Outpost of Freedom blog

Camp Lone Star – Nor Shall Private Property be Taken…

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
May 22, 2015

Massey received at “Notice of Seizure and Administrative Forfeiture Proceeding” from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, dated November 19, 2014. In it, the government had listed weapons and ammunition, which, according to their assessment, total $1134.90. This included three .45 caliber and two 7.62 mm weapons, and over 2500 rounds of ammunition — do the math — the weapons, alone, would exceed the BATF total.

It contained both forms and inventories, listing the above items. And, there were explicit instructions on what to do to contest the forfeiture of the property. No compensation offered, just try as you might, ‘we are going to keep this stuff’.

It also cited various statutes, however, when Massey read the statutes, he did not see any applicability. If he goes to trial, the property would be evidence, and, if he doesn’t go to trial, the property should be returned. After all, it is theft to keep property if there was no crime committed with the property. But, after scrutinizing the documents, he realized that this was “civil forfeiture”, the taking of property just because they want to take it.

Now, Massey, not sure if they were trying to trick him into some sort of confession — professing to own weapons that he might not own, and realizing that there might be other traps in the forms that they wanted him to fill out, declined to complete the forms, and simply question their right to take property, under the circumstances.

So, within the time constraints in the document, he chose to respond, via correspondence, rather than government forms. After citing the many statutes that were referred to in the BATF letter, he writes, “I have read those cited sections, and I am at a loss as to what authority is being used to deny the owners said property. I see nothing that begins to suggest such authority within the context of those codes.”

He asks them to be more specific in their cited statute, and he reminded them that, according to the CAFRA Act of 2002, the Burden of Proof lies upon the Government, to wit:

18 USC 983 (c) Burden of Proof. – In a suit or action brought under any civil forfeiture statute for the civil forfeiture of any property –

(1) the burden of proof is on the Government to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to forfeiture;

Don’t you suppose that the government should have some idea of their authority, instead of trying to trick somebody into doing something that the person has no obligation to do?

So, just like in a ping pong game, another mailing from the BATF, in which they state:

As stated in your Notice of Forfeiture Proceedings letter, dated November 19, 2014, the Claim must identify the specific property being claimed; state the claimant’s interest in such property; and be made under oath, subject to penalty of perjury.

Are my eyes deceiving me? The government already listed the property, now they want Massey to list the property. They also want him to “claim an interest in [the] property“. But, they started the game. First, they took the property from Massey. Then, they told him what property they wanted him to forfeit. Now, they act as if they don’t know what property they are talking about, and they question his interest in the property.

Let’s get real. When they took the property from Massey, whether it was his, or belonged to someone else, he had taken responsibility for the property, unless, of course, it was stolen. So, he would also have the obligation to return the property to its rightful owner, one the government finishes with the circle-jerk. It makes me begin to wonder (well, I have wondered since back in 1993, Waco, Texas) whether the BATF (back then, we referred to them as Bat F#$ks) only hired retards, since they can’t seem to do anything right, and are more prone to screw it up worse than it was, one they set their minds (perhaps overly gracious) to work on it.

Anyway, that last BATF notice was dated December 18, 2014, and it also had attached lists of the mysterious property that they wanted Massey to identify.

So, on December 29, Massey responded. Now, though his response is linked, here, it is simply too wonderful to not insert portions of the response, here in this article. In response to BATF alleging that he had submitted a claim:

I am in receipt of your letter of December 18. It misrepresents that I submitted a claim for the return of property. What I sent you was an explanation as to the circumstances surrounding the property that you are endeavoring to seize.

So, now that they may have gotten that right, let’s move on to why Massey cannot respond to deal with the property and ownership, as the BATF would like him to:

First, the Court has barred me from any communication with members of Rusty’s Rangers. The property that you are seizing is owned by members of what the government refers to as “Rusty’s Rangers”. You have not noticed them regarding their property, though you have put upon me a requirement that I violate a court order, or make me responsible for the loss of property owned by members of “Rusty’s Rangers”. If I don’t violate the court order, then you will deny the rightful owners their property.

Then, he returns to the very laws that BATF is attempting to enforce or misinterpret,

I also brought to your attention that you have not stated why the property was seized and subject to forfeiture. You throw a number of codes out, though each of them is so broad in its construction, that I have yet to find any presumed authority for the forfeiture.

Notwithstanding that what you are attempting to do is clearly in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, I find that you also fail to meet your statutory obligation under 18 U.S.C. § 983

(c) Burden of Proof. – In a suit or action brought under any civil forfeiture statute for the civil forfeiture of any property –

(1) the burden of proof is on the Government to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to forfeiture;

So, how can the government demonstrate a burden of proof, when there is no charge associated with which the burden can be demonstrated? A specific criminal, or other act, under the laws of the United States would have to be submitted as a cause of action, and then the burden of proof, by a preponderance of evidence. I see no evidence with which you might, in the most ludicrous manner, attach a “burden of proof”. It is that which I am seeking, and, it would appear that this would have to be provided prior to any requirement for me to file a claim for the property of others.

Well, that was sent to the BATF via Fed Ex, so they have had over 5 months in which to see if they can do more than sling words, without meaning or context. And, since no Order has been filed on the case, or provided to Massy, we must presume that the whole matter of forfeiture is on hold, and that Massey will be able to return all of the property to the rightful owners, once the case is dismissed (see next article).

In the meantime, maybe those BATF officials have returned to school to learn something other than intimidation is behind the laws of this country.