page:  = 1985 <unk> assassination plot = 
   
   The 1985 <unk> assassination plot was a conspiracy by a group of high @-@ ranking followers of <unk> <unk> <unk> ( later known as <unk> ) to assassinate Charles Turner , the then @-@ United States Attorney for the District of Oregon . <unk> 's personal secretary and second @-@ in @-@ command , Ma Anand <unk> ( <unk> Silverman ) , assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at <unk> . Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud and <unk> marriages , and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 <unk> <unk> attack in The <unk> , Oregon . 
   The conspirators included : Ma Anand <unk> , <unk> @-@ Anne <unk> , Chief Financial Officer of <unk> ; Susan <unk> , head of security at <unk> , Catherine Jane <unk> , who bought weapons and <unk> and volunteered to be the actual murderer ; Ann <unk> McCarthy , fourth @-@ in @-@ command of <unk> ; and co @-@ conspirators Alma Potter , Carol Matthews , <unk> Caldwell and Richard Kevin <unk> . The conspirators obtained false identification to purchase <unk> out @-@ of @-@ state , <unk> Turner , and planned to murder him near his workplace in Portland , Oregon . The assassination plot was never carried out and was only discovered later , as a result of the investigation by federal law enforcement into the <unk> attack in The <unk> and other illegal acts by the <unk> leadership . 
   Prosecution of the conspirators began in 1990 , when a federal grand jury brought <unk> against several of the key players . Some had fled the country , and <unk> proceedings against the <unk> and subsequent prosecution and conviction was not completed for sixteen years . The final <unk> was convicted in 2006 , when Catherine Jane <unk> agreed to return to the United States from Germany in order to be allowed to visit her ill son in Australia . Eight <unk> received sentences ranging from five years <unk> to five years in federal prison and an additional member of the <unk> commune pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy . <unk> was never <unk> in relation to the conspiracy , and left the United States after pleading guilty to immigration fraud and agreeing not to <unk> the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General . 
   
   = = Planning = = 
   
   
   = = = Hit list = = = 
   
   Seven followers ( called <unk> ) of charismatic leader <unk> <unk> <unk> ( now known as <unk> ) , were convicted of a 1985 conspiracy to assassinate Charles Turner , and an additional <unk> eighth member of the <unk> commune pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy . The <unk> were high @-@ ranking followers within the <unk> organization . <unk> in the case stated that the <unk> had planned to murder Turner after he was appointed to head an investigation into the group 's activities in <unk> , Oregon . Turner 's investigation focused on <unk> marriages organized by the group , as well as other illegal activities including immigration fraud , and he later headed the federal prosecution relating to the 1984 <unk> <unk> attack in The <unk> , Oregon . Oregon Attorney General Dave <unk> was also involved in investigations of the group , working alongside Turner . 
   In May 1985 , <unk> 's personal secretary and second @-@ in @-@ command , <unk> Silverman ( Ma Anand <unk> ) , gathered the leader 's key followers and formed a group of conspirators in order to plan the assassination of Turner , as well as several dissidents among their organization . <unk> stated that Turner 's grand jury investigation " threatened the existence of the commune " , and exposed <unk> and several of his disciples to criminal prosecution . <unk> hoped that by murdering Turner they would be able to thwart the federal immigration investigation which could have resulted in <unk> of <unk> leaders . Three former leaders of the commune including Ma Anand <unk> , <unk> Yvonne <unk> ( Ma Anand <unk> ) , a registered nurse from the Philippines who managed the <unk> medical corporation , and former treasurer of <unk> Foundation International and Catherine Jane <unk> ( Ma <unk> <unk> ) of Australia , put together a hit list which included U.S. Attorney Charles Turner and Oregon Attorney General David <unk> . 
   Susan <unk> ( Ma Anand Su ) , a top official in the <unk> hierarchy , was also a participant in the assassination conspiracy . <unk> was in charge of the security force at <unk> , ran the <unk> Investment Corporation , and supervised construction on the commune . Other conspirators in the assassination plot included Ann <unk> McCarthy ( Ma <unk> <unk> ) , president of the <unk> commune , and Alma Potter ( Ma <unk> <unk> ) , Ma Anand <unk> 's bodyguard and traveling companion . Potter was manager of the Hotel <unk> in Portland , Oregon , and a member of the commune 's security force . The <unk> reported that nine people were on the hit list , including : Turner , <unk> , former assistant attorney general Karen H. Green , <unk> County planning director Daniel C. <unk> , <unk> County commissioner James L. <unk> , investigative journalist for The <unk> Leslie L. <unk> , former member Helen C. Byron ( Ma <unk> <unk> ) , who had been awarded US $ 1 @.@ 7 million in a lawsuit against <unk> Foundation International , her daughter Barbara J. Byron ( <unk> ) , and <unk> 's former secretary <unk> <unk> <unk> ( Ma <unk> <unk> ) . 
   
