Independent media, news reporting, analysis, opinion, forensic historical research presentations. From a Libertarian to Anarcho-Libertarian Anti-Federalist perspective.
With modern political theater, one can never be too sure what is truth and what is misdirection. While maintaining primarily more conservative leaning beliefs, I have become disillusioned, or perhaps quite healthily have come to my senses and came to realize that government in and of itself has been is, and will likely continue to be the problem. What is the definition of insanity again... well the current unofficial but quite accurate definition if you ask some folks is "to do the same thing over and over again, and expect a different or eventual desirable result". Being quite closer to Libertarian if I had to relate to those without freaking people out by calling it like it more accurately is "Anarchist", only because the modern definition of the word has been so badly decimated by government and corporate media... a word that simply means "no rulers" not "no rules". It has been used now to describe Antifa fascists, unruly mobs who burn out buildings and attempt to take over entire portions of cities, but wait... didn't that effort see the rise of a kingpin thug as "authoritarian in chief"? That is not Anarchy at all. Anarchists in true practice could live together in neighborhoods where community meetings and organization could empower every citizen who is able bodied and willing to form their own militia. They could easily convene a citizens grand jury to indict criminals who violate natural. law, i.e. an offence where there is a victim or damage to private property, or the damaging, poisoning, or destruction of public lands. Everyone would be on an equal footing. No one would rule over your life from 1000 miles away and run agencies like the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, a governmental services corporation, that was unconstitutionally empowered to end up having military style SWAT teams, purport to be being "stewards of the land", having signs on their office walls like "NO MORE MOO IN 92 - CATTLE FREE in 93" while pretending to be operating within the confines of the U.S. Constitution, to spite the fact that they all take the same oath as every other public servant "so called", while using it as toilet paper. Why am I discussing a few unrelated government debacles and joining it with the current story? For damned good reason.
So many separate sub corporations of the
UNITED STATES of AMERICA INC.
This governmental services corporation has been used as a whore. It has been used to grossly overstep bounds, illegally committing felonies that would see any civilian member of the public not fortunate to be in the upper echelon of the ruling class like Hunter Biden, thrown in prison for a very long time. Hunter, the poster child for the "blatantly guilty but untouchable.
I spent a year in prison fighting for my freedom after taking a hard stand in defense of innocent ranchers. And Joe Biden leaves billions of secure and top secret technology behind giving aid and comfort to our enemies. Someone may use some common sense ...
When your government sees hardworking desert ranchers, in no need of assistance by any land management militarized corporation as "the bad guys"... one might want to ask why we just handed over billions in Black-hawk helos, battle tanks, weapons, missiles, and the top secret tech that will likely be taken down to the last screw by the Chinese and Russians. One might want to inquire why the American people have not yet begun to convene tribunals. No insurrection. The evidence voluminous.
I would not want the Bureau of Land Management to manage a damn thing. It is a little discussed Executive agency that the President often uses as a political bludgeon. Unless it provokes a huge armed stand-off not many people really notice.
Well notice this... from their million dollar desert tortoise facility that saw huge amounts of them eventually euthanized, in the end it was discovered that the habitat that the work and planning of Cliven Bundy is what attracted the Desert Tortoise to the land he properly managed. Instead Rocco sends his best button men to put pressure on the ranch for not paying their protection racket. But this time Rocco found out that the folks he tried putting down on had a small army of cowboys waiting for them with 2 words to relay. GO HOME!
I’m smelling another need for that here, the only problem is that the horses can’t give an interview or fire an AR-15. Boy if wishes only could come true.
As I write this I found myself politically targeted at least in part by a property owner and his minions from California. The owner, Gary Paris of Montocido California who has properties in Arizona he apparently inherited allowed the property I was on to run down to decrepit. Long story short, we were to receive value in paid rent ahead for our work and once my part was essentially completed and after going without an AC Unit and coupled with the owners refusal to give me his legal address to formerly complain saw me evicted on lies so bad my neighbor winced at the 15th lie in his case. One major glaring tell tale sign of a political ideologue who in good “cancel culture” form, used my involvement with the Bundys in his eviction case. The only problem is he failed to mention how my involvement was remotely relevant to my always paying my way and working beyond what he compensated me for. In explaining to the Sheriff involved in investigating several things somewhat related I found it necessary to fill him in on why his entering that information into my eviction was not only a violation of my civil rights but it made the lies about the rest understandable. I decided to republish this article so we have it for posterity’s sake.
