East Texas

By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer

JACKSONVILLE — During a Friday morning news conference, Jacksonville Police disclosed new findings and new charges against House of Israel member Robert Fox stemming from an ongoing investigation.

Detective Jason Price said Fox now faces barratry charges. Fox bonded out after his June arrest on two counts of unauthorized practice of law.

According to www.law.com, barratry, a third-degree felony, relates to the improper solicitation of legal advice and “stirring up disputes and quarrels generally for the benefit of the lawyer who sees fees in the matter.” Barratry is illegal in all states but prosecution, punishment and discipline by the state bar depend on proving lawsuits are groundless.

Price said police currently do not know Fox’s whereabouts but that he will be arrested when he is located. Price said enforcement officers believe him to be in the Austin area or still in the Jacksonville area. Police avoided calling Fox violent but Chief Reece Daniel called the man a dangerous individual.

“Timothy McVeigh was the lightning,” Daniel said. “People like Robert Fox are the lightning rods that convince others to bomb buildings.”

During a search of the House of Israel building on Main Street, police found a handwritten document that police said, praised convicted Oklahoma bombers McVeigh and Terry Nichols. The document said that both men should be acknowledged as patriots, according to police.

Police also found documentation Fox had filed in the state of Virginia in which he attempted to become legal counsel for John Walker Lindh, an American citizen captured in Afghanistan fighting for the Taliban. Lindh was represented by a well-known and respected California lawyer and former prosecutor James Brosnahan.

Fox and other House of Israel members arrested previously by Jacksonville police, Steven Lee Jackson and David Baugh, both of Missouri, were described as anti-government and anti-establishment by police. Fox has personal and documented ties to Republic of Texas and the Sovereignty Movement, according to police.

Jackson is in federal prison in Springfield, Mo., awaiting an August hearing concerning evidence in his case. He is charged with manufacture and possession of an illegal firearm. Multiple sources confirmed that the device in question was an unlicensed silencer. He could face the possibility of 36 or 48 months of federal incarceration on that charge. Baugh remains in Cherokee County jail awaiting extradition back to Missouri where he failed to maintain the terms of his probation stemming from a driving without a driver’s license felony. Three no-license incidents warrant a Class D felony in the state.

Fox’s present charges relate to practicing law without a license and possession of a controlled substance and dangerous drugs. He was initially arrested in May for possession of more than 10,000 pills including pain killers and antibiotics. Further investigation led to a second arrest for unauthorized practice of law. Fox bonded out for a combined $90,000 associated with the separate arrests.

According to police he had no previous felony record that they are aware of within the U.S. Fox, a Canadian citizen, was found not guilty in a dangerous driving incident that killed a father and son riding on a motorcycle in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, in the late 1980s. That ruling was overturned by an appellate court which found him guilty and Fox subsequently fled the country.

Fox, known then as Robert Fotti, changed his name in the Bahamas and aside from a resident alien number has no legal U.S. identification. Fake documentation, police said, appearing to represent a passport, Social Security card and birth certificate with Fox’s name and likeness were found during the investigation.

Price described Fox as “very charismatic and intelligent” and that he deeply believes in what he does and “goes to great lengths to conceal what he is doing.” Police are continuing to file through boxes of documents, Price said, and have initiated a data search of seven computers confiscated from the House of Israel building.

Price said numerous members of the Jacksonville community, including “professionals, business owners and laypersons,” have been linked to Fox. Price said police are attempting to determine what the nature of those associations are as the investigation continues.

Price said police had been in contact with the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding Fox but have received little interest in the case. Price said IRS agents believe there was not enough money involved to pursue a case. ICE could not deport Fox for the initial charges. Daniel sees Fox and the House of Israel as potentially dangerous to the community.

“How far do we have to go before we take this seriously?” he said. “This man if he is not a terrorist, I don’t know what is.”

BRIEFING: Jacksonville Police Detective Jason Price briefs the media during a news conference about alleged terrorism suspect Robert Fox at the Jacksonville Police Department on Friday.
((Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero))