BY ADAM WEINTRAUB
and TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Two brothers with ties to white supremacist groups were indicted Thursday in a pair of Clinton County shootouts with police.

One of them, also a prime suspect in the theft of weapons from an Arkansas gun dealer later found slain with his family, wrote a letter in 1992 to his hometown newspaper declaring that he was ''not afraid to die'' for his beliefs.

The charges put names with the faces of the gunmen, who were videotaped Saturday as they shot at police in two confrontations in Wilmington. The gunmen are the subjects of a nationwide manhunt.

Chevie O'Brien Kehoe, 24, whose last known address was in Colville, Wash., was indicted on three counts of felonious assault, three counts of attempted murder, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of criminal tools, improper transportation of a firearm and two counts of fleeing.

His brother, 20-year-old Cheyne Kehoe, was indicted on two counts each of felonious assault and attempted murder, and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.

Federal charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution will be filed, allowing the FBI to hunt for the men the agency has called ''domestic terrorists,'' said Ed Boldt of the FBI's Cincinnati office.

The brothers were apparently staying, possibly with a woman and at least three children, at a Ross County campground until Monday morning. Police think they may be on the run in a large, white 1977 Dodge motor home with green stripes and Montana license plates. They were described as ''armed and extremely dangerous.''

''They've already shot at police officers,'' said Sheriff Ronald Nichols of Ross County. ''They've got nothing to lose.''

Police said Chevie Kehoe, who has ties to the Aryan Nations white supremacist group, is a suspect in the February 1995 theft of guns from William Mueller, a federally licensed dealer in Arkansas with suspected ties to militia groups and the white supremacist Christian Identity movement.

The bodies of Mr. Mueller, 53, his wife Nancy, 28, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah, were pulled from an Arkansas bayou in June 1996, six months after they disappeared. Their heads were wrapped with plastic bags, and the adults had been handcuffed.

Chevie Kehoe identified himself as an Identity adherent in a 1992 letter to the Colville Statesman-Examiner, and said he was far from alone. ''We are in the schools, government, law enforcement, health and everywhere you look,'' he wrote. ''Someone's scared and it is not us. We have Yahweh (a name for God) and we are not afraid to die.''

The Kehoes don't respect authority, especially police and the government, a Colville man who knew them told The Enquirer on Thursday.

''They've always packed a lot of illegal guns,'' said the man, whose children played with the Kehoes' children. The man asked that his name not be used because he fears the Kehoes and their supporters.

''We used to be good friends, known them for 10 years, but not since they started showing us books on white supremacy,'' he said. ''They hate Jews. They hate blacks. They hate everybody. The last time I saw them, I was going to get bold but I chickened out. I don't trust them. They're very paranoid people.''

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Chevie Kehoe was driving a blue Chevrolet Suburban in Wilmington Saturday afternoon when a state trooper pulled the vehicle over for a registration violation.

Cheyne Kehoe, the passenger in the Suburban, pulled a semi-automatic handgun and shot at the trooper and a Clinton County sheriff's deputy, then ran, investigators said. The officers were unhurt.

Chevie Kehoe drove off, but was confronted later by a Wilmington police officer. He shot at the officer and ran off, abandoning the vehicle, police said. A passing motorist was wounded slightly during the incident.

Investigators suspect one or both men stole a car in Wilmington and drove back to Frankfort, Ohio, near Chillicothe.

Chevie Kehoe told the trooper he was camping near Chillicothe, but Ross County officials weren't asked until Tuesday to compile a list of area campgrounds.

Police also want to question Jacob Myron Settle, 39, a white supremacist associate of Chevie Kehoe who is the registered owner of the Suburban.

Police asked that anyone with information about the Kehoes or the case call (800) 525-5555 or (614) 466-2660.

Tanya Bricking contributed to this story.

Previous stories

TWO GUNMEN TRACKED TO CAMPGROUND Feb. 20 1997
INVESTIGATORS, SUPREMACISTS APPEAL TO PUBLIC Feb. 19, 1997
FBI JOINS HUNT FOR GUNMEN Feb. 18, 1997
SHOOTOUT MAY BE LINKED TO KILLINGS Feb. 17, 1997