Oath Keepers to Muster on Lexington Battle Green, MA on April 19, 2013: Stewart Rhodes Will Conduct Oath Renewal Ceremony

Captain John Parker:  “Stand Your Ground.  Do Not Fire Unless Fired Upon.  But If They Mean To Have A War, Let It Begin Here.”

Oath Keepers will be mustering on Lexington Green, in Lexington Massachusetts, this April 19, 2013!  Stewart Rhodes, Founder of Oath Keepers, has been invited to speak at a rally being held on the Green by the Massachusetts chapter of Gun Rights Across America.   The organizers of the rally have also extended an invitation to all Oath Keepers to attend the rally and take part in honoring our fallen heroes of the first battle of the American Revolution, and in taking a stand in defense of our right to bear arms.

At the conclusion of Stewart’s speech, he will lead the audience in an oath renewal ceremony.

RALLY #1:   April 19, 2013. 12pm to 4pm

Gun Rights Across America “Muster on the Battle Green” Rally. Lexington Battle Green, Lexington, Massachusetts.   Additional info below.

RALLY #2:  April 19, 2013.  3pm – 7 pm.  West Springfield Town Common, West Springfield, Massachusetts, conducted by Massachusetts Oath Keepers.   Additional info below.

RALLY #3:   April 20, 12 – 3pm, Connecticut State Capitol, North side of grounds,  in Hartford, CT.   This will be a massive CT gun owners rally.  Stewart Rhodes will speak there as well.  Come support your CT brothers and sisters!   More infohere.

APRIL 19 EVENT UPDATE:  Mike Vanderboegh, the Founder and Leader of the “Three Percenter” gun owners movement, will be speaking at both the Lexington Battle Green event and at the later rally in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The Three Percenters are hard-core gun owners who will not back up another inch, will not submit or comply with any more infringement on our right to bear arms, and will resist.  The name alludes to the small percentage of Americans who actually took to the field in combat during the American Revolution (not counting those who supported them but did not actually fight). You can read more about it here.

Mike also helped break the story of the Fast and Furious “Gun Walker” scandal of the Obama Administration intentionally running American guns to the Mexican Cartels, leading to many deaths, including of a US Border Patrol Agent (with the obvious intent of capitalizing on the resulting deaths to push for more infringement on the right to bear arms here in the United States to “stop the flow of illicit gun trafficking to Mexico”).

Mr. Vanderboegh’s message is one that needs to be heard by both sides in the current battle over the right to bear arms – both the gun owners in the NE and the oath breakers who are assaulting them.

APRIL 19 EVENT UPDATE:   Pastor Chuck Baldwin (Oath Keepers National Chaplain) will speak at both the Lexington Battle Green event, and at the later rally in West Springfield, Massachusetts.   He is a dynamic speaker, and will add tremendously to both events.

Pastor Chuck Baldwin is our Oath Keepers National Chaplain and is a giant in the liberty movement.  He ran for President in 2007 on the Constitution Party ticket, and was the only candidate for President endorsed by Congressman Ron Paul.   Pastor Baldwin is the embodiment of the fiery spirit of the Founding Generation and of the pastors who helped light brushfires in the minds of men from the pulpit in the years leading up to the American Revolution, and during the Revolution.   He is doing the same work today.   I am honored to attend his Liberty Fellowship church in Kalispell, Montana, and  I am very glad he is able to make the trip to Lexington Battle Green and to our second rally in West Springfield on the same day.  – Stewart Rhodes

INFORMATION:

Here are the details on the Lexington gathering:

Gun Rights Across America “Muster on the Battle Green” Rally.

Lexington Battle Green, Lexington, Massachusetts

APRIL 19, 2013

12pm to 4pm

From Gun Rights Across America: Massachusetts:

Gun Rights Across America: Massachusetts, cordially invites one and all to attend our Pro-Second Amendment Rally.

Please join on us on April 19th, from Noon to 4:00pm, on the Lexington Battle Green, in Lexington MA. for the “Muster on the Battle Green” rally.

We will have many keynote speakers to charge the rally. We want our elected officials to hear the voice of the majority, the law abiding, Constitution loving Patriots.

