Court documents detail investigations into southern Ohio militia members

More information about two members of a regional militia were disclosed following a detention hearing this week in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.

A federal grand jury indicted Ryan D. King, 37, of Franklin, and Randy D. Goodman, 53, of Ripley, on charges of possessing unregistered explosives and conspiring to possess a destructive device, a violation of the National Firearms Act. The indictments were unsealed Monday, and both men were arrested that day.

Both men were taken before a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati on Monday for initial appearances and on Wednesday for a detention hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Litkovitz concluded that both men should be detained pending trial. Both men are being held without bond in the Butler County Jail.

The detention order said King described his intent to make the devices lethal and to make the destructive devices “anti-personnel” — devices that are used to maim or kill persons not protected by metal or armor.

A search of King’s residence, where he lived with his wife and two small children, revealed numerous firearms, including semi-automatic weapons, 2000 rounds of ammunition, and a “project box” containing an improvised switching device, according to the detention order.

Goodman was also identified as the de facto leader of a local militia group who is trained in survival tactics in the detention order.

In Goodman’s detention order, it made the same determinations. It also said Goodman “engaged in ongoing discussions and actions to design and construct destructive devices that were intended to inflict serious injury or death. The defendant repeatedly referenced the Boston Marathon bombing as an example of a remote detonation system that was successful and his desire to use the “same type of concept.”

The order also noted that Goodman had detonated explosive devices called a “crater maker” at his 120-acre farm in Ripley. In addition, the order noted that a search of Goodman’s residence “revealed a pipe that had been thrown as part of the testing of the destructive devices, numerous firearms, including semi-automatic weapons, numerous rounds of ammunition, and high capacity magazines that were loaded.”

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