Free Republic

After the Alameda County Board of Supervisors stonewalled then-Sheriff Gregory Ahern’s requests to acquire two unmanned drones for his agency amid public outrage, the county’s top cop quietly dipped into his own $236 million annual budget and purchased them anyway. Ahern scooped up a pair of AirCover Integrated Solutions’ QuadRotor QR425s for $97,000, using a federal Homeland Security grant and county taxpayer money — almost two years after community members testified for hours against the acquisition. In the process, his office in 2014 became the first California law enforcement agency to publicly acquire a sophisticated surveillance drone. “There’s nothing secret...

Schiff tucked an amendment into the National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit any evidence collected in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act from being used in investigations. Why? Jeffrey Rosen had a secret on January 6, 2021. The then-acting attorney general—Rosen was appointed on December 24, 2020 to replace departing Attorney General William Barr—had assembled a team of elite and highly skilled government agents at Quantico, a nexus point between the FBI and U.S. military, the weekend before Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the same time he was rejecting President Donald Trump’s...

During the last administration it was hard to go a week or even a day without someone decrying a supposedly appalling “attack” on members of the press by President Donald Trump. These assaults largely consisted of Trump objecting to loaded questions and other gasbaggery from members of the fourth estate. We expect politicians with partisan agendas to spar with journalists. Not so much members of the armed forces speaking in their official capacity, which is what happened last week after Tucker Carlson of Fox News dared to comment about the role of women in the military. The Second Marine Expeditionary...

There are numerous reports of the U.S. military engaging in recent political activity that has raised some eyebrows. Many are wondering what is going on…. and there’s likely an alarming reason. Considering the specific examples over the past few years, I would argue the Democrats are positioning for use of the military in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act -or- by an expressed act of congress.Following the evidence to its logical conclusion is simple. The political apparatus of the DC state has framed a fraudulent narrative that “insurrection” against the federal government is an ongoing possibility.Toward that end the U.S....

t is absurd to claim that our military cannot defend our borders. Yet "That is illegal!" shout internationalists who never wanted our U.S. border protected anyway. Activists proclaim that the U.S. military is crippled under an 1878 law, the Posse Comitatus Act, found at 18 U.S.C. § 1385. We can do nothing but watch helplessly, they argue, as foreigners flood across the frontiers. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of the military for law enforcement purposes. There is actually a lot of scholarly analysis published by legal experts in law review journals. But most political rhetoric is...

Juan Carlos Nazario was sitting on a lakeside bench waiting to play soccer when he heard the staccato popping of gunshots outside Louie’s On the Lake, a popular waterfront grill and pub. He ran to his car to get his gun and moved toward the sounds. Bryan Whittle was driving with his wife, heading off for a Memorial Day weekend getaway, when he saw a commotion outside Louie’s. He thought someone might be drowning, so instead of turning his truck onto the highway, he barreled into the parking lot to offer help. As he jumped out, what he learned stunned...

Obscured by Jon Stewart’s well-publicized mockery of Texans’ reaction to Jade Helm 15—the US Army’s two-month-long exercise across nine states scheduled to begin in July—is the fact that the criticisms may not all be deranged droolings. The Daily Show‘s Stewart made headlines earlier in May when he ridiculed Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision ordering the State Guard to “monitor” Jade Helm. The comedian-cum-newsman called Jade Helm critics “Lone Star lunatics.” But are they? Or is there more to the story? As always, WhoWhatWhy has remained agnostic while asking questions. Now, we provide a few initial answers. More will undoubtedly...

Only a year after the joint drills of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the US military raised eyebrows, the RCSD has once again announced that the department will be conducting drills that involve the joint training of civilian law enforcement and the US military. On May 8, it was reported by WLTX that the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting drills in conjunction with the 3rd Special Forces Group out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The exercises will take place at late-night and pre-dawn and will run from May 8 until May 15. Citizens have now been informed...

Wal-Mart closures have citizens concerned. Jade Helm 15 is set to kick off in seven states this summer, sending Special Operations forces from all four main branches of the military onto civilian soil to conduct hostile take-over training – and civil-rights advocates are sounding the alarms. ... The looming Jade Helm exercise, set for July 15 through Sept. 15, labels Texas and Utah as hostile areas. Global Research also reported the military says New Mexico “isn’t much friendlier.” Other states participating: California, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada. Some of the social media commentary so far: “The Pentagon’s ‘Operations Jade Helm 15′:...

