Outpost of Freedom blog

Burns Chronicles N^o 44
Mark McConnell

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
November 25, 2016

Notice: Because of her extremely biased judicial discretion, Judge Anna Brown has ordered that I remove the information that I obtained from a ‘prohibited’ copy of the Discovery for the trial of the defendants in the Malheur Occupation trial. I have fully complied with that order and removed all of those portions prohibited, according to that order. All instances of removed text will be marked “[REDACTED]”, which is the same method the government used in depriving information that should have been available to the defendants, as well as you, the reading public, with factual information needed in order for you to make a fair and logical assessment. The FBI redactions were the government’s efforts to “protect” their army of paid informants, but they did a lousy job, as I was able to identify them with the unredacted text.

I first interviewed Mark McConnell back in August 2015 That interview was in regard to Parris Frazier and his effort to steal cartel drugs and sell them (Arizona Misfits – A Bad Operation Gone Worse).  McConnell seemed to have an extraordinary knowledge of some of the facts surrounding that incident, which was quite useful in researching for that story.  It never occurred to me, at the time, that this knowledge would have been extremely beneficial to law enforcement, leading up to the bust.

The Criminal Complaint that lead to the arrest of Frazier and his cohorts began with the government putting an undercover employee (UCE) in a position provide access to Frazier to make the government’s plans to set Frazier up for the bust.  This scenario omits what led up to the bringing in the UCE, so there was a substantial part of the story that was missing.  It is quite possible that they chose not to mention a confidential human source (CHS) that provided the background that led to the setup of Frazier.  Or, possibly, any such report was filed on form 302, an “Investigation Report”.

Let’s move forward to the events that occurred in Burns, Oregon, this past January.  During the trial, the government, for whatever reason, outed McConnell as a CHS.  In every other instance of a CHS being involved in spying on the occupiers, this would include nine who were at the Refuge and six who were not, the government has taken pains to conceal their identity.

This would lead one to conclude that they just wanted to wipe their hands clean of any association with Mark McConnell — to make him an outcast in both the government and patriot sides.  What other reason could exist for intentionally expose just this single informant?  Could it be his arrogance and air of superiority in dealing with his handler?

Many had determined that McConnell was an informant, early on.  However, in an effort to find verification, I have interviewed McConnell 3 more times since LaVoy Finicum was murdered on January 26.  The first was on January 30, as he was driving back to Arizona after having his vehicle returned to him.  My purpose was simply to find out what happened from the first stop to his release, that evening.

That interview was much different from the video that was posted on YouTube where he talked about LaVoy rushing the Oregon State Police (OSP) officers.  He had learned his lesson and wouldn’t claim that he saw Ryan get out of the LaVoy’s truck, only what Ryan told him, when they were placed on the ground together.  And, he made clear that all he would say was what he saw, or heard.  This interview was straightforward.  The details he gave were consistent with what has subsequently been confirmed by others.

My next interview, on May 16, was an effort to find something that would support the accusations that he was an informant.  Now, obviously, getting such a “confession” is nearly impossible.  However, often clues come out that would support such a conclusion.  McConnell said that there was a meeting on the Saturday, before the shooting, Brandon Curtiss, McConnell, Booda (Brian Cavalier) and Ammon had a meeting and Curtiss and McConnell explained that was over three hundred FBI agents in the area.  Then, the night before the shooting, he had tried to talk the people out of going to the meeting at John Day.  However, he was willing to drive to John Day and make sure that Ammon was in his Jeep.

On October 10, after McConnell was outed as an informant, I spoke with him, again.  The only interesting point in this interview was the McConnell said that the occupation was a “criminal enterprise”.  A rather interesting statement from one who participated to the extent that he did.  This would raise a question of motivation as to why he participated in such an enterprise, at least as an accessory, unless he had a reason, and immunity, to do so.  Here is what he told me (from my notes of the conversation):

He spent three nights at the Refuge, the second trip.  He could not find a motel room.  He did not agree with the occupation.  He called it lies and bullshit.  He also claimed that Payne and Joker J (Jason Blomgren) had given me [Hunt] money to secure supplies, listing pipes and pipe caps, stating, “That’s not what the statements I have found said.”

