With much media fanfare, 9 members of a Michigan militia were arrested last March and charged with “seditious conspiracy”–specifically, plotting to murder law enforcement officers. Ostensibly, this was supposed to precipitate some kind of wholesale revolt against the government. Question: Have any of you heard anyone from the propaganda press corps (national news media) tell you what has been happening with this case? No? Did you not wonder why? Well, I’ll tell you why: the case has fallen apart.
The first indication of the Feds’ case going bad was a local report in the Toledo (Ohio) Blade, dated April 28, 2010. “An FBI agent who led the investigation of nine Michigan militia members charged with trying to launch war against the federal government couldn’t recall many details of the two-year probe yesterday during questioning by defense lawyers.
“Even the judge who must decide whether to release the nine until trial was puzzled.
“‘I share the frustrations of the defense team . . . that she doesn’t know anything,’ U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts said after agent Leslie Larsen confessed she hadn’t reviewed her notes recently and couldn’t remember specific details of the case.”
See the report at:
http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20100428/NEWS02/4280343/-1/rss
Can you believe testimony such as this was given in a court of law by a supposedly intelligent federal officer–an agent who had supposedly compiled the evidence that was used to arrest and incarcerate these supposedly “dangerous militia members”? If it wasn’t so serious, this would be a joke!
Remember that it was a federal informant who had infiltrated the group and even offered to teach Hutaree members how to make improvised explosive devices. On this point, William Grigg wrote, “While federal prosecutors have provided ample evidence that members of the Hutaree are passionately anti-government–what decent person ISN’T–they haven’t been able to demonstrate that the group did anything more than engage in survivalist training and indulge in apocalyptic rhetoric.” (Emphasis in the original.)
As a result, Judge Roberts found the government’s case sorely lacking. “Discussions about killing local law enforcement officers–and even discussions about killing members of the judicial branch of government–do not translate to conspiring to overthrow, or levy war against, the United States government,” she wrote, ordering that the Hutaree suspects be released on bail.
About which, Grigg wrote, “Since the federal case against the Hutaree rests entirely on what was SAID by the suspects, rather than anything specific that was DONE by them, it’s difficult to see what’s left of it [the case].” (Emphasis in the original.)
See Grigg’s column at:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/57041.html
But then again, punishing people because of their speech or political associations seems to be exactly where America is heading.
Remember that the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is famous for supplying Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Fusion Centers and State law enforcement agencies with warnings against people due to their political
beliefs (pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, anti-United Nations, anti-New World Order, or anti-illegal immigration, for example), their associations (Libertarian or Constitution parties, for example), or even who they voted for (Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or Chuck Baldwin, to be precise). Previous reports even identified people as “dangerous” because of the books they were reading. (Tell me, again: this is the United States and not Nazi Germany, right?)
Now consider the statements of US Congressman Andre Carson (D-Indiana), who likens Tea Party protesters to “a terrorist threat.”
Washington Times reporter Kerry Picket recorded Rep. Carson as he explained it all:
Kerry Picket (Washington Times): “Do you think the people outside [Tea Party protesters] are generally dangerous or no?”
Rep. Carson: “Oh, absolutely. I worked in homeland security. I’m from intelligence, and I’ll tell you, one of the largest threats to our internal security . . . I mean terrorism has an Islamic face, but it really comes from racial supremacist groups. (inaudible) It’s the kind of thing we keep a threat assessment on record [for].”
Larry O’Connor at BigGovernment.com then wrote, “And we can now see this two pronged message continuing in the narrative from Democratic politicians and the media: The Tea Party protests are really about white rage and they are
sowing the seeds for domestic terrorism. This was the message delivered by Rep. Carson that afternoon and that is the message the media has run with.
“Only problem is, we can’t find any proof to back up Rep. Carson’s story.”
See the report at:
http://tinyurl.com/teaparty-terrorism
The truth is, if the federal government and its prostitutes at the SPLC have their way, ANYONE COULD BE IMPRISONED FOR ANYTHING! Don’t believe physicians should destroy human life in the womb? You’re a terrorist. Don’t like the United Nations? You’re a terrorist. Believe immigrants should come through the front door when migrating to America? You’re a terrorist. Voted for Ron Paul? You’re a terrorist. Believe in the return of Jesus Christ? You’re a terrorist. Ad infinitum. Ad nauseam.
Again, maybe this helps explain why all those (non-existent) FEMA camps are being built!
In my initial column on the Hutaree raid, I wrote, “Did members of the Hutaree intend to carry out aggressive violence against law enforcement personnel? I have no idea. Until this story broke in the national media, I had never heard of this group. I will wait for the facts to come out–if indeed the federal government and national media even allow the facts to come out.”
See my column at:
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=1177
Well, the facts are beginning to come out: The FBI agent who brought the charges against these self-professed militia members made a complete fool of herself under oath in a court of law. She presented zero evidence to indicate that the Hutaree posed an imminent threat to anybody. Now that the judge has released the Hutaree members from jail and rebuked the agent for presenting such inept testimony, we’ll see if the Feds decide to pursue the case any further. Again, as Will Grigg said, “Since the federal case against the Hutaree rests entirely on what was SAID by the suspects, rather than anything specific that was DONE by them, it’s difficult to see what’s left of it [the case].”
However, the bigger question is, How far will Big-Government toadies try to take this Nazi-like philosophy: that anyone who believes in limited government and freedom, and who rejects their sanctimonious attitude and bullying is a “dangerous terrorist”? And even greater is the question, How long will the American people put up with it?
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