By ANY MEANS NECESSARY is the motto of the far left. And apparently it is one of Mr. Paris as well
This article originally appeared in
redoubt news. My article was ina video presentation which was deleted with my entire channel with all of the journalistic work I had done over the years. It was an act of economic and career terrorism by Google / YouTube. Please check out Redoubt - qespecially Shari. She is an awesome reporter.
In an exclusive video interview with Redoubt News, Washington State Representative Matt Shea read from a letter he received concerning a BLM whistle blower named Larry Wooten.
Wooten was the lead investigator for the Bureau of Land Management’s investigation into the Bunkerville/Gold Butte operation that went bad for them in April of 2014.
The letter outlines egregious violations and abuses committed by the Bureau of Land Management employees, lead by SAC Dan Love.
These heinous acts were discovered when Wooten was assigned to investigate the Bunkerville Standoff/Gold Butte operation that took place in April 2014.
Wooten was the lead investigator for nearly 3 years, digging into a multitude of issues. He states in the letter:
…the investigation revealed a widespread pattern of bad judgment, lack of discipline, incredible bias, unprofessionalism and misconduct, as well as likely policy, ethical, and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff at the BLM’s Office of Law Enforcement and Security.
He outlined specifics, such as very derogatory name calling, when he described the unprofessional behavior. Additionally, Wooten states that this behavior was committed “often by law enforcement supervisors who are potential witnesses and investigative team supervisors”.
Agent Wooten outlines in detail how Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Dan Love was known for his bad behavior and allowed to get away with it, as he was “the BLM OLES “Directors boy” and they indicated they were going to hide and protect him.”
But, the information that this courageous whistle blower reveals only gets worse from here.
Wooten goes on to outline that SAC Dan Love had what was called a “Kill Book as a trophy and in essence bragged about getting three individuals in Utah to commit suicide (see Operation CerberusAction out of Blanding, Utah and the death of Dr. Redd).”
The report also describes what appears to be additional people on the BLM hit list, this time, however, Wooten’s own supervisor was an accessory.
My supervisor even took photographs in the secure command post area of the Las Vegas FBI Headquarters and even after he was told that no photographs were allowed, he recklessly emailed out photographs of the “Arrest Tracking Wall” in which Eric Parkerand Cliven Bundy had “X’s” through their face and body (indicating prejudice and bias).
The report that Representative Shea shared has multiple pages and is presented here for you to read for yourself.
Wooten Report
Some people might claim this is a disgruntled employee, and I would say they are probably not wrong. However, there are too many specifics included, and too many verifiable facts, to disregard the report. Any person that uncovered these abuses, and was fired for trying to report them, has every right to be disgruntled.
Wooten explains that in “February of 2017, it became clear to me that keeping quite became an unofficial condition of my future employment with the BLM, future awards, promotions, and a good future job reference.”
This report names several BLM agents and employees, but then it goes even further. The US Attorney’s office is also implicated in the cover-up:
When I asked [AUSA (First Assistant and Lead Prosecutor) Steven] Myhre if the former BLM SAC’s statements like “Go out there and kick Cliven Bundy in the mouth (or teeth) and take his cattle” and “I need you to get the troops fired up to go get those cows and not take any crap from anyone” would be exculpatory or if we would have to inform the defense counsel, he said something like “we do now,” or “it is now.”
Wooten took great risk upon himself to report the flagrant and vicious acts committed by these government representatives and the Acting US Attorney, Steven Myhre, had him fired from the investigation.