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 44 – Mark McConnell’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 43
Terri Linnell (Mama Bear) #2

These are side-by-side thumbnails of the un-redacted and redacted versions of the same report.

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
November 22, 2016

Notice: Because of her extremely biased judicial discretion, Judge Anna Brown has ordered that I remove the information that I obtained from a ‘prohibited’ copy of the Discovery for the trial of the defendants in the Malheur Occupation trial. I have fully complied with that order and removed all of those portions prohibited, according to that order. All instances of removed text will be marked “[REDACTED]”, which is the same method the government used in depriving information that should have been available to the defendants, as well as you, the reading public, with factual information needed in order for you to make a fair and logical assessment. The FBI redactions were the government’s efforts to “protect” their army of paid informants, but they did a lousy job, as I was able to identify them with the unredacted text.

My initial article on informants was “Terri Linnell (Mama Bear)“.  That article was written because Terri had contacted me prior to testifying in the Portland trial of the first seven defendants.  The article was based solely on information provided to me, not what was reported to the government.  In my subsequent articles, I have since obtained redacted versions of the “CHS Reporting Documents”, and am now able to provide insight into what Terri reported.

What Terri reported during her role as an informant has not been made public, though some have expressed a concern as to what she said and what might be damaging to the defendants.  As Terri claimed in her statement in the above linked article, her job was, primarily, to keep and eye on six people —  Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, Jon Ritzheimer, Blaine Cooper, Ryan Payne, Pete Santilli, and Joe O’Shaughnessy.  So, from those reports that have exemplified the role of informants, following is the role that Terri played.

It must be understood that all of these reports were based upon telephone conversations, as described by the case agent.  They are not necessarily the words spoken by the informant, rather the interpretation by the case agent.

The first report is dated January 14, 2016.  “(omitted)” indicates omitted by me for privacy of individual.  “XXXX” indicates redacted portion.

[REDACTED]

Her next report was on January 19, 2016.  In the file I obtained, there is only one un-redacted report.  However, there is also a redacted version of that report.  The following is the un-redacted report, with all of the pertinent information in place.

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 43 – Terri Linnell (Mama Bear) #2’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 42
Fabio Minoggio (John Killman)

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
November 20, 2016

“John Killman”

Notice: Because of her extremely biased judicial discretion, Judge Anna Brown has ordered that I remove the information that I obtained from a ‘prohibited’ copy of the Discovery for the trial of the defendants in the Malheur Occupation trial. I have fully complied with that order and removed all of those portions prohibited, according to that order. All instances of removed text will be marked “[REDACTED]”, which is the same method the government used in depriving information that should have been available to the defendants, as well as you, the reading public, with factual information needed in order for you to make a fair and logical assessment. The FBI redactions were the government’s efforts to “protect” their army of paid informants, but they did a lousy job, as I was able to identify them with the unredacted text.

For the sake of this article, I will use the name that those at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) knew him by, John Killman.  However, his real name is Fabio Minoggio, from Switzerland, and currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada, or northwestern Arizona.

There is little information in his Fabio Minoggio Facebook page, though it appears that he was born in Pallanza, Italy.  He claims to still live in Locarno, Switzerland.  He may have been born January 1, 1971, as implied by a date shown on the John Killman Facebook page.

At this point, we only have what he said to the defense attorneys, when asked why he went to the refuge.  He told them, “I am in this because of my love of gun safety,” according to the lawyers’ notes.  He also said he didn’t want to miss a “moment in history.*” This claim doesn’t bear fruit, since, while on the witness stand, in response to a question about expenses, he said “I was going into harm’s way, so I had to buy ballistic vests”.  From whom did he sense a threat?

