In 1983, the CSA declared war on the US government, starting with a failed arson attempt on the Springfield Metropolitan Community Church. Things began to go downhill for the organization not soon after when Richard Snell, an alleged member, was arrested for killing an African-American police officer. Snell was later tied to the killing of a gun store owner in 1981, obtaining and using the same gun, the serial number of which had been removed by the CSA armorer, Kent Yates. The killing of the gun store owner was just a part of a massive campaign of property theft the CSA had launched to offset the loss of income from their training camps. Using their proximity to the state border, the CSA hoped that committing crimes in Missouri and crossing the border back into Arkansas would conceal their activities. Yates was arrested on Friday, July 13, 1984, on an outstanding warrant out of New Mexico for firearms violations in Farmington. He was later also charged and convicted of weapons manufacture and modification for the CSA.