On February 18, 2017, I was removed from my position as the Case Agent Lead Investigator for the Cliven Bundy/Gold Butte Nevada Case
My supervisor told me that AUSA Steven Myhre “furiously demanded” that I be removed from the case and mentioned something about us (the BLM, specifically my supervisor) not turning over (or disclosing) discovery related material
We have previously reported on the blatant Brady violations the prosecution continues to commit. They have withheld evidence that would have easily exonerated these 19 men. The prosecution knew the Bundy family was not threat, as they have already referred to the “Threat Assessment Report” previously completed. These men should never have been incarcerated at all, let alone kept for nearly 2 years.
The list of exculpatory evidence that has been kept from the defense continues to grow. 2 men, Todd Engel and Greg Burleson, were convicted based on this false information. Will truth win out and their convictions get overturned? If the people are to have any chance of regaining trust in our judicial system, this is what should happen.
What about the men that were pressured to accept plea agreements? If those agreements were based on false evidence the prosecution claimed to have had, or if they did not disclose the true facts of the case, will these men have any recourse to have their pleas overturned?
From left to right - Duane Ehmer, LaVoy Finicum, EJ Parker, Ammon Bundy, and Tom Lacovara-Stewart on location at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Federal land theft site renamed “The Harney County Resource Center”. According to Article 1 Section 8 Clause 17, the Federal Govt. is restricted from acquiring acreage like that in the states once they become states.
It is now in the hands of Judge Gloria Navarro. She has spent months catering to the prosecution. She has proven to be no friend of the defense.
However, was she misled in this case, as well? Have her eyes been opened to the truth of the scandalous behavior of the prosecution and their witnesses?
If she wants to make this right, and see justice is served, she needs to resolve these issues immediately. She needs to dismiss this case, unseal the entire case and evidence, and hold Steven Myhre and company accountable for their actions
We thank Rep. Matt Shea for his courage in reporting this corruption. We need more elected officials to speak up on behalf of their constituents.
And we thank Larry Wooten for his bravery in shedding light on this outrage. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke needs to step up and address his situation, as well.
Original article title : Dubious decisions in LaVoy Finicum shooting case revealed in trial of acquitted FBI agent
Forward by Tom Lacovara-Stewart
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupier
Alternative Media journalist, radio talk show host
American history educator, historian, father who misses his son every day, and friend of LaVoy Finicum who not a day passes that I don’t thank God I had the privilege of it all.
Allow me to explain why I posting this article on my site... for posterity, out of respect for my friend LaVoy who I rode with just the day before he was gunned down for the heinous crime of being on his way to meet with the Sheriff of Grant County Oregon, Sheriff Palmer. There was absolutely no reason whatsoever that anyone needed to die. They wanted him dead. Imagine if Sheriff Palmer had deputized all of us. Imagine if we were able to arrest the corrupt bastards. It takes special types of order following cowards to shoot a man in the back 3 times after hitting him with a rubber bullet in the front to make it look like he is reaching for a gun that only a select few of us “knew” where it was, which was on his dash under the Indian blanket. I’ll see you at the gates of hell... they won’t let me in. Afraid I might take over. But I’ll see you there. I hope you lay in bed sleepless every night thinking about LaVoys kids and grandkids... and his foster kids. That man did more good in 10 minutes than you FBI gunmen do in a lifetime. I’m sorry .... I held back. Would you like me to tell you how I really feel?
My respect to Maxine. For primarily a liberal writer, I think she was objective, as fair as anyone could hope for and she has my respect.
When a man witnesses an injustice, and he shakes his head.confounded and does little more than complain, he becomes worse than the man who commits it. At least that man acts as he is. At least he is true to his own evil self. What of the man who does nothing knowing he has witnessed injustice and potentially injury to others?
First - A Humble Warriors Prayer
by Tom Lacovara-Stewart
Dear God I implore You, give me the courage to stand up to tyranny, the wisdom to not make it worse by rash impulsive actions. Grant me the use of words that they may inspire those to turn from their evil ways, and spare us violence, but dear God nomatter my age, give me the steady hand and keen eye, the quickness of the draw and the good weather or caution to keep my powder dry... if it need be... and Lord, please do not let anyone die but if you do, let it be they who would never have received the truth and never hope to have been a better man.
