Cops are Members of the Universal Brotherhood of Officers

Understanding Making a Murderer culture: Cops are members of the Universal Brotherhood of Officers

September 22, 2017

(freerudyguede) - Cops are members of the Universal Brotherhood of Officers. They exist above the law. CIA officers exist near the pinnacle of the Brotherhood. Blessed with fake identities and bodyguards, they fly around in private planes, live in villas, and kill with state-of-the-art technology. They tell army generals what to do. They direct Congressional committees. They assassinate heads of state and murder innocent children with impunity and with indifference. Everyone to them, but their bosses, is expendable.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/09/22/the-cia-70-years-of-organized-crime/

There wasn't any great significance in the murder of Teresa Halbach - it was always a matter of covering up a very local culture of corruption. But the police always knew that the greater machinery of the state would have their back.

Which is why they acted with such impunity and so oblivious to any sense of risk

US Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor Refuses to Agree Police Can Do No Wrong: The Explanation of “He Reached for His Waistband” is a Depressingly Well-worn One, Trotted Out All Too Often to Justify Police Shootings

April 26, 2017

(Rewire) - In 2010, Chris Thompson, a Houston police officer, shot Ricardo Salazar-Limon in the back. Salazar-Limon remains partially paralyzed.

Salazar-Limon sued Thompson and the City of Houston, saying that the shooting was excessive force—in other words, that Thompson had no right to shoot him. The case wound its way through the courts for years.

This week, it ended up at the U.S. Supreme Court over one critical question: Can the word of a police officer defending an excessive force claim be considered an “undisputed fact” in a lawsuit, even if that account differs from their accuser?

Like a lot of cases involving police violence, there is considerable dispute between Salazar-Limon and Thompson about what happened that night in 2010.

Both parties agree as to how it all started: Thompson was operating a speed gun that evening, and he recorded Salazar-Limon’s speed as over the limit. He pulled Salazar-Limon over and asked for his license. He checked the license and found no open warrants or charges, but told Salazar-Limon to get out of his truck, as he was being detained on suspicion of driving drunk.

After that, things get muddy. Salazar-Limon and Thompson both say that they struggled, but differ on how much and how long. Thompson contended it went on for quite some time and that Salazar-Limon pushed him toward oncoming traffic. Salazar-Limon, on the other hand, characterized the encounter as brief.

Following the struggle, Salazar-Limon pulled away and started to walk back to his truck. Thompson ordered him to stop. Salazar-Limon said that Thompson then shot him within seconds. Thompson said that Salazar-Limon not only didn’t stop, but he also raised his hands to his waistband, as if he was reaching for a gun. (No gun was ever found.) Only then, according to Thompson, did he shoot Salazar-Limon.

When Salazar-Limon sued over questions of excessive force, the lower court granted summary judgment in favor of Thompson and the City of Houston. The Fifth Circuit upheld that decision. Summary judgment is designed to allow courts to decide cases prior to trial, but it can only be granted when there are no disputes over key facts. A key fact is something integral to the dispute between the parties. In other words, when two parties disagree over the foundational facts of the case, the court can’t grant summary judgment.

Here, the parties disagree over the very essence of the case: Did Thompson shoot Salazar-Limon in the back for no reason, or did he do so because he believed Salazar-Limon was reaching for his waistband and therefore possibly a gun? When this level of disagreement occurs, the court generally has to let the case go to trial so a jury can sort out which party is more credible.

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear Salazar-Limon’s appeal in Salazar-Limon v. City of Houston. In concurring with the denial of certiorari, Justice Samuel Alito essentially said there was no dispute over the key facts because, although Salazar-Limon and Thompson utterly disagree on everything that happened after the very beginning of the traffic stop, Salazar-Limon didn’t utter the magic words “I didn’t reach for my waistband” in his depositions and affidavits—and therefore no disagreement exists.

It’s a controversial and pedantic way of thinking about the law, but one at least some conservative Supreme Court justices have endorsed. In doing so, they’re essentially saying that cops are inherently believable, while people that are shot by cops are not.

And Justice Sonia Sotomayor is having none of it. She believed the Supreme Court should have taken the case: In her dissent from the denial of certiorari, she raged, and rightly so, about this state of affairs.

She dryly noted that the explanation of “he reached for his waistband” is a depressingly well-worn one, trotted out all too often to justify police shootings of this sort. She saves her real ire, however, for discussing how this decision flies in the face of how the American legal system is supposed to work:

This is not a difficult case. When a police officer claims that the victim of the use of force took some act that would have justified that force, and the victim claims he did not, summary judgment is improper.

What Sotomayor is getting at is incredibly crucial: Officers are no more or less inherently believable than anyone else at this stage in a lawsuit. A determination of credibility must go to a jury for them to sort out who is telling the truth. To decide at this point that a police officer’s word is better than that of the shooting victim—even though the victim’s testimony is also made under oath—is to say that the police essentially never lie (and that, of course, victims of police shootings do).

Man Who Died of Thirst in Milwaukee County Jail Had Water Cut Off for a Week

April 24, 2017

The Huffington Post - A mentally ill man who last year died of severe dehydration in a Milwaukee County jail was kept in his cell for seven days straight after jail employees cut off his water supply, a prosecutor in Wisconsin said Monday.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that prosecutors told a six-person jury on Monday that cutting off water to Terrill Thomas’ cell was “highly irregular and contrary to standard operating procedure in the jail.” The comments came as part of an inquest into Thomas’ death, in which the jury decides whether there’s probable cause to charge anyone with a crime in Thomas’ death.

Assistant District Attorney Kurt Benkley told jurors that it “became apparent” that Thomas “was unable to tell people about his basic needs,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The jury is considering whether there is probable cause to charge any jail officials with abuse of a prisoner.

In a court filing last month, the district attorney argued that abusing, neglecting, or ill-treating a prisoner is a public welfare offense.

“Inmates are at the mercy of their jailors for basic life-sustaining necessities like water, food, and medical care,” the district attorney wrote in a court filing. “When a mentally ill inmate, like Mr. Thomas, is locked in solitary confinement without access to water, his life is totally in his jailors’ hands. The law much strictly require jailors to safeguard lives which are so completely entrusted to their care. Stupidity, thoughtlessness, indifference, and incompetence are not morally sufficient excuses nor valid legal defenses.”