The Prosecution has refused to identify him as an informant.  The judge then told the FBI that if he lied on the stand, they had an obligation to point out any such lies.

Whether he contacted the FBI and volunteered, or was contacted by the FBI, we may never know.  I have tried calling Minoggio, but he “is not accepting calls at this time”, in a recorded message at the number that was initially used to contact him to testify.

How he was found and subpoenaed to testify is another interesting aspect of this story.  After Jeff Banta testified about a guy with a French accent had come to the Refuge and started training people in various military activity, such as team combat, team movements as a group, evacuating friendlies from a car, hand-to-hand combat, and firearms safety.  He had that French accent and was sort of an anomaly, compared to the others who had come to the Refuge.

This began raising questions.  The government, in discovery, had provided 129 “CHS Reporting Document” reports, constituting 230 pages, though they were so heavily redacted that there was no way to identify, without a bit of sleuthing, just who the informant making the reports were.  However, among those who had met “Killman”, someone had obtained his phone number.

At this point, Neil Wampler’s attorney, Lisa Maxfield and Shawna Cox’s standby attorney, Tiffany Harris, began pursuing an intensive search for the illusive John Killman.  A reverse look-up of the phone number showed the phone registered to Fabio Minoggio.  Once others confirmed that Minoggio’s Facebook picture (above) was Killman, it was a matter of finding him and getting him on the stand, having no idea what his testimony might be.  It was a long shot, but having ferreted out an informant just might be sufficient to persuade the jury that things were not just as the Prosecution had claimed.

What made the effort worthwhile is the fact that the Prosecution had already shown a short video Burns-Pieter_video_2016-01-24–16-31-39.mp4 at least four times, during their presentation to the jury.  That video, though only 29 seconds long, was, in the eyes of the jury, suggestive of the violent intent of the occupiers.  If the video could be considered in the proper light, perhaps that would be a major point of consideration by the jury.

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 42 – Fabio Minoggio (John Killman)’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 41
Dennis Dickenson (Dennis Jones)

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
October 16, 2016

Notice: Because of her extremely biased judicial discretion, Judge Anna Brown has ordered that I remove the information that I obtained from a ‘prohibited’ copy of the Discovery for the trial of the defendants in the Malheur Occupation trial. I have fully complied with that order and removed all of those portions prohibited, according to that order. All instances of removed text will be marked “[REDACTED]”, which is the same method the government used in depriving information that should have been available to the defendants, as well as you, the reading public, with factual information needed in order for you to make a fair and logical assessment. The FBI redactions were the government’s efforts to “protect” their army of paid informants, but they did a lousy job, as I was able to identify them with the unredacted text.

On October 11, 2015, the initial Operation Mutual Defense (OMD) Advisory Board (AB) held their first meeting. Each meeting had an agenda and the AB members agreed to record the telephonic meetings, for the record. The recordings were then place in a Dropbox folder, accessible only to the AB members. There was also a private mail-list group set up, again restricted only to AB members.

The AB was comprised of five members. The only member that was known only by one other member, Ryan Payne, was a retired military officer named Dennis Roy Dickenson. Dickenson had endeared himself to Ryan when he was going to fly up to Montana on April 10, 2014. The meeting never occurred, as Ryan had left for the Bundy Ranch on April 7.

Mr. Dickenson had provided his DD-214, as was required of all members of the AB who claimed prior military service. Of his 21 years of service he was in “intelligence” for over 19 years, and left the service, honorably, as a Marine Lt. Colonel.

Under the agreement of all of the SB members, I had set up the Dropbox account and the mail-list group. The Dropbox is rather simple where only designated people have access and large files can be transferred up and down in the background. The mail-list group access panel is limited to designated individuals.

Dickenson volunteered to be secretary to the AB, and was designated, just in case I was inaccessible, to have access to the webpage and the mail list group. He was given the access passwords.

