Seven members of a Christian militia in the Midwest have been acquitted on charges of sedition and conspiracy. The accused, part of a group called the Hutaree, were arrested two years ago for an alleged plot to spark a war against the federal government by planning to kill a law enforcement officer and then bomb the funeral procession. But on Tuesday, a federal judge in Michigan ruled the defendants’ actions were protected by First Amendment rights to free speech. Two members of the militia still face less severe charges of possession of illegal weapons.