   = = = Weapons = = = 
   
   Catherine Jane <unk> volunteered to be the follower who would actually murder Turner , and bought guns and <unk> . <unk> was known to fellow followers as Ma <unk> <unk> , and was also one of the three " Big <unk> " in <unk> . <unk> @-@ Anne <unk> ( known by followers as Ma <unk> <unk> ) , an <unk> and the group 's Chief Financial Officer , provided money for the purchase of weapons related to the plot . <unk> Caldwell ( Ma Deva <unk> ) described in a federal <unk> how members of the murder conspiracy obtained <unk> , referring to Catherine Jane <unk> and <unk> @-@ Anne <unk> : " <unk> B went down to Jesus Grove , and <unk> gave us several thousand dollars to use to buy guns . " Jesus Grove referred to a group of trailers where all the leaders of the <unk> commune resided , except for <unk> <unk> <unk> . 
   Ma Anand <unk> and three other <unk> followers traveled to New York in the spring of 1985 to acquire false identification . According to a federal <unk> , the <unk> of the assassination plot used a false birth certificate to purchase guns . Two members of the group then traveled to Texas to purchase <unk> . Caldwell stated she and Catherine Jane <unk> flew to Texas to purchase guns there . They purchased five guns in Texas , but encountered difficulty purchasing <unk> in Texas with out @-@ of @-@ state identification and traveled to New Mexico instead . Caldwell said they called back to the commune but the women were instructed " not to come back without the guns " . 
   In New Mexico , they obtained false identification , and purchased several pistols . Their intention was to purchase guns which were difficult to trace . Caldwell said it was easy to obtain guns in New Mexico : " we found it was pretty easy to buy guns . All you had to do was show some identification and it was easy to get . " Caldwell said she and <unk> went to a university library to find the identity " of someone dying very young " , next went " to public records and asked for a copy of a birth certificate " and described how " we got a rent <unk> book and just made up a rent <unk> " . " And then we were able to go to several different gun shops in <unk> with those two bits of identification and buy five different guns and bullets , " said Caldwell . They were able to obtain one <unk> <unk> @-@ caliber revolver , and four <unk> <unk> @-@ caliber Security @-@ Six Magnum <unk> . The conspirators smuggled the guns into Oregon by packing them in luggage and putting the luggage on a <unk> Lines bus . Caldwell said that she and <unk> traveled by bus back to the <unk> commune so as to avoid airport metal detectors . 
   
