Well I thought I would probably wait a couple more days before I posted on the trial again. The prosecution started their direct examination of Agent Steve Houg at the very end of the day on Thursday. They said they would spend a minimum of four days on their exam. I figured I would hear the whole exam before I posted. However, they broke from their exam of Houg in order to present another witness with limited availability. So Nancy Blade took the stand this morning and they continued with examining Houg after that.
Nancy Blade was a previous girlfriend Tom Piatek. She took the stand all guns blazing. She said that she met Piatek on an online dating service, and they dated for about eight week. She testified that Piatek had told her the Hutaree was against the government. She said Piatek told her that he hated the cops. She said that Piatek told her that some thing big was going to happen. She testified that she had made statements in conversation in which she said Tom Piatek should be locked up for the rest of his life.
However, after Tom Piatek was arrested, she had three separate interviews with the FBI and never said anything like that in any of the interviews. As a Matter of fact she attended a pretrial hearing in support of Tom. It was at this hearing that she learned that Tom was dating two other women in addition to her...And her attitude seemed to change drastically in subsequent interviews.
The defense asked her to look at a photograph of the back of Tom's truck. There were some bumper stickers on his truck and defense asked her to read them to the court. She said she didn't have her glasses, and really couldn't see very well. But he went ahead and read them for her. One bumper sticker said "Proud To Be An American" the other said "Fraternal Order Of Police".
She had also claimed that Tom had snowballed his attorney and lied about everything in court. Defense asked her what he lied about. She couldn't give a specific example. She claimed that it was two years ago and she couldn't remember exactly. Piatek's attorney asked her if it would refresh her memory if she could read the court transcripts from that day in court. She said that it would. So the court recessed while she sat and read the entire one hundred and twenty seven page document. Funny how she couldn't read the bumper stickers on an eight by ten photo, but she didn't have any problem reading over a hundred pages of court transcripts. And she still didn't find where he lied...
Her testimony was really pretty short. And the examination of Steve Houg continued afterwards. I'll stop there for tonight. I'm still going to wait until I hear everything the prosecution brings out with him before I write too much about it. I will say that after two days of testifying Houg has not even come close to convincing me of a conspiracy. As a matter of fact he hasn't really said anything we haven't already heard. I think prosecution will have Houg on the stand until at least Wednesday. So I will plan for another update then.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Out For A Ride
It hit about sixty five degrees today in Michigan. Way to nice too be inside. I thought I would go for a bike ride, then I thought as long as I'm going for ride... I might as well pack a bag and bring the ultralight (telescopic) with me and make a couple stops at one of my favorite ponds. I wasn't really expecting much luck, but it seemed like a nice way to spend a couple of hours.
At my first stop I used a grub. I thought being still pretty early in the year that I should probably work it real slow, and just barely bump it along the bottom. I tried to be patient, and I did pretty good for about a half an hour. Just barely moving it along. But I have a short attention span, and the next thing you know I'm looking at a goose, or a woodpecker, or I just zone out and stare of into space...Whatever. Regardless of what distracts me I subconsciously start working the bait faster. Today when that happened I caught the fish above. Nothing spectacular, he was about thirteen or fourteen inches, but it hit like a horse, and a little bass can be a lot of fun on an ultralight rod. It was a lot more aggressive than I was expecting, but I took the hint and started working the bait a little faster. I would swim the grub fifteen, twenty feet, then stall it. I started getting some nice hits. I noticed they would hit right after the stall, as soon as the bait would start to move again they would slam it. I got probably eight nice hits, but they were so fast and aggressive they were just yanking the bait out of their own mouths. I had two more fish on, one felt like a pretty good size fish, but I couldn't land them. I think maybe they weren't taking the whole grub all the way in their mouths.
My next stop I tied a little Mepps in line spinner on. Another issue I have besides a short attention span, is I tend to over think things. I figured as hard as they were slamming that grub I might try something a little more aggressive. And the spinner has the hook in the rear, fixing the short hits. I should have stuck with what was working, or maybe switched to a little smaller grub. I got two hits at this spot, and caught this little dink. It was about seven inches, and I just about yanked it out of the water. I tried to switch back up to a grub but couldn't entice another bite. I wasn't planning on being out long, I got a nice ride in, I fished for a couple of hours, and thoroughly enjoyed a beautiful day. Can't ask for more than that.
