for the civilian deaths. Before order could
be restored, armed citizens from surrounding areas had descended upon
the guard units. Colonel Smith, finding his forces overmatched by
the armed mob, ordered a retreat.
Governor Gage has called upon
citizens to support the state/national joint task force in its effort to
restore law and order. The governor has also demanded the surrender of those
responsible for planning and leading the attack against the government
troops. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock, who have been identified
as "ringleaders" of the extremist faction, remain at large."
