Thank you for visiting. My thoughts & Feelings are my Own.
Here I will share my feelings about America and her Future.
Let it be known to all the World, I love all Humankind, however the poor actions of the few that take away the Freedom's of the many wear on my soul. I don't hate them I feel sad for their foolishness before God and humankind.
Those leaders who seek to 'Keep their Oaths of office' and those who seek only self glory, power, tyranny and the destruction of America as it was founded, hoping to turn it into a Dictatorship, Marxist or other state of Tyranny.
For a long while I was unsure of putting a blog together with my thoughts on this, however Truth must be shared, if not to Awake American's to their dangerous situation then to record the folly of the ways of the wicked who do exist in the leadership of our Nation, States, Counties, Towns. Sad that I must add this page.
"We often search for things in life, yet seldom do we find.
Those things in life that really matter, until we make the time." S.T.Huls
Last week, my D.O.L. (Daughter of Liberty) was arrested and thrown in jail for handing out Constitutions in San Diego, CA.
The BLUEcoats came upon her, when she was handing out Constitutions and teaching about its Freedom principles, and they asked her for an ID. She knew that handing out Constitutions is protected as an individual Right under the First Amendment of The Constitution. So because she knew it wasn't a Crime to talk about The Constitution and pass them out, she handed the Cop a Constitution, smiled like my wonderful Patriot Daughter so pleasantly does, expecting that the Cop would smile and get a kick out of it.
Instead he THREW HER UP against the car, handcuffed her and arrested her. The ONLY charge is resisting arrest. With NO, other charge or warrant!
The BLUEcoats are totally OUTTA CONTROL throughout the Republic and are DIRECT enemies of The Bill Of Rights and Constitutional supreme laws of the land. BUT IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT. It is the FAULT of every single Municipal, County, State and Federal Judge, as there is NOT A SINGLE ONE in ALL OF AMERICA who obeys the Supremacy clauses 2 and/or 3 of ARTICLE VI, but instead they blindly support all BLUEcoats in their CRIMINAL activities, enforcing "Color Of Law", for purposes of TAXATION by CITATION. Judges are ALL FOR Taxation by Citation. Judge Miron of Marinette County Wisconsin told me that to my face, IN COURT, for the record.
WE THE PEOPLE have one HELL of a problem on our hands with BLUEcoats and FEDcoats killing the honorable and noble Constitutional Patriot LaVoy Finicum for "Spreading the virus (of our Ninth and TENTH Amendment laws) into the next County" - OR Governor Kate Brown, and arresting a sweet Daughter Of Liberty, like my Tracia Koenigs. At least they didn't kill her. They tried to kill 18 year old Victoria Sharp, Shawna Cox and Ryan Bundy, at the same time when they executed LaVoy Finicum. btw: I am so proud of her!
A VERY IMPORTANT EXAMPLE of CRIMINAL activities by BLUEcoats called "COLOR OF LAW" for all Americans to understand and comprehend: WHEN are the BLUEcoats, and more importantly the Judges in their jurisdictions, going to be made to obey the Rule of Law? ? ? ? ? I have almost never seen a BLUEcoat obey the law in my entire life of almost 60 years! All they want to do is "Their job" and enforce COLOR OF LAW like Traffic Stops for things like non-renewal. According to Supreme Court and Federal Court case law you cannot turn an Individual Right into a privilege, issue a "Drivers License", vehicle registration and charge a fee for it.
Traveling by private automobile, as long as you are not doing so Commercially, is an unalienable Right which you cannot be forced into a license and charged a fee for. I got the State of Wisconsin to ADMIT that travel by automobile on roads and highways is an individual Right. Now they are saying that they have the Right to issue licenses and fees for it, even if you are totally poor. The State of Wisconsin told me IN COURT for the Record that you have to pay for individual Rights if the State Government feels like it. And, they said that if you don't have the money to pay for an individual Right, that is just too bad.
What the hell is going on with this REPUBLIC of OUR LAWS upon our Municipal, County, State and U.S. Governments? Since when does a State have the Right to charge a fee for any unalienable Right? Including our First Amendment Right and/or Right to Travel on public roads and highways? ? ?
- Capt. Karl National Chairman and Senior Adviser SOLIDARITY for Ninth and TENTH Amendments COALITION & The Constitutional 10 U.S. Code § 311 American Militia Freedom Forces / Utah State Unorganized Militia - The A-TEAM
A year ago, Jeanette Finicum was watching her daughter's basketball game at Fredonia High School when she overheard something about a shooting in Oregon.
She had just returned to Arizona from a weekend visit with her husband at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where Robert "LaVoy" Finicum had become the spokesman for the armed takeover.