At my first stop I used a grub. I thought being still pretty early in the year that I should probably work it real slow, and just barely bump it along the bottom. I tried to be patient, and I did pretty good for about a half an hour. Just barely moving it along. But I have a short attention span, and the next thing you know I'm looking at a goose, or a woodpecker, or I just zone out and stare of into space...Whatever. Regardless of what distracts me I subconsciously start working the bait faster. Today when that happened I caught the fish above. Nothing spectacular, he was about thirteen or fourteen inches, but it hit like a horse, and a little bass can be a lot of fun on an ultralight rod. It was a lot more aggressive than I was expecting, but I took the hint and started working the bait a little faster. I would swim the grub fifteen, twenty feet, then stall it. I started getting some nice hits. I noticed they would hit right after the stall, as soon as the bait would start to move again they would slam it. I got probably eight nice hits, but they were so fast and aggressive they were just yanking the bait out of their own mouths. I had two more fish on, one felt like a pretty good size fish, but I couldn't land them. I think maybe they weren't taking the whole grub all the way in their mouths.
My next stop I tied a little Mepps in line spinner on. Another issue I have besides a short attention span, is I tend to over think things. I figured as hard as they were slamming that grub I might try something a little more aggressive. And the spinner has the hook in the rear, fixing the short hits. I should have stuck with what was working, or maybe switched to a little smaller grub. I got two hits at this spot, and caught this little dink. It was about seven inches, and I just about yanked it out of the water. I tried to switch back up to a grub but couldn't entice another bite. I wasn't planning on being out long, I got a nice ride in, I fished for a couple of hours, and thoroughly enjoyed a beautiful day. Can't ask for more than that.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
A World of Discovery
I went to A World of Discovery Conservation and Rescue Center in Ann Arbor, MI http://glzszoo.com/index.php today with a couple of friends. It was pretty cool. They had two Macaws, and two African Grey Parrots. But primarily it is a reptile conservatory.
We went to celebrate my friend Melissa's birthday. She has her own three and a half foot Green Iguana, and is a huge fan of the reptile and amphibian world. She thought it would be a good place to spend her birthday, I thought it was a good chance to take a few pictures. It was, on both accounts.
I think Melissa had a good day. I had technical difficulties, but I was able to get a few good shots. The first problem I had, I couldn't find my spare batteries before I left the house. I'm betting you can guess one of the other problems I had.
The birds weren't to bad to photograph, they were out in the open. The reptiles were in glass and acrylic enclosures, which made for a lot of glares and reflections. Also there were heating lamps everywhere, and it made for a strange yellowy light.
They were planning on doing a hands on demonstration for our group, but we arrived a bit ahead of the others so we walked through the reptile exhibit while we waited for people to arrive. They really do have some cool animals. And I thought it looked like they worked very hard to take care of them.
I really struggled to find positions to take pictures through the glass with all the reflection from the lighting. And while some of the animals were just chillin', a lot of them were quite active, and not quite cooperative. But I thought I ended up with a few decent pictures.
Once the majority of Melissa's guests arrived we gathered in a private room for the demonstration. The guy running the demo got out the first animal, I got out my camera and my batteries died. One of the employees actually went and found a couple of AA batteries and offered them to me, my camera actually takes four, but I really appreciated the gesture.
I had a spare, smaller camera in my bag but I haven't used it for a while, and as I expected that battery was dead as well. I had my charger for that battery so I plugged it in for a quick charge. However by the time I got a sufficient charge on the battery, the demo was over.
It probably was better, I was able to pay closer attention to the demonstration. They had some very cool snakes and reptiles that they brought out to show. He would talk a bit about the animal and then bring it around the group for a close up look. Or a quick touch if you felt so inclined, I didn't. I have touched and handled plenty of snakes, like the one that bit me last year in the garden. I'll stick to looking...
I really enjoyed the day, I enjoyed the company, and I enjoyed the sanctuary. I will be sure to go back in the future with a little better idea of what to expect. Maybe I will even call ahead and try to set something up with them for a little better picture opportunity.
The python below was my favorite, he (or she) was awesome. Eighteen feet long, and a little over one hundred and fifty pounds. They said they need three people minimum to enter it's enclosure. A truly impressive creature.