The Pentagon has donated hundreds of MRAP vehicles to police departments nationwide. Snip: Historians looking back at this period in America’s development will consider it to be profoundly odd that at the exact moment when violent crime hit a 50-year low, the nation’s police departments began to gear up as if the country were expecting invasion — and, on occasion, to behave as if one were underway. The ACLU reported recently that SWAT teams in the United States conduct around 45,000 raids each year, only 7 percent of which have anything whatsoever to do with the hostage situations with...

The number of SWAT team raids in the United States every year is now more than 25 times higher than it was back in 1980. As America has conducted wars overseas in recent years, our police forces have become increasingly militarized as well. And without a doubt, many of our cities have become much more dangerous places. Thanks to relentless illegal immigration, drug cartels are thriving and there are now at least 1.4 million gang members living in the United States. But there are many that believe that the militarization of our police forces has gone way too far. Almost...

The troubling aspect of the directive outlines presidential authority for the use of military arms and forces, including unarmed drones, in operations against domestic unrest. “This appears to be the latest step in the administration’s decision to use force within the United States against its citizens,” said a defense official opposed to the directive. Directive No. 3025.18, “Defense Support of Civil Authorities,” was issued Dec. 29, 2010, and states that U.S. commanders “are provided emergency authority under this directive.”

A 2010 Pentagon directive on military support to civilian authorities details what critics say is a troubling policy that envisions the Obama administration’s potential use of military force against Americans. The directive contains noncontroversial provisions on support to civilian fire and emergency services, special events and the domestic use of the Army Corps of Engineers. The troubling aspect of the directive outlines presidential authority for the use of military arms and forces, including unarmed drones, in operations against domestic unrest. “This appears to be the latest step in the administration’s decision to use force within the United States against its...

SEAL Team Six, the U.S. military group credited with taking down Osama bin Laden in 2011, could have Fort Lauderdale next in its sights. A proposed operation in the city — involving hovering combat helicopters, exploding flash-bang devices and the sounds of gunfire — is in the works. (snip) What type of exercises can be expected? The agreement mentions the possibility of using low-flying helicopters and simulated ammunition to train personnel on a "rooftop fast-rope insertion" into a building.

After a few years out of the spotlight, Petaluma's notorious Sampson family is back in the news after a badly decomposed body was found on their property and a feud with neighbors grew ugly when one family member allegedly began dumping human waste at a nearby property. snip In an unrelated case, a dispute with neighbors over a dog allegedly led a member of the Sampson family to dump human waste on their property in retaliation. snip The feud continued to escalate, reaching a head in February last year when the neighbor found buckets and bags of human feces, bloody...

Rumors have circulated for years about the possibility of foreign troops being deployed on U.S. soil in the event of a widespread declaration of a national emergency. For quite some time there have been anecdotal reports to support the claim that the U.N., Russia and other nations would be used in a policing capacity should some critical event befall our nation. The fear should such a scenario take place has been that these soldiers would act under the banner of their own flags, ignoring the fundamental protections afforded to our citizens, leaving Americans under the jurisdiction of people who don’t...

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was originally established to protect American citizens from the federal use of military troops to enforce and execute the laws of the land unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress. Since then, for over a century, this task has fallen upon local and federal law enforcement. But with the War on Terror taking center stage in the United States for the last decade, elements within the government have been working tirelessly to expand the mission of the US military on the domestic front. First, they passed the Patriot Act, which gave the government...

The manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects offered the nation a window into the stunning military-style capabilities of our local law enforcement agencies. For the past 30 years, police departments throughout the United States have benefitted from the government’s largesse in the form of military weaponry and training, incentives offered in the ongoing “War on Drugs.” For the average citizen watching events such as the intense pursuit of the Tsarnaev brothers on television, it would be difficult to discern between fully outfitted police SWAT teams and the military. The lines blurred even further Monday as a new dynamic was...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is ready to assist after what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called a “cruel act of terror” in Boston. Testifying on Capitol Hill, Hagel said Tuesday that the attack on the Boston Marathon was terrorism, and that the Pentagon is prepared to respond quickly to any request from domestic law enforcement. “(The attack) is clearly an act of terror and will be approached as an act of terror,” Hagel said. snip More than 400 Massachusetts National Guardsmen remain on duty to continue to assist local authorities, according to a news release from the Guard. The 211th...

However, Holder says that in situations akin to the 1941 assault on Pearl Harbor or the September 11, 2001 attacks, the president might have to order the use of deadly force in the U.S. "The question you have posed is entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one we hope no President will ever have to confront," Holder wrote. "It is possible, I supposed, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory...