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From: Vin_Suprynowicz@lvrj.com (Vin Suprynowicz)
Subject: Jan. 23 column - Horiuchi
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FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATED JAN. 23, 1998
THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz
'Protecting him, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders ...'
What does the Declaration of Independence actually consist of?
Sure, from our school days, we may remember that "these United Colonies
are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States."
But that's only the last paragraph.
Prior to that, Mr. Jefferson and his co-signers spent 29 paragraphs
doing ... what?
"Declaring their causes," of course! We did this -- anyone would have the
right to do this -- because of a "long train of Abuses and Usurpations,"
remember?
"He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of
Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance." Remember?
"He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the
consent of our Legislatures.
"He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to
the Civil Power.
"He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to
our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to
their Acts of Pretended Legislation:
"For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:
"For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders
which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States. ..."
This is not just schoolboy stuff. A message etched in fire from our
patrimony, these words tell us how Americans shall know when they are again
justified in declaring themselves free of a parasitical tyrant.
Fast forward 216 years, to the late summer of 1992. Part-time gunsmith
Randy Weaver had failed to show up for a court date, after being entrapped
by ATF agents hoping to turn him into a snitch, to spy on a nearby CHURCH.
Federal marshals now trespass on the Weaver family's private Idaho
property (the marshals carry no warrant this day and are not there to make
an arrest), and open fire when they're spotted by the family dog, killing
the dog, and also Weaver's 14-year-old son, Sammy. A federal marshal is
also killed, either in self defense or by fratricidal fire. (The federals
never release any shell casings or autopsy results for independent review
-- but a jury acquits Weaver and family friend Kevin Harris in the death.)
The federal government answers by flooding the property with hundreds
more trespassers in full combat gear. FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi then shoots
at Weaver and Harris as the pair races back to his front door, after paying
their respects to young Sammy's body in an outbuilding. One of Horiuchi's
shots passes through the window of the kitchen door, shooting away much of
the brain of Weaver's wife Vicky, for whom there are no warrants
outstanding. At the moment prior to her death (which comes after 30 seconds
of blood-curdling screams), Vicki Weaver was holding her baby in her arms
in her own kitchen, threatening no one.
Unaware they have murdered Vicky Weaver, federal agents continue to shout
taunting remarks at her dead body, in the full hearing of her children, for
days. The federal government eventually pays Weaver -- acquitted of murder
and all other major charges -- and his children $3.1 million in damages for
these wrongful actions.
After a year-long review, the U.S. Justice Department decides in 1994 not
to charge sniper Lon Horiuchi with any crime. Like the Germans at
Nuremberg, they declare he was "just following orders."
But, just before the five-year statute of limitations is due to toll, in
August of 1997, Boundary County (Idaho) Prosecutor Denise Woodbury bravely
files a charge of involuntary manslaughter against this armed trooper, who
has long been quartered among us as part of the 60,000-strong federal
"standing army" of FBI, DEA, ATF and other Einsatzgruppen troopers.
Here now is the vital test. Will this "king's officer" be allowed to
stand trial on the evidence, before a randomly selected jury of Idahoans,
in their own state court? Or will the new king "protect him, by a mock
Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which he has committed on the
Inhabitants of these States"?
Jan. 7, 1998: The Associated Press informs us:
"BONNERS FERRY, Idaho (AP) -- A judge today ordered an FBI sharpshooter
to stand trial on a state manslaughter charge for the death of white
separatist Randy Weaver's wife in the 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge. ...
"Magistrate Judge Quentin Harden ... scheduled a Feb. 13 arraignment
before state Judge James Michaud."
So far so good.
But now the inevitable:
Jan. 12, 1998: "BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi won
his bid today to be tried in federal court on the state charge brought
against him in the death of white separatist Randy Weaver's wife in the
1992 siege at Ruby Ridge. ...
"Horiuchi, supported by the U.S. Justice Department, petitioned the federal
court to take over the case on grounds that the transfer is allowed when
federal agents are prosecuted for conduct in their official capacity.
"U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge agreed. ...
Neither murder nor manslaughter, of course, is a federal crime. State
courts have sole jurisdiction to try such cases.
Clearly, the federals want jurisdiction here so they can either dismiss
the case, or (if a public outcry renders that unwise) so limit the evidence
admitted that the question to be decided ends up nothing more than "Was
Agent Horiuchi obeying what he believed was a lawful order at the time?"
Sort of like letting Martin Borman set the ground rules for the Nuremberg
trials.
Modern federal judges -- like Judge Smith in the trial of the Waco
survivors -- are famous for declaring "The United States government isn't
going to be put on trial in my courtroom."
As one of my e-mail correspondents puts it: "The test for whether one is
living in a police state is that those who are charged with enforcing the
law are allowed to break the laws with impunity."
This -- along with Janet Reno and her Waco Killers still roaming free, of
course -- is the great modern test of whether this Union can long endure.
If Lon Horiuchi walks (or even if some untimely "accident" allows him to
escape justice) while the surviving VICTIMS of the federal assault at Waco
are still serving long prison terms, after being found INNOCENT of all
major charges, then what shall we say to the patriot who advises: "If you
see a federal agent committing a crime, don't bother turning him in, just
shoot him down like a dog. Kill him on the spot, and walk away without
giving it a moment's thought."
Showing our respect for due process, do we continue to say: "Oh no, that
would be wrong. Just turn him in to the proper authorities, and justice
will be done"?
Do we, really?
Vin Suprynowicz is the assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas
Review-Journal. Readers may contact him via e-mail at vin@lvrj.com.
***
Vin Suprynowicz, vin@lvrj.com
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace.
We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that
feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you; and may posterity forget
that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams
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