I pray you only use me as an instrument of necessity, not of glory or revenge, but simply of honorable justice if there be no other way. But if there be no other way let it be me that won’t hesitate. And please let it be me rather than my son.
(Scene of the FBI and Oregon state police confrontation with refuge occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum on U.S. 395 on Jan. 26, 2016. / FBI video screenshot)
BY MAXINE BERNSTEIN
The Portland trial of an FBI agent acquitted in the chaotic highway confrontation that led to the collapse of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation revealed a series of dubious decisions and questionable police practices.
Both FBI agents and Oregon State Police officers used problematic tactics during and after what some witnesses described as a tumultuous and unexpected showdown at a roadblock on U.S. 395 in eastern Oregon.
Testimony in the trial of W. Joseph Astarita, a member of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, disclosed shots fired in apparent confusion, an unusual delay in securing the crime scene and a supervisor and another officer giving updates on the investigation to one of the two state police officers who fired fatal shots that day.
The FBI’s Inspection Division will now do an administrative review of the agents’ actions and recommend improvements.
“They’ll identify weaknesses. They’ll identify mistakes, and they’ll take actions to correct them,’’ said Greg Bretzing, the FBI special agent in charge at the time of the 2016 shooting case. He has since retired.
State police wouldn’t comment on whether any changes to policies or practices have been made by the agency, citing a lawsuit by the family of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, the 54-year-old occupation spokesman shot and killed at the roadblock. One of the state police SWAT officers who fatally shot Finicum was promoted since the shooting.
(Refuge occupier Ryan Payne, on right, during the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge./ Les Zaitz)
Among the issues:
-- Did an initial 40mm rubber bullet fired at surrendering refuge occupier Ryan Payne escalate the attempt to arrest the refuge occupation’s leaders?
An FBI agent seemed to think so. He cursed at the state police SWAT trooper, Bob Olson, who fired the round as Payne appeared to surrender when police first stopped the occupiers on U.S. 395 to arrest them.
Payne, a militia member from Montana and one of the architects of the January 2016 armed refuge takeover, was in the front seat of Finicum’s idling truck. He put his head and hands out of the truck window in what appeared to be an attempt to surrender.
FBI agent Justin Travis Elkins testified that he had his eyes trained on Payne and the state police officer's shot "was totally unexpected.''
Elkins heard another FBI agent, Tim Dugan, turn to the state police officer and yell, "WTF was that?!'' Elkins said Payne was following commands and the shot escalated the stop.
State police said Payne hesitated and was shot in the hand with the rubber round.
Payne then got out of the truck and was taken into custody. But Finicum sped off in his truck with three others in the back seat headed toward the roadblock about a mile north on the remote highway where more FBI agents and state police officers waited.
-- A state police SWAT officer identified only as Officer 1 took three shots as Finicum’s truck raced toward the roadblock. He fired even though he acknowledged that he didn’t see the driver or passengers in the truck.
Though Officer 1 said he was supposed to be in a command role at the roadblock and directing others to act, he said he shot at Finicum's truck to get it to slow down or veer off.
On cross-examination, Officer 1 said he couldn't see into the truck.
One shot hit the front of the truck’s hood. Another hit the front grill. A third struck the driver’s side mirror.
FBI agent Astarita, in contrast, said he aimed his rifle at Finicum’s truck but didn’t shoot because he couldn’t see the driver or who was inside.
State police have kept Officer 1’s name secret, saying they fear he might face threats for the subsequent fatal shooting of Finicum. Officer 1 and a second state SWAT officer identified only as Officer 2 later shot Finicum in the back after he was seen reaching into his jacket where police said he had a loaded 9mm handgun in an inside jacket pocket.
(U.S. 395 was blocked for several hours after the fatal police shooting of occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum. /Dave Killen)
-- Investigators didn’t put up crime scene tape to preserve evidence or set up a log tracking who was coming and going at the roadblock until more than three hours after Finicum was shot.
Testimony from state police and FBI agents showed they were unclear about who was in charge of the scene until investigators from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Tri-County Major Crime Team arrived.
