On June 30, 2017 in Lexington, KY, Sam Girod, a naive and innocent Amish farmer, was sentenced to 72 months in prison. I am sure you will recall that Girod's crime, according to the federal agents going after him, was that he made a salve without the FDA's permission. That's it! A salve so innocuous that you could make it in your own kitchen. Just so you know that I am not kidding, the ingredients of this "felonious" salve are: Rosemary, Beeswax, Olive Oil, Peppermint, Eucalyptus, and Chickweed.
But the Judge, Danny C. Reeves, assured us all that this was "not about big government" and that Sam Girod had failed to "register with the FDA" (get their permission to do what he had already been doing for 20 years) and that Girod had also engaged in "interstate commerce." So of course, this federal district judge had no choice but to throw this Amish farmer in prison. If you allow the Amish to sell Chickweed Salve there's just no telling what sort of epidemic crime wave could flood our country.
Even more startling was the Judge calling Girod "obstinate" and that he gave the Judge "no reason" to be lenient. The judge should have been fair and honest, the defendant's attitude notwithstanding. Both the judge and the prosecutor knew that Girod did not know what he was doing in order to defend himself properly, and what did they do about it? They pounced on him like ravenous wolves! It was a disgusting display of uncompassionate and unfeeling cruelty.
The FDA and several state agencies as well, have already been raiding the Amish who think they can own a few acres of land, grow grass on it, let their cows graze and digest the grass, bring the cows home in the evenings, and milk them. Then the Amish have the criminal audacity to make raw dairy products and share them with family and neighbors. Many such dairies have been destroyed by our brave public officials and many Amish have been arrested. SWAT teams have raided such "criminal enterprises" to protect us all from such dangerous people! (You can watch some of these raids on the Amish and other food coops on YouTube. While you're there don't forget to watch the Dept. of Education SWAT Team raid of Kenneth Wright!)
The CSPOA has indeed worked to protect and defend these Amish victims from our own absurd and cruel regulatory agencies. Some of our work has actually been successful, thanks to constitutional sheriffs or courts with juries who knew what their real duty was.
Regardless, these agencies will keep right on committing these atrocities because yes, they just don't have anything better to do. There's just too many of them; they have to create criminals or there would be no way to justify their jobs or their huge salaries.
However, there are still two very "elephant in the room" (nothing to do with Republicans) perspectives to point out here:
First, can you imagine Judge Reeves and Prosecutor Kate Smith going home after sentencing an Amish farmer to prison for six years and explaining to their families and friends the wonderful and meaningful work they did to nail this desperado? Imagine convincing your spouse that you just saved America and protected the public by putting an Amish farmer in prison, stripping him of his liberty and family, because he was "obstinate," as Reeves called him, and even worse, refusing to apologize for it.
How would the prosecutor brag about adding an Amish farmer to her long list of "victories" in keeping her conviction percentage above 90%? In this case she and Judge Reeves went after the most defenseless and peaceful in our society, one of the "least of these" and truly, an American "little guy" who politicians promise to help when they are campaigning or selling books (Rand Paul), but they never lift a finger to help when it really matters the most. Oh, and my reference to "elephants" previously, just for the record, not a single Republican in DC has done a bloody thing to help Sam Girod to be returned to his life and family. Not one!
Second, perhaps all of us should do our own research on this, but I guarantee you that 99% of all serious and nefarious drug dealers never receive anything even close to a six year sentence for their first offense. This type of a sentence would be more like a third or even fourth offense. Furthermore, most criminals convicted of child abuse do not receive 72 months for a first offense. And now, an Amish farmer gets six years!
After the sentencing I spoke briefly with Sam's wife, his sons, and his father. It literally broke my heart. I had no way to console them or convince them there is still absolution for their husband, father, and son. I just could not find the words. Tears filled my eyes as I could not make any sense of this travesty, an injustice that should never happen in America.
Bundy Update
And speaking of horrible injustices in America, the latest exploits by Judge Gloria Navarro, who has repeatedly violated every right guaranteed to the accused that she possibly can. She has threatened witnesses with arrest if they come forward to testify on behalf of the Bundys. She has denied bail to all of them and then refuses to allow any of the Bundys a "speedy trial." This is precisely the reason our Founders put such provisions in the Bill of Rights, so that tyrants would not be able to deny bail and then keep the accused persons in jail indefinitely. Judge Navarro actually stated that the "speedy trial" clause is not violated for Five Years! So, according to this "Judge" a speedy trial can take five years. In essence, she is claiming that bail could be denied to all of us while we wait five years for her and her crony prosecutors to bring us to trial. Unbelievable!
So, it appears that Judge Reeves and Judge Navarro have a great deal in common; both are Federal District Judges, both believe the law is what they say it is, neither cares about the rights of American citizens, neither understands or cares about the liberty or the pursuit of happiness as detailed within the Declaration of Independence, and both are obsessed with teaching the accused a lesson. Neither Reeves nor Navarro have concerned themselves with the presumption of innocence that our justice system is based upon. Both Judges have violated their oaths of office and the purpose for which they were to serve the American people. Both judges are beyond feeling, inhuman, and robotic.
Now, what are the rest of us going to do about it? No, we are not giving up! We are going to keep trying to get these cases in front of the President for a pardon and we are going to help with the appeal of the ridiculous conviction and sentence of Sam Girod to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. All of this is going to be very costly. Lamentably, these injustices are just too legion! Fighting back is going to take funding and the CSPOA is the only national organization working on this. So, we are asking for your help. Please dig deeper and double or triple what you normally contribute. We cannot help Sam Girod, or the many others who have been victimized by these ruthless officials, without your generosity. We will help them as much as you help us to do so. This is the most worthy cause ever; freeing our innocent neighbors.
You can donate at
www.cspoa.org/donatecspoa
, or send a check to CSPOA P.O. Box 567 Higley, AZ 85236, and order the book, ARE YOU A DAVID? here
. This book shows the solution and deals with these precise abuses. It is a book that should be in every American home, especially sheriffs and public officials.
Thanks to you all. Let's keep working, praying, and funding. "With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
WE ALL MUST DO LIKEWISE!
