In a search warrant application filed earlier this month, Detective Bruce Parish of the Flathead County Sheriffâs Office said an informant had detailed a plot by David Burgert, a 38-year-old Kalispell man, and his associates to ambush and kill law enforcement officials, along with their families.

In his application for a warrant to search the home of one of Burgert's friends and other locations, Parish wrote that members of the group, called Project 7, took an oath that they would if contacted by law enforcement officers deny any wrongdoing, refuse to say anything, and accuse law enforcement of having committed a crime.

This plot also allegedly included bringing militia members into the state of Montana from various areas around the United States, according to Parish.

The revelation that a group of Flathead County residents talked about killing public officials got swift attention from national media Wednesday, but prompted no arrests.

Network news shows and newspapers from the East Coast to the West called the sheriff's department, looking for information.

The group was exposed at a Tuesday bond hearing for Tracy Brockway, 32, who is charged with harboring a fugitive Burgert at her home west of Kalispell. They were both arrested earlier this month.

Under questioning by County Attorney Tom Esch, Brockway said she and others are members of the local group, dedicated to protecting the Constitution and surviving any "disasters."

But officials say the group had much deadlier, more subversive goals than that.

Parish said that after Burgert took control of the group, it took on "an anti-law enforcement and anti-government" character, with talk of killing officers, judges and other officials.

Inquiries about that came from ABC, NBC, and CBS news reporters, Dupont said, as well as The San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times.

Brockway and Burgert both face criminal charges, but no one is charged in any threats against officials.

"We have to find evidence that supports a conspiracy," said Sheriff Jim Dupont. "Merely making a threat to do that without taking steps to accomplish that goal is not a crime.

Evidence may come from a number of sources, including Brockway's computer, which was seized during the search of her home. It is now in the custody of FBI officials in Helena.

Esch intimated during her bond hearing that Brockway supplied people with personal information on Whitefish police officers while she was employed as an office cleaner there. He read e-mail from her computer suggesting that, but Brockway said others used her computer and she doesn't remember sending it.

She said she encrypts her mail and gave federal investigators the password to decode it.

Justice of the Peace David Ortley Tuesday reduced her bond from $500,000 to $100,000, but said he fears for Brockway's own safety if she is released from jail.

Brockway, 32, is jailed on a felony count of obstructing justice for allegedly harboring Burgert at her home and driving him in her truck.

Burgert, 38, was arrested after an all-night event with the SWAT team and other officers Feb. 7-8 in the woods west of Kalispell. He was charged with bail jumping for failing to appear at a pre-trial hearing on a charge of assaulting a police officer a year ago. His family reported him missing in January, when he apparently staged his disappearance. He also faces misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and obstructing an officer.

Burgert's bond is at $1 million, the highest Ortley has ever set.

In executing the search warrants, officers found much more than Brockway's computer at her Smith Lake Road home. They seized a cache of weapons, 25,000-30,000 rounds of ammunition, explosives, human shackles, body armor, pipe bombs and booby traps. Burgert had a fully automatic machine gun with snow camouflage when he was arrested. Other automatic weapons and a pistol with an illegal silencer were reportedly seized as well.

Officers also found "intel sheets" on law-enforcement officers. They included personal information such as home phone numbers and addresses, and information on spouses and children.

For example, one describes a Whitefish policeman as having a "pretty-boy" bearing. Another sheet described an officer as single, with a young son, and included details about recreational activities the officer has been involved in.

Most of the information about the group came from an unidentified informant who had a falling out with Burgert. The informant gave officials information that led to Burgert's location and to the discovery of weapons.

A "wanted poster" with the informant's picture and personal information has been circulated. It says the man provided a list of supplies and caused the arrest of Burgert and Brockway. It calls the informant an "ENEMY of the worst kind" and a "TRATOR."