BY ARGIRIS MALAPANIS
State police shot and killed Mike Matson, a member of the group known as the Republic of Texas on May 5 in the Davis Mountains near Fort Davis, Texas. He and another member of the organization were being hunted by police in helicopter and on horseback, using several bloodhounds.

The two men had earlier fled from a trailer belonging to the rightist group, besieged by 100 heavily armed FBI agents and state police. Several of its leaders had taken a couple as hostages on April 27 demanding authorities release two of the Republic's followers arrested by the police. The couple was released to the cops 14 hours later. The seven-day standoff ended when the four Republic members remaining in the trailer surrendered to the authorities on May 3. The other member of the group still at large has been identified as Richard Keyes, 21.

"Shots were fired from the helicopter and from the ground at the suspect, killing him," said a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Police claim they opened fire after the two men fleeing shot at the tracking dogs. "At least three of the hounds were shot by the fugitives," said an article in the May 6 New York Times. "One was killed, two were expected to survive, and a fourth was missing late tonight, authorities said." While indicating concern for the condition of the police dogs, the article reported few details on the man who was killed.

Authorities had not filed any charges against Matson. Keyes faces charges stemming from kidnapping and holding the two neighbors hostage for several hours.

Richard McLaren, leader of the Republic of Texas, and his followers who surrendered to the police, also face charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, mail fraud, and aiding and abetting a scheme to defraud merchants and banks. Federal prosecutors presented an indictment against McLaren and other members of the group accusing them of trying to pass $1.8 billion of worthless "Republic of Texas" checks to merchants and banks from December 1995 to January 1997 to pay bills. "This indictment sends a clear message," said U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. "Don't mess with Texas."

The Republic of Texas group says that Texas was never legally annexed from Mexico in 1845 and that it thus remains an independent nation, whose assets the rightist group says it controls. "We are at war with the United Nations and all foreign entities," McLaren told the Times April 27.  
 
 
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