Last March, nine members of an extremist militia group were charged in Michigan with seditious conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction in connection with an alleged plot to attack law enforcement and spark an uprising against the government.
According to the federal indictment, the nine individuals planned to kill a law enforcement officer and then use bombs to attack the caravan of cars taking part in the subsequent funeral procession, hoping that this violence would incite a larger armed conflict with authorities. Fortunately, the FBI and the Michigan State Police intervened and took the subjects into custody before they could carry out their alleged plot.
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(CNN) -- The trial against members of the so-called Hutaree militia resumes Thursday as the Michigan-based group's leader David Stone Sr. and his son, Joshua, face weapons charges.
The stakes, however, are considerably lower after a federal judge in Detroit on Tuesday dropped the more serious charges of sedition and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against the government. The directed verdict cleared several of the original nine defendants of all charges.
Federal authorities accused the nine members of the "Christian warrior" militia of homegrown terrorism. The FBI planted a secret informant and FBI agent in the militia in 2008 to record the activities of the group. The video and audio recordings became the crux of the federal case, including clips of the elder Stone making anti-government statements and remarks about killing police officers.
The defendants all faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.
But in a trial that began in early February, federal district Judge Victoria Roberts said she did not find that the government's evidence sufficiently proved that the Hutaree militia had planned a conspiracy against the government.
"The Government's case is built largely of circumstantial evidence," Roberts explained Tuesday in her 28-page ruling. "While this evidence could certainly lead a rational fact finder to conclude that 'something fishy' was going on, it does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendants reached a concrete agreement to forcibly oppose the United States Government."
"Pick a sentence here, pick a sentence there -- the (remarks were) taken out of context," a defense attorney for one of the cleared militia members said. "We always said it was a First Amendment and Second Amendment case, and that's what it ended up being," added attorney Michael Rataj, whose client, Tina Stone, is the wife of the elder Stone.
The charges dismissed Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the arrests of the nine militia members, at least five of whom no longer face charges after Roberts' ruling.
"We're pleased. It is, in my opinion, a great day for the Constitution and for the rule of law," the elder Stone's defense attorney, William Swor, said. "We're grateful that the judge did what she did."
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Bundy has been fighting BLM for more than 20 years. The rancher hasn’t paid the BLM’s grazing fees since 1993, and a federal judge first ordered him to remove his cattle from the land in 1998. In July, another judge said the BLM could remove his cattle if it was still on public land by the end of August. Bundy says he owes the government more than $300,000 in unpaid fees, but the government says he owes $1 million, plus the cost of the recent round-up. Either way, Bundy tells the Las Vegas Sun that he won’t pay.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
A new, unedited version of comments by Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy has emerged, and it sheds some light on the context of his remarks, universally condemned on Thursday as horrifically racist.
The 67-year-old Bundy, battling the U.S. government after federal agents stormed his ranch to confiscate his cattle in a dispute over grazing fees, said far more than what appeared in the New York Times and most other news accounts. While his grammar is pretty bad -- and his use of "negro" and "colored" considered politically incorrect (although they were both once preferred terms chosen by blacks) -- he actually was making a larger point, not simply deriding blacks.
In a YouTube video, he is filmed already in mid-sentence.
“ ... and so what I've testified to you -- I was in the Watts riot, I seen the beginning fire and I seen that last fire. What I seen is civil disturbance. People are not happy, people are thinking they don't have their freedoms, they didn't have these things, and they didn't have them.
We've progressed quite a bit from that day until now, and we sure don't want to go back. We sure don't want the colored people to go back to that point. We sure don't want these Mexican people to go back to that point. And we can make a difference right now by taking care of some of these bureaucracies, and do it in a peaceful way.
Those comments appear to change the context of the next section, which was quoted in the New York Times. One clear point the rancher made: America has progressed since the 1965 race riots and "we sure don't want to go back."
Here are the heavily quoted comments from Bundy that followed the above section edited out by most news organizations.
“ Let me tell, talk to you about the Mexicans, and these are just things I know about the negroes. I want to tell you one more thing I know about the negro. When I go, went, go to Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and I would see these little government houses, and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids -- and there's always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch. They didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do.
And because they were basically on government subsidy -- so now what do they do? They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never, they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered are they were better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things? Or are they better off under government subsidy?
