ANCHORAGE—The name of one of the two informants who recorded meetings with Schaeffer Cox and his Alaska Peacemakers Militia does not appear on a list of witnesses given to prospective jurors this morning.

The absence of Bill Fulton on the list means he may not be called to testify in the trial of Cox and co-defendants Coleman Barney and Lonnie Vernon, who are accused of making plans to murder U.S. government employees as well as owning illegal weapons.

Jury selection began today, with the trial expected to last between four and six weeks at the Federal Courthouse in Anchorage.

Earlier court hearings and documents have identified Fulton, the former owner of the Anchorage military surplus store Drop Zone and of a private security firm by the same name, as an informant who met with some of the defendants in Anchorage and was allegedly asked to supply them with illegal weapons including pistol silencers and grenades.

In a recent court filing, prosecutors said they were not planning to call Fulton but would make him available at trial if the defense wanted to call him as a witness.

The names of possible witnesses were read this morning at the beginning of jury selection so jurors could speak out if they knew any of them.

The other FBI informant, Gerald “JR” Olson, was listed.

District Court Judge Robert J. Bryan spent a few hours thinning a jury panel of 88 members during the opening morning of jury selection.

About three-quarters of the jurors raised their hands when asked if they had previously heard of the case. About a dozen were dismissed because they either believed they were too biased or, in a few cases, because they knew one of the parties in the case or because of problems understanding English.

About half of the possible jurors said they were members of the National Rifle Association or other gun rights advocacy organizations, but none said this would impede their ability to make judgments related to gun laws.

All three defendants have been in jail since their arrest in March 2011. But because they were in the presence of a jury, they were not dressed in prison uniforms. Barney and Cox wore suits — Cox with a pink necktie — while Vernon wore a dress shirt.

Contact staff writer Sam Friedman at 459-7545.