Thomas’ death was included in The Huffington Post’s investigative project examining jail deaths across the United States in the year after the high-profile death of Sandra Bland in police custody in 2015.

The Justice Department had been considering launching a civil rights investigation into the conditions at the Milwaukee County Jail, but the status of that potential investigation is unclear.

Erik J. Heipt, an attorney for Thomas’ family, noted that Monday was the one-year anniversary of his “senseless” death.

“He was a pretrial detainee in a mental health crisis. Instead of providing him with desperately needed treatment, the Milwaukee County Jail disciplined Terrill by locking him in an isolation cell, giving him inedible ‘nutraloaf’ to eat, and shutting off his drinking water supply for seven days—causing him to suffer and die from profound dehydration. Nothing like this should ever happen in an American jail,” he said.

“I am pleased that the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office taking this atrocity seriously and hope that the inquest is the first step toward justice for Terrill and his family,” he added.

Paul Craig Roberts: A Government of Morons

April 15, 2017

(Paul Craig Roberts, Institute for Political Economy) - It has become embarrassing to be an American. Our country has had four war criminal presidents in succession. Clinton twice launched military attacks on Serbia, ordering NATO to bomb the former Yugoslavia twice, both in 1995 and in 1999, so that gives Bill two war crimes. George W. Bush invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and attacked provinces of Pakistan and Yemen from the air. That comes to four war crimes for Bush. Obama used NATO to destroy Libya and sent mercenaries to destroy Syria, thereby commiting two war crimes. Trump attacked Syria with US forces, thereby becoming a war criminal early in his regime.

To the extent that the UN participated in these war crimes along with Washington's European, Canadian and Australian vassals, all are guilty of war crimes. Perhaps the UN itself should be arraigned before the War Crimes Tribunal along with the EU, US, Australia and Canada.

Quite a record. Western Civilization, if civilization it is, is the greatest committer of war crimes in human history.

And there are other crimes—Somalia, and Obama's coups against Honduras and Ukraine and Washington's ongoing attempts to overthrow the governments of Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Washington wants to overthrow Ecuador in order to grab and torture Julian Assange, the world's leading democrat.

These war crimes committed by four US presidents caused millions of civilian deaths and injuries and dispossessed and dislocated millions of peoples, who have now arrived as refugees in Europe, UK, US, Canada, and Australia, bringing their problems with them, some of which become problerms for Europeans, such as gang rapes.

What is the reason for all the death and destruction and the flooding of the West with refugees from the West's naked violence? We don't know. We are told lies: Saddam Hussein's "weapons of mass destruction," which the US government knew for an absolute fact did not exist. "Assad's use of chemical weapons," an obvious, blatant lie. "Iranian nukes," another blatant lie. The lies about Gaddafi in Libya are so absurd that it is pointless to repeat them.

What were the lies used to justify bombing tribesmen in Pakistan, to bomb a new government in Yemen? No American knows or cares. Why the US violence against Somalia? Again, no Americans knows or cares.

Or the morons saw a movie.

Violence for its own sake. That is what America has become.

Indeed, violence is what America is. There is nothing else there. Violence is the heart of America.

Consider not only the bombings and destruction of countries, but also the endless gratuitous, outrageous police violence against US citizens. If anyone should be disarmed, it is the US police. The police commit more "gun violence" than anyone else, and unlike drug gangs fighting one another for territory, police violence has no other reason than the love of committing violence against other humans. The American police even shoot down 12-year old American kids prior to asking any question, especially if they are black.

Violence is America. America is violence. The moronic liberals blame it on gun owners, but it is always the government that is the source of violence. That is the reason our Founding Fathers gave us the Second Amendment. It is not gun owners who have destroyed in whole or part eight countries. It is the armed-at-taxpayer-expense US government that commits the violence.

America's lust for violence is now bringing the Washington morons up against people who can commit violence back: the Russians and Chinese, Iran and North Korea.

Trump Invites Sheriff to 'Destroy' Texas State Lawmaker Who Opposes Asset Forfeiture

February 9, 2017

Yahoo News - Pennsylvania state Sen. Daylin Leach went after President Trump on Tuesday, branding him a “fascist, loofa-faced, s***-gibbon,” and challenging him to “come after me.”

Leach, a Philadelphia-area Democrat, posted a Politico report on Facebook about the president’s recent White House meeting with county sheriffs from across the country. During the meeting, one sheriff brought up civil asset forfeiture, a practice allowing law enforcement to seize money and property belonging to individuals accused of committing a crime, even before a verdict is handed down.

The sheriff, from Rockwall County, Texas, griped about a Texas state senator seeking to change the law so that a conviction would be required before a suspect’s assets could be seized.

The sheriff joked that “the cartel would build a monument” to the legislator.

“Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We’ll destroy his career,” Trump responded.

Leach, an opponent of civil asset forfeiture, linked to the article on Facebook, adding, “Hey! I oppose civil asset forfeiture too. Why don’t you come after me you fascist, loofa-faced s***-gibbon!!” He posted a similar message to Twitter.

Federal Court Rules Police Can Shoot a Barking or Moving Dog While Entering a Home

December 28, 2016

PEOPLE - A federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ruled that police can shoot a dog while entering a home if the animal “moves or barks” in the officer’s presence.

The decision is the final step in a case brought to court by Mark and Cheryl Brown of Battle Creek, whose pit bull was killed while officers were executing a search warrant on their home in 2013.

The couple claimed that officers “unlawfully seized their property in violation of the Fourth Amendment when officers shot and killed two dogs while executing a search warrant.”

An officer testified that he shot the first dog when it appeared to move “a few inches” and lunged at him. The dog fled to the basement, where the officer shot and killed it. Court documents reveal that another officer killed the second dog after it too ran to the basement and barked at the officers.

Judge Eric Clay’s decision ruled that the Browns failed to provide evidence that the first dog did not lunge at police and that the second dog did not bark.

“Given the totality of the circumstances and viewed from the perspective of an objectively reasonable officer, the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer’s safety,” the ruling reads. “The standard we set out today is that a police officer’s use of deadly force against a dog while executing a search warrant to search a home for illegal drug activity is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment when … the dog poses an imminent threat to the officer’s safety.”