Tell one and all that we will be rallying on the Battle Green that changed America forever. Where the famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” occured. It’s time to call on the ghosts of our ancestors and forefathers to engergize us into continuing the good fight to protect our 2A rights.

Like and share this, lets make this a rally to be remembered!

Please remember concealed carry only. No open cary of any type of firearms.

Go to the Muster on the Battle Green Facebook Page for more info.  And here is a local newspaper write up about the event.

Pastor Chuck Baldwin, the Oath Keepers National Chaplain, will also be speaking.    Larry Pratt, of Gun Owners of America, has also been invited, and we are waiting on confirmation that he can make it.    Other speakers are being lined up now.

Please note that there will also be an additional rally on April 19^th 3 – 7 PM, at the West Springfield Town Common, West Springfield, Massachusetts, conducted by Massachusetts Oath Keepers (see below for details).

NOTE FROM STEWART:

Oath Keepers, I never expected to have another chance to stand on Lexington Battle Green and conduct an oath renewal ceremony, like we did back on April 19, 2009 (which is listed as our official birth-date and place, as an org).  But here we are, in 2013 and we have been handed yet another opportunity to do something remarkable, yet again.   Hat’s off to Stephen Redfern of Gun Rights Across America, Massachusetts for jumping through all the hoops to get the permit to use the Green, and for inviting us to participate.

If you missed the chance to stand on the Lexington Battle Green  in 2009 and renew your oath, you now have that chance, this April 19.   And if you can make it, I urge you to do so (we apologize for the short notice, but that really couldn’t be helped).

I can tell you that it is a very moving, powerful experience to stand on the exact spot where Captain Parker and his men stood, where patriot blood watered the tree of Liberty, and the “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775.   And even more powerful to do so on the anniversary of that battle, April 19, and to then stand on that “venerable spot” and renew your oath to defend the Constitution – a truly amazing, once in a lifetime kind of experience.

When we conducted an oath renewal ceremony on the Battle Green in 2009, we were not doing something novel that had never been done before.  To the contrary, we were following in the footsteps of men of the Founding generation who had also stood on Lexington Battle Green in 1798 to renew their oaths.   Men of the First Brigade of the Third Division, Militia of Massachusetts  – some who had fought in the battle back in 1775, along with their sons who now served in the militia – stood on Lexington Battle Green in formation and renewed their oaths, and then sent a proclamation to President John Adams, describing what they had done, and why.   It is President Adams’ formal, written response that we quote on the back of our green “Lexington” shirt:

Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations. That which you have taken and so solemnly repeated on that venerable spot, is an ample pledge of your sincerity and devotion to your country and its government. – President John Adams

The men of the Militia of Massachusetts had felt compelled to gather on the Battle Green and renew their oaths in a time of crisis in America, during the Quis-War with France, when many Americans were very divided politically, and passions were high.   The men considered it essential that in that time of crisis they should come together and make it clear that their loyalty was first, and foremost, to the Constitution they swore to defend.   And it should be noted that similar oath renewal ceremonies were conducted in multiple states, and by both Federalists and by Jeffersonian Republicans.   Americans of both political parties renewed their oaths.

So, when we stood on Lexington Battle Green on April 19, 2009, to renew our oaths, we were merely honoring our forefathers and walking almost directly in their footsteps.   And from that day forward we have conducted similar oath renewal ceremonies wherever we gather, as Oath Keepers.

It came as no surprise (a sad sign of the times) that immediately after our muster on April 19, 2009, we were viciously attacked by the radical left, and in particular by the Southern Poverty Law Center.   Apparently, current serving and retired police and military are not supposed to renew their commitment to defend the Constitution, and specify certain things we will not do if ordered.   The radical left considers that dangerous.  Instead, according to them, we who are still serving have a duty to “just follow orders” and do whatever we are told to do.   And the very existence of this organization, devoted to sincere keeping of oaths, and the improvement of constitutional knowledge among the current serving and veterans, is considered “dangerous” by the Marxists on the far left.  So be it.   We expected it.

