SEIZED ARMS WERE DESTINED FOR EXTREMISTS, OFFICIALS SAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000201020001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 28, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/18: CIA-RDP73-00475R000201020001-2
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Investigators examine, some of the machine guns seized by. state and
federal officials at the Erquiaga Arms Co. in the City 'of ,Industry, Calif.
?AP Wirephoto.
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' INDUSTRY, Calif. (AP) --
Machine guns and records of
their manufacture seized at an
arms factory were held for cx-
?amination Saturday by federal,
.state and local authorities who
:believe they were destined for
?use by extremist groups. The
plant operator denies it.
The 373 weapons, 100.000
rounds of ammunition and three
silencers used for testing the
guns were confiscated at the
Erquiaga Arms Co. on Friday
by 30 officers armed with a
se.nrch warrant.
Said State Atty. Gen. .Thomas
Lynch: "Speed was necessary in
this raid, since our office has
definite information that some of
these. illegal weapons were in-
tended for private armies . in
?
Identifies 'Armies'
. A spokesman for the attorney
' general's 'office later identified
the "private armies" as among
others the Minutemen and
?
ed
head of Knudson Mfg. Co. and: Four employes were in the'
opeiator of the Erquiaga 'Arms- plant at the time of the raid.
None were arrested.
The guns, which agents said
were in racks when they entered
the plant, are about 20 inches
long, and are fitted with 'a pistol
grip instead of a stock...Agents
_
;aid they appear to fire a 9mm-
cartridge at the rate of 950
rounds per minute.
A spokesman for the attorney
*general's office said the Minute-
men and Rangers, for whom.
they believe the arms were des-
tined, are similar groups ? vo-
lunteer armies Who train in
guerrilla warfare.
? The spokesmen said that the
Minutemen's philosophy is that
Americans eventually will have
to revolt to retain their freedom,
and at that time the Minutemen
will be armed and ready. to leadthem..
Lynch has proposed state leg.
hilatioh that would outlaw such
organizations in California. .: ?
Co. told newsmen.
.
"We have a purchase order
from the Costa Rica government
fw. 500 automatic machine pis-
tols which we are filling.
"We are licensed by the In-
ternal Revenue Service and
working with the approval of the
U.S. State Department in mak-
ing these machine guns, which
we understand are to be used by1
Cubans in fighting Castro,"
Knudson said.
?
Warrant Issued
Sheriff's Lt. E. D. Villines,
who led the raid, acknowledged
that the firm has a federal
cense to make the weapons, but
said it lacks state authorization'
for manufacture, possession,'
sale or transportation of Such
weapons. On these grounds, Ci-
trus Municipal Court issued the
search warrant.
",It has never been my under-!
Rangers.
standing that the state had any-,
?
"Th3 talk of our making, guns thing to do with ns this business,":
far nrivnip nrrniAc ?f said Knudson. . .
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/18: CIA-RDP73-00475R000201020001-2