   = = = <unk> = = = 
   
   After obtaining guns the conspirators returned to Portland , Oregon . They rented out an apartment in Portland to serve as their base of operations for the assassination of Turner . <unk> follower Carol Matthews ( Ma <unk> <unk> ) used a fake name during the planning of the assassination plot , in an attempt to obtain the home address of Charles Turner . According to federal prosecutors Matthews obtained a college <unk> of Turner 's , and learned his car 's license plate number and his parking location . Court records state that Matthews and an <unk> co @-@ <unk> gave <unk> registration officials fake identities and told officials they were conducting " a <unk> survey on President Reagan 's economic plan " , in order to obtain Turner 's route number and post office box number . The two tried repeating the story with members of the U.S. Postal Service , but the postal officials did not give them Turner 's address . They then drove around Turner 's neighborhood and were able to find his home by locating a sign in front of his residence that said " Turner " . Matthews had pictures of Turner 's residence developed ; these were later obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) during an investigation of the <unk> commune , and verified after being shown to Turner . 
   Members of the group of conspirators watched Turner 's office , home and car , and discussed methods to assassinate him , hoping that his death would hinder the efforts of the federal investigation into <unk> . Their plan was to shoot Turner in the garage of the federal office building where he worked , in Portland , Oregon , but the conspirators also debated whether to murder Turner in downtown Portland or closer to his home . After spending multiple nights watching Turner 's house , the conspirators decided on the parking garage because they felt it would be too risky to murder him on the drive to or from work , or in front of his home . Turner had a reserved parking spot in a federal garage underneath Terry <unk> Plaza in Portland , Oregon . In an <unk> given to the FBI , <unk> Alma <unk> described how the <unk> decided on the federal parking garage as the location : " <unk> <unk> [ Catherine Jane <unk> ] said this seems like a good place to bump this fellow off . " 
   The conspirators practiced different ways of murdering Turner . According to informant statements to law enforcement , one of the conspirators was to pretend there was car trouble , and the others would then approach Turner with their guns . <unk> later told law enforcement officials that the conspirators intended to hide out at an international network of <unk> <unk> if the plan was successful . According to The <unk> the <unk> were not carried out because Ma Anand <unk> became distracted by political power plays within the <unk> commune and other members of the organization who were trying to remove her from her position within the group . 
   
   = = <unk> = = 
   
   
   = = = Investigation = = = 
   
   On February 28 , 1985 , Congressman James H. Weaver gave a speech in the United States House of Representatives in which he asserted that the <unk> were involved in the <unk> attack in Oregon . At a series of press conferences in September 1985 , <unk> accused several of his recently departed lieutenants of involvement in this and other crimes , including the poisoning of Mike Sullivan , a Jefferson County district attorney , and asked state and federal authorities to investigate his allegations . The assassination plot was uncovered by federal law enforcement as a result of the ensuing investigation into activities at <unk> . Turner was never physically <unk> , and had retired by 1995 . 
   The <unk> was informed in October 1985 by federal law enforcement officials that Leslie L. <unk> , an investigative journalist who had written a 20 @-@ part series on the <unk> movement in Oregon , was on a " hit list " which also included Turner and Oregon Attorney General David <unk> . Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Weaver <unk> the case ; the charges were first detailed at an October 1985 bond hearing in North Carolina after <unk> and his followers were arrested at an airport in Charlotte . Weaver said in court that followers of <unk> <unk> <unk> had plotted to assassinate Turner and <unk> . He said these allegations were reasons why releasing <unk> and his followers from jail would be " a clear and present danger to public officials " . The guns purchased by the <unk> followers for the assassination plot had reportedly been dumped in a lake at Rancho <unk> ; the lake was searched by U.S. Navy divers . <unk> divers searched the lake for two days but did not find the guns . 
   Joseph Greene , a U.S. immigration agent , testified in court that FBI agents had learned of the assassination plot from a member of the organization who was in a witness protection program . Greene said that members involved in the assassination plot included Ma Anand <unk> , <unk> Yvonne <unk> , and Alma <unk> . The assassination plot was investigated by the FBI and the Oregon State Police . <unk> told law enforcement that Ma Anand <unk> hoped Turner 's death would prevent an Immigration and <unk> Service investigation which she thought could lead to <unk> 's arrest and <unk> from the United States . Weaver stated " These attempts to assassinate public officials were because they were presenting an immigration case that might result in imprisonment " of <unk> . " There were not simply plans , but at least one ( assassination ) attempt , " said Weaver at the hearing . 
   A grand jury investigation led by Turner brought charges of " widespread immigration fraud " against members of <unk> . <unk> crimes were discovered after Ma Anand <unk> had fled the commune in September 1985 . In December 1985 , 21 followers of <unk> were indicted on <unk> charges . 
   