She grabbed her cellphone, dialed her husband's number but didn't get an answer. A short time later, she got a call from Lisa Bundy, the wife of refuge occupation leader Ammon Bundy.
"She told me LaVoy had been killed,'' Jeanette Finicum recalled this week. "It was horrific. They stopped the game. His mother and father and brother, my daughter were all there.''
The family left the gym and gathered in a school hallway. Local officers at the game to watch their own daughters play accompanied the Finicums to the police station to try to learn what had happened.
Oregon State Police had shot and killed LaVoy Finicum, 54, after he sped away from a police stop on snow-covered U.S. 395 about 20 miles north of Burns as he and others left the refuge on Jan. 26, 2016.
Jeanette Finicum has returned to Oregon this week to gather supporters in John Day - the city where her husband was headed to speak at a town hall about the refuge seizure and the protest against federal control of public land when he died.
Saturday's meeting comes as questions remain a year later about the FBI's role in the confrontation. Jeanette Finicum said she intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In a notice of her intention to sue the Oregon State Police, FBI and other law enforcement agencies, she alleges negligence and violation of her husband's civil rights.
"I don't know if they'll hold anyone accountable unless we pursue that,'' she said.
That day, LaVoy Finicum swerved into a snowbank to avoid a police roadblock. He emerged from his white truck, stumbled on top of the snowbank and was shot three times in the back as investigators said he tried to reach into his jacket at least two times to grab a loaded 9mm pistol.
The fatal shooting of Finicum and arrest of Ammon Bundy and other key occupation figures marked the beginning of the end of the refuge seizure.
Officers fired eight gunshots that night. The district attorney in neighboring Malheur County, charged with overseeing the investigation, found that state police fired six times, including three shots that struck Finicum. He ruled the state police shooting was justified.
The Finicum family attorney, Brian Claypool, plans to send a notice of the claim to the FBI by Friday or early next week. Once the FBI notice is denied as anticipated, the family can file the lawsuit in federal court.
A federal investigation continues into two shots fired by an FBI agent the moment Finicum emerged from his truck - one hit the roof of the truck and one went astray. Oregon investigators believe that members of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team at the scene picked up shell casings to hide the shots and have lied about what happened, according to court records, investigative reports and law enforcement sources.
A federal grand jury has convened as part of the federal inquiry. Part of the challenge has been determining which of the FBI agents fired the shots.
Oregon investigators continue to interview members of the Hostage Rescue Team and potential witnesses, according to the Deschutes County Sheriff. The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General, along with the U.S. Attorney's Office, are leading the inquiry.
Jeanette Finicum said the John Day gathering will serve to honor her husband. She'll introduce her children, she said, but added, "This isn't about us, the Finicum family. This is about our liberties that are being lost in lots of different ways.''
Among the speakers are one of Ammon Bundy's lawyers, J. Morgan Philpot, who's now representing Jeanette Finicum in a dispute over grazing fees with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Also invited is KrisAnne Hall, a radio talk show host and prominent Tea Party figure, and Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer, but it's not clear if Palmer will show.
Grant County logger Tad Houpt, who met Jeanette Finicum last year at the makeshift memorial that sprung up at the site where her husband was killed, rented out the pavilion at the John Day Fairgrounds for the gathering.
Houpt owns about 400 acres near Canyon City, just south of John Day. He said he's still cleaning up from the 2015 Canyon Creek Fire that destroyed two of his homes and decimated much of his timber.
He visited the refuge during last winter's occupation to find out for himself what was going on and invited Ammon Bundy, his brother, Ryan Bundy, and others to John Day for the community meeting.
Houpt said he's angry over what he calls government's mismanagement of forestlands that he believes helped fuel the Canyon Creek Fire. He also was disturbed by the return to federal prison of Harney County ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven Hammond, last year to serve out five-year mandatory minimum sentences for setting fire to public land.
"The federal government is a very poor neighbor in eastern Oregon,'' Houpt said.
About 450 tickets have been sold for Saturday's event. The Pavilion has a 999-person capacity, Fairgrounds Manager Mindy Winegar said. Grant County Judge Scott W. Myers signed off on the rental.
"We have no intention of interfering with someone's right to assemble and their right to free speech,'' Myers said.
Jeanette Finicum testified for the defense at last year's trial of the Bundy brothers and five others - all acquitted on federal conspiracy charges in the occupation.
She maintains her husband "wasn't trying to avoid authorities" when he fled in his truck on Jan. 26, 2016, but simply wanted to make it to John Day to see Grant County's sheriff.
She said she's thankful for the support her family has received in the past year.
"I hope people are inspired in their own ways to move forward the cause of liberty in a positive, respectful peaceful manner,'' she said.
