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January
04
2016
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The Hammond Ranch Affair Will Become Waco II
The Beginning of the Present Hammond Ranch Crisis Dwight Hammond and son Steve Hammond, were convicted of lighting fires on federal land. Federal prosecutors wanted blood, overreacted and pursued the two in what could be described as a case of malicious prosecution. The Hammond family leased land from the BLM for cattle grazing. Steven Hammond started a fire on his own land for noxious weed control. The fire escaped and burned an acre of BLM land that was leased by the Hammond family that they were using to graze cattle. The act was an accident and there was no bad intent on the part of the Hammonds. However, prosecutors sought long prison sentences despite the fact that the damage was extremely minimal. The latest act of burning on BLM land was only one of three actions committed by the Hammonds as similar accidents occurred in 2001 and 2006. Then the feds threw the book at the father-son combination. Most people that review the history of this conflict view the Hammonds as reckless, but agree that their actions were carried out without purposeful criminal intent. Incredibly, the father and son duo were tried and convicted under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, created by Congress in response to the Oklahoma City bombing. This represented to many a gross miscarriage of justice and served as a shining example of federal tyranny at its worst. Under the Act’s mandatory minimum sentencing requirements, both of the Hammond family members faced a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. And to remind of the public of why we should mistrust the application of federal law enforcement authority, the U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall was quoted as saying “The verdict sends an important message to those who think that they are above the law.” It’s not as if the Federal government is not already too big, but one would think that the Federal court system would employ a public relations expert to help guide their comments and actions when it comes to the public perception of the carrying out of their mandated duties. Fortunately, for the Hammonds, a federal judge, acting with much more common sense in October of 2012, the now retired judge, Michael Hogan, ordered the sentences to be dramatically reduced and the payment of restitution was ordered. Most thought this was a reasonable sentence. However, US Attorney Marshall, not satisfied the sentence appealed the case and a three judge appellate panel on the of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled that the men had to serve the minimum sentence. This was outrageous. These two men were not and are not terrorists. Of course, as many who follow these cases know, the federal government’s standard operating procedure is to label anyone that they don’t like as a terrorist, which exponentially increases the penalties associated with prosecution. Subsequently, in October of 2014, the Hammonds were ordered to surrender, once again, to federal authorities in order to serve out their five year sentence. It is a mystery how this ruling serves justice, it does not. The elder Hammond is 73 years old! The Situation Goes Critical
Ammon Bundy summoned “militia members” to the scene and encouraged them to bring their arms. He has stated that violence is not his intent, but self-defense cannot be ruled out. Does Mr. Bundy think that the Federal government is simply going to ignore the take over of one of its own facilities, no matter how humble the facility is? There will be a confrontation! The Present Status of the Crisis Up until the late hours of Sunday evening, I have been receiving communications from people on the scene in Oregon. Then suddenly, the communications went totally dark and my text messages are going unanswered. There are two possibilities. First, the group could have made a collective decision to not issue statements at this time. Or, the communications of the Patriot group, could have been cut off in preparation for an attack upon the seized federal building. Also, on late Sunday evening, I was in communication with Pastor Butch Paugh. He is scheduled to have Ammon Bundy on his radio show this morning along with Sheriff Richard Mack. The key question remains, will Ammon Bundy still be alive by air time? Will he be in custody as federal officials, in force are arriving at the scene in which Bundy led forces have taken over a federal building. The situation in Oregon is dire. Local law enforcement is demonizing the men who have taken over the Federal building as determined by the following quote by Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward:
I view this quote from the Sheriff as preemptive and an example of provocative conditioning to get the public to lose all sympathy for the Patriot group and to demonize them in the arena of public opinion. The citizens of this area desperately need a new Sheriff. This Could End Very Badly
The initial assault upon the Branch Davidian compound as carried out by the ATF in which federal officials were fired upon. I am making a comparison between what happened at Waco, over 20 years ago, and what is likely to happen in Oregon. What happened in Waco? In February of 1993, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas, prompting a gun battle in which four agents and six cult members are killed. The federal agents were attempting to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, on information that the religious sect was stockpiling weapons. A nearly two-month standoff ensued after the unsuccessful raid. Eventually, Attorney General (AG), Janet Reno, who strikingly reminds one of present AG, Loretta Lynch, ended the siege by burning out and killing most of the inhabitants at the compound including scores of women and children. As Federal Law Enforcement Officials solidify their position this morning, on the scene, does anyone think it is likely that these federal agents are mindful of what happened to four ATF agents at Waco? Does anyone else think that it is likely that the 155 patriots will be given one command, and on command only, to surrender prior to attacking the occupied federal building? Special Agent Steven David Willis and Special Agent Conway Charles LeBleu were both killed in the Branch Davidian raid in Waco. Special Agent Robert John Williams and Special Agent Todd Wayne McKeehan were also honored at a 20 year ceremony after being killed in the raid. Again, is anyone naive enough to believe that the memories of the fallen agents are not going to guide the actions of federal law enforcement authorities in terms of the level of violence that will be applied in Oregon? Does anyone else think that the federal briefings with its agents include the photos I have chosen to display here? Oath Keepers Has Withdrawn from the Scene Here, in a statement, by the President and Founder of Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes explains why his organization has withdrawn from the scene in Oregon.
It is clear that the Hammonds do not want these actions to go forward. This is not the hill to die on. There will be a time to take a stand on the gross violation of our civil liberties that are presently under attack. However, without the support of the victims (ie the Hammonds), the legitimacy of such an armed rebellion is called into question. Should the federal government be called to task on this? Absolutely! However, if blood is shed over this issue, and without the support of the Hammonds, what does this do to the public perception? The media will paint the Patriots as domestic terrorists and the public will think that any use of force against the Patriots is justified and necessary. Then, who looks like the thugs? Was the Bundy ranch event justified in terms of the response generated by the Patriot community? Of course it was. These are two entirely different scenarios. As a footnote, as we saw in the Bundy Ranch Affair, Chinese mineral interests are beginning to surface. Stay tuned, we are watching history in the making.
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The coming showdown between 150+ Patriots who have gathered near Burns, Oregon is grossly misunderstood by the general public. The following paragraphs shed light on both the history of the present conflict between the Hammonds and the federal government as well as the current status of the situation. It is the express hope of The Common Sense Show, that calmer heads prevail and the present crisis does not end in the loss of life.
“These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, when in reality these men had alternative motives to attempt to over throw the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States.