Suspect: He was prepared to kill

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- A Carson City resident who invaded a Russian River compound told a newspaper he was prepared to kill in order to end the human sacrifices he thought were being conducted there.

Richard McCaslin, who moved to Carson City from Texas earlier this month, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat he had been planning the assault on the Bohemian Grove near Monte Rio for about a year.

McCaslin was arrested Sunday by Sonoma County deputies after starting a small fire in a building.

He was wearing camouflage fatigues, body armor and a skeleton mask and was armed with a loaded assault weapon, a pistol, a crossbow, a sword, a knife and a homemade bomb launcher.

The paper interviewed McCaslin, who calls himself the "Phantom Patriot," in the county jail's psychiatric wing Monday night. The former Marine said he expected heavy resistance but said he was prepared to kill to alert people to sacrifices he believes are conducted at the grove.

After his arrest, he told detectives that he had come to the Bohemian Grove to kill child molesters and those performing human sacrifices.

"He planned on killing people," said Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Brown. "He planned on confronting people doing these weird things."

His fears were based on a videotape released a few years ago by radio talk show host Alex Jones, who claims on his Web site that "bizarre, Luciferian ceremonies" take place at the grove.

"He thinks (Timothy) McVeigh was programmed by the government to blow up Oklahoma City. And that (Osama) bin Laden has a company that George Bush is a partner in," Brown said of McCaslin. "But he's not dumb. His beliefs are just a little different."

According to Carson City Chief Deputy Scott Burau, McCaslin rented an apartment on Imperial Way Jan. 11. McCaslin allowed Sonoma County investigators to search the apartment, which they did on Monday. No weapons were found in the apartment.

McCaslin was to be arraigned today on a half-dozen felony charges.

Every summer, the Bohemian Grove hosts an invitation-only gathering of influential conservative business and political leaders.