Vang Pao To Be Released On Bail

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A U.S. magistrate ordered the alleged ringleader of a plot to overthrow the communist government of Laos released on bail yesterday, allowing former Laotian General Vang Pao, 77, to return to his Southern California home under extremely strict conditions.

The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Dale Drozd followed a dramatic morning in court in which two of the 11 men accused in the plot were hospitalized as their attorneys argued they should be freed while they await trial.

Judge Drozd's decision will confine Vang Pao, who is considered the leader of Hmong who immigrated to America after the Vietnam War, to his home in Westminster and allow him to see only his family, doctors, and attorneys. His home and those of four other family members and friends valued at a total of $1.5 million will be offered as bond.