Stop Throwing Kids into Debtors' Prison

September 29, 2016

Jessica Feierman and Alex R. Piquero- In Arkansas, a 13-year-old was incarcerated for three months in a juvenile correctional facility, placed in solitary confinement and forced to miss even more school because he and his family couldn't afford to pay a $500 truancy fine. In California, a mother was still paying off $7,000 for her son's jail fees months after he was killed on the streets. A mother who had been laid off from her curtain factory job pawned her jewelry and rented out half of the family home to pay for her son's juvenile probation and placement fees. Stories like these documenting the adverse toll that fines and court costs exert on juvenile offenders and their families are common across the country.

This Dickensian situation is not limited to just a few unlucky kids. Each year, approximately 1 million youth appear in juvenile court, which is ostensibly created to provide services to youth in trouble or in need. Far too often, youth are assessed a variety of court-ordered fines, fees or restitution that they cannot afford. Youth who cannot pay are pushed deeper into the juvenile justice system; many face removal from their families and incarceration in facilities with high rates of violence and harmful practices like solitary confinement and strip searches.

Our new Juvenile Law Center report, Debtors' Prisons for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System, examines the national prevalence of financial obligations in juvenile court and the dire consequences for many youth and families. Youth are fined for skipping school, underage drinking, and smoking tobacco. They are charged for the cost of expunging their juvenile records, the cost of public defenders, the cost of treatment or probation, mental health evaluations, and HIV tests, often without regard to their ability to pay. They may even be asked to pay for the cost of diversion services like arts programs, parenting classes or group therapy sessions designed to prevent juvenile court involvement. Costs can range from minimal amounts to tens of thousands of dollars.

In most states, a failure to pay court-ordered costs can lead to secure confinement for youth. Once youth are locked up, costs continue to pile on, with many families owing child support to the state, or a per-night cost of incarceration.

These policies exacerbate an already pronounced economic divide: When youth with money get in trouble, they are often allowed to stay at home, remain in school and receive community-based services, but youth in poverty experience incarceration and further justice system involvement because they can't afford the price of their freedom.

Costs and fees also make our communities less safe. We found that imposing fines, fees and restitution actually increased the likelihood of recidivism in a sample of more than 1,000 adolescent offenders, even after ruling out many other potential factors. Moreover, the higher these imposed costs, the higher the recidivism rates.

California Cop Who Killed Unarmed Man Retires on Disability After Eight Years of Service and Will Receive $71K Pension Plus Cost of Living Increases Tax-free for Life

Richmond cop who killed unarmed man to receive tax-free compensation for life

July 23, 2016

The Mercury News - The police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man during a brief scuffle in 2014 has retired from the agency but will continue to collect half of his final salary tax-free for the remainder of his life.

Officer Wallace Jensen, 33, who worked at the police department for eight years, received industrial disability retirement, effective this April, said police Chief Allwyn Brown.

Jensen stands to earn $70,700 annually from the disability retirement, according to CalPERS, and will be eligible for cost of living increases.

Only police and firefighters are eligible for industrial disability retirement, which must be signed off by a doctor, according to Kim Greer, a risk assessment manager for the city. Recipients can begin collecting payment the first day they are no longer employed. Sworn personnel can also qualify for a cash payment from the city for their injury.

Brown would not specify the nature of Jensen's disability.

On Sept. 14, 2014, Jensen responded to a nuisance call at a local liquor store, tried to apprehend a young, intoxicated man, scuffled with him when he resisted arrest and fired his gun three times, striking the 24-year-old man in his chest. Jensen told investigators that the man, Richard "Pedie" Perez, was reaching for his gun, and fearing for his own safety, he shot him. But at least four eyewitnesses have disputed the officer's version, saying the young man was only trying to get away.

Several phone calls and an email to Jensen have not been answered.

In February, the city settled with the Perez family, paying $850,000 without acknowledging responsibility for his death. An independent investigation authorized by the city cleared Jensen of wrongdoing, as did a criminal probe by the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office.Despite that, the shooting remains a flash point in the community, fueled in part by the Perez family and their supporters, who insist that the officer be held criminally liable. The Perez family has continued to lobby the Richmond Police Department and the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office to release their investigative findings, including a copy of the police report of their son's shooting and a text he sent minutes before being shot, which they have never received.

"That's one of the reasons we settled because we wanted the information to be made public," said Rick Perez, Pedie's father. "For the most part, it hasn't been."

Deputy District Attorney Barry Grove said there is no law requiring agencies to provide police reports to families of victims.

Earlier this month, Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson issued a rare, seven-page report explaining the course of the investigation, in which he maintained that the Perez case was carefully reviewed and that police officers are not given preferential treatment in criminal investigations.

"Our office is willing to file and able to file criminal charges against police officers when it is appropriate to do so," Peterson wrote, adding that he prosecuted three officers in 2014 who pleaded guilty to felony charges, one for use of lethal force, one for stealing naked photos from someone's phone and one for a burglary. All three are no longer employed in law enforcement.

Miami Cop Shoots Unarmed Black Therapist of White Autistic Man

Miami police union president: Cop fired weapon to protect unarmed black man, but missed

July 22, 2016

Reuters - The North Miami police officer who shot an unarmed black man earlier this week was actually aiming for the autistic man in his care, according to the local police union’s leader.

John Rivera, president of Dade County Police Benevolent Association, said the officers on the scene thought the autistic man’s toy was a gun and that he intended to harm Charles Kinsey, a behavioral therapist at a nearby assisted-living home.

“Many officers thought the white male had a firearm. Only much later when we’re able to Monday-morning quarterback do we find out that it’s a toy,” Rivera said at a press conference Thursday. “Only much later do we find out that the individual was autistic. The officers on the scene did not know that.”

The cop took aim at the autistic man on Monday because he thought Kinsey’s life was in danger, but missed and accidentally struck the caretaker instead, he said.

A video showing Kinsey, 47, lying on the ground with his hands in the air explaining the situation to the officers sparked immediate backlash after it was released Wednesday. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and many others were outraged that Kinsey was shot even though he was complying with the officer’s demands.

Rivera said whoever recorded the video was much closer to the mental-health care worker than the cops and could therefore hear what he was saying much better.

“Folks, being a police officer has always been difficult and lately it’s been more difficult, more challenging. Sometimes police officers do wrong and we let the system work,” he said. “And sometimes police officers are right and we still crucify them. And sometimes police officers make mistakes because at the end of the day, they’re not computers, they’re not robots, they are God’s creation.”