"Destroyers are they who lay snares for many, and call it the state ... " -- Nietzsche
Americans should pause and take some time to recall and celebrate the life of Robert LaVoy Finicum, an American patriot, who loved his family, God and country. He placed his life on the line in defense of all Americans' right to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness', joining the ranks of thousands of other ranchers who have been fighting the overreaches of the federal government and the tyranny of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the past forty years. Robert LaVoy Finicum died on January 26th, 2016, one day before his 55th birthday, defending the U.S. Constitution and this America he loved so well. By all accounts, LaVoy Finicum was "a quiet man who worked his to-do list from sun-up to sundown" (The Oregonian) and had a "light reading" list that included many history books, the U.S. Constitution and Alexis de Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America'. He also thoroughly enjoyed his big family -his wife and eleven children- and their evening discussions on the Scriptures, the Constitution and the Founding Fathers' ideas on freedom. Although Finicum had generally viewed his interaction with the BLM to be "very good" over the years, he became active in opposing them in 2014, after the BLM fined him $12,000 and claimed his cattle had grazed on federal lands past his allotted permit time. He was also heavily influenced by his own research into the BLM nd the high-handed tactics he witnessed the BLM employ against the Bundy family in 2014. Finicum rode with Cliven and Ammon Bundy on their Nevada Ranch in April of 2014, along with hundreds of other supporters, in order to reinforce the fact that Bundy's grazing and water rights, documented in an 1878 title, predated any BLM claims and had to be honored by the BLM. And when the BLM moved along Interstate 15 to confiscate Bundy's cattle on April 5th, Finicum, the Bundy family members and well-armed supporters stopped them cold where they stood; this would become a sore-point for the FBI that carried over to the Malheur Wildlife Reserve occupation in 2016 and the stand-off near Burns, Oregon. After the Bundy Ranch Stand-Off, LaVoy Finicum said: "I had to do a lot of soul searching. I realized that Cliven Bundy was standing on a very strong constitutional principle, and yet, here I was continuing to pay a grazing fee to the BLM." Finicum and the Bundy clan understood that the Enclave Clause [Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution] did not allow government bureaucrats to act like kings and ignore the 9th and 10th Amendments, and it did not authorize the BLM to arbitrarily seize the water rights, cattle and property of ranchers and arrogantly nullify 200 years of constitutional history. They understood, much like the U.S. Supreme Court (New York v. U.S.), that the Constitution is not a tool to protect the sovereignty of the State or for the benefit of government officials, but rather, the Constitution secures all Americans' liberties through the diffusion of sovereign power. However, the BLM sees things differently. Many cases spanning the years can be found, that are similar to Raymond Yowell's experience. The BLM garnished the $200 Social Security check of this former chief of the Shoshone Indian Tribe and seized 132 head of his cattle in 2002, for grazing "unlawfully" on government lands. The BLM sold Yowell's cattle at auction and pocketed the money. Between 2006 and 2012, the BLM had intimidated and finally charged Steven and Dwight Hammond with nine federal counts of arson for setting backfires on their own lands that supposedly spread to federal land. The Hammonds were subsequently imprisoned, released and then sent back to prison, even though the facts illuminated that some of those out-of-control backfires actually originated with BLM employees, in an attempt to stop several lightning strike fires such as the Granddad fire that burned 46,000 acres. Politics played heavily in the cases regarding Steven and Dwight Hammond, because the BLM wanted the Hammond ranch. Gold mining companies like Calico Resource USA out of Vancouver, Canada and uranium mining concerns like Australian owned Oregon Energy LLC had their eyes on the area, and the BLM was hoping to profit and grow more powerful through the General Mining Law of 1872. All the great ideas and principles that shaped America went with LaVoy Finicum, as he and many other American Patriots occupied Oregon's Malheur [French for "misfortune" or "tragedy"] National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles from Burns, Oregon, in order to force the return of 188,000 acres to local control and the release of the Hammond brothers from prison. They acted through peaceful, political protest, even though they were armed to ensure the security of their protest, and they advocated for property and states' rights, as they took a hard stand against federal ownership of 250 million acres in America and years of oppression by the BLM and several other government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency. Twenty-five days into the protest, Robert LaVoy Finicum, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, Shawna Cox, Ryan Payne and Virginia Sharp headed to John Day, Oregon for a "singing" and a meeting with Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer to discuss their demands, explain their views to local people and seek a peaceful end to the stand-off. But they were ambushed along the way by the Oregon State Patrol and the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, which used combat-grade operation protocols rather than "civilian" deadly force standards, firing once without warning at the initial stop, according to many witnesses, and numerous times at the second roadblock using concussion and live rounds. Does this remind anyone else of Ruby Ridge and the murders of Randy Weaver's wife and son by the FBI? If the federal authorities had been serious about desiring