I think I got my seven bucks out of the day. I hope you enjoyed the pictures, I certainly enjoyed taking them. I will go back to do it again. There is also a raptor sanctuary in my area I hope to visit some time in the near future. If your ever in the area A World of Discovery is worth a look.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Smoke and Mirrors 10
I have a few day's to catch up on. I haven't written because more and more often I leave the courtroom pissed off. I rant too or with whoever I rode with that day all the way home. Then I rant to whoever is home when I get there. I then usually make a couple of phone calls and rant on to a few more people. Then I sit down in front of the computer and do it all again. I don't like to feel mad all the time. Watching this trial makes me mad. Writing about this trial makes me mad. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing it. I want to do it. But it's out of my character. I'm a pretty quiet guy. I don't like to be argumentative. I'm not the kind of person that investigates all kinds of conspiracy theories. Up until the last couple of years, I've really had no political interest whatsoever. I like to go fishing, hangin' with my buddies, and spending time with my family. I like gardening and growing things. I like to take pictures of flowers and wildlife. The Federal Courthouse in Downtown Detroit is the last place anyone that knows me would expect to find me. Not that I've done anything illegal, I just don't like the atmosphere. I don't like to talk politics, or religion (or sports). Most of the time I'm happy not to talk at all. I'm usually very happy to sit back and enjoy a little green leafy substance (as the FBI calls it) and play some X-box 360. With that said I will revert to Monday.
I should start by clarifying that the list of evidence that I listed in my last post was what they confiscated from the Tomer Rd property, that is Stones residence and main meeting place of the Hutaree members. Over the last few day's they have been going over what they took out of the homes of the other members. And things have actually been moving quite quickly.
I did not make it to court on Monday. The weapons expert took the stand, and really is the only thing I was a little bummed about not seeing. I wanted to hear what he had said for myself. But from what I understand there were only a few weapons in question as I said before. I also understand we are going to hear from another weapons expert later.
Tuesday, we started the day with an FBI chemist. He was the guy that they submitted all the powder samples too that had been confiscated from Tomer Rd. You know samples from cans of black powder, gun powder, and smokeless powder. The agent testified that yes these powders were indeed different types of gunpowder. He testified that these things were typically marketed for reloading ammunition. (One of the submitted samples was taken from the powder in the loading press.) But that they had low explosive properties and that yes these powders can be used to make explosives, but have more practical applications in fireworks and pyrotechnics.
The only sample he tested that wasn't gunpowder was some powdered aluminum. Which he testified was flammable, and also had applications in making explosives, but that it was not explosive on it's own. It needs to have an oxidizer introduced to be explosive. He also stated that aluminum can easily be colored to produce different colored smoke and flares, and was more typically used in pyrotechnics than explosives.
He did not testify about testing any oxidizers, and I don't recall anything like that in the evidence..The defense also pointed out that there was a difference in the definition of explosive and explosive device.
After the chemist was Paul Allen, he executed the search warrant on Tom Piatek's house in Indiana. The prosecution went into great detail of the condition of Tom's house. How much stuff he had and how cluttered his house was. They put up pictures to impress their point. Why they are allowed to comment on the cleanliness of the guys house is beyond me. I'm a single guy, I know some people who would like me to clean up my messes better (to put it lightly). It doesn't mean I have a greater tendency to levy war upon the government...He also said that the majority of the weapons and ammo were stored in safes. Here is a list of stuff confiscated from Piateks residence.
Multiple ammo cans with ammo of different calibers.
33 guns from the safe
Gun cleaning kit
A bunch of ammunition magazines of different makes and sizes
Gas Masks
A large caliber rifle round.
Fatigues
More Fatigues
2 bullet proof vests
Military sleeping bags
Loose ammunition
Scope
More ammunition magazines
More loose ammo
A straw hat
Helmet
Night vision scope
An item the leader of the FBI's evidence response team didn't even know what it was.
More magazines
Camo hat
A couple of knives
Tactical site
More ammo
more ammo magazines
Book about home made detonators
A book titled "Vicki, Samand, America, How the Government Killed Them All" signed by Sheriff Richard Mack
Two bumper stickers, one said "When the going gets tough I get a machine gun." the other was a U.N. Insignia in a red circle with a line through it, like a no smoking symbol.
A militia field manual
A book about snipers
An paper copy of "Understanding The Police State" authored by Mark Keornke in 1999
A paper copy of a faux Serenity Prayer, in the last line the words "wisdom to know the difference" is replaced with "weapons to make the difference."
An Improvised Munitions Handbook U.S. Army, copyright 1969
A paper copy of "Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars
A book titled "Red Sky"
The defense addressed the fact that most of the ammo cans were dust covered and unmoved for a long period of time. They pointed out that many of the items Piatek had were in unused unopened packaging and that the conditions of the house were indicative of a hoarder. And that items were not right at hand and easily accessible. They also pointed out that Piatek lives with his brother, who has special needs.
I met one of Piatek's brothers in the courtroom. Not the one that lives with him. We went to lunch after court. He is a very mild mannered guy. Friendly and personable. I enjoyed meeting him. I have never met Tom personally, but from what I understand from talking to others I've met along the way, Tom is of a similar personality.
The defense also addressed the paper titled "Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars," It was pointed out that this excerpt from a book was addressing issues to be vigilant of, to be on guard, and it indicated that the government might not always be honest and truthful.