   = = = <unk> and convictions = = = 
   
   Chief criminal assistant U.S. attorney Baron C. <unk> was assigned to <unk> the charges of federal <unk> , and a special team from the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division was tasked with <unk> the murder conspiracy charges . Four of the <unk> were arrested in September 1990 . Catherine Jane <unk> and Richard Kevin <unk> were arrested in West Germany , Ann <unk> McCarthy was arrested in South Africa , and Susan <unk> was arrested in England . In September 1990 , Alma <unk> pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder . <unk> , who had served as Ma Anand <unk> 's bodyguard and <unk> , agreed to testify against the other defendants in the murder conspiracy . Under the terms of <unk> 's plea agreement she received a sentence of two years in federal prison . Carol Matthews was arrested in Baden @-@ Baden , Germany in October 1990 on charges of <unk> and conspiracy to murder Turner , where she was held along with three other <unk> . At the time of her arrest , Matthews was found in possession of a false British passport , and had been traveling under the fake name of " <unk> <unk> " . <unk> were brought against Ma Anand <unk> and six other co @-@ conspirators by a federal grand jury in November 1990 . 
   In April 1991 , Carol Matthews and Richard Kevin <unk> ( <unk> <unk> ) were <unk> from Germany to the United States in order to appear in federal court in Portland , Oregon . Law enforcement officials from the United States <unk> Service traveled to Frankfurt , Germany and took custody of the Matthews and <unk> at Rhine Main Airport . On April 15 , 1991 , Matthews and <unk> appeared in federal court in Oregon , and both pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and carrying out <unk> . On April 25 , 1991 , Richard Kevin <unk> pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in the murder conspiracy plot against Turner , and in exchange he received a sentence of five years in federal prison and the dismissal of other charges against him relating to firearms and <unk> . <unk> agreed to testify against the other members of the murder conspiracy . <unk> wrote on his plea agreement form : " In 1985 , meetings were held at the Rancho <unk> ... at which time the possible killing of the United States Attorney for Oregon was discussed . I participated in a number of these meetings and agreed with others to work toward that object . " Prosecutor Timothy J. <unk> III stated that <unk> had been a member of the <unk> commune in Oregon since it began in 1981 , and that the government was able to prove he joined the murder conspiracy at a point in time after May 25 , 1985 . <unk> said that <unk> was a member of a group called the " Circle of 38 " , which was the personal security force that guarded <unk> <unk> <unk> , and that he had served as a weapons instructor and policeman at the commune . <unk> told U.S. District Judge Malcom F. Marsh that he had suggested that guns for the murder conspiracy could be bought in Texas , instructed the <unk> about <unk> , took responsibility for the weapons while they were in the commune , and disposed of them when members of the murder conspiracy decided to flee the U.S. for Europe . In July 1991 , Carol Matthews entered a guilty plea and was convicted in federal court , she was sentenced to five years in prison . 
   Catherine Jane <unk> was convicted of the attempted murder of <unk> 's physician Dr. George Meredith ( <unk> <unk> ) in 1986 , and served almost three years in jail . After her release , agents from the FBI uncovered the plot to assassinate Turner , but <unk> had already fled to Germany . She was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1990 . In 1991 , the German government refused to <unk> <unk> back to the United States . In June 1991 , U.S. prosecutors filed <unk> in the murder conspiracy case with the Higher Regional Court in <unk> , Germany , as part of an attempt to <unk> <unk> Jane <unk> from Germany to the U.S. The <unk> stated that all of the members in the murder conspiracy plot also belonged to a group of <unk> followers at the Oregon commune known as " the 38 " , and were trained in " commando tactics using <unk> <unk> rifles and <unk> " . David Berry Knapp ( known to <unk> followers as <unk> Krishna Deva ) stated in an FBI <unk> that the murder conspiracy was motivated by Ma Anand <unk> 's " tremendous anger " towards Turner . 
   Ma Anand <unk> served 29 months in a minimum security federal prison for charges related to assault , attempted murder , <unk> , <unk> and the 1984 <unk> attack in The <unk> , and moved to Switzerland after her release from prison in 1988 . The assassination conspiracy was discovered after <unk> had left the United States , and as of 1999 she was still wanted by federal law enforcement for her role in the plot , and risked <unk> if she crossed the Swiss border . Switzerland declined an <unk> request from the United States , and instead tried her in a Swiss court . <unk> was found guilty of " criminal acts preparatory to the commission of murder " in 1999 , and sentenced to time already served . 