a peaceful resolution to this conflict, they could have coordinated with Sheriff Palmer to arrest Finicum, if just cause existed for an arrest [they knew Finicum's destination]. Instead they chose to shoot him numerous times and refuse him medical attention from Virginia Sharp, a trained EMT and his friend, as he lay on the snowy ground dying. They murdered LaVoy on a lonely, desolate stretch of Highway 395. If the FBI had negotiated LaVoy Finicum's peaceful surrender, as they certainly could have, he would simply have been taken into custody and released after his acquittal by a jury, just in the same manner that a jury acquitted his so-called "co-conspirators" in October 2016, including Ammon Bundy and a friend and activist, Shawna Cox. And, it should alarm everyone that the HRT agents initially concealed the fact they had fired their weapons during the stop. Upon her release, Shawna Cox made a plea before a mass of TV cameras and supporters, imploring: "We have to be vigilant people. Wake up America, and help us restore the Constitution. Don't sleep with your head in the sand. Isn't it odd that FBI agents , who are sworn to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution -- lawyers all -- regularly side with government imposed tyranny against U.S. citizens? Arianna Finicum Brown, LaVoy's 27 year old daughter, stated shortly after his death: "My Dad was such a good man, through and through. He would never want to hurt somebody, but he does believe in defending freedom and he knew the risks involved. During LaVoy's funeral, his brother, Guy Finicum remarked on LaVoy's deep faith in God, adding: "He has absolute confidence that he will be with his family again. He believes that as much as he believes the sun will rise. And that's what gave him the ability to do what he did. He always looked at a higher goal." When any government, including ours, puts forth its strength on the side of injustice and murders fine men like LaVoy Finicum, it reveals itself as a mere brute force, and it becomes apparent more than ever that tyranny rules. And other patriots are served warning to desist their opposition or meet the same fate. And what are Americans to think of a government to which all the truly brave and just men in the land are enemies, standing between it and those whom it oppresses? Robert LaVoy Finicum did not recognize unjust human laws, and he persistently stood for the dignity of human nature, knowing himself for a man, the equal of any government. He regularly fought against established injustices and the hypocrites of bureaucracies who seemed to ask, "Why do you assault us". And LaVoy's death -- the death of an American hero -- was like the planting of a good seed, and it is giving rise to a new crop of American heroes.
Justin O. Smith has lived in Tennessee off and on most of his adult life. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 1980, with a B.S. and a double major in International Relations and Cultural Geography - minors in Military Science and English, for what its worth. His real education started from that point on. Smith worked 8 years for the LaVergne Fire Dept - two years as their clean-up boy - and became a working fireman at age 16, working his way through college and subsequently joining the U.S. Army. Since then he primarily has contracted construction and traveled - spending quite a bit of time up and down the Columbia River Gorge, in the Puget Sound on Whidby Island and down around Ft. Lauderdale and South Beach. Justin currently writes a weekly column for The Rutherford Reader in Murfreesboro, TN, which he calls home, and he spends as much time as possible with his two beautiful and intelligent daughters and five grandchildren. He also Loves God, Family and Our Magestic and Wonderful America, and considers himself to be a Son of Liberty.
Last night when I was on the phone with my husband I told him that I was starting to call our different State Representative's and also President Donald J. Trump and his new cabinet picks. I said what do I have to lose by trying? His response back to me hit me hard, he said, "I have my family to lose if you don't try." He is hundred percent correct. If my husband is convicted on these false trumped up charges then he could spend up to 96 years in prison. He will never be able to be with his family again. This is to heartbreaking to think about and I will not stop working until he is home where he belongs.
On a daily basis I have so many people tell me, "If there is anything I can do for you, then please let me know." Well, I am asking for your help now. I am asking that you write letters to the new presidency asking them to look into this case. Then I ask that you call your elected officials and have them look into the case. The more letters and calls the better. All of these men are not guilty of anyone of the charges that they are being charged with. They did none of those things. The prosecutors have no evidence against these men. These men have been denied bail and their constitutional rights to a speedy trial. These men have been imprisoned for almost a year now. It is way past time for them to come home. Please help these men come home and be reunited with their families so they can prepare for a fair trial. This is your time to help and let your voices be heard.
Please, write President Donald J Trump, The Honorable Jeff Sessions Attorney General and then write and call your State elected officials and ask them to stand up for these mens freedoms and liberties by sending them home to their families.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) released the following statement after reintroducing two bills dealing with the 67 percent of the State of Utah that is under federal ownership.
“It’s time to get rid of the BLM and US Forest Service police. If there is a problem your local sheriff is the first and best line of defense. By restoring local control in law enforcement, we enable federal agencies and county sheriffs to each focus on their respective core missions.