The North Miami Police Department said the officers were responding to a 911 call from a man who was threatening to commit suicide with a gun.

According to Rivera, the incident should not be viewed through the lens of the heightened tension surrounding law enforcement and African-American communities this summer. Distrust of police officers grew throughout the nation this month after officers shot and killed Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, Minn.

Rivera argued that the North Miami incident is unlike the other ones because this time the cop thought of Kinsey as a possible victim worthy of protection — not the suspect.

“This really is a simple yet tragic case,” he said. “You had a bunch of officers doing their job, responding, helping the public. And one officer, like many others, thought that Mr. Kinsey’s life was in danger. He tried to do something about it.”

Rivera repeatedly pleaded for the news media and politicians to share the facts without editorializing the event into something it is not. He accused the media of sensationalizing the story.

He also read a statement written by the officer who shot Kinsey:

“I took this job to save lives and help people. I did what I had to do in a split second to accomplish that and hate to hear others paint me as something I am not.”

But Hilton Napoleon, the attorney for Kinsey, was not buying Rivera’s version of events.

“I don’t understand if he’s aiming at the autistic kid, how he could miss,” Napoleon said to the Miami Herald. “He had plenty of time to tell my client to move.”

He also questioned why the officers would handcuff Kinsey after he was shot and bleeding from the leg if they were in fact looking out for his safety.

“They handcuffed him after he got shot,” Napoleon said.

*******

There are thousands of comments to this story at Yahoo! all pretty much saying the same thing:

TSA, Like All Government Agencies, is a Culture of Unaccountability

TSA staffers testified that senior employees are often not held accountable for misconduct and the TSA office created a hostile work environment by intimidating personnel by abusing integrity testing. “These leaders are some of the biggest bullies in government,” Jay Brainard, a TSA security director in Kansas, told committee. “While the new administrator of TSA has made security a much-needed priority once again, make no mistake about it, we remain an agency in crisis.” [Source]

Disabled Teen Beaten Bloody by TSA Agents

July 2, 2016

PJ Media - For sheer stupidity and incompetence, this incident involving the TSA and a disabled teenage girl suffering from brain cancer who was savagely thrown to the floor when she became confused about a metal detector going off, can't be beat.

Why these bullies weren't thrown in jail is a mystery.

Seventeen-year-old Hannah Cohen was preparing to fly from Memphis to her home in Chattanooga with her parents last year. Hannah was going home following her annual treatments at St. Jude hospital for brain cancer.

When she passed through the metal detectors, setting off an alarm, what happened next will make your blood boil.

Hit and Run:

Her years of treatment left the teenager partially deaf, blind in one eye, and limited in her abilities to walk and talk. She also, according to her mother, can become easily confused.When Hannah went through the metal detector at the airport, an alarm went off. Disoriented by the noise, she did not immediately cooperate with TSA agents who asked to conduct further screening.

Shirley Cohen tried to inform the agents about her daughter's disabilities, she told television station WREG, but airport police kept her away. That's when the situation between Hannah and the TSA officials became violent:

"She's trying to get away from them but in the next instant, one of them had her down on the ground and hit her head on the floor. There was blood everywhere," said [Shirley].

Security personnel arrested Hannah (though all charges against her were later dropped), and what should have been a night of celebration with family and friends because a night of terror and confusion in a jail cell.

A year later, the family is suing the airport, its police, and the TSA for damages, including medical expenses and emotional injuries. According to the lawsuit, they are asking for a "reasonable sum not exceeding $100,000 and costs."

What brave TSA agents we have.  Did they give a medal to the hero who threw the little girl to the ground and busted her head open?

How dysfunctional is the TSA? For starters, turnover is so high that they are hiring unqualified and poorly trained agents. If beefy federal agents can't safely subdue a tiny 17-year-old girl, what would happen if an ISIS suicide bomber was trying to get through the metal detector?

Secondly, management is deficient and incompetent. How is it possible that these trained apes were put on the front line of security at a busy airport?

But the major problem with the TSA is a culture of unaccountability. This was TSA's response to requests for comment on the incident:

The defendants declined to comment, while TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz noted in a statement that "passengers can call ahead of time to learn more about the screening process for their particular needs or medical situation."

Yes...they went there. They blamed the victim and her family for not calling ahead before they tried to board the plane.

Incidents like this will spur calls to privatize airport security. But Democrats will have none of it since the union representing TSA employees has become powerful and influential in Washington.

Police Respond to Wrong Home and Shoot Homeowner in Stockbridge, Georgia

Authorities: Police respond to wrong house, shoot homeowner

Authorities said William Powell, 63, was shot by Henry County police officers who went to the wrong house when responding to a 911 call on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 in Stockbridge, Ga.

Powell family/WGCL

June 8, 2016

CBS - A Georgia police officer responded to the wrong house and shot the homeowner, authorities said Wednesday.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Henry County police asked the agency to investigate the shooting early Wednesday morning at home in Stockbridge, southeast of Atlanta.

CBS affiliate WGCL reported someone called 911 shortly before midnight Tuesday to report hearing a woman yelling for help and gunshots. The GBI said a preliminary review of the 911 call indicates the three officers who responded went to the wrong home.

The GBI said the officers were met by the homeowner, 63-year-old William Powell, who had a handgun. One of the officers shot Powell in the neck when he didn't obey officers' commands to drop the gun.

Powell was in critical condition at Atlanta Medical Center, WGCL reported.

Police did eventually find the correct house, according to the GBI.

"There was an argument there however they indicated that there was no screaming for help or shots fired," Scott Dutton of the GBI told WGCL

The officer who shot Powell was placed on administrative leave.

CBS46 News

CBS46 News Video

Israeli Military Rule in Occupied West Bank Leads to Arrest of Palestinian Girl for Facebook Post

Israel jails Palestinian beautician over Facebook post

Family "shocked and furious" after Facebook post leads to 45-day imprisonment for Majd Atwan.

May 10, 2016

Al Jazeera - As uniformed men burst through her front gate last month, Nidal Atwan first thought they had come to her Bethlehem-area home (occupied West Bank) to arrest her 16-year-old son, Mohammed.

"It was two o'clock in the morning. If you saw the number of military jeeps, you'd think Osama bin Laden was in the neighbourhood," recalled Nidal's husband, Yousef.