   <unk> @-@ Anne <unk> and Susan <unk> were <unk> from Britain in 1994 , and were convicted by a jury decision on July 28 , 1995 for their roles in the assassination plot . They had unsuccessfully attempted to appeal their <unk> from Britain to Home Secretary Michael Howard . During their trial the prosecution presented twenty @-@ nine witnesses , including former followers of <unk> who placed both women in planning meetings where they discussed murdering Turner . David Berry Knapp , the former mayor of <unk> , testified for the government in the case and implicated <unk> and <unk> in the assassination conspiracy . Ava Kay <unk> ( Ma Ava ) , a <unk> disciple , testified in the <unk> case and stated that she had been part of the conspirators that plotted to assassinate Turner . In addition to Knapp and <unk> , co @-@ conspirators Richard Kevin <unk> , <unk> Caldwell , and Alma <unk> testified in the case pursuant to conditional plea or immunity agreements . Both women were sentenced to five years in prison . <unk> and <unk> did not testify during their trial . " We <unk> over everything – evidence , notes , evidence , notes . I think we did an absolutely fabulous job , " said one of the jurors . At the sentencing for <unk> and <unk> , the federal Judge Malcolm Marsh described them as " people of obvious goodwill who had committed an extremely serious offense against the criminal justice system . " Prosecutor Tim <unk> called the conspiracy to commit assassination " a deadly serious crime aimed at the heart of the criminal justice system . " <unk> and <unk> were released from imprisonment at <unk> Dublin , California in April 1998 , and returned to Britain . 
   In December 2002 , Ann <unk> McCarthy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder , and was sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of USD $ 10 @,@ 000 . McCarthy had served as fourth @-@ in @-@ command of <unk> , and was known by <unk> 's followers as Ma <unk> <unk> . Turner called the one @-@ year prison sentence " <unk> . " In court statements , McCarthy stated " I cannot forgive myself for not being <unk> at the time , " and called her time with the group " psychological torture . " 
   In February 2006 , <unk> became the last perpetrator sentenced in the political assassination plot , after ten months of negotiations with Oregon prosecutors . <unk> offered to turn herself in and return to the United States after learning of her son 's terminal brain tumor . Prior to sentencing , the court allowed her to travel to Australia to visit her son . In addition to charges of conspiracy to commit murder , <unk> also pleaded guilty to the purchase of weapons in violation of federal firearms law . An Oregon judge sentenced her to five years <unk> , and three months time already served in a German jail . Turner thought she should have received a <unk> sentence , and commented " This was a lying @-@ in @-@ wait conspiracy to murder me , a presidential appointee , and for a long time I slept with a loaded gun beside my bed . " Though <unk> could have faced life in prison , U.S. District Judge Judge Malcolm F. Marsh thought she had " seen the error of her ways . " A federal prosecutor in the case described <unk> as the " MVP " of the conspiracy , and said she was the designated assassin that was set to murder Turner . After her sentencing , <unk> stated : " I actually conspired to kill Mr. Turner , it is up to me alone to face this terrible truth ... No person has the right to do what I did . I 'm truly sorry . " <unk> returned to Germany after her sentencing . 
   In an <unk> , Timothy J. <unk> III , lead prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice in the case , stated Ma Anand <unk> had told members of the murder conspiracy that <unk> <unk> <unk> had personally authorized the " necessary " murder of specific enemies of the <unk> commune . <unk> <unk> <unk> paid a fine of US $ 400 @,@ 000 , agreed to plead guilty to immigration fraud , and was deported from the United States . He agreed to leave the United States and not return unless given permission first from the United States Attorney General . Joseph T. <unk> writes in Terrorism on American Soil " Nevertheless , he was never <unk> for any of the more serious crimes <unk> by cult members , including the <unk> poisoning . " 
   
   = = = <unk> = = = 
   
   <unk> to assassinate a United States Attorney 
   <unk> , and other charges , testified in assassination case 
   
   