We held weekly meetings and special meetings, when necessary. In every case, agendas and recordings were made available to all members of the AB. In the first recorded meeting, on October 11, 2015, Dickenson, when asked about minutes of meetings, stated that since we had the recordings, he saw that there was no need for written minutes. However, as we shall see, Dickenson did make minutes of the meetings, and promptly turned them over to FBI Special Agent Mark D. Seyler, as well as recordings, emails, and other information regarding Dickenson’s vocation as a spy.

[REDACTED]

In hindsight, reviewing the recordings from that first meeting, Dickenson, when someone mentioned “we”, or any indication that something someone was talking about implied other participants, he always asked who the other participants were. He also sought detail on every subject, in every meeting. Now, this could be attributed to a desire to fully participate, and it could be a desire to gain information.

The FBI uses form “FD-1023”, also known as “CHS Reporting Document”, for agents assigned to an informant to provide information, based upon their communication, face to face, via text or email, by phone, or even secret messages, to be placed into the record. “CHS”, of course, refers to “Confidential Human Source”. The following information is from those 1023 forms. They are marked, at the bottom left corner, “Dissemination Limited by Court Order”.  So, let me make this perfectly clear — I have no intention of “disseminating” the documents, nor am I bound by any “Court Order”.  I am writing about a Public Trial, which was held in September and October 2016.  Had I access to these documents during that trial, I would have written the same article that I am writing now.

A Public Trial, as intended by the Founders, was guaranteed so that we could judge both the alleged crimes of the accused and the role of the government.  This article, and subsequent articles on the subject of informants, is about the role of the government.

Given the background, above, we can clearly see that the government has no intention of spying on the people that created that government. This reeks of George Orwell’s “1984”, to the greatest degree possible. The government had no reason to believe that OMD or the AB had any intention of doing anything illegal. The purpose of OMD was to evaluate situations, and if the situation had merit, as determined by the AB, then a call out would be made to the followers of OMD. If any illegal activity was discussed, it was discussed only to the extent of whether something would be illegal, or not. However a call out would be consistent with the rights preserved by the First Amendment; Speech, Assembly, and Redress of Grievances. In some of the matters brought before the AB it was determined that there was no lawful standing to pursue a situation, ending discussion on that matter.

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 41 – Dennis Dickenson (Dennis Jones)’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 40
Allen Varner (Wolf)

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
November 15, 2016

Notice: Because of her extremely biased judicial discretion, Judge Anna Brown has ordered that I remove the information that I obtained from a ‘prohibited’ copy of the Discovery for the trial of the defendants in the Malheur Occupation trial. I have fully complied with that order and removed all of those portions prohibited, according to that order. All instances of removed text will be marked “[REDACTED]”, which is the same method the government used in depriving information that should have been available to the defendants, as well as you, the reading public, with factual information needed in order for you to make a fair and logical assessment. The FBI redactions were the government’s efforts to “protect” their army of paid informants, but they did a lousy job, as I was able to identify them with the unredacted text.

When I wrote “What is Brandon Curtiss?“, I had nothing but gratitude for Wolf.  He had stepped up when I was faced with Brandon Curtiss and his goons.  His involvement allowed me to continue packing in order to leave Burns.  The above picture was taken during this event.

There were some unanswered questions from an earlier incident.  When the shootout occurred at Camp Lone Star, back on August 29, 2014, Varner was with Kevin “KC” Massey and John Foerster, on the Texas Border near Brownsville, when a Border Patrol (BP) Agent fired in the direction of Foerster.  (See “The Arrest of K. C. Massey“.)  Now questions arose as to Foerster’s role, but Varner appeared to be without sin.  Varner, however, was the first to offer his pistol, in his belt under his shirt, to the BP agent, which led to Massey then turning his pistol over to BP.  In hindsight, there were other questionable actions by Varner, though unrelated to the topic at hand.

Varner was quite cooperative in my interview with him and provided some information that only he had, which indicated that much of what BP did, out of sight of Massey, was not consistent with the testimony they offered in court.  This could be interpreted as an attempt to ingratiate himself to Massey and myself.