The defense also wanted to know if there was any way the FBI could tell when Piatek had read this paper, and if they could tell if he had ever read any of the literature, or even opened the covers of any of the books for that matter. The agent said there was no way for him to know that.
Next to take the stand was Agent Brian Kooney, He was a member of the FBI evidence response team that executed the warrant on Mike's (Meeks) house. This is what the prosecution entered as evidence against Mike.
A list of names, addresses, and phone numbers
DVD "The Art of Camouflage"
An advertisement for "Liberty Radio"
Ammunition
Fatigues
Gas mask
Gas mask cartridges
More fatigues
A camo hat
Night vision binoculars
More ammo
Four Rifles
Scope
Ammo magazines
Ammunition
Loose ammo
Load bearing vest
Defense asked the FBI agent if any of the weapons or ammunition were illegal, at first he said he wasn't able to answer that question, but when the question was rephrased he stated that he had no reason to believe that they were illegal. Several more items were shown to him to which he clearly stated none of which were illegal. He did state though that he thought the load bearing vest was illegal. This is an FBI agent. Does he know what a load bearing vest is??? Let me explain it to you dude...It's a vest, with pockets, and straps, and clips. It is designed to evenly spread the weight of your load across your torso. It is NOT illegal, nothing Mike had was even questionably illegal.
Wednesday there were no court proceedings, everyone got the day off. Today, when I walked in the courtroom the attorneys were discussing motions and objections before the jury came out. Mr. Sitawa (Mike's attorney) was speaking to the judge about a 911 call recording. It was of the night Dan Murray stabbed his wife and was to show that Dan Murray had perjured himself in his testimony, and to further impeach him. Also to show that the government knew of his perjury, and withheld the information from the court. The judge said that she was not going to let him play the tape at this point because it was cumulative. I guess she feels Dan Murray's testimony has been impeached enough already, maybe she is also already aware that the government denied the defendants due process of law by withholding the information. I probably shouldn't make statements like that, I'm not a lawyer, but it seemed like relevant information to me. I will also say that I think the judge has been quite fair in her rulings. As far as judges go, she's alright in my book. I didn't like that decision though.
Piatek's attorney addressed upcoming testimony from Tom's girlfriend's son. In which Piatek states that he "packs heat" when he's driving truck. Defense argued that Piatek had a legal CCW. That he does carry a gun when he's driving truck (I don't know many truck drivers that don't), and that this is within his rights. It has no relevance to a conspiracy of sedition, or use of weapons of mass destruction. That this statement is simply an attempt to assassinate character. The judge ruled that this statement would not be introduced to the jury, as it was more prejudicial than evidential.
Attorney Swor addressed ten "discreet" chat sessions that the FBI pulled from Josh Clough's computer. If I understood correctly, his argument was that admitting chat sessions from the computer was akin to admitting transcripts with out video or audio recording, and that there was really noway to prove who was on either end of the conversation. The court did not rule on this yet.
The jury came out and Jamie Glassman took the stand. Glassman is the son of Tom Piatek's girlfriend. He testified to a conversation between Tom and himself on his birthday at his mother's house. The conversation started about Glassman liking to hunt, Piatek told him he was not much of a hunter, but that he was a fisherman. But at the mention of hunting the conversation went straight to guns. Glassman said that Piatek said that he hated the cops. They then began to talk about protocol when getting pulled over by law enforcement. Glassman stated that his friends, who were police, told him that he should pull over to the shoulder with the blinker on, roll down the window, remove the keys from the ignition and place them on the dashboard, and place both hands on the steering wheel. Glassman testified that Tom stated that the police are not your friends, and when he gets pulled over he just tells them "I don't have anything to say to you" Glassman stated that Piatek reiterated this several times. Piatek was arrested from this house the next day.
Defense pointed out that in Glassman's statement to the FBI, three days after the incident, in which he claimed to have told the FBI everything about the conversation, nothing was mentioned about Piatek saying he hated the cops. Defense wanted to know if maybe he had forgot to mention that in his interview. It was also demonstrated that Piatek met Glassman's mother over the Internet, and that Glassman did not approve of this or his mother dating Tom. And that he did not like Tom.
I would like to point out that Glassman never testified that Tom said anything about shooting cops while getting pulled over...Only that he didn't have anything to say to them. Don't we have a right to remain silent? Isn't that covered in the Fifth Amendment???
Next on the stand today was Agent James Hardie, he was a member of the FBI ERT that executed the warrant on Kristopher Sickles home in Ohio. This is what they took from Kris Sickle's house.