But oddly enough, we have also at times been criticized by people on the Right for conducting oath renewal ceremonies, with some of them asserting we are asking people to take some additional oath, to Oath Keepers, or that we are being foolishly redundant.  I have heard some say “I already took the oath, so why are they taking it all over again?”  They are, of course, free to do as they please, but they display their ignorance of our own history when they condemn us for doing exactly the same thing the Founding Generation and their sons did back in 1798.  Again, a sad sign of the times.

I invite you to join me on the Battle Green, on April 19, 2013, and renew your oath on that venerable spot, and by doing so, help revive and expand, and make it once again true, that fundamental requirement that “Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations.“    We know that among the political class in this country, that is certainly not the case, but we can make it so among the warrior class – among our brothers-in-arms. And by doing so, we can change history.  Let us lead by example.

And let us also revive the tradition of showing honor and respect to our war heroes of 1775, by making April 19 a day of remembrance and celebration for their having the courage and sense of duty to take up arms, in resistance, against tyranny.  Let us honor them.  April 19 – Patriots Day – SHOULD be celebrated across the land, just as solemnly and energetically as we celebrate Veterans Day or Independence Day.  Let us make it so.

If you cannot join us, this April 19, on Lexington Battle Green or at the following rally by Massachusetts, then hold a gathering of remembrance and celebration wherever you are this April 19.   Hold  a rally if you can.  But even if it is just you and a few friends at the shooting range, or having beers in a pub, take a moment to remember the men who stood their ground and only fired when fired upon, and their brothers who turned the tide at Concord Bridge, and then chased the bloody Regulars back to Boston, with their tails between their legs.  Say a toast to them, give them a cheer, and then pledge to each other your mutual commitment to make sure that all their sacrifice was not in vain, and that you will do your part to keep alive the Sacred Fire of Liberty.

As you know, this nation is now following almost exactly in the same footsteps our Forefathers experienced in the lead-up to the American Revolution.  Like them, we have suffered a long train of abuses, and our backs have been pushed up against the wall.   Let us look for strength and courage by remembering their example, and by seeing clearly how we are standing in an unbroken line of defenders of liberty, that began at Lexington and Concord, and stretches through history to us here, today.

It is our watch now.  Let us pray to God for the fortitude to do as they did, to defend home and liberty, at all costs, when our moment comes.

For the Republic!

Stewart Rhodes

Founder of Oath Keepers

(UPDATED) Disturbing Report: Veterans are receiving letters from VA prohibiting the ownership or purchase of firearms... Developing...

Written By Constitutional Attorney Michael Connelly, J.D.
How would you feel if you received a letter from the U.S. Government informing you that because of a physical or mental condition that the government says you have it is proposing to rule that you are incompetent to handle your own financial affairs? Suppose that letter also stated that the government is going to appoint a stranger to handle your affairs for you at your expense? That would certainly be scary enough but it gets worse.
What if that letter also stated: “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?
That makes is sound like something right from a documentary on a tyrannical dictatorship somewhere in the world. Yet, as I write this I have a copy of such a letter right in front of me. It is being sent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of America’s heroes. In my capacity as Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) I have been contacted by some of these veterans and the stories I am getting are appalling.
The letter provides no specifics on the reasons for the proposed finding of incompetency; just that is based on a determination by someone in the VA. In every state in the United States no one can be declared incompetent to administer their own affairs without due process of law and that usually requires a judicial hearing with evidence being offered to prove to a judge that the person is indeed incompetent. This is a requirement of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states that no person shall “… be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”.
Obviously, the Department of Veterans Affairs can’t be bothered by such impediments as the Constitution, particularly since they are clearly pushing to fulfill one of Obama’s main goals, the disarming of the American people. Janet Napolitano has already warned law enforcement that some of the most dangerous among us are America’s heroes, our veterans, and now according to this letter from the VA they can be prohibited from buying or even possessing a firearm because of a physical or mental disability.
Think about it, the men and women who have laid their lives on the line to defend us and our Constitution are now having their own Constitutional rights denied. There are no clear criteria for the VA to declare a veteran incompetent. It can be the loss of a limb in combat, a head injury, a diagnosis of PTSD, or even a soldier just telling someone at the VA that he or she is depressed over the loss of a buddy in combat. In none of these situations has the person been found to be a danger to themselves or others. If that was the case than all of the Americans who have suffered from PTSD following the loss of a loved one or from being in a car accident would also have to be disqualified from owning firearms. It would also mean that everyone who has ever been depressed for any reason should be disarmed. In fact, many of the veterans being deprived of their rights have no idea why it is happening.
The answer seems to be it is simply because they are veterans. At the USJF we intend to find the truth by filing a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Veterans Affairs to force them to disclose the criteria they are using to place veterans on the background check list that keeps them from exercising their Second Amendment rights. Then we will take whatever legal steps are necessary to protect our American warriors.
The reality is that Obama will not get all of the gun control measures he wants through Congress, and they wouldn’t be enough for him anyway. He wants a totally disarmed America so there will be no resistance to his plans to rob us of our nation. That means we have to ask who will be next. If you are receiving a Social Security check will you get one of these letters? Will the government declare that you are incompetent because of your age and therefore banned from firearm ownership. It certainly fits in with the philosophy and plans of the Obama administration. It is also certain that our military veterans don’t deserve this and neither do any other Americans.
-- Michael Connelly, J.D.
Executive Director, United States Justice Foundation​
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Obama Eligibility Case Requested To Move To Oral Arguments At US Supreme Court By Tim Brown @ Freedom Outpost