To their surprise, soldiers pulled Nidal aside and asked after the whereabouts of her 22-year-old daughter, Majd, a makeup artist with a passion for bold hair colours and crystal-enhanced manicures.

In disbelief, Nidal asked the commander to show her the warrant, which stated that Majd was wanted on incitement charges over posts made on social media.

"I was shocked and furious," Nidal told Al Jazeera. "It struck me immediately, once they said they wanted Majd, that it was probably over Facebook," Yousef added.

On Monday, an Israeli military court sentenced Majd to 45 days in prison and a fine of 3,000 shekels ($800) for praising a recent bus bombing in Jerusalem.

Before Majd's arrest, Yousef and Nidal said they were aware of - but not alarmed by - their daughter's online presence. They expressed surprise that her post led to a series of interrogations at Jerusalem's Russian Compound, a police facility whose name evokes fear among many Palestinians.

Did she write stuff online? Yeah, like all other Palestinians. I really don't understand why they chose to arrest her.

"My daughter is not politically active; rather, her involvements are in beauty," Yousef said. "Did she write stuff online? Yeah, like all other Palestinians. I really don't understand why they chose to arrest her."

Since her arrest, Majd has been shepherded to and from court on six occasions as her case has moved through the system. The process has been hard on her, her parents told Al Jazeera, as Majd suffers from a number of health issues, including anaemia.

Majd's lawyer, Tareq Barghouti, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli military had monitored his client for two months before arriving at her house to make the arrest. One year ago, such charges would have been unheard of, he said, but "it has become a common thing these days, and there has been a wave of arrests on these Facebook posts".

Majd is one of nearly 150 Palestinians detained by Israeli forces over Facebook-related "incitement" since a wave of violence erupted in the region last October, according to prisoners' rights group Addameer. The numbers are a sharp increase from the 13 cases they documented in 2014.

Of those jailed in the past year, most were held in administrative detention without charge for three months. The maximum sentence for incitement is 10 years.

Apple CEO Tim Cook's Full Letter Responding to the FBI's Court Order to Create a Backdoor That Would Circumvent iPhone Security

"Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." - Benjamin Franklin

Cook says that as good as the FBI’s intentions are, forcing Apple to create a backdoor into its otherwise heavily protected products doesn’t seem right. “And ultimately,” he concludes, “we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”

The following is a letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook in response to a Judge order for the company to hack the phone of a terrorist who killed 14 in San Bernardino in December.

A Message to Our Customers

The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.

This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake.

The Need for Encryption

Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going.

All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.

Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us.

For many years, we have used encryption to protect our customers’ personal data because we believe it’s the only way to keep their information safe. We have even put that data out of our own reach, because we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.

The San Bernardino Case

We were shocked and outraged by the deadly act of terrorism in San Bernardino last December. We mourn the loss of life and want justice for all those whose lives were affected. The FBI asked us for help in the days following the attack, and we have worked hard to support the government’s efforts to solve this horrible crime. We have no sympathy for terrorists.

When the FBI has requested data that’s in our possession, we have provided it. Apple complies with valid subpoenas and search warrants, as we have in the San Bernardino case. We have also made Apple engineers available to advise the FBI, and we’ve offered our best ideas on a number of investigative options at their disposal.

We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.

Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.

The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.

The Threat to Data Security

Some would argue that building a backdoor for just one iPhone is a simple, clean-cut solution. But it ignores both the basics of digital security and the significance of what the government is demanding in this case.

Arabs Living in Israel are Subject to Military Rule and Laws

Israel takes one more step in Hitler's footsteps — coming to America soon since the Khazars look at American non-Jews as cattle (Goy).

Israeli Lawmakers Approve New Stop and Frisk Laws

February 2, 2016

The Associated Press - Israel's parliament passed a law on Tuesday expanding police powers, allowing them to stop and frisk suspects without probable cause, the latest attempt to crack down on near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Critics say the law will allow police to racially profile minorities and Arabs.

While previously police could only search people suspected of carrying a weapon, under the new measures officers can search anyone in areas declared by district police commanders to be possible settings for "hostile sabotage activity." They can also search people they suspect might commit violent crime.

Israel's internal security minister Gilad Erdan of the Likud party said the law is "an important enhancement of the police's ability to more effectively battle terrorism and violence."

Arab lawmaker Jamal Zahalka said that it was "clear the main people affected will be Arabs and people who look like Arabs."

Since September, 26 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks. At least 151 Palestinians have died from Israeli fire, including 106 Israel said were attackers.

In October, Israel approved new measures to crack down on violence. Steps approved included allowing police to impose a closure on points of friction or incitement according to security assessments.

Israel also resumed the demolition of homes belonging to Palestinian assailants. On Tuesday, the military said security forces measured the home of Amjad Sukkari, 34, a Palestinian police officer who shot at Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint Sunday, wounding three before troops shot him dead.

Israel says home demolition deters attacks, but critics say the tactic amounts to collective punishment.

The Feds and State Troopers Shot Oregon Protestor LaVoy Finicum While His Hands Were in the Air, and They Shot Him Some More After He Was Down on the Ground (the Feds and State Troopers Setup a Roadblock, with Snipers in the Trees, and Ambushed Their Vehicle, Shooting at Least 120 Times, But None of the Protestors Touched Their Guns)

Below is the complete video footage of a joint FBI and Oregon State Police traffic stop and OSP officer-involved shooting of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. This footage, which has only been edited to blur out aircraft information, was taken by the FBI on 01/26/2016 and released by the FBI on 01/28/2016.



From the female witness that was in the truck with him, the cops shot at them at the first stop while they had their hands out the window but missed, so they took off. That stupid cop walked into the line of the oncoming truck, probably so he could take a shot at the driver. You can clearly see the state cop run in front of the vehicle. LaVoy's vehicle went to go around and then you see the cop JUMP IN FRONT OF THE TRUCK. Not the opposite way around. There was not a shoot out period. Instead, a murder takes place. It was a set up and no traffic violation ever took place. The FEDS are in complete control of any and all information getting out to the public. No one in the group wanted any violence to take place except for the FEDS. REMEMBER THE MOVIE FIRST BLOOD? WE NOW KNOW NOTHING THE FEDS SAY CAN BE TRUSTED. Looks like they shot LaVoy with his hands in the air and then he dropped his hands and turned when he got shot again, grabbing at where he was shot. Where's the dash cam videos or the on ground videos? If he was going to shoot, why didn't he come out shooting? Why did he raise his hands then?

