Alabama Militia Follow-up

May 03, 2007 07:10

Last week I reported on the story which Fox headlined "Feds Rain Alabama Militia Group, Uncover Small Weapons Arsenal". Well, as it turns out, one of our readers is close enough to the situation to have been visited by the BATF folks and offers this account:

"George; I am acquainted with a couple of the men involved in the Alabama Militia bust. I would like to make a comment or two on your "editorial", if I may.

First of all, there were "silencers" found. I have actually seen the type devices involved. They are empty shells sold openly through "Shotgun News" for the Cobray MAC-10. They have the outward appearance of a silencer but have no real effect on the report from a 9mm round.

The only purpose they serve is to provide a hand hold for a ridiculously unstable pistol. The "rifle grenades" are actually 12Ga shotgun slugs. That are also sold openly through mail order houses and at "ATF supervised" gun shows. "Commercial Fireworks"?!? I cannot drive 50 miles in the deep south without seeing at least 3 or 4 "Crazy Bill's" fireworks stands.

And what redneck hasn't lit the fuses on a bazillion or so M-80's to see if he could blow up something? Anything. A stump (guilty), a can, an old car?

The other point I would like to comment on is your reference to "militia weapons" and how they are interpreted from the 2nd Amendment by the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to several of the "founding" documents of this republic, the militia consists of ALL able bodied men, of good character, from the age 18 to a high limit. That limit, I think, was originally 45, but has, in subsequent years, been raised. I -believe- the current high age is 55. Of this, I am not sure.

In the Miller decision, in the late '40s, the Supreme Court ruled that militia weapons were to be provided by the individuals, when mustered, and were to be "of the type in common use at the time".

Now, there is more to the Miller Decision than this. Much more. But the salient point is that every able bodied man is to be in possession of, and by implication, competent in the use of, basic military hardware. And to bring it with him when he musters. Therefore, it obviously is to be kept at his place of residence. And competency gained through regular practice.

So, what are the military weapons in common use at THIS time? Sure as heck isn't a .22 squirrel gun. I find the Swiss to really "have their stuff together" on this one.
-----------------------------------------------------------
You probably have, or will, get more comments on your piece. I am in hopes that you will hear my comments because of my knowledge of the people involved. One of whom I have known close to 25 years.

I would prefer my name not be used openly, because these MEN have not yet been indicted or brought to trial. Which will probably be a farce. After Ruby Ridge, the ATF doesn't have much credibility with me.

I am a resident of Alabama, working out of state; going home a couple days a month when work permits. And, yes, I was visited by an agent (actually three; I'm a very dangerous man, you see) the day of the bust. I guess to keep me from contacting any of them. The reality is that, if not for the ATF visit, I wouldn't have known anything until it showed up on the news. Since I don't watch TV, that would be when it showed up on the web. Hmmmmf!"

It was while I was pondering this bit of information when another email showed up - again, from a citizen journalist/events watcher:

"Apparently the feds, including BATF agents, were having racist (white-supremacist) "good old boy" gatherings http://www.no-debts.com/anti-federalist/gadsden.html
The local militia video-ed and documented the gathering proceedings and exposed them. Years later, the Alabama bust was "pay-back."

I'm not so sure about that "pay-back" conclusion offered by the reader. As I've been watching the follow-up stories on this "Anti-Government Militia's Arms Stockpile No Big Deal, Lawyer Says" I notice the mention the "hand grenades" but North Carolina's Wilmington Star reports in "Much Ado About Nothing" that "A cache of ammunition that was confiscated - 2,500 rounds - wasn't that large, and the scores of homemade hand grenades that agents seized could be made with powder from fireworks and components readily available in military surplus stores, attorney Scott Boudreaux said."

Several thinking points about this story:

1) It demonstrates that here on the internet, citizen reporters/sources are extremely useful in getting an accurate picture of events (email #1),
2) Also on the internet you get a lot of theories like (to paraphrase the insurance commercial) "pay-back - this time its for real" which may - or may not - be motivations (email #2)
3) The biggie for me is noticing that both of the stories linked made mention of an informer.

Now, to me, this last point is most crucial. Why? With tons of money sloshing about DHS and related LE groups to be spent ferreting out those who would do harm to this Great Country, the question comes up again about paid informers. It's an especially delicate situation if an informer can play a role as a provocateur - in which case you get to the fine line between defending America from harm (a good thing) and having the government "set people up" -- something which raises a lot of troubling Constitutional questions.

We'll just keep an eye on this and see what comes of it. Yes, commercially available items can be turned into ugly (and illegal) devices. (Ask any GI in the Green Zone.) That's the law, those are the rules, and we live by them or suffer the consequences. Fine. In the courts now.

But, I'm more interested in the informant's role ---was he paid? --and if so, was the compensation was tied to results...that it seems to me is the most serious aspect of this. The philosophical question might be: "How much money does it cost to find someone willing to bear false witness or set someone up?" versus "We gotta have people on the inside to know what's being planned to prevent harm to innocents." Where are the Framers of the Constitution when we need 'em?

http://www.urbansurvival.com/week.htm