Yesterday [Friday], the United States Supreme Court was asked to move from conference to oral hearing concerning the Obama eligibility case. Dr. Orly Taitz’s application, to be heard on behalf of Edward Noonan, was denied by Justice Kennedy on December 13, 2012. However, the application was refiled and resubmitted to the Chief Justice on December 26, 2012 and listed as “Distributed for Conference of February 15, 2013, according to the SCOTUS website.

According to Suzanne Eovaldi, “February 15, 2013, Attorney Orly Taitz brings her request to move the Obama eligibility challenge from conference to the oral hearing stage at the US Supreme Court. She is moving forward in spite of the fact that four African-American Supreme Court clerks refused to allow Taitz to see the signature of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who denied her petition originally. ‘But I resubmitted to Justice Roberts, and he sent it to the conference,’ Taitz said.”

“The California attorney is asking ‘…how do we know that he (Kennedy) ever saw the brief?’ Eovaldi writes. “In no uncertain terms, clerk James Baldin told her that ‘I (Taitz) [was] not allowed to see the signature.’ This denial of her right to see Kennedy’s signature ‘does not make any sense.’”

“Attorney Taitz is presenting evidence that 1 1/2 million invalid voter registrations were filed in the state of California!” Eovaldi concluded. “She is asking US citizens to ‘please, write and fax SCOTUS and demand to see the order by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who allegedly originally denied my case Noonan v Bowen before it was sent by Justice Roberts to the conference.’ Is not this the very least we can do to attempt to clear up this matter?”

Not only is the claim that the birth certificate posted online at the White House website alleged to be a forgery and with good reason to suspect so, but also Obama’s passport records have never been released nor has his college transcripts.

Obama’s Connecticut Social Security Number Flagged By E-Verify[/caption]Additionally there is the issue of his Social Security number allegedly being from Connecticut. Marv Dumon writes,”The SSN apparently fails the government’s own E-Verify system and generates the name ‘Harrison J. Bounel’. Bounel appears to be a relative of Michelle Robinson Obama. The incidence was first reported in the mid-2000s when a background check was conducted on Barack Obama when he was in the process of purchasing a home in Chicago. The purchase became a public scandal when it was discovered that Obama had received a favorable price (worth hundreds of thousands of dollars) on his mansion from a convicted felon and lobbyist.”

Concerned citizen and “employer” of Barack Obama, Linda Jordan, even went so far as to write Obama to have him verify his information, after his Social Security number failed the government’s E-Verification.

CONTINUED HERE: http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/02/obama-eligibility-case-requested-to-move-to-oral-arguments-at-us-supreme-court

LATEST: Update: Supreme Court Releases Initial Granted Order List; Obama Eligibility Case Not Listed - DETAILS HERE.

FLASHBACK: Below Is The Brief Of Newly Discovered Evidence Filed In Obama Eligibility Case - DETAILS HERE.