“The long overdue disposal of excess federal lands will free up resources for the federal government while providing much-needed opportunities for economic development in struggling rural communities.”
Bill Details: H.R. 622, Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, first introduced last year, removes the law enforcement function from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service. Instead, the bill calls for deputizing local law enforcement, combined with block grant funding, to empower existing duly elected law enforcement offices to carry out these responsibilities. The bill, jointly sponsored by Utah’s Rep. Mia Love and Rep. Chris Stewart, also establishes a formula to reimburse local law enforcement based on the percentage of public land in each state. The resulting cost savings will reduce the BLM budget by five percent and the Forest Service by seven percent.
H.R. 621, Disposal of Excess Federal Lands Act, calls for the responsible disposal of 3.3 million acres of land identified by the Clinton Administration as being suitable for sale to non-federal entities. Encompassing just over one percent of total BLM land and less than half of one percent of all federal lands, these lands have been deemed to serve no purpose for taxpayers. In Utah, some 132,931 acres of land are eligible for disposal.
Prosecutors in Las Vegas filed a Motion In Limine late Tuesday in the case of The United States vs Cliven Bundy et al — in hopes that Nevada District Court Judge Gloria Navarro – will allow the Government to “cover-up” any wrong doing agents in the Bureau Of Land Management – who conducted the Bundy cattle impoundment in April of 2014 – may have committed.
“It’s a shocking blatant attempt by the Government to cover-up the brutal conduct of BLM agents that caused a near catastrophe in Bunkerville, Nevada during the impoundment of rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle,” says a defense attorney representing one of the defendants in the case.
The motion is a draconian attempt at best to “protect” government agents from being exposed to further scrutiny during the upcoming Nevada trials in which they will be under-oath to tell the truth.
The defense in this case is centered around civil rights violations of the Bundy family and protestors who came to Bunkerville, Nevada to protest an overreaching government agency who had beaten and incarcerated Cliven Bundy’s son Dave Bundy and other protestors, used a stun gun on his son Ammon Bundy, viciously attacked Mr. Bundy’s sister Margaret, and terrorized peaceful protest with threat of snipers and military force.
Further the government which successfully used the idea that some of the defendants in the Oregon trial of the United States vs Ammon Bundy et al .. were also involved in the Bundy Ranch “armed” protest as a reason to deny them a pretrial release, now ask the Judge to not allow any reference to that case including the fact they were acquitted.
Attorney Roger Roots
Attorney from Rhode Island Roger Roots, who was instrumental in the Oregon case and acts as a paralegal for Ryan Bundy says, he is confident that “most” of this motion will be denied but that if even one point is granted it would be a travesty. They basically tried to use the same tactic in Oregon says Roots, and we all know how well they worked out for them.
Mr. Roots is more confident in the courts than others. It is worth noting that not one key motion filed by the defense has been granted and that the Judges assigned to this case almost always passed motions filed by the Prosecution, effectively shutting down any defense the defendants and their counsel try to use.
Chris Rasmussen, Attorney for Talk Show Host Pete Santilli, while erring on the side of caution to not give an in-depth comment on the motion said;
It is what it is and we will fight it. The government wishes to eliminate anything we could use that goes to the defendants state of mind .. and we cannot allow that to happen. These people were frightened and there was a reason they reacted the way they did.
Former Nevada State Assembly Woman Michele Fiore who was and remains to be a staunch supporter of the Bundy family and protestors, reacted to the motion on Tuesday night by stating that it was just unbelievable to her the Government would try to stop the truth from being told in this case..
Do we or do we not still live in America? One way or the other the truth will be told and I would like to see them stop me from voluntarily giving my testimony when this trial begins.
Carol & Cliven Bundy
Carol Bundy, Cliven Bundy’s wife, says it is outrageous to think the Government would even try a stunt like this;
So what kind of defense are we allowed to have if we can’t tell the truth? Because if the Government has it’s way it looks like we will not be allowed to have any defense at all.
It appears the government is rightfully concerned about the reputation of lead agent Daniel P. Love who has been the center of controversy in almost every operation he has conducted in the Western States. The underlying language in this motion is really about keeping Daniel Love from being exposed, and his overly aggressive military operation – that carried the potential for death and violence – to be kept from a Jury’s scrutiny. If you read this the way it is written it is clear the Government fears it will lose this case if the evidence against the BLM is ever shown to a Jury.
If allowed, this motion will quash key testimony that is expected by people like Dr. Jay Redd a prominent and respected Dentist in St. George Utah, whose father Dr. James Redd committed suicide after a BLM operation headed by “Super” Agent Daniel P. Love in Blanding, Utah, went very wrong . In all, there were 3 suicides associated with that operation. Senator Orrin Hatch at the time pleaded with then – AG Eric Holder – to look into the matter, and it could be very problematic for the Prosecution if Senator Hatch’s “opinion” about the BLM is heard by a Jury.