Testimony from Victoria Sharp, who was in the car when LaVoy Finicum was ‪EXECUTED by the Feds:



On YouTube, search "LaVoy Finicum executed."

Eleven people face federal felony charges in Oregon of conspiracy to impede federal officials in their official duties through the use of force, intimidation or threats in connection with the standoff that began Jan. 2 when a group opposed to federal land policy took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Some holdouts remain at the refuge near Burns, Oregon.

Feds' Plan to Violate the Posse Comitatus Act Dates Back to 2000 or Earlier; Taxpayers are Funding Their Future Enslavement Under Martial Law

The National Interagency Civil-Military Institute (NICI) is an educational institute—funded by the Department of Defense (DOD) through the National Guard Bureau—with the mission of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of joint civilian and military initiatives. To this end, it provides education to middle- and upper-level managers from the military, law enforcement agencies, emergency management and public safety organizations, and community groups. Founded in 1989 as the National Interagency Counterdrug Institute, its initial areas of focus involved border security and drug interdiction efforts, but it has expanded its course offerings since that time. In 1989, Dr. William Jefferds, former deputy adjutant general of the California National Guard, submitted a proposal to the National Guard Bureau for an institute to train individuals and agencies in joint operations. Congress approved the plan for NICI, established at Camp San Luis Obispo in California. In 1994, NICI added a course in military support to civil authorities (MSCA), and in the following year held its first international MSCA course, attended by participants from several former Soviet republics. Following several terrorist attacks during the mid-1990s, NICI in 1997 developed antiterrorism courses, as well as blocks of instruction in community response to emergencies. It also conducts force protection level II training under the guidance of the U.S. Military Police School. [Source]

'Gunslinger 2000' military exercises begin

Marines hit classroom, not streets, in terror simulation  

By David M. Bresnahan, WND
Published: 06/14/2000 

There is no visible sign of Marines on the streets of Kentucky, but inside the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort the 4th Marine Division and civil agencies will be dealing with devastation after a terrorist attack — simulated by a computer program.

“Gunslinger 2000” is an experimental program involving the 4th Marine Division in a joint exercise with civil agencies preparing for a possible terrorist attack within the continental United States, as previously reported by WorldNetDaily.
 
A Marine spokeswoman identified as Maj. Buckley told WorldNetDaily that Marines in uniform would not be visible on the streets during the exercise. She said “Gunslinger 2000” is a classroom event that will take place at the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, and inside Fort Knox.

“They’re going to have different events which test their abilities to develop policy procedures and working relationships in a controlled environment,” explained Buckley. “The locations I have are Frankfort from 17 to 24 June, and then the following week it’s in Fort Knox.”

The mock scenario has already begun, according to plans provided by Marine public affairs. A massive mock-earthquake took place yesterday along the “New Madrid” fault, causing major destruction and forcing large populations to be moved to shelters in camps set up by the Red Cross.

Plans call for each of the many camps of survivors to be attacked by terrorists using undisclosed weapons of mass destruction. The specifics of the attacks will be made known to the participants in the exercise when each happens.

The training is made possible through a computer simulation developed by Cubic Applications, Inc. (CAI) working under contract with the National Simulation Center (NSC).

The training will be part of a training exercise run by a military organization known as the National Interagency Civil-Military Institute (NICI) from San Luis Obispo, Calif.

NICI began in 1989 and provides training for military and civil agencies that need to work together for various reasons. The Community Response Emergency Simulation Training (CREST) exercise will involve federal agencies, Marines, National Guard, state and local elected leaders, emergency management leaders, local law enforcement and other civil agencies. The participants will develop a strategic and tactical plan to manage a terrorist attack of such a large magnitude that it totally immobilizes a large population.

“The participants will be confronted with over 100 scripted events which tests their ability to develop policy, procedures, and working relationships in a controlled environment,” according to Sgt. Maj. Loretta Averna, NICI public affairs in a written statement.

The computer simulation is called “Spectrum,” designed by CAI under the direction of John A. Harris, a former Army Lt. Col. with terrorism and special operations experience.

The program was developed under federal contract as a way to simulate military operations “other than war,” Harris told WorldNetDaily. Spectrum was used to train the Army for missions in Bosnia and Kosovo because it “has the capability to simulate the peacekeeping environment,” explained Harris.

CAI provided the personnel to develop, test, document, train and field the simulation under contract with NSC at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A newer version of Spectrum is currently under development with help from Texas A&M, according to Harris.

“We have taken the table-top methodology and made it partially electronic by using the simulation. Basically, all the simulation does is to allow graphics on a map in the form of overlays we have to create, and real-time movement over roads, obstacles and so on for vehicles. The simulation produces casualties, consumes fuel and rations, and any type of organization can be created from refugees to hospitals to contaminated patients,” explained Harris.

“The key point is the taxpayers are winning on this one as we are adapting a military simulation to apply to a civilian and DOD response to a terrorism and WMD (weapons of mass destruction) event for the purpose of training at the interagency level for local, state and federal responses,” he added.

The FBI Ambushes a Group of Oregon Protesters, Killing One and Wounding Another

The FBI said authorities arrested group leader Bundy, 40, his brother Ryan Bundy, 43, Brian Cavalier, 44, Shawna Cox, 59, and Ryan Payne, 32, during a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon on U.S. Highway 395. Authorities said another person, Joseph Donald O’Shaughnessy, 45, was arrested in Burns. The FBI says Bundy and the others arrested face felony charges of conspiracy to impede the duties of federal officials through the use of “force, intimidation, or threats.” The FBI said one individual “who was a subject of a federal probable cause arrest is deceased.” Fifty-year-old Peter Santilli of Cincinnati, Ohio, was arrested at 6:30 p.m. today in Burns. Santilli has been operating an online talk-radio show during the occupation of the wildlife refuge. [Source]

Ammon Bundy Taken Into FBI Custody; LaVoy Finicum Shot Dead by FBI; Ryan Payne Suffers Multiple Gunshot Wounds

January 26, 2016

Oathkeepers - This evening, the FBI made a felony stop on a vehicle carrying Ammon Bundy and several other individuals. After gun fire from the FBI, four individuals were reportedly taken into custody, including Ammon Bundy. Two individuals are reported to have been taken to the Burns hospital, which is currently on lock down.