  Noonan v Bowen(Obama) - Supplemental Brief of Newly Discovered Evidence w/Exhibits - U.S. Supreme Court - 2... by   ObamaRelease YourRecords

 

Noonan v Bowen(Obama) - Supplemental Brief of Newly Discovered Evidence w/Exhibits - U.S. Supreme Court - 2... by ObamaRelease YourRecords

 

www.ObamaFailedEverify.com


  


2006: Obama In Kenya: I Am So Proud To Come Back Home - VIDEO HERE.

2007: Michelle Obama Declares Obama Is Kenyan And America Is Mean - VIDEO HERE.

2008: Michelle Obama Declares Barack Obama's Home Country Is Kenya - VIDEO HERE.

FLASHBACK: Obama Is The Original Birther! Obama In 1991 Stated In His Own Bio He Was Born In Kenya. DETAILS HERE.

WATCH SHERIFF OBAMA INVESTIGATION PRESS CONFERENCE HERE: CLICK HERE.

-ARTICLE II ELIGIBILITY FACTS HERE: http://www.art2superpac.com/issues.html

New Ad - AZ Sheriff Arpaio - Obama Birth Cert & Draft Reg Card Are Forged! Wash Times Natl Wkly - 12 Ma..

AZ Sheriff Arpaio: Obama Birth Cert & Draft Reg Card Are Forged! - Wash Times Natl Wkly - 12 Mar 2012 -... by protectourliberty

Democratic Socialists Infiltrate the 111th Congress 2009

DSA-Members: American Socialist Voter - Democratic Socialists of America - 10-1-09 by ObamaRelease YourRecords

This Document also includes the philosophy of the Democratic Socialist Party in the United States.  Their globalist agenda and redistribution of wealth from the wealth counties of the world to the poorer countries.  Their felling on "free speech" as long this is no dissent.

This is an informative document a must read for any patriot.  I'm learning a lot from this.

S. J. RES. 4 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to United States citizenship.

113TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 4
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating
to United States citizenship.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2013
Mr. VITTER (for himself and Mr. PAUL), introduced the following joint resolution;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States relating to United States citizenship.
1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two3
thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol4
lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con5
stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all
6 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when
7 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
8 States within seven years after the date of its submission
9 for ratification by the Congress:

1 ‘‘ARTICLE—
2 ‘‘A person born in the United States shall not be a
3 citizen of the United States unless—
4 ‘‘(1) at the time of the person’s birth, one parent of the person is—
6 ‘‘(A) a citizen of the United States;
7 ‘‘(B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States who resides
9 in the United States; or
10 ‘‘(C) an alien performing active service in
11 the Armed Forces of the United States; or
12 ‘‘(2) the person is naturalized in accordance
13 with the laws of the United States.’’.
VerDate Mar 15 2010 00:33 Jan 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ4.IS SJ4

H. J. RES. 16 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the sixteenth article of amendment. The Ratifaction Process for Amendments to the US Constitution

113TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 16
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal
the sixteenth article of amendment.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 2013
Mr. KING of Iowa (for himself and Mr. WOODALL) introduced the following
joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States to repeal the sixteenth article of amendment.
1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled
3 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol4
lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con5
stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all
6 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when
7 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
8 States within seven years after the date of its submission
9 for ratification:

‘‘ARTICLE—
2 ‘‘The sixteenth article of amendment to the Constitu3
tion of the United States is hereby repealed’’.
Æ
VerDate Mar
VerDate Mar