Loose ammunition
More loose ammunition
Another Ziploc bag of loose ammunition
A couple of ammunition magazines
And yet another Ziploc bag of loose ammunition
More ammunition magazines (I love the way they introduce a couple of things at a time, repeatedly, so that it takes so much more time and makes it seem like so much more than it really is)
two rounds of ammunition
Five .38 rounds
I believe there were four handguns
More ammunition
Another bag of magazines
A military style pack with items like, a GPS unit, a radio, a flare, a water bottle, batteries, first aid kit,etc...
Tactical vest
Gas mask
Backpack
Bullet proof vest
Gillie suit
Gun cleaning kits
Two scopes
Camo hats
A gun case
Another Gas mask
Night vision scope
Camel back hydration system
Five rifles
two machetes
Ammo Magazines
A knife
Three more rifles
A box of ammo magazines
Fatigues
Helmet
Load bearing vest
rifle scope
Book titled "Behold a Pale Horse"
A can of black powder
No other explosive materials were seized from sickle's house except the one small can of black powder safely stored in a steel ammo can.
Defense pointed out that there was no care or concern for the young child or infant present in the home during the search. The were held in a van in their diaper and underwear, separated from their mother who was present, while the warrant was executed. The defense also pointed out that the "bullet proof vest was marketed as soft body armor and the manufacturer made no claim that the vest would stop a bullet. He also pointed out that the "night vision scope", was a plastic Call of Duty toy version of a night vision scope. Way to investigate the evidence FBI guys...Hope you weren't too embarrassed when the whole courtroom laughed at you.
The next witness was Andrea Kinzig, she was the agent who was in charge of the ERT that executed the warrant on Josh Clough's home. She testified that she seized a computer from his home. Too bad for the FBI they didn't use Agent Kinzig for more of their investigation, she actually had a memory. She recited the serial number from the computer from memory. Impressive. I was really beginning to doubt the FBI's training in paying attention to detail.
Next was Agent Kevin Loder, he was on the evidence response team that executed the warrant on David Stone Jr.'s house. This was the most unbelievable crock of shit I've ever seen in my life. They should have let this kid go today. There is absolutely no reason for any of these guy's to be in this predicament but get this, this is what they admitted as evidence from Jr.'s house.
Field Jacket with a Hutaree patch
A camo field jacket
A set of dog tags
A Hutaree t-shirt
A Colonial Fireworks t-shirt
A partial box of .22 rounds
That's it, that's all they have on this kid. Dan Murray testified that he never heard David Stone Jr. say one bad word about anyone, not the government, the police...Anyone. They had a warrant to search his previous address, were he lived before moving in with his wife. They removed nothing from this property. They did not admit a single weapon against David Stone Jr.
The defense showed that he had his 2009 income tax filed in march of 2010, one month before the supposed plan to levy war against the government. Do you really think anyone who is planning to do battle with the U.S. Government is going to worry about filing income taxes?
But wait this gets even better, the defense specifically asked him what the warrant entailed him to look for in the search of the property. The agent stated weapons, materials for making explosives or devices of such, computers, military and quasi military items, evidence that would support the conspiracy of sedition, and the use of weapons of mass destruction. It was right after this that the defense wanted to know why the FBI had photographed and seized three Bibles from Stone's residence. They showed FBI evidence photo's in the Federal Frickin' Courthouse of three BIBLES, yes, Holy Bibles, as in King James...that the FBI seized from his home as evidence of sedition...What is this country coming too? I could not believe what I was seeing in a court of law. This is not a joke. It's not even Smoke and Mirrors. It's bullshit. Do you see why I leave the court pissed off. Do you see why I have a hard time writing this. It doesn't even seem like it could be true. But I'm seeing it with my very own eyes. This is not second hand here-say, this is what is what is happening in our country right now. Wake up America. Get involved in what's going on around you...Free education, come down to the courtroom and take advantage of it.
I should start by clarifying that the list of evidence that I listed in my last post was what they confiscated from the Tomer Rd property, that is Stones residence and main meeting place of the Hutaree members. Over the last few day's they have been going over what they took out of the homes of the other members. And things have actually been moving quite quickly.
I did not make it to court on Monday. The weapons expert took the stand, and really is the only thing I was a little bummed about not seeing. I wanted to hear what he had said for myself. But from what I understand there were only a few weapons in question as I said before. I also understand we are going to hear from another weapons expert later.
Tuesday, we started the day with an FBI chemist. He was the guy that they submitted all the powder samples too that had been confiscated from Tomer Rd. You know samples from cans of black powder, gun powder, and smokeless powder. The agent testified that yes these powders were indeed different types of gunpowder. He testified that these things were typically marketed for reloading ammunition. (One of the submitted samples was taken from the powder in the loading press.) But that they had low explosive properties and that yes these powders can be used to make explosives, but have more practical applications in fireworks and pyrotechnics.
