Missing Flathead terrorist to be featured on TV

A fugitive who led a terrorist group in Flathead County a dozen years ago will be a featured criminal in CNN’s new show “The Hunt With John Walsh” on Sunday, Aug. 3, at 7 and 10 p.m.

David Burgert formed the armed anti-government group and named it Project 7 after the Flathead County license plate (a militia group in Lincoln County was known as Project 56, but its leader disavowed any connection to the Flathead group).

According to Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont at the time, Project 7’s bizarre plan called for assassinating local government officials, particularly judges and law enforcement, in an attempt to lure National Guard troops to the Flathead. The militiamen believed the public would then rise up against the troops, and a revolution would spread across the U.S., toppling the government.

Following tips from an informant and an armed standoff, Burgert was arrested by Flathead County sheriff’s deputies in February 2002 and handed over to the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for prosecution.

Burgert was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Missoula in September 2003. Judge Donald Molloy referred to Burgert’s mental health issues when he sentenced the militia leader to two concurrent terms of seven years each in a federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and being in possession of an illegal machine gun.

Burgert’s girlfriend during this time, Tracey Brockway, worked as a cleaning woman at the Whitefish Police Department and provided the militia with addresses for local government officials. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Chance Chezem, a satellite TV installer from Martin City who ran as a Libertarian candidate for Flathead County sheriff in 2002, was sentenced four years later to 15 months for his role in the Project 7 conspiracy.

Other Project 7 members who were sentenced in federal court included James Day, John Slater and Steven Morey. All faced firearms charges.

Burgert was under supervised release following his recent release from federal prison when he got into a shooting incident with law enforcement near Lolo in June 2011. The incident began when a deputy checked out a vehicle at the Fort Fizzle Historic Site.

Burgert allegedly sped away in a Jeep Cherokee up U.S. 12 as far as Wagon Mountain before exchanging shots with officers and then fleeing into the woods on foot. An intensive manhunt followed, but he was never seen again.

Media stories about his disappearance often cited Burgert’s reported outdoor survival skills and military experience. Now he is the featured fugitive on the second half hour of Sunday’s “The Hunt With John Walsh” episode. The show was produced by Zero Point Zero Production Inc.