336 County Sheriffs Will Defend the Constitution

Constitutional County Sheriff's Honor Roll 336 County Sheriffs Will Defend the Constitution If you are a sheriff or you know of a Sheriff that would like to be added to this list please call Keith Broaders at (951) 282-3271 or email him at keithbroaders@gmail.com Visit www.ConstitutionalCountySheriffs.com For more information about the movement to restore our Constitutional Republic.   Alabama Houston County, Alabama Sheriff Andy Hughes Baldwin County Alabama Sheriff Huey "Hoss" Mack Madison County, Alabama Sheriff Blake Dorning Morgan County, Alabama Sheriff Ana Franklin   Alaska (there are no counties in Alaska   Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu Yavapai County Sheriff Scott Mascher Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot Arkansas Boone County Sheriff Mike Moore Cross County Sheriff J.R. Smith Madison County Sheriff Phil Morgan Scott County Sheriff Cody Carpenter Van Buren County Sheriff Scott Bradley Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder California Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan Butte County Sheriff Jerry Smith El Dorado County Sheriff John D'Agostini Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson Fresno County, Sheriff Margaret Mims Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood Lassen County Sheriff Dean Growden Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood Riverside County Sheriff Stanley Sniff Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson Tehama County Sheriff David Hencraft Trinity County Sheriff Bruce Haney Tuolumne County Sheriff James W. Mele   Colorado Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr Alamosa County Sheriff Dave Strong Archuleta County Sheriff Peter Gonzalez Baca County Sheriff Dave Campbell Bent County Sheriff Dave Encinias Chaffee County Sheriff William Palmer Cheyenne County Sheriff Ken Putnam Clear Creek County Sheriff Don Kruger Conejos County Sheriff Robert Gurule Costilla County Sheriff Amos Medina Crowley County Sheriff Miles Clark Custer County Sheriff Fred Jobe Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee Dolores County Jerry Martin Douglas County Sheriff Dave Weaver Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa Elbert County Sheriff Shayne Heap Fremont County Sheriff James Biecker Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario Gilpin County Sheriff Bruce Hartman Grand County Sheriff Rodney Johnson Gunnison County Sheriff Rickard Besecker Hinsdale County Sheriff Ron Bruce Huerfano County Sheriff Bruce Newman Jackson County Sheriff Scott Fisher Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink Kiowa Forest County Sheriff Frazee Kit Carson County Sheriff Tom Ridnour La Plata County Sheriff Duke Schirard Lake County Sheriff Rodney Fenske Larimer County Sheriff Jutin Smith Lincoln County Sheriff Tom Nestor Logan County Sheriff Brett Powell Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey Mineral County Sheriff Fred Hosselkus Moffat County Sheriff Tim Jantz Montezuma County Sheriff Dennis Spruell Montrose County Sheriff Rick Dunlap Morgan County Sheriff Jim Crone Otero County Sheriff Chris Johnson Ouray County Sheriff Dominic Mattivi Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener Phillips County Sheriff Charles Urbach Ptkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo Prower County Sheriff Jim Faull Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor Rio Blanco County Sheriff Si Woodruff Rio Grande County Sheriff Brian Norton Routt County Sheriff Garret Wiggins Saguache County Sheriff Mike Norris San Juan County Sheriff Sue Kurtz San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters Sedgwick County Sheriff Randy Peck Summit County Sheriff John Minor Teller County Sheriff Mike Ensminger Washington County Larry Kuntz Weld County Sheriff John Cooke Yuma County Sheriff Chad Day Broomfield County has no Sheriff and the Sheriffs of Arapahoe, Boulder and Denver are opposed to the position taken by the Colorado Sheriff's Association.   