The only sample he tested that wasn't gunpowder was some powdered aluminum. Which he testified was flammable, and also had applications in making explosives, but that it was not explosive on it's own. It needs to have an oxidizer introduced to be explosive. He also stated that aluminum can easily be colored to produce different colored smoke and flares, and was more typically used in pyrotechnics than explosives.
He did not testify about testing any oxidizers, and I don't recall anything like that in the evidence..The defense also pointed out that there was a difference in the definition of explosive and explosive device.
After the chemist was Paul Allen, he executed the search warrant on Tom Piatek's house in Indiana. The prosecution went into great detail of the condition of Tom's house. How much stuff he had and how cluttered his house was. They put up pictures to impress their point. Why they are allowed to comment on the cleanliness of the guys house is beyond me. I'm a single guy, I know some people who would like me to clean up my messes better (to put it lightly). It doesn't mean I have a greater tendency to levy war upon the government...He also said that the majority of the weapons and ammo were stored in safes. Here is a list of stuff confiscated from Piateks residence.
Multiple ammo cans with ammo of different calibers.
33 guns from the safe
Gun cleaning kit
A bunch of ammunition magazines of different makes and sizes
Gas Masks
A large caliber rifle round.
Fatigues
More Fatigues
2 bullet proof vests
Military sleeping bags
Loose ammunition
Scope
More ammunition magazines
More loose ammo
A straw hat
Helmet
Night vision scope
An item the leader of the FBI's evidence response team didn't even know what it was.
More magazines
Camo hat
A couple of knives
Tactical site
More ammo
more ammo magazines
Book about home made detonators
A book titled "Vicki, Samand, America, How the Government Killed Them All" signed by Sheriff Richard Mack
Two bumper stickers, one said "When the going gets tough I get a machine gun." the other was a U.N. Insignia in a red circle with a line through it, like a no smoking symbol.
A militia field manual
A book about snipers
An paper copy of "Understanding The Police State" authored by Mark Keornke in 1999
A paper copy of a faux Serenity Prayer, in the last line the words "wisdom to know the difference" is replaced with "weapons to make the difference."
An Improvised Munitions Handbook U.S. Army, copyright 1969
A paper copy of "Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars
A book titled "Red Sky"
The defense addressed the fact that most of the ammo cans were dust covered and unmoved for a long period of time. They pointed out that many of the items Piatek had were in unused unopened packaging and that the conditions of the house were indicative of a hoarder. And that items were not right at hand and easily accessible. They also pointed out that Piatek lives with his brother, who has special needs.
I met one of Piatek's brothers in the courtroom. Not the one that lives with him. We went to lunch after court. He is a very mild mannered guy. Friendly and personable. I enjoyed meeting him. I have never met Tom personally, but from what I understand from talking to others I've met along the way, Tom is of a similar personality.
The defense also addressed the paper titled "Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars," It was pointed out that this excerpt from a book was addressing issues to be vigilant of, to be on guard, and it indicated that the government might not always be honest and truthful.
The defense also wanted to know if there was any way the FBI could tell when Piatek had read this paper, and if they could tell if he had ever read any of the literature, or even opened the covers of any of the books for that matter. The agent said there was no way for him to know that.
Next to take the stand was Agent Brian Kooney, He was a member of the FBI evidence response team that executed the warrant on Mike's (Meeks) house. This is what the prosecution entered as evidence against Mike.
A list of names, addresses, and phone numbers
DVD "The Art of Camouflage"
An advertisement for "Liberty Radio"
Ammunition
Fatigues
Gas mask
Gas mask cartridges
More fatigues
A camo hat
Night vision binoculars
More ammo
Four Rifles
Scope
Ammo magazines
Ammunition
Loose ammo
Load bearing vest
Defense asked the FBI agent if any of the weapons or ammunition were illegal, at first he said he wasn't able to answer that question, but when the question was rephrased he stated that he had no reason to believe that they were illegal. Several more items were shown to him to which he clearly stated none of which were illegal. He did state though that he thought the load bearing vest was illegal. This is an FBI agent. Does he know what a load bearing vest is??? Let me explain it to you dude...It's a vest, with pockets, and straps, and clips. It is designed to evenly spread the weight of your load across your torso. It is NOT illegal, nothing Mike had was even questionably illegal.