According to Massey, Varner left Camp Lone Star within a couple of days of the shooting.  He did not return until two days before Massey’s arrest.  Was he there to report when Massey was going to spend the night in the motel room?  Only someone at Camp Lone Star would have that information.  At that critical time, Varner was at Camp Lone Star.

Now, often people have suspicion that someone could be an informant.  I may have reason to believe someone is an informant.  However, I will not write that someone is an informant unless I can prove that someone is an informant.  So, ironically, the person that helped me while I was in Burns is, well, an informant.

Let’s get to the heart of the matter.  To do so, I will be referring to FBI documents that I have obtained.  They are marked, at the bottom left corner, “Dissemination Limited by Court Order”.  So, let me make this perfectly clear — I have no intention of “disseminating” the documents, nor am I bound by any “Court Order”.  I am writing about a Public Trial, which was held in September and October 2016.  Had I access to these documents during that trial, I would have written the same article that I am writing now.

A Public Trial, as intended by the Founders, was guaranteed so that we could judge both the alleged crimes of the accused and the role of the government.  This article, and subsequent articles on the subject of informants, is about the role of the government.

Informants are nothing less than spies, albeit, they are not spies set against foreign enemies or other countries.  No, they are spies sent by the agents of the government to act against their own people.  Whether they are paid, as was the case explained in my article “Terri Linnell (Mama Bear)“, to avoid prosecution for a crime they may have committed, or simply because they disagree with the politics of whomever they are informing against, they are nothing less than those contemptible creatures who, in most situations, face death if caught practicing their trade.  The only exception would be when they realize that they are on the wrong side, and willingly change to the right side.  This is addressed in another article, “Informants – What to do About Them“.

Using form “FD-1023”, also known as “CHS Reporting Document”, agents assigned to an informant provides information, based upon their communication, face to face, via text or email, by phone, or even secret messages, to place this information into the record.

Unfortunately, some of the records I have obtained are so severely redacted that nothing but the pre-printed form information is visible.  However, often what the informant reported can be compared to information obtained in speaking with victims of the informant, or the information reported may become available in other public forums.  Often, such information is “exculpatory” in nature, meaning that it tends to provide evidence that the accused may not be guilty of the crime with which he has been charged.  So, I will provide some of the text from the reports and offer a perspective regarding both aspects.  The entire body of information will not be provided in this article.  A sampling should be sufficient to provide the reader with understanding of just how these spies operate, and how they may set their own trap.  The spies will identify themselves as “CHS” (Confidential Human Source).

We will begin with January 4, 2016, two days after the occupation of the Refuge and the first identifiable report from Varner.

[REDACTED]

So, we can see that this informant, along with others, provided a snapshot, updated frequently, of what was going on and who was present at the Refuge.

Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 40 – Allen Varner – Wolf’ »

Burns Chronicles #39
Informants – What to do About Them

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
November 6, 2016

Recently, I watched a video of an interview with Terri Linnell that was couched into an in-studio, live “exposé”, purporting to prove that what Linnell had said was an “obvious lie”.  This whole program was based primarily on my article, “Burns Chronicles N^o 32 – Terri Linnell (Mama Bear)“, and the host’s subsequent interview with Terri.

In the comment section of that video, I disputed a couple of items that were alleged to be truthful, one, in particular, dealing with the time element, and when people might have known when LaVoy had been murdered.  After all, this set everything into motion, this past January 26.

However, their estimate of when people outside could have known what had happened came out to 10:00 PM. Heck, I knew by 7:00 PM, and as I recall, it was one of my team members that had called me (in Burns) from another state to tell me what had happened.  Subsequently, one of the guests has admitted that they had no idea of what time the information would have gotten out — they were just guessing based upon when they found out about the murder.

I had intended to go back to YouTube and review/comment on the remainder of the 2 hour 25 minute video, since I had commented on perhaps only the first twenty minutes that I have watched.  Since I had been working on another article, I postponed that subsequent review.