Delaware Sussex County, Delaware Sheriff Jeff Christopher Florida   Bay County. Florida Sheriff Frank McKeithen Clay County, Florida Sheriff Rick Beseler Lee County, Florida Sheriff Mike Scott Polk County, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd Walton County, Florida Sheriff Michael Adkinson   Georgia Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren Fannin County Sheriff Dale Kirby Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson Gwinnett County Butch Conway Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge Towns County Sheriff Chris Clinton Twigg County Sheriff Darren Mitchum Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman Idaho   Benewah County Sheriff Dave Resser Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue Clark County Sheriff Bart May Clearwater County Sheriff Chris Goetz Gem County Sheriff Chuck Rolland Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall Lewis County Sheriff Brian Brokop Madison County Sheriff Roy Klingler Nez Perce County Sheriff Joe Rodriguez Twin Falls County, Sheriff Tom Carter Illinois DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba Edgar County, Illinois Sheriff Edward Motley: McLean County, Illinois Sheriff Mike Emery Clark County, Illinos Sheriff Jerry Parsley Indiana Boone County Sheriff Ken P. Campbell Elkhart County Sheriff Brad Rogers Franklin County Sheriff Ken Murphy Riply County Sheriff Tom Grills Iowa Cedar County, Iowa Sheriff Warren M. Wethington Kansas Johnson County, Kansas Sheriff Frank Denning Kentucky Bath County, Kentucky Sheriff John Snedegar Boone County, Kentucky Sheriff Micahel A. Helmig Jackson County, Kentucky Sheriff Denny Peyman Kenton County, Kentucky Sheriff Chuck Korzenborn Powell County, Kentucky Sheriff Scott F. Harrison Maine Maryland Frederick County, Maryland Sheriff Charles A. Jenkins Carroll County, Maryland Sheriff Ken Tregoning Massachusetts   Michigan Barry County, Michigan Sheriff Dar Leaf Benzie County, Michigan Sheriff Ted Schende Kent County, Michigan Sheriff Larry Stelma Menominee County Sheriff Kenny Mays Minnesota Anoka County, Minnesota James Stuart Pine County, Minnesota Sheriff Robin Cole Hennipen County, Minnesota Sheriff Rich Stanek Itasca County Sheriff Victor Williams Yellow Medicine, Minnesota Sheriff Bill Flaten Ramsey County, Minnesota Sheriff Matt Bostrom Steams County, Minnesota Sheriff John Sanner Mississippi DeSoto County, Mississippi Sheriff Bill Rasco Forrest County, Mississippi Sheriff Billy McGee Monroe County, Mississippi Sheriff Cecil Cantrell Oktibbeha County Sheriff Steve Gladney Missouri Barry County, Missouri Sheriff Mick Epperly Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs Johnson County, Missouri Sheriff Charles Heiss Gasconda County Sheriff Randy Esphorst Lawrence County, Missouri Sheriff Brad DeLay Livingston County, Missouri Sheriff Steve Cox Marion County, Missouri Jimmy Shinn Mercer County, Missouri Sheriff Stephen Stockman Oregon County, Missouri Sheriff George R. Underwood Osage County, Missouri Sheriff Michael Dixon Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf Ralls County, Missouri Sheriff Gerry Dinwiddie Shannon County, Missour Sheriff Steven Blunkall Texas County Sheriff James Sigman Warren County Sheriff Kevin T. Harrison Montana Cascade County, Montana Sheriff Bob Edwards Lake County, Montana Sheriff Jay Doyle Lewis and Clark County, Montana Sheriff Leo Dutton Musselshell County, Sheriff Woodrow Weitseil Powell County, Montana Sheriff Scott F. Howard Ravalli County, Montana, Sheriff Chris Hoffman Sanders County, Montana Sheriff Tom Rummel Wibaux County, Montana Sheriff Darby Harrington Yellowstone County, Montana Sheriff Mike Linder Nebraska Cumberland County Sheriff Ronny R. Anderson Nevada Churchill County Sheriff Benjamin D. Trotter Elko County Sheriff Jim Pitts Humboldt County Sheriff Ed Kilgpore Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo New Hampshire Grafton County, New Hampshire Sheriff Douglas R Dutile New Mexico Bernalillo County, NM Sheriff Dan Houston Catron County, NM Sheriff Shawn Menges Chaves County, NM Sheriff Patrick R Jennings Cibola County, NM Sheriff Johnny Valdez Colfax County, NM Sheriff Jim Maldonado De Baca County, NM Sheriff Dennis A. 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No More 4th Amendment: DHS Can Still Seize Belongings Without Reason