It also took time for investigators to arrive to the remote location. Some state police took a more-than-two-hour detour to avoid potential conflicts on U.S. 395, having been told other militia members might arrive at the scene.
A Deschutes County sheriff’s detective described a 12-car police caravan responding from Bend, hampered by what he described as a mobile command center traveling slowly “like an old bread truck.’’ Investigators arrived on the scene about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 27, 2016. The shooting occurred about 4:34 p.m. on Jan. 26, 2016.
The crime scene log wasn't started until more than four hours after the shooting and the scene wasn't taped off until about five hours later, testimony showed. Before the tape went up, FBI infrared video showed unidentified FBI agents walking through the scene and picking things up, according to court testimony.
(Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton speaks at the Oregon U.S. attorney's office after the indictment of FBI Agent W. Joseph Astarita was announced./Stephanie Yao Long)
-- Travis Hampton, then a state police major and now head of the agency, communicated via text with Officer 1 in the days leading up to Officer 1’s first interview with detectives investigating the shooting.
A witness to the fatal shooting, state trooper Joey Pollard, was assigned to be Officer 1’s so-called “buddy’’ officer after the shooting. That meant Pollard drove Officer 1 back to Bend that night and continued to communicate with Officer 1 before and after his Jan. 31 interview. Pollard also drove Officer 1 and Officer 2 home after their initial processing at the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office the night of the shooting.
Pollard had been in the tree line on the west side of the highway as Finicum stepped away from his truck in a snowbank. Pollard yelled commands at Finicum, initially aiming a handgun at him, but then switched to a Taser. Officers 1 and 2 both said they worried Pollard was in harm’s way.
Pollard also was present when a state police forensic scientist examined Finicum’s truck and a bullet hole to the roof. Pollard shared what he learned with Officer 1, according to trial testimony.
Most police agencies give gag orders to officers who are either involved in a shooting or witnesses to a shooting, requiring them not to communicate with other officers involved to avoid having them compare or share information that could affect their individual statements.
Officer 1 also wasn’t interviewed about his role in the shooting until five days after it happened.
Portland police require an officer to be interviewed by internal affairs within 48 hours of a shooting.
Los Angeles-based police consultants say the best practice is to interview an officer involved in a shooting the night of the incident. Delaying the interview negatively impacts investigations and undermines public confidence, according to Michael Gennaco, a former federal civil rights prosecutor who now leads The County of Los Angeles' Office of Independent Review, known as the OIR group.
(Law enforcement officials gather in Bend for a March 2016 press conference, where they announced that the fatal Jan. 26, 2016, shooting of refuge occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum/Beth Nakamura)
-- State police went along with unusual demands by the FBI to interview the agents from the Hostage Rescue Team as a group and not record them.
Conducting a group interview of officers -- whether they fired shots or witnessed a shooting -- is unheard of, state police detective Scott Hill testified.
But Hill said he agreed to the ultimatum because he was afraid none of the agents would talk if he didn’t. Hill was part of a state task force, led by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, investigating the shooting.
The reason given why an FBI supervisor demanded the group interview in February 2016 came out at the end of the trial.
In his closing argument, defense attorney David Angeli told jurors that the agents didn’t have legal representation with them since they were so far from home, FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. They apparently wanted safety in numbers without a lawyer there.
But it’s likely that the Hostage Rescue Team agents consulted with a legal representative from the FBI Agents Association and could have had someone on the phone for any interview or flown out to help them.
“Had I known earlier there was a serious question about who shot and whether HRT agents were implicated, I would have involved the FBI’s Inspection Division for the benefit of all involved,’’ said Bretzing, Oregon’s FBI agent in charge at the time.
Investigators from the FBI’s Inspection Division wouldn’t have agreed to a group interview, he said.
The Hostage Rescue Team is reportedly considering requiring a legal representative travel with the team on its missions.
(The truck refuge occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was driving on Jan. 26, 2016 when he raced from a police stop and swerved into a snowbank to avoid a police roadblock on U.S. 395/ Deschutes County Sheriff's Office)
-- State police, ordinarily required to wear body cameras, agreed not to wear the cameras during the arrests of the occupation leaders to protect the identities of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team agents.