Then I found myself tagged in a subsequent discussion on Facebook, I was invited to be interviewed because of my disagreement with the host.  I accepted, however.  I included the provision that my interview had to be done that day.  First, the video was damaging by its untruthfulness, and such lies should be outed in a timely manner.  Second, I didn’t want to wait the “3 or 4 days” for the host to conduct the interview.  I have better things to do than wait around for someone to try to figure what questions he needs to ask to try to cover his blatant misrepresentations.  Heck, the interview would have been about the video he had created, so if anyone needed to prepare, it would have been me.  However, he turned it back on me for not being willing to abide by his schedule.  So be it.  I have broad shoulders and take full responsibility for not doing the interview.

Now, why do I bring this up?  Well, since I posted the article, which I had agreed not to post until Terri testified in the Portland trial, many alleged patriots have attacked her, verbally.  Some understood and appreciate what she had done, but when she left the courtroom, she was stunned and could find no one who would talk with her, nor could she find a place to stay.  It was that treatment of Terri that caused me to put pen to paper, in hopes of providing another perspective on how we should treat informants.

So, let’s look at the three informants that testified during the trial.  First, we have Mark McConnell, though he still denies, or at least sidesteps, his role.  He was outed, intentionally, and quite surprisingly, by the government in their direct examination of an Oregon State Police officer.  It was later reconfirmed by the Court that he was, in fact, an informant.  Mark professes to be a patriot, and he probably is —along the lines of OathKeepers, where the Constitution is what they are told by their superiors, and is patriotism to the government, not to the country or the Constitution.  Mark is one informant that all true patriots should, at least, distance themselves from.

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 39 – Informants – What to do About Them’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 35
From the Law Giver: “the law as I give it to you!”

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
October 25, 2016

Having obtained a copy of the Jury Instructions, as given to the jury in the U. S. v. Ammon Bundy, et al, by Judge Anna Brown.  I had sought them, as I was curious as to whether the instructions, at least, conform to the laws.  In Camp Lone Star #31 – The Case of Kevin KC Massey – Challenging the Interpretation vs. the Wording of a Statute, an example of what is referred to as “Pattern Jury Instructions”, and how the wording of the instructions is contrary to the wording of the Statute.  So, let’s delve into Anna Brown’s mental state and cognitive abilities in advising the jury on the “letter of the law”.  (A PDF format of the Jury Instructions.  References will be to {page} number.)

What is the Law?

Regarding the obligation of the jury, with regard to their deliberations, on {4}, she says:

“Upon your return to the jury room, it is your duty to weigh and to evaluate all of the evidence calmly and dispassionately and, in that process, to decide what the facts are.  To the facts as you find them, you must apply the law as I give it to you, whether you agree with the law or not, which is just as you promised to do in the Oath that you took at the beginning of the case.”

John Peter Zenger was tried in a New York court, in 1735.  He had violated the written law on sedition by an article he had printed.  Though in violation of the working of the law, the jury acquitted him, and in so doing, vacated the law.

Later, when the Constitution was written, the jury’s action in that trial provided an understanding that the People were the final arbiters of the laws enacted by Congress, as the colonists did with regard to Crown written laws.

Now, I do not intend to discuss FIJA (Fully Informed Jury Association), though I would suggest that you would find them a source for what was intended to be the role of a jury in our justice system.  I am going to provide an historical context as to what “jury” meant in the age of the Founders, and what one State did to assure that the original intent would be adhered to.

Maryland ratified their Constitution on November 11, 1776.  From that Documents Declaration of Rights, we find:

III. That the inhabitants of Maryland are entitled to the common law of England, and the trial by Jury, according that law, and to the benefit of such of the English statutes, as existed at the time of their first emigration, and which, by experience, have been found applicable to their local and other circumstances

XVII. That every freeman, for any injury done him in his person or property, ought to have remedy, by the course of the law of the land, and ought to have justice and right freely without sale, fully without any denial, and speedily without delay, according to the law of the land.

