FBI, MSP DEFEND SHOOTINGS

The rolling hills and scenic woodlands at the 34-acre Rainbow Farm
Campground provided a stark contrast Wednesday to the charred remains of
the five-day standoff that left two men dead.

The burned-out shell of a Volkswagen Beetle and the lingering smell of
smoke from buildings that were destroyed by fire were a constant reminder
of the violence as state and federal officials worked to find out exactly
what happened.

Grover T. "Tom" Crosslin, 46, was shot from about 25 feet away and Rolland
Rohm, 28, from about 100 to150 yards, law enforcement officials revealed
during a media tour of the campground.

The standoff began Friday when neighbors complained Crosslin, who had
worked for the decriminalization of marijuana, was burning buildings on his
property.

Crosslin was shot by FBI agents in a wooded area about 200 yards south of
the farm's main house while returning from a neighbor's house Monday
evening, said FBI Special Agent in Charge John Bell Jr.

"The agent was secreted behind a tree in an observation post," Bell said,
pointing to the tree and the fire pit in the heavily wooded area where
Crosslin was shot. "When Mr. Crosslin spotted the agent, he raised a gun to
his shoulder, pointed it directly at the agent and the agent fired."

Bell said a coroner's report shows Crosslin was hit more than once, but
would not say exactly how many times Crosslin was shot or if he was shot by
more than one agent. However, Bell did say two agents were involved in the
shooting.

Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood said Crosslin stormed out of the main
house after growing frustrated with negotiators earlier that evening.
Underwood said a camouflaged Crosslin was openly carrying the rifle as he
walked through the woods.

A well-worn two-track littered with beer cans, broken lawn chairs and other
debris led to the site of the shooting from the farm's main house.

Rohm, who lived with Crosslin at the farm, was shot just outside the farm's
main house early Tuesday morning by Michigan State Police from a distance
of 100 to150 yards, said Capt. Richard Dragomer, 5th District state police
commander.

Dragomer said police believed Rohm was going to surrender after a deal was
struck for him to talk with his 13-year-old son who was removed from the
home in May after Crosslin and Rohm, along with three others, were arrested
on drug charges. Police believe the boy's removal may have been a catalyst
for the standoff.

"We were hoping he was going to walk out and end this peacefully after the
negotiations," Dragomer said.

Dragomer said flames starting coming from the main house around 6 a.m., and
when Rohm came out 45 minutes later with his rifle aimed at state police,
officers had no other alternative but to protect themselves.

Two state police officers shot at Rohm across a clear meadow from a tree
line, Dragomer said, though he would not say whether one or both hit him or
how many times he was shot.

Crosslin and Rohm were both brandishing .223-calibre Mini-14 semiautomatic
rifles that were "loaded to the gill" and "ready to fire," Bell said.

As many as 60-75 FBI agents, 30-35 sheriff's deputies, and another 35 state
troopers were called in during the stand-off, according to law enforcement
officials.

Despite the large amount of manpower, law enforcement officials maintained
that at no time did officers take any aggressive action to provoke Crosslin
and Rohm.

"For a majority of the time we were trying to establish negotiations," Bell
said. "There were sets of observer teams stationed along the perimeter of
the farm. They knew we were there -- but these men were allowed to roam freely.

"We were merely acting as observers hoping to find a way to end this
peacefully through negotiations."

Investigators from the FBI, state police and the state fire marshal's
office sifted through the remains Wednesday of the 10 buildings at the
campground that were destroyed by the fire. Nine of the fires were set
Friday and another was set Tuesday at the two-story main house just before
Rohm was shot.

Bell emphasized Crosslin and Rohm set the fires, not police.

Bell said investigators have found the remains of several long guns, a
revolver, hundreds of shell casings and what they believe to be a detonated
pipe bomb and several propane tanks that may have exploded during the fire.

Dragomer and Bell both said no evidence of narcotics has been found on the
farm, but said if any was located within the buildings it would have burned
in the fires.

Bell said further evidence could provide more details into what exactly
these men's operations were at the farm, and why the events unfolded as
they did.

Dori Leo, the lawyer for Crosslin and Rohm, explained why the pair decided
they had no option of leaving the farm alive and provoked police into
shooting them to death in separate but similar incidents 13 hours apart.

"I was stunned Rollie didn't make it," Leo told the Detroit Free Press. "I
knew what would happen to Tom after we talked. Tom was the defiant one. But
Rollie was scared."

Leo, a former Cook County, Ill., prosecutor, wondered why her clients had
to die.

"Why can't we maim them? Or tranquilize them?" she asked.

Leo said she asked the Cass County Sheriff's Department on Friday afternoon
to back off in the hopes Crosslin and Rohm would surrender.

Leo said the sheriff was concerned about public safety.

"Maybe they were justified," she said. "But it's too bad it had to end this
way."

The FBI had 15 to 20 people working the site Wednesday, including members
from the national laboratory in Washington, D.C., who are conducting an
internal investigation, Bell said.

"Anytime an agent fires his gun there is an investigation -- it's normal
business procedure," said Bell.

Bell said two agents -- neither from Southwest Michigan offices -- have
been questioned in the investigation of Crosslin's death, but both remain
on active duty in other areas of the state. Bell would not release the
names or home offices of the agents.

The two state police officers are on paid administrative leave pending the
results of a state investigation, Dragomer said. Those names are also being
withheld.

A sheriff's deputy arrested one protester, Brian McCullough, 38, of
Gilbertville, Ky., on Wednesday at the entrance to the campground and
charged him with disorderly conduct. He posted a $100 cash bond and later
returned to the protest site.

McCullough, who drove to the campground with three other protesters, said
he was arrested after uttering an obscenity to the deputy.

Holding a handwritten sign bearing the words "THEY KILLED THEM," Mesick,
Mich., resident Melody Karr, 37, said she didn't know how long she and her
fellow protesters would continue.

"I think as long as it takes to get some answers," Karr said.