Wednesday there were no court proceedings, everyone got the day off. Today, when I walked in the courtroom the attorneys were discussing motions and objections before the jury came out. Mr. Sitawa (Mike's attorney) was speaking to the judge about a 911 call recording. It was of the night Dan Murray stabbed his wife and was to show that Dan Murray had perjured himself in his testimony, and to further impeach him. Also to show that the government knew of his perjury, and withheld the information from the court. The judge said that she was not going to let him play the tape at this point because it was cumulative. I guess she feels Dan Murray's testimony has been impeached enough already, maybe she is also already aware that the government denied the defendants due process of law by withholding the information. I probably shouldn't make statements like that, I'm not a lawyer, but it seemed like relevant information to me. I will also say that I think the judge has been quite fair in her rulings. As far as judges go, she's alright in my book. I didn't like that decision though.
Piatek's attorney addressed upcoming testimony from Tom's girlfriend's son. In which Piatek states that he "packs heat" when he's driving truck. Defense argued that Piatek had a legal CCW. That he does carry a gun when he's driving truck (I don't know many truck drivers that don't), and that this is within his rights. It has no relevance to a conspiracy of sedition, or use of weapons of mass destruction. That this statement is simply an attempt to assassinate character. The judge ruled that this statement would not be introduced to the jury, as it was more prejudicial than evidential.
Attorney Swor addressed ten "discreet" chat sessions that the FBI pulled from Josh Clough's computer. If I understood correctly, his argument was that admitting chat sessions from the computer was akin to admitting transcripts with out video or audio recording, and that there was really noway to prove who was on either end of the conversation. The court did not rule on this yet.
The jury came out and Jamie Glassman took the stand. Glassman is the son of Tom Piatek's girlfriend. He testified to a conversation between Tom and himself on his birthday at his mother's house. The conversation started about Glassman liking to hunt, Piatek told him he was not much of a hunter, but that he was a fisherman. But at the mention of hunting the conversation went straight to guns. Glassman said that Piatek said that he hated the cops. They then began to talk about protocol when getting pulled over by law enforcement. Glassman stated that his friends, who were police, told him that he should pull over to the shoulder with the blinker on, roll down the window, remove the keys from the ignition and place them on the dashboard, and place both hands on the steering wheel. Glassman testified that Tom stated that the police are not your friends, and when he gets pulled over he just tells them "I don't have anything to say to you" Glassman stated that Piatek reiterated this several times. Piatek was arrested from this house the next day.
Defense pointed out that in Glassman's statement to the FBI, three days after the incident, in which he claimed to have told the FBI everything about the conversation, nothing was mentioned about Piatek saying he hated the cops. Defense wanted to know if maybe he had forgot to mention that in his interview. It was also demonstrated that Piatek met Glassman's mother over the Internet, and that Glassman did not approve of this or his mother dating Tom. And that he did not like Tom.
I would like to point out that Glassman never testified that Tom said anything about shooting cops while getting pulled over...Only that he didn't have anything to say to them. Don't we have a right to remain silent? Isn't that covered in the Fifth Amendment???
Next on the stand today was Agent James Hardie, he was a member of the FBI ERT that executed the warrant on Kristopher Sickles home in Ohio. This is what they took from Kris Sickle's house.
Loose ammunition
More loose ammunition
Another Ziploc bag of loose ammunition
A couple of ammunition magazines
And yet another Ziploc bag of loose ammunition
More ammunition magazines (I love the way they introduce a couple of things at a time, repeatedly, so that it takes so much more time and makes it seem like so much more than it really is)
two rounds of ammunition
Five .38 rounds
I believe there were four handguns
More ammunition
Another bag of magazines
A military style pack with items like, a GPS unit, a radio, a flare, a water bottle, batteries, first aid kit,etc...
Tactical vest
Gas mask
Backpack
Bullet proof vest
Gillie suit
Gun cleaning kits
Two scopes
Camo hats
A gun case
Another Gas mask
Night vision scope
Camel back hydration system
Five rifles
two machetes
Ammo Magazines
A knife
Three more rifles
A box of ammo magazines
Fatigues
Helmet
Load bearing vest
rifle scope
Book titled "Behold a Pale Horse"
A can of black powder
No other explosive materials were seized from sickle's house except the one small can of black powder safely stored in a steel ammo can.
Defense pointed out that there was no care or concern for the young child or infant present in the home during the search. The were held in a van in their diaper and underwear, separated from their mother who was present, while the warrant was executed. The defense also pointed out that the "bullet proof vest was marketed as soft body armor and the manufacturer made no claim that the vest would stop a bullet. He also pointed out that the "night vision scope", was a plastic Call of Duty toy version of a night vision scope. Way to investigate the evidence FBI guys...Hope you weren't too embarrassed when the whole courtroom laughed at you.