The government would love to have full reign over this trial, says Pete Santilli who was caught up in the arrests after his coverage of The Malheur Refuge Adverse Possession in Oregon last winter and charged in both cases ;
Sure, they would love it if we all just went into this trial docile and defeated, not willing to fight them, but that just isn’t going to happen. The Bureau of Land Management went to Bundy Ranch with a clear disdain and lack of respect for the Bundy Family. Dan Loves Objective fell just short of scorched earth policy; We can prove it, they know it and they are very, very afraid of that. As I see it, we have them right where we want them, why would they file such a ludicrous Motion otherwise? This Motion has the “BLM is guilty” written all over it and I for one think that’s great news. If the Government gets it’s way and eliminates the fact that Daniel P Love gave agents the authority to beat up on Bundy Family members and was not acting in a rational way during the impoundment, if the Jury is not allowed to hear what elected officials told Love in response to his brutal actions, and if there was never any reason whatsoever for protestors to be in fear for their lives, then I believe any Jury worth it’s salt is going to be very suspect as to the validity of this case. I mean, if nobody did anything wrong, then why the hell are we having a trial?
Setting the record straight on wilderness, environmental, rural, and recreation in the West, and Utah
Robert W Weaver
Bullying by federal agents over rocks, drives man suffering from PTSD to take his own life
Robert “Bob” Weaver moved to Cody, Wyoming after his wife passed away in 2001. He loved Geology, fossils, archaeology, and history. When Weaver’s wife passed away from cancer, it took its toll on him. He began seeing a therapist for issues related to anxiety and PTSD, according to his close friend, Larry Roop. Being a rock hound and spending time mining and exploring was therapeutic for Weaver who, according to all accounts, was one of the kindest guys you would ever meet.
Over the years, Bob Weaver became known as “Bob the Geologist,” and he often shared his knowledge and love of rock hunting with others. Bob spent a lot of time learning about fossils, which lead him to make some great discoveries. His friends claimed that his skills were so keen that other rock hunters in Cody were jealous of Bob’s uncanny ability to find fossils. It’s possible that this jealousy is what lead others to make false reports about Bob’s activities to the US Forest Service (USFS), or possibly the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). On one occasion the USFS discovered a cave that had been potholed by someone. When agents started asking around, apparently a person that didn’t like Bob blamed the destruction on him.
After investigating the incident, the USFS concluded that the allegations against Bob Weaver were false and declined to take any action against him. Despite his innocence, federal land agencies in the area began to harass Weaver anytime they got wind of alleged prohibited activities. Time and time again, the BLM and other agencies hounded Weaver, but were unable to take action because they lacked proof of any wrongdoing.
It was not illegal for folks to collect fossils, gems, and other rocks, so there was nothing illegal about Weavers collecting. Over the years he acquired a nice collection of fossils and other items of interest. Although Weaver spent some time pursuing his hobby on public lands, most of his time rock hunting was done on his legally filled mining claim, and other private properties. According to some of the people who had knowledge of his explorations, there was nothing that would indicate that Bob ever broke the law at any time while on public lands.
Nevertheless, USFS and BLM continued to dog him to such a degree that Weaver began to keep a record of the agents who made contact with him. He used a short form document upon which he would enter the name of the agency, why they contacted him, and the name of the federal employee who made the contact. Constant allegations, as well as his vigilance in documenting contacts from federal agencies, began to place incredible stress on Weaver. But there was nothing that could prepare for what would come next.
On the first of December, 2016, six or eight Federal Agents from the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service, accompanied by an investigator from Social Security with the office of the Inspector General, raided Mr. Weaver’s home. His close friend, Larry Roop, stated that prior to the raid Bob had set up a display at his church of pictures of a Fish Plate fossil. A BLM employee at the church took a picture of it and turned Bob in. Since it wasn’t illegal for Weaver to have such a fossil, it remains unclear why the BLM employee chose to report him to the federal government.
The BLM Special Agent (SA) in charge was Michael Ramirez, stationed in Billings Montana. When Ramirez first questioned him, Weaver presented the agent with the short form and asked why he was there. Apparently Ramirez wadded up the form and threw it on the flood. According to Roop, SA Ramirez then told Weaver he wasn’t required to tell him why he was being questioned.
Ramirez continued to interrogate and harass Weaver for approximately four hours. Ramirez peppered him with questions about mining on public lands, and made other false allegations about his activities. According to Roop’s account, Weaver explained to Ramirez that that it wasn’t him. Despite his efforts to set the record straight, Ramirez called Weaver a liar many times throughout the interrogation.
