Jack Booted Thugs

A few days back I posted the story of a group of boy scouts held a gunpoint by federal agents at teh Canada-Alaska border. Their crime? Taking a picture.

Here's an update.

At the check point, one of the boys took a picture of the border agent and “threw the agent into a frenzy.” According to (Jim Fox, the boy scout leader), the agent immediately confiscated the camera, told the boy that he could be subjected to 10 years of prison or a $10,000 fine. The boys and driver were escorted inside the border patrol station.

One of the agents asked to see one of the bags of the scouts. One scout knew where the bag was and tried to get the bag to assist the agent. That’s when Fox said an agent had a loaded pistol pointed at the boy.

Fox said that the boy thought the agent was going to shoot him and got back into the van. “They were sitting there scared to death,” said Fox.

Fox said that they have experienced this type of intimidation before with the TSA in Orlando, FL. In the Orlando one of the eagle scouts accidentally dropped his boots after going through a full search.

One of the officers said, “..if that boy doesn’t calm down I will arrest him and remove him from this airport.” Fox asked the officer, “what did the boy do?”

“He dropped his boots in a threatening manner, said the officer.”

How does one drop his boots in a threatening manner? Is that some secret technique they teach at TSA school?

The DHS, not surprisingly, has denied any wrongdoing. But the agency has also refused to release the security video of the incident. Gee, I wonder why... if it confirmed their version we'd be seing it played on a 24-hour nonstop loop somewhere.

Speaking of the DHS doing their best Gestapo imitation:

In another example of how the Department of Homeland Security has expanded far outside the purview of its original function, six vehicles full of DHS agents were required to seize a Land Rover from a couple in Statesville, N.C. due to the fact that the vehicle allegedly violates EPA emission standards.

As part of its mission to “protect the Homeland,” the DHS has been busy seizing imported vehicles that don’t comply with safety and CO2 regulations.

Jennifer and Bill Brinkley were satisfied that their $60,000 dollar purchase of a Land Rover Defender on eBay complied with regulations because it fell into the exemption category of a vehicle 25 years or older.

However, when DHS agents turned up at the property, they compared the car’s Vehicle Identification Number to a list and immediately seized the Land Rover. The couple were not given “a chance to debate the issue.”

The feds have given the Brinkley’s 35 days to appeal the seizure but refuse to tell them where the vehicle is located. The DHS has also failed to respond to media requests about the incident.

The Department of Homeland Security, created in the aftermath of 9/11, was tasked with the role of protecting America from terrorists, man-made accidents and natural disasters. However, the DHS has been turned into a national police force with a remit that extends from seizing websites for copyright infringement to confiscating fake NFL merchandise.

In another incident, the DHS conducted a military-style invasion of a small town in Illinois complete with armored vehicles, a Black Hawk helicopter and a phalanx of heavy duty equipment and weaponry. It subsequently emerged that the reason behind the show of force – which spooked locals – was to apprehend one man for downloading indecent images on his computer.

Given this history, the Brinkleys should probably count themselves lucky that they didn’t have guns pointed at their head during the seizure of the Land Rover, which the DHS apparently sees as a bigger threat to America than the nation’s porous border...

I don't think this is what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they established our country.