The next witness was Andrea Kinzig, she was the agent who was in charge of the ERT that executed the warrant on Josh Clough's home. She testified that she seized a computer from his home. Too bad for the FBI they didn't use Agent Kinzig for more of their investigation, she actually had a memory. She recited the serial number from the computer from memory. Impressive. I was really beginning to doubt the FBI's training in paying attention to detail.
Next was Agent Kevin Loder, he was on the evidence response team that executed the warrant on David Stone Jr.'s house. This was the most unbelievable crock of shit I've ever seen in my life. They should have let this kid go today. There is absolutely no reason for any of these guy's to be in this predicament but get this, this is what they admitted as evidence from Jr.'s house.
Field Jacket with a Hutaree patch
A camo field jacket
A set of dog tags
A Hutaree t-shirt
A Colonial Fireworks t-shirt
A partial box of .22 rounds
That's it, that's all they have on this kid. Dan Murray testified that he never heard David Stone Jr. say one bad word about anyone, not the government, the police...Anyone. They had a warrant to search his previous address, were he lived before moving in with his wife. They removed nothing from this property. They did not admit a single weapon against David Stone Jr.
The defense showed that he had his 2009 income tax filed in march of 2010, one month before the supposed plan to levy war against the government. Do you really think anyone who is planning to do battle with the U.S. Government is going to worry about filing income taxes?
But wait this gets even better, the defense specifically asked him what the warrant entailed him to look for in the search of the property. The agent stated weapons, materials for making explosives or devices of such, computers, military and quasi military items, evidence that would support the conspiracy of sedition, and the use of weapons of mass destruction. It was right after this that the defense wanted to know why the FBI had photographed and seized three Bibles from Stone's residence. They showed FBI evidence photo's in the Federal Frickin' Courthouse of three BIBLES, yes, Holy Bibles, as in King James...that the FBI seized from his home as evidence of sedition...What is this country coming too? I could not believe what I was seeing in a court of law. This is not a joke. It's not even Smoke and Mirrors. It's bullshit. Do you see why I leave the court pissed off. Do you see why I have a hard time writing this. It doesn't even seem like it could be true. But I'm seeing it with my very own eyes. This is not second hand here-say, this is what is what is happening in our country right now. Wake up America. Get involved in what's going on around you...Free education, come down to the courtroom and take advantage of it.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
In My Spare Time
One of the things I enjoy doing is gardening. It's not something I do in my spare time really, but I do have a couple of gardens I tend for part time work. There's something about working the ground and making something grow that is just good for my frame of mind.
Another thing I enjoy is taking pictures. I don't necessarily do that in my spare time either, I'm apt to take pictures at anytime. I am not a professional photographer, just a shutterbug. I don't have any training, I just play around with the camera and sometimes I get lucky.
But since I enjoy gardening and photography, what better way to spend some of my spare time taking pictures of flowers. The pictures are never as nice as the real thing, but they are a nice reminder. And it's the only way to share the view with someone who didn't get the pleasure to see first-hand.
There are some people (like my brother) who don't understand my enjoyment in this pastime. There are some (like my brother) that imply I must be a little light in the loafers, if you know what I'm saying. All I have to say to those people (like my brother) is I hope you understand someday what your missing. I know he's joking with me...That's the way we are. But I do think he's missing out. Again, there's something that's good for my frame of mind in the act of enjoying something simple, and beautiful.
These pictures were taken in the gardens I work in, and in my Mother's yard that she works in. But I go to Mathaei Botanical Gardens, and Hidden Lake Gardens when I can. I'm apt to take pictures of water lilies while I'm out fishing, or stop and take a picture in the woods while I'm on a bike ride. If I have a camera with me, and I see a cool flower, I'll probably take a couple of pictures.
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I feel fortunate to live in a place, and be in a situation, where I can look around me everyday and see something beautiful. That's not an option for everyone. No matter who you are, or where your from, life can be tough. Life can be nearly unbearable. And it can end...in an instant. But there are moments in time when life can beautiful, and it's these moments we live for.
I believe if everyone took the time to look around themselves every day, just long enough to find some thing beautiful, we would live in a better world. Idealistic huh? Maybe, but it's true, most people would be less apt to destroy something beautiful, if they just knew it was there.
My biggest smiles, heartiest laughs, and most intense pleasures, have come from the simplest things. Enjoy simple and beautiful things while you can. A time may come in your life when you don't have that option. As your making your way through the tangled web we weave, do yourself a favor, stop and enjoy something beautiful. Take the time to stop and smell the roses...Or whatever else is available.
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