Six
Shooter Junction – There may not be a new Sheriff in town yet, but
changes are coming thick and fast in local law enforcement as
Operation Countdown proceeds apace.
No
one is quite sure of what, exactly, Operation Countdown may consist.
Knowledgeable
observers were surprised to find a complete McLennan County Jail
population report on-line today, a comprehensive list of inmates of
McLennan County's lockups that lists both accused and convicted
offenders by name, offense, court in which they are charged, and
cause number.
Other
information available includes the criminal identification number of
the individual agencies, such as the various police departments and
federal agencies who made the arrests.
The
link to the .pdf file may be activated by inserting this URL address
in the search engine of any computer.
The
first name on the list, for instance, is that of Jason Naser Abdo, a
prisoner held on federal detention on two charges for which he was
convicted last week – a weapons violation and domestic terror, for
which he was arrested by the Killeen Police Department in July of
2011.
It
is a matter of some mystery if this development is part of Operation
Countdown.
What
is known is that the operation's planners are claiming a total
success, what with 200 volunteers staffing all 58 voting precincts in
McLennan County as poll watchers, greeters and observers.
Even
the fact that signs put up earlier at a proper distance from each
polling place disappeared by the time polls opened at 7 a.m. did not
mar the enthusiasm of Operation Countdown operatives on election day.
Re-elected
by an overwhelming margin as Precinct 1 Commissioner, Kelly Snell
remarked the sudden appearance of the jail population report with
surprise.
He
said he only gets some information from the Sheriff's Office on
certain days, and that only concerns the total number of prisoners
held by the private jail operator, CEC, Inc.
“They
don't do anything consistently,” he said.
He
characterized his experience during his one term as a County
Commissioner as that of finding it difficult to get information he
needs to make intelligent decisions.
“It's
very hard; it's like pulling teeth...
“That's
why we've got to get the Sheriff's office to come forward and give us
their plan. I've got to have numbers; I've got to have reports; I've
got to have facts.”
So
far, no such information is available, according to Mr. Snell.
When
the contract with CEC to operate the downtown jail expires in
mid-month of June, he said, county operation of the 324-bed lockup
could save the expense of $10 per per prisoner per day off the
present expense of $45.50 per prisoner charged at the Jack Harwell
Detention Center.
Present
expenses to house “overflow” prisoners from the County Jail on
Highway Six in the privately operated Jack Harwell Detention Center
run from $7,000 to $14,000 per day, especially on weekends when,
according to Mr. Snell, “We're just performing baby sitting chores
for the weekend prisoners.
“I
think it's pretty much a dead issue until after November,” he said.
Informed
that the Sheriff's Office is required to have an operations plan on
file with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards in order to obtain
an operating permit, he expressed surprise that the information is
available from the state government as a part of the public record.
Waco
– As the big screen televisions flashed news that veteran Deputy
U.S. Marshal Parnell McNamara had beaten the socks off Chief Deputy
Randy Plemons, supporters partying at the Hog Creek Ice House held kids' stick horses aloft.
The stick horses served as rallying points in the crowd; they resembled the gangs of old New York going into battle with the
standards of the Dead Rabbits and Plug Uglies held high as they met at
5-Points, ready to rumble.
Deputy
Plemons had in past weeks gone negative in television spots mocking Marshal
McNamara's horsemanship and reputation as a traditional lawman with a
gift for assembling a posse and going after bad guys wanted at the
bar of justice - and still at large.
Many thus pursued have gone to the penitentiary, a few to the death chamber. His exploits have gained recognition far and wide, on television programs about law and order, productions such as "America's Ten Most Wanted," and the Arts and Entertainment Network.
A
