Hutaree Update
By Chuck Baldwin
May 14, 2010


This column is archived at
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?p=1561


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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(c) Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author, and
pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America
was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the Constitution
Party. He and his wife, Connie, have been married for 37 years and have 3
children and 7 grandchildren. See Chuck's complete bio at:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?page_id=6