FBI sources stated that those at the Refuge are currently free to leave unimpeded, implying that there might be action if they do not leave immediately.

UPDATES:

1811L: Blaine Cooper has reportedly assumed leadership at the Refuge and has been told to leave immediately. During a phone call with Pete Santilli, Pete can be overheard saying, “Blaine, please don’t do this.” Blaine is reportedly wanting to make a stand. Women and children are still at the Refuge.

1821L: According to local government officials, Ryan Payne suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to the Burns hospital.

1827L: Awaiting a forthcoming statement from law enforcement regarding the shoot out and arrests.

1844L: KATU News is now reporting that eight occupiers have been taken into custody.

1850L: Pete Santilli and Joe Oshaugnessy have also been arrested.

1857L: Law Enforcement reporting the arrest of the following individuals:

Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, Brian Cavalier, Shawna Cox, Ryan Payne — and JJoe O’Shaghnessy in a separate arrest.

1900L: FBI reporting that one of the occupiers is now deceased.

1924L: LaVoy Finicum (pictured below with his wife, Jeanette, and their 11 children) dead.



"LaVoy Finicum is a Northern Arizona Rancher who loves nothing more in life than God, family, and freedom. As he has watched the ever increasing encroachment of government into the lives of the American people he has felt to make a stand for freedom. He has drawn a line in the sand and that line is the Constitution in its original intent. The Constitution of the United States of America is a charter to protect the freedom of man by putting strict limits on government. We are living in a day when that supreme law of the land has been shredded by the very government that took an oath to uphold it. By their actions the Federal Government has become lawless and stalks the liberties of this land under the guise of social justice." [Source]

CLIVEN BUNDY: The arrest of my son should be a 'wake-up call to America'

January 27, 2016

Business Insider - Cliven Bundy — the father of now-arrested Ammon and Ryan Bundy, who were part of the Oregon "militia" that took over a federal wildlife refuge for 25 days — said his son's arrest and the killing of another group member "will be a wake-up call to America."

"This is a total disaster to be happening in America," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We have, I'm guessing, federal people killing innocent people. I'll tell you one thing, my sons and those who were there were there to do good, no harm was intended, they would never threaten anybody, they was trying to teach people about the Constitution and trying to help the Hammond family, trying to make sure this type of abuse didn't happen in America and yet, it did."

Ammon, the leader of the self-styled militia occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon, was arrested after the FBI conducted a traffic stop. His brother Ryan and five others were in the vehicle at the time of the stop.

Shots were fired during the arrest. One man, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, was killed, according to a militia spokesman. Officials have not yet publicly confirm Finicum's death.

Ryan suffered a minor gunshot wound during the traffic stop as well, according to The Oregonian. The brothers and four other associates were arrested on scene while another man, Peter Santilli,an independent broadcaster who live-streamed the occupation, was also arrested later (see video below).

BREAKING: Booking photos of Ammon Bundy, 7 others after arrest near Burns. https://t.co/AcqRyP4pd5 #KOIN6News pic.twitter.com/un82wepf95 — Brent Weisberg (@BrentKOIN) January 27, 2016

The group of occupiers was on their way to a community meeting in John Day, Oregon, per KATU News. 

The remaining occupiers at the refuge have no plans to leave, per The Oregonian.

Occupier Jason Patrick at the refuge: We’re all standing here ready to defend our peaceful resolution.

— Les Zaitz (@LesZaitz) January 27, 2016 The standoff in Oregon began January 2 when an armed group led by Ammon took control of the refuge to protest the sentences of two men who set fire to federal land, Dwight and Steven Hammond.

Oregon Noncombatants Labeled "Terrorists" for Political Purposes

Ammon Bundy, the leader of a small, armed group that is occupying a remote national wildlife preserve in Oregon said Tuesday that they will go home when a plan is in place to turn over management of federal lands to locals. Bundy’s general message about federal overreach on public lands is one that resonates in a county where cows outnumber people 14 to 1, and 75 percent of the land is owned by the federal government (see map below). The "government of the people, by the people," "we, the people," who pay the taxes that keep the government running, collectively own the land. Click here for a slideshow.

People of Burns, Ore., conflicted, fearful as wildlife refuge occupation drags on

January 8, 2016

Yahoo News - Wednesday marked the fifth day since a group of armed antigovernment activists led by Ammon Bundy seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, turning what began as a peaceful protest against the arrest of two local ranchers into a potentially violent occupation.

In the days since, local schools have been closed. The FBI, Oregon State Police, and sheriff’s deputies from across the state have descended on Harney County, as have the national media.

The message Harney County Sheriff David Ward and other local leaders have sent to the occupiers has been to relinquish the federal refuge and go home. But among rank and file members of the community, attitudes toward Bundy and his band of pertinacious protesters are more complicated.

After all, it was the heavily protested prison sentences of two of their own local ranchers, convicted on arson charges for setting federal land on fire, that brought the Bundy brigade to this quiet piece of country in the first place. And while most people are quick to clarify that they don’t support the group’s tactics, Bundy’s general message about federal overreach on public lands is one that resonates in a county where cows outnumber people 14 to 1, and 75 percent of the land is owned by the federal government.

A group calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom said it wants an inquiry into whether the government is forcing ranchers off their land after Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven, reported back to prison Monday. Ammon Bundy said the group felt it had the support of the local community. 

Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, speaks to reporters during a news conference at Malheur … Click here for the slideshow.

Essentially, the protesters have created a sort of conflict of conscience that appears to be driving a wedge between them and the people they claim to want to help.

Grasty, for example, said he was “embarrassed” and “angry” about the heavy law enforcement presence at the courthouse Wednesday and told the community members in the room, “If you feel the same way, that anger needs to be pointed in one direction only: at Mr. Bundy and his friends.”

But Commissioner Dan Nichols, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure.

Nichols, who said he paid a visit to the wildlife refuge and left with a vastly different perception of the situation than the one he’d had going in.

“I gotta say, with the fear that’s in this community, these people are respectful, courteous,” Nichols said, referring to Bundy’s group. Nichols said he was welcomed onto the property and had a “pleasant” discussion with Bundy before asking him to consider leaving.

“We’ve expressed locally many, many times that we agree with the same concerns, but we do not agree with the methods being done,” Nichols said. “We appreciate their support but we also want them to go home.”

At the same time, Nichols argued, “Those people up there aren’t a threat.”