The Fourth Amendment no longer means what you once thought it did: A new report reveals that the government has shrugged off concerns over the alleged constitutional infringements of its own citizens near international crossings.

An internal review of the US Department of Homeland Security’s procedures regarding the suspicionless search-and-seizure of phones and laptops near the nation’s border has reaffirmed the agency’s ability to bypass Fourth Amendment-protected rights [.pdf].

 

In a two page executive summary published quietly last month to the official DHS website, the agency explains that a civil rights and civil liberties impact assessment of the office’s little-known power to collect personal electronics near international crossings has passed an auditor’s interpretation of what does and doesn’t violate the US Constitution.

Since 2009, the DHS has been legally permitted to seize and review the contents of personal electronic devices, including mobile phones, portable computers and data discs, even without being able to cite any reasonable suspicion that those articles were involved in a crime.

When the initiative was introduced in August 2009 by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, she defended the policy change. “Keeping Americans safe in an increasingly digital world depends on our ability to lawfully screen materials entering the United States,” the secretary said, adding, “The new directives announced today strike the balance between respecting the civil liberties and privacy of all travelers while ensuring DHS can take the lawful actions necessary to secure our borders.”

In that Aug. 09 announcement, Sec. Napolitano ensured the American public that they had nothing to worry about and that an impact assessment would be conducted within 120 days to eliminate any fears. More than two years later, however, the DHS-led study has only now been released in part, and its findings do little to alleviate the concerns of civil liberty advocates who have held their breath since the early days of the Obama administration, waiting anxiously to hear about the legality of a directive that applies to both Customs and Border Protectionagents and officers with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement working under the DHS.

“We conclude that CBP’s and ICE’s current border search policies comply with the Fourth Amendment,” reads the assessment, written by Tamara Kessler of the department’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. “We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits,” she adds.

Elsewhere in her report, Kessler dismisses concerns that legalized searches that require Americans to submit their electronic devices without reason would scare citizens from exercising their ability to speak and act freely.

“Some critics argue that a heightened level of suspicion should be required before officers search laptop computers in order to avoid chilling First Amendment rights. However, we conclude that the laptop border searches allowed under the ICE and CBP Directives do not violate travelers’ First Amendment rights,” Tessler insists.

David Kravets, a reporter for Wired’s Danger Room, writes of the review, “The memo highlights the friction between today’s reality that electronic devices have become virtual extensions of ourselves housing everything from e-mail to instant-message chats to photos and our papers and effects — juxtaposed against the government’s stated quest for national security.”

Commenting on Wired’s report, American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Catherine Crump voices concern over how DHS agents can essentially bypass the protections of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable search-and-seizure. With few exceptions, the government is not permitted to search the belongings of a person without a reasonable suspicion of a crime. Near the nation’s borders, though, that requirement is removed entirely.

“There should be a reasonable, articulate reason why the search of our electronic devices could lead to evidence of a crime,” Crump tells Wired. “That’s a low threshold.”

Katie Haas of the ACLU’s Human Rights Program adds in a blog post this week, “the reality is that

allowing government agents to search through all of a traveler’s data without reasonable suspicion is completely incompatible with our fundamental rights. Those rights, she says, are “implicated when the government can rummage through our computers and cell phones for no reason other than that we happen to have traveled abroad.”

“Suspicionless searches also open the door to profiling based on perceived or actual race, ethnicity, or religion,”Haas adds, “And our First Amendment rights to free speech and free association are inhibited when agents at the border can target us for searches based on our exercise of those rights.”

In response to the stripped-down executive summary posted by DHS, the ACLU’s main office has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the government in hopes of obtaining more information on when and why Americans might lose their Fourth Amendment-protected rights. The ACLU seeks the assessment in its entirety and all data, analyses and records gathered during the course of preparing the report.

Where exactly the government can seize personal items without reason is something that has already been determined, though. Last March, the US Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling that legally permitted the use of suspicionless roadblocks not necessarily close to the country’s borders. Back in 2006, the ACLU determined that roughly two-thirds of the entire US population lives within 100 miles of the country’s border, making approximately 200 million Americans in places like Buffalo, Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle subject to warrantless and suspicionless searches.

"It is a classic example of law enforcement powers expanding far beyond their proper boundaries – in this case, literally,” ACLU’s Caroline Fredrickson told Wired for an earlier report.

Sec. Napolitano and the DHS have been sued at least once over allegations that the seizure of personal electronic belonging to a US citizen near an international border violated the Constitution of the country. David House, a founding member of the Bradley Manning Support Network, says his laptop and other devices were confiscated without reason while returning to the US from Mexico in November 2010. According to legal filings, House was grilled about his association with Manning, an accused Army whistleblower arrested six months earlier, and WikiLeaks, the website Manning is alleged to have supplied with hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables.

 

RussiaToday