State police detectives also normally record interviews of officers who might be involved in a shooting.
However, they didn't the night of the shooting when questioning the FBI Hostage Rescue Team members, again at the FBI's request, or during the February interview of the agents.
No one testified why the FBI didn’t want their interviews recorded.
The FBI typically doesn’t record such interviews. If the FBI’s Inspection Division had done the interview, the federal investigator would write up a report of the agent’s statement, the agent could make changes and then swear that it was true, providing a signed sworn statement.
In this case, the Hostage Rescue Team agents had someone who wasn’t at the scene write a “communal’’ FBI report on what they saw or did that day.
(Greg Bretzing, Oregon's FBI special agent in charge, at a March 2016 news conference, announcing the investigation into FBI Hostage Rescue Team agents)
-- Astarita and his colleagues on the Hostage Rescue Team each testified that they did a standard security items check, walking around the shooting scene to look for remnants of flash-bang grenades such as pins and other personal gear after Finicum was killed.
But a former head of the FBI’s training program for new agents -- who also trained Astarita in 2005 -- said nothing should have been moved at the shooting scene. And if it was moved for safety reasons, he said, the shooting investigators should have been told.
The investigators testified that they learned that FBI agents scoured the scene only after the fact by watching video from FBI planes monitoring the operation. Further, other flash-bang grenades and pins remained at the scene after the video caught the suspected agents bending down and picking things up at the scene, according to trial testimony.
Bretzing, Oregon’s head FBI agent at the time, testified that the search was unusual and concerning.
(The bullet strikes to Finicum's truck / Court exhibit)
-- Shooting investigators could find only two shell casings of eight shots fired at the roadblock. And the FBI didn’t turn over their guns for immediate examination.
Both of those things hampered the investigation, prosecutors said.
Had an FBI agent fired his rifle that day, the agent is required to alert a supervisor, who would call out the bureau’s Shooting Incident Response Team to investigate, seize the weapon and conduct a full inquiry into the shooting.
None of the agents’ rifles were immediately examined by the FBI or the shooting investigators because none of the agents said they fired that night.
After the shooting investigators found an unaccounted-for bullet hole in the roof of Finicum’s truck, FBI supervisors again asked all the Hostage Rescue Team agents if they had fired any rounds.
Astarita and his boss who was also at the roadblock, supervisory agent B.M., said they independently examined their own rifles in their 10-person tent at the tactical operations center at Burns airport a day or two after the shooting. They didn't find anything unusual to report, they testified. B.M.'s identity also was shrouded because the FBI said he was on active duty with the Army Reserves, involved in special operations.
Astarita was acquitted on charges that he lied when he denied taking two shots at Finicum’s truck at the roadblock after it crashed into a snowbank. One bullet hit the roof of the truck and the other missed as Finicum got out of the truck with his hands up at the roadblock, investigators said. No one has acknowledged taking the shots.
Officer 1 fired three times at Finicum’s truck as it bore down on the roadblock and then two shots that struck Finicum when he walked away from the truck. Officer 2 fired one bullet that hit Finicum.
(FBI tactical gear/ FBI)
-- FBI supervisory agent Mike Ferrari testified that the FBI recently has standardized how its SWAT operators load their rifle magazines. They now must put in 28 bullets.
Ferrari said the change didn’t stem from this case but because of a number of incidents throughout the FBI. He did not explain what those incidents involved.
- interjection by RTR Truth Media... we have the technology that each bullet an officer loads could be marked by adding nano-dye.
In this case, none of the FBI’s rifles were examined by investigators the night of the shooting.
The number of rounds initially loaded into Officer 1’s rifle became a point of contention during the trial. The defense argued Officer 1 could have taken the two disputed shots; Officer 1 said he loaded his rifle magazine with 29 bullets and 24 were remaining, confirming his account that he fired five shots that day and not the two disputed rounds. The defense countered that Officer 1’s rifle capacity is 31 bullets.
