Three of the four Ford County men arrested last week for possession of a machine gun appeared Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Urbana to waive their right to a preliminary hearing.

The men are all from the small community of Clarence. 47-year-old Michael Hari, 29-year-old Michael McWhorter, and 18-year-old Ellis Mack waived their preliminary hearing Wednesday.

(A fourth suspect in the case is 22-year-old Joe Morris).

All four remain in custody. The case is expected to go to a grand jury.

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota filed charges last week accusing Hari, Morris and McWhorter of bombing a mosque in Minnesota. They are also suspected in the attempted bombing of a women’s health clinic in Champaign last year.

Hari is reported to have been a former Ford County sheriff’s deputy. The Ford County Record identifies him as a leader of a homegrown domestic terrorism group. The others were also members.

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