It appears that federal agents came to Weaver’s home looking for items to seize in order to build a case against him, but were unable to find anything during their search. Roop indicated that the more the agents searched and came up with nothing, the angrier with Weaver they became. In a particularly cruel turn, the Social Security investigator threatened Weaver with the possibility of losing his disability payments because he had allegedly sold a couple of fossils to set up a collage fund for his grand kids. Selling fossils that come from public lands is prohibited without the proper permits, but selling fossils that come from a legal claim or that are found on private property is allowed. There was nothing to indicate the items Weaver sold were found on public lands.
This mental abuse continued for several hours. Weaver attempted to tell Ramirez about his fragile mental condition stemming from PTSD. He told Ramirez that he had been seeing a therapist, but the agent refused to ease up on his pressure tactics. Finally, Weaver said he was going to leave because he was so distraught from hours of verbal abuse, and the ransacking of his home by the agents. He indicated that he could take no more and was no longer able to think straight or talk at that point. Ramirez told him that he couldn’t leave or take a break, and continued to harass him, at which point Weaver lost control of his emotions.
After four hours of relentless haranguing, SA Ramirez told Weaver they would break for lunch to give him a chance to get control of his emotions.
After lunch federal agents continued to interrogate and harass Weaver for an additional four hours, according to Roop. When the agents finished their interrogating Weaver, and ransacking his home, they seized the majority of Bob’s legally-obtained fossils and rocks. The agents also confiscated his home-crafted fish and leaf plates, and other items. The agents seized Weaver’s personal property without regard as to what was legally obtained by him.
After eight hours of intense interrogation, the agents left. Weaver was not arrested. He then called his therapist who placed him in the hospital under a suicide watch. Weaver apparently never recovered from the abusive treatment at the hands of BLM SA Michael Ramirez and his team.
On December 31, unable to cope with the humiliation, verbal abuse, intimidation and threats made by Ramirez and the other federal investigators, Robert (Bob) Weaver took his own life. His friend, Larry Loop, who related the terror and trauma of the earlier events, found Weaver following his suicide.
The seizure of Weaver’s collections, protracted mental torture and intimidation inflicted by Ramirez and the other agents, can be described as nothing less than an unjust and gross overreaction to false reports by resentful associates. Despite the fact that SA Michael Ramirez filed no charges against Weaver, the experience crushed his already fragile mental state. But in an effort to justify the raid and interrogation of Weaver, Ramirez seized property from other rock hounds and shops in the area under the pretense that they were illegally selling items on consignment for him.
Following his suicide, Lynnette Hawkins Kelley, one of Weaver’s friends, made the following post on Facebook
Ned and I thought we should let people know that our friend, Bob Weaver, took his own life a few days ago. A funeral is pending, and we will post the details for those who knew “Bob the Geologist”. Bob knew and loved, and lived for discovering and sharing the beautiful geological wonders of this world. His death is a tragedy of circumstances…we, his friends, hope to find a way to make the wrongs right. Rest in Peace Bob the Geologist! — with Ned Kelley.
Lynette Kelley also wrote the following editorial about Bob Weaver and tried to get it printed in several newspapers in the area and the only one that printed it was the Powell Tribune in their Jan. 17th issue. Another of Weaver’s friends in Kemmerer, Wyoming tried to get the editorial published in the local Gazette newspaper, again with no response.
She finally posted the editorial on Facebook.
Editorial to the Cody Enterprise and Powell Tribune By Lynette Hawkins Kelley — January 9, 2017
A funeral will be held in Cody this week for a man, Bob Weaver, who took his own life. He was a geologist, who moved to Cody to spend his retirement years enjoying the natural wonders and treasures of Wyoming.
I am writing this editorial to bring to light the cause of Bob’s suicide, which was tragic and could have been avoided. Recently Bob’s home was raided by about six law enforcement employees of various government entities. They had a search warrant for illegal collection of fossils on public land.
There is not room in an editorial to argue the complicated legal system on the subject of collection of specimens on public land, which will continue to be hashed out in courts, and unending documents, and conflicting opinions between the Public and Government agencies.
My purpose is to share what Bob told us about what happened in his home the night he was overwhelmed by men intruding on his privacy. He described to us a scene from wartime Germany with Nazis after a Jew.
The leader of this group of intruders burst into the home with aggression, yelling and cursing, threatening and absolute bullying. When Bob tried to defend himself, the word “Liar!” was again and again thrown in his face. They tried to get him to sign a pile of papers on the spot, under duress of the atmosphere they created, to admit guilt.
Dozens of items were taken from Bob’s home. Upon verbally defending himself, he was physically escorted outside so as not to be able to be a witness to much of his life-time valuable collections being confiscated. Many of these items can be proven to have been collected legally, including being obtained with permission on private property and according to the laws of the land.