“In fairness to them, they’re frustrated and angered Americans just like all of us,” he said. “They’ve been pushed and prodded and frustrated to the point that they’ve gone a step beyond where we as a community are willing to go.”

And despite their questionable methods, Nichols noted, the activists have managed to draw national attention to issues concerning the Western United States.

“There’s an overreach of government and an overreach of regulations,” he said.

Retired Army Officer Warns That Homeland Security is Preparing for War Against U.S. Citizens

The government is spending real money to build a massive army against U.S. citizens. Local, county and state police forces are being armed by the feds with military weapons and equipment. In addition, government employees are also being armed to fight a war on U.S. soil, including employees of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commerce Department, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defense. Law enforcement agencies, federal agencies, the National Guard, the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines are preparing for Martial Law.

For a possible explanation to why federal agencies are purchasing millions of rounds of ammo, see Hunger Games and Executive Order 13603: National Defense Resources Preparedness — the agencies purchasing ammo are also members of the Defense Production Act Committee, which was formed as a result of executive order 13603. EO 13603 gives an unprecedented level of authority to the President and the federal government to take over all the fundamental parts of our economy — in the name of national security — in times of national emergency. This means all of our water resources, construction services and materials (steel, concrete, etc.), our civil transportation system, food and health resources, our energy supplies including oil and natural gas — even farm equipment — can be taken over by the President and his cabinet secretaries. The Government can also draft U.S. citizens into the military and force U.S. citizens to fulfill "labor requirements" for the purposes of "national defense." There is not even any Congressional oversight, only briefings are required.

"The second I knew about the movie The Hunger Games I knew I had to see it; and when I saw it, it was extremely easy for me to pick out all the obvious things that are being sold to us (particularly our youth) in the form of predictive programming. I sure hope I'm not around when times similar to those come into existence. What's going on now is MORE than sufficient. By the way, I also noticed that all of the valuable resources are controlled by the elite. Reminds me of a little something recently signed off by Obama, where it gives the government full control of our resources in the event of a national crisis. Slowly and surely, they are setting the stage for a world damn near identical to the one depicted in this film." - Andy, April 2012, “The Hunger Games”: A Glimpse at the Future?

Retired Army officer warns: DHS preparing for war against American citizens

March 23, 2013

Examiner.com - On Saturday, Terry M. Hestilow, a retired United States Army Captain from Fort Worth, Texas, posted a letter on Facebook that he wrote to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, warning that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to go to war with the citizens of the United States.

"It is with gravest concern that I write to you today concerning the recent appropriation of weapons by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that can only be understood as a bold threat of war by that agency, and the Obama administration, against the citizens of the United States of America," his letter began.

The retired officer expressed deep concerns over "recent purchases of almost 3,000 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) armored personnel carriers, 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition (with associated weapons), and other weapons systems."

Capt. Hestilow added a statement that Barack Obama made during his 2008 campaign.

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve gotta (sic) have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded [as the United States military],” he said.

He also accused the administration of "deliberately defunding, overextending, and hollowing the Department of Defense," which he said is the "only legitimate agency" with the mission of conducting combat operations.

In his letter, Capt. Hestilow called on Congress to demand that the DHS surrender their weapons systems to the Defense Department. He also accused the DHS of enforcing the "tyrannical acts of this president" and said lawmakers should dissolve the agency "as soon as possible."

"One needs only to look to the rise of Adolf Hitler, and his associated DHS organizations, the SA and the SS, of 1932-1934, to see the outcome of allowing an agency of government this kind of control over the free citizens of a nation," he added.

Capt. Hestilow said that Americans cannot "be so naïve" as to think that what happened in Germany cannot happen here.

Earlier in the week, Capt. Hestilow asked his Facebook followers who the DHS intends to kill with the weapons and ammunition that it has recently purchased.

The Militarization of America's Police

The federal government is arming local law enforcement with tanks and assault weapons. It is essentially a way for the government to bypass the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by simply militarizing the police to the point where they are indistinguishable from the actual armed forces, effectively eliminating the need to even declare martial law.

A glaring example of the steady march toward de facto martial law in which police are so militarized there is little to no difference between them and the military itself occurred again in San Bernardino, California. 

On the morning of December 2nd, 2015, a heavily armed man and woman dressed for battle opened fire on a holiday banquet for the man's co-workers with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, killing 14 people and wounding 17 (10 were hospitalized in critical condition, and three were in serious condition). Survivors of the shootings at the banquet, which began at 11 a.m., identified the man as their co-worker Syed Rizwan Farook and his new wife Tashfeen Malik. Farook, 28, was a restaurant inspector for the health department and had been a county employee for five years. According to reports, there was some type of dispute at the banquet before Farook, who was born in Chicago, left the event. He later returned with Malik, 27, who he met on a trip to Saudi Arabia, and four firearms; they opened fire on colleagues who earlier this year had thrown a shower for their new baby. The couple left their 6-month-old daughter with relatives before heading to the center for the holiday party.

The banquet was held in rented space at the Inland Regional Center, at a privately run, nonprofit center for people with developmental disabilities, which employs 670 people. FBI agents and other law enforcement authorities converged on the center and searched room to room for the attackers. Triage units were set up outside. People were marched from the building, hands raised so police could search them, even though co-workers had identified the shooter(s), who already had escaped from the center. As the manhunt dragged on, stores, office buildings, and schools were locked down and roads were blocked off in the Southern California city of 214,000 people.

About four hours after the shootings, the suspects died in a shootout with police. Police, hunting for the killers, riddled a black SUV with gunfire in a shootout two miles from the center. The SUV was spotted by officers staking out the couples' home in the nearby city of Redlands. Two dozen law enforcement pursued the SUV, and a gun battle erupted around 3 p.m. A fake bomb — a metal pipe stuffed with cloth — was thrown from the SUV during the chase, according to police. Jesus Gonzales, 36, said his house was hit during the gun battle while his wife was inside. His wife “called me frantically saying she’s hearing gunshots going off. Everywhere. And that she’s scared. And that she heard noises in the house, like it’s hitting the house,” he told the San Bernardino Sun. “She ducked down and said she heard more than 100 rounds.”

Brian Ross of NBC News reported that all employees at the center where the shooting occurred were told not to speak to reporters until they were debriefed by law enforcement (at the 2:30 mark in this video).