As a reminder, here's how it works in a free society: Before the government subjects you to any punishment - including loss of property - IT must prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT that you have broken a law for which that punishment is the penalty prescribed by the criminal statutes.
So what kind of society do we now find ourselves living in? Because that is not how it currently works with the confiscation of property. And this is happening at all levels, local, state and federal. Most people want to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that it is not happening because they have not been personally affected by it. The first time that I became aware of the situation was around 15 years ago when we were shopping for an airplane. We were looking for a small vintage airplane, we were looking at a Tripacer. The guy who was selling the Tripacer took us across the runway to introduce us to his friend. His friend was storing a Pilatus PC-6 for the Black Diamond police department.
I asked how the Black Diamond police department happened to have a Pilatus PC-6 to sell. Black Diamond was rural small town which had a population of approximately 3000 people at the time. I was told that they had hired a police chief that knew the inns and outs of confiscating property. The Pilatus had never been anywhere near Black Diamond that anyone was aware of. The Black Diamond Police Chief had some inside knowledge of something about the owner of the plane which was kept in Renton.
The plane had never been used in drug smuggling operations that anyone was aware of. The owner was never convicted of anything that anyone who knew about the plane was aware of, although there were rumors that he was a marijuana user and had a history of making large cash deposits. Of course he was a small business owner who made many cash transactions. He did not live or work any where near Black Diamond. The whole thing seem so unbelievable to me that I looked into it a little further and was extremely disturbed to find that the owner had no criminal history, and no charges were ever filed against him for anything. Yet he lost nearly everything he owned including his airplane, his home and his small business. The IRS actually is the agency who confiscates the most property using this tactic... these re not "tax liens" all it takes is a history of cash deposits and if it looks to them like your cash deposits are "structured" to avoid depositing more than $10,000 at a time you are vulnerable. Knowing the IRS it is very likely if you are an outspoken conservative and might be inclined to describe yourself as a patriot the selective enforcement policies of the Obama administration might make you more vulnerable. So please keep this in mind.