A video camera was used to film Bob’s home and belongings. I can only hope the intruders videotaped their own entry and methods and actions as well. I understand that it will take a court, attorneys, judges, and maybe even a jury to sort this all out.
But my point is that the raid was overzealous to the point of illegal, and that it caused a man so much anxiety and fear that he took his own life. These vigilantes may have well as shot him themselves, for this was the outcome of their actions.
The public deserves the accountability of those involved in this raid. While accusing Bob the Geologist of breaking the law, did they break the law themselves?
The case of Bob Weaver is not the first account in which military-style home raids, over-the-top interrogations, and cruel threats from federal agents have led to the deaths of decent, law-abiding citizens. On the morning of June 10, 2009, 140 BLM and FBI agents dressed in body armor and armed with automatic weapons, arrived in dozens of SUVS and stormed into the small town of Blanding, Utah, raiding the homes of more than 20 local citizens. The teams were searching for archaeological items as part of a two year investigation into supposed illegal artifacts trading. With little actual evidence, the agents in charge fabricated an elaborate story saying the people whose homes were raided were part of a complex, million-dollar black market scheme.
The raid took place under the direction of BLM SA Dan Love*. Agent Love, and others behind ‘Operation Cerberus Action,’ fabricated evidence, inflated the value of actual artifacts, and subjected suspects in the case to prolonged interrogations, suffering, humiliation and terror.
Dr. James Redd, a beloved local family physician, and his wife and daughter, were targets of the Cerberus investigation. When agents raided the house, Love handcuffed and detained Dr. Redd in his garage where both BLM and FBI agents taunted him. They called Dr. Redd a liar and, despite the fact that there were never allegations of grave looting on his part, the agents chided him, asking him which, among the shovels hanging in his garage, was the one he liked to dig bodies with. Love’s agents also threatened him by saying that he would never practice medicine again.
At one point during the raid, Dr. Redd had to go to the bathroom, so 2 agents marched him down the stairs to his bathroom. In a humiliating display, the 2 agents stood 6 inches from his right knee and from his left knee as he used the bathroom. When he was done the agents refused to remove his handcuffs so he could clean himself.
After hours of verbal harassment and physical abuse, the agents then loaded him into a vehicle and drove him to the BLM office in Monticello, Utah where he was shackled to others arrested in the sting. The suspects were then transported an hour north to Moab, where they were brought before the federal judge to hear their charges and enter a plea. Dr. Redd plead not guilty.
After returning to his Blanding home, during the early hours of the next day, Dr. James Redd committed suicide by suffocation in his Jeep. A respectable and beloved citizen, church member, and servant of those on the Navajo reservation who depended upon his medical care, James Redd took his own life as a direct result of the federal agents’ overzealous tactics and inhuman treatment.
The following video and article by the LA Times is an accurate depiction of the scope of this tragic injustice, Operation Cerberus Action, which ended in the suicide deaths of 3.
Eighteen months following the raids, two defendants as well as the informant BLM SA Love used to gather information about Dr. Redd and others, died at their own hands. Dr James Redd, Steven L Schrader, and Ted Gardiner, took their own lives as a result of Operation Cerberus, and 10 of the remaining suspects plead guilty to minor charges. None of the suspects involved received punishments other than probation and some minor fines. In actuality, there was no black market antiquities trade in the small town of Blanding, Utah and the only individual to receive jail time was Charles “Chuck” Armstrong of Blanding, who, in his outrage over the incidents, threatened the federal informant involved.
Armstrong was charged with threatening a witness by SA Love, subsequently convicted and sentenced to one year in federal prison and 24 months probation. The federal government sent him to what was described as one of the most violent prisons in the federal system. Mr. Armstrong served his term, but never recovered from the mistreatment at the hands of SA Love and the federal judicial system. Mr. Armstrong passed away from an accidental overdose on February 12, 2015.
Robert “Bob” Weaver is the latest victim of heavy handed and unconstrained federal agents who, for incomprehensible reasons, seem to target innocuous activities by law-abiding citizens.
Now is the time for our elected officials and the citizens to demand change. These agencies have been give a free reign under the Obama Administration to run roughshod over rural America, especially in the West.
Rogue agents in overreaching agencies, such as the BLM and USFS, have put the value of rocks, fossils and ancient artifacts — no matter how insignificant — over that of civil rights and human life. And many people have died as a result. Millions of Americans throughout the West and into the heartland hope that the Trump Administrations will remedy the calloused culture and arrogant disregard for lives and property displayed by federal agencies, to whom citizens, such as Bob Weaver, have fallen victim.
*Dan Love was also the agent in charge of the raid of the Bundy Ranch in 2014, and the attempted confiscation of cattle by the BLM and FBI.