XIX. That, in all criminal prosecutions, every man hath a right to be informed of the accusation against him; to have a copy of the indictment or charge in due time (if required) to prepare for his defence; to be allowed counsel; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have process for his witnesses; to examine the witnesses, for and against him, on oath; and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury, without whose unanimous consent he ought not to be found guilty.

Now, those are the only references to juries, and I will suggest that it was understood by everyone, in all of the colonies, that the jury could judge both facts and law.  To support this, we also find that the People are the ultimate authority under that Constitution.

I. That all government of right originates from the people, is founded in compact only, and instituted solely for the good of the whole.

II. That the people of this State ought to have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof.

But, I wouldn’t want you to take my word for it, so let’s look at their 1867 Constitution.  This was ratified after the chaos and turmoil created by the Civil War.  Apparently, concerns over the acceptance of the past understanding of both the jury process and the authority of the People, we find these changes in the new Constitution, ratified on September 18, 1867.  Again, from the Declaration of Rights:

Article 1.  That all Government of right originates from the People, is founded in compact only, and instituted solely for the good of the whole; and they have, at all times, the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their Form of Government in such manner as they may deem expedient.

So, they have the right (not the Legislature) to alter or reform.  However, it does not say how that would be accomplished.

So, since the power resides with the People, they have provided, and reinstituted, a means by which those laws enacted by the legislature can be judged by the people.

Art. 23. In the trial of all criminal cases, the Jury shall be the Judges of Law, as well as of fact, except that the Court may pass upon the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction.

For a final affirmation of what was intended, and readily understood, back in 1852, we have an “Essay on Trial by Jury“, by Lysander Spooner.  We find Spooner’s explanation of the right to judge the laws in Chapter I, Section I (page 4 of the PDF.):

“FOR more than six hundred years that is, since Magna Carta, in 1215 there has been no clearer principle of English or American constitutional law, than that, in criminal cases, it is not only the right and duty of juries to judge what are the facts, what is the law, and what was the moral intent of the accused; but that it is also their right, and their primary and paramount duty, to judge of the justice of the law, and to hold all laws invalid, that are, in their opinion, unjust or oppressive, and all persons guiltless in violating, or resisting the execution of, such laws.”

He goes into a greater explanation, though I believe that this is sufficient for our purposes.  Unfortunately, today, the Rules being used by the Court allow the Judge to deny that which is in the Constitution, by the intent of the Founders, and clearly what was understood to be the right of the jury, without question.

However, as we see by the instructions, the Rules and the words of Judge Anna Brown obviously circumvent the intent of the Constitution.  And, isn’t that what this trial is about?

Later, on {4}, she says:

“Because you must base your verdicts only on the evidence and on the Court’s instructions, it remains essential that you not be exposed to any information about the case or to the issues it involves beyond what has been received here in open court in your presence and the presence of the parties.”

She reaffirms that her “instructions” must be obeyed, and, by the way, don’t think very hard.  I’ll do that for you”.

Government’s Use of Informants

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 35 – From the Law Giver: “the law as I give it to you!”’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 33
Ryan Payne’s Plea Withdrawal

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
October 13, 2016

Back on July 13, Ryan Payne signed a plea agreement.  As will be explained, below, he has now requested the Court to Withdraw Guilty Plea and Proceed to Trial by Jury and go to trial on the charges.

Though it won’t be mentioned in the Motion, in addition to what follows, Ryan was threatened with a Terrorism Enhancement, if he went to trial and was convicted.  That would be a 30 years sentence, but, as I said, the Court cannot recognize that, as it was part of negotiations.

So, let’s look at the picture that the Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea gives us, at least in pertinent part.  I will leave the citations in, for those who wish to review previous decisions on the subject:

After entering a plea of guilty to Count 1, Mr. Payne stated the following as a factual basis for his plea, in the words of Ryan Payne:

“Ah, your Honor, the very first adult decision that I ever made was when I was 17, to join the military of the United States.  And in so doing, I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. I traveled to Harney County, here in Oregon, under the pretense that this was my intent. That I was coming to uphold and defend the Constitution.”