You know they didn’t get more freedom, they got less freedom -- they got less family life, and their happiness -- you could see it in their faces -- they wasn't happy sitting on that concrete sidewalk. Down there they was probably growing their turnips -- so that’s all government, that’s not freedom.
But Bundy went on after saying that -- and again, his comments were edited out of most reports.
“ Now, let me talk about the Spanish people. You know, I understand that they come over here against our Constitution and cross our borders. But they’re here and they’re people -- and I’ve worked side by side a lot of them.
Don’t tell me they don’t work, and don’t tell me they don’t pay taxes. And don’t tell me they don’t have better family structures than most of us white people. When you see those Mexican families, they’re together, they picnic together, they’re spending their time together, and I’ll tell you in my way of thinking they’re awful nice people. And we need to have those people join us and be with us not, not come to our party.
So, Bundy thinks Hispanics are hard-working family people, and laments the current plight of American blacks under the federal welfare system while saying there has been much progress and that "we sure don't want to go back." As always, there's more to the story than what the New York Times says.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
"THE PRESS WILL USE RACE TO KEEP US DIVIDED"... Blame the messenger. Did the press cover Bundy's words accurately? Not just the first time, but time and again Bundy spoke to the press and the press covered his words accurately.
Explain if you can how "the press" (FOXSNOOZE) distorted Bundy's words.. I saw several clips of Bundy's initial comments on "the negro" then I saw his responses to his racist words, then an interview where he confirmed his racism.
Some just can't blame the RACIST for being RACIST... so they blame the press.
It sucks when your hero "PATRIOT" turns out to be just one more lying, stealing, ScumBag, huh Henry!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
If "the press" has it wrong, then why is Randy Paul running like Forrest Gump away from Bigot Bundy??? As if Paul didn't already have enough "race" issues, the last thing he needs is to associate himself with Henry's Hero "PATRIOT"Bigot.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Who cares about Rand Paul, he's fringe remember? Now why would the media edit Bundy's videos and words, oh they just want you to hear some of it and box fell for it
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
I know, I know... It's tough when your HERO PATRIOT turns out to be a lying stealing scumbag, huh Henry.
Um... Ahh... ummmm... I was 'misquoted'! Um... that's not what I said... well it IS what I said but it wasn't what I meant... I mean... um.... The Negro Never Learned To Pick Cotton! There! The Negro was better off a slave! See? No racism there!
Give it up Henry. The rest of America already sees this ScumBag for what he is (including Randy Paul).
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Who cares about Rand Paul, he's fringe remember? Now why would the media edit Bundy's videos and words, oh they just want you to hear some of it and box fell for it
Which "media"? FoxSnooze??? CNN? NBC,CBS,ABC, NPR, BBC... oh wait... They all faked Bundy's words! Bundy's racism is the media's fault!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
LMAO!!! OMG HENRY! I was just going to post the exact same video!!!
See... This one black guy says that Bundy is not a racist... SO IT MUST BE TRUE!!! I wonder if this same black guy said that Bundy WAS a racist... would you still be posting his words???
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
“The media distorts information to the point of social division. This is a photo of myself and the resilient, often charismatic, and maybe not so tactful Cliven Bundy. He’s a cowboy and a helluva family man, not an orator. One thing he definitely isn’t – a racist. I found his comments to not only be NOT racist, but his own view of his experiences. Who the heck are we to determine another man’s perspective on the world around him?! Just because Picasso’s view of the world was abstract, does it negate the fact that his art was genuine? Furthermore, if you take the time to do your own research, you’ll find that his statements about some black Americans actually hold weight. He posed a hypothetical question. He said, “I wonder IF” … Hell, I’m black and I often wonder about the same about the decline of the black family. Bottom line is that we are all slaves in this waning republic, no matter our skin color. Mr. Bundy could have used any racial demographic as an example: Native Americans on reservations, whites in trailer parks, etc. He noticed the crippling effects of receiving government “assistance” and the long term result of accepting handouts. It’s not progress at all. I challenge Sean Hannity, Rand Paul, and others to read my comment and reconsider their position in this matter. Individual liberties are at stake here, yours and mine. THAT is the issue. Don’t let the liberal media and ignoramuses like Glenn Beck and that weasel Harry Reid make you lose sight of the real issue here: The federal government is a burgeoning behemoth and a bully on a once constitutional playground.
I sincerely hope you real patriots out there who can see through the smoke.”
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
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