“In pursuing that effort, I understand I — I have come to understand that folks who were — who work for the Government, that that Constitution ordained, perceived my actions as threatening or intimidating.  And, thereby, I – I understand myself to have been guilty of the charge that I’m charged with.

The Court inquired whether Mr. Payne agreed that his actions actually impeded government officials. Mr. Payne responded, “[a]s it has been presented to me, it is my understanding that I did, your Honor.”

So, Ryan went to the Malheur Refuge with the intention (not a criminal intent, rather, a patriotic intent) to defend the Constitution.  And, that is what this whole trial is about.

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 33 – Ryan Payne’s Plea Withdrawal’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 32
Terri Linnell (Mama Bear)

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
October 12, 2016

{October 6, 2015}

On Friday, September 30, 2016, I received a phone call from someone I had spoken with before.  This call, however, brought to light the extent of the government’s efforts, often misguided, to do what the country used only to do to foreign nations and enemies.  Now, it has become a modern practice of government to pay people to infiltrate and inform.  It works even better when infiltration is not necessary, as that person is already considered a member of the community that is the target of the spying.  Now, that is a rather harsh word, but the tactics of government can be considered nothing less than any other form of spying, throughout the ages.

Nowadays, they have access to almost all electronic media, where the can grab phone conversations, emails, Facebook pages, and any other internet communications.  They have parabolic microphones that can listen to conversations from over 100 yards away.  They have bugs, electronic listening devices that require no wiring and have a battery life of days, weeks, or even months.

They still, however, want someone who can testify, when necessary, and gather information that is not random, as with other methods, but can be directed, by asking questions.  And, this is about one of those human resources, aka “CI” or confidential informant.

That phone call and some email correspondence eventually resulted in a  quasi-affidavit as to the role that this person played in the recent events of Burns, Oregon.

Now, don’t jump to conclusions.  It is rather ironic that the government subsidized a patriot’s trip to Burns to cook for the very people that were to be spied upon.  All expenses were paid, and at the conclusion; a cash windfall was also provided.

But, let’s hear the story from the other party in that phone call.  This is her story:

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 32 – Terri Linnell (Mama Bear)’ »

Burns Chronicles N^o 24
To Plea, or, Not To Plea

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
August 16, 2016

As some of those staunch defenders of our rights, in both Burns, Oregon, and Bunkerville, Nevada, decide to make a plea agreement with the prosecutors, the Internet has both armchair quarterbacks damning them and sympathetic supporters who will stand by their decision.  However, perhaps it is necessary to look a little deeper into who those people, at both the Ranch and Refuge are, and to consider their respective objectives.

We can categorize those who participated in both events by comparing them to those who stood up against the British, 240 years ago.  In so doing, there are three general categories, so that we can consider them in a contemporary context.

The first category is, for want of a better term, the politicos.  Historically, these would be those who served on local and Provincial Committees of Safety and, those who went to Philadelphia and served in the Continental Congress.  There may be others, such as newspaper editors and others who were outspoken against the British, so that we can lump them into this category, as well.

Now, in the past two years, we have, likewise, the politicos, those whose involvement is to challenge the government concerning both rights and that which should be right.  Their objective is educational as well as political, desiring to provide understanding to other citizens as well as to attempt to get the government to stay within its limits and to remain obedient to the Constitution.

The second category is those with military inclinations.  For the most part, they had prior military and leadership experience in the French and Indian wars.  Their purpose was to use military force to protect the rights of Englishmen and defend against forces thrown against them.

In the contemporary context, it would include those with military and leadership experience who have taken the task of protecting those politicos against attempts at violent suppression of their right to seek redress of grievances and to speak freely on subjects of concern to others.

These first two categories can easily be equated to the First Amendment, for the politicos, and the Second Amendment for those with military inclinations. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 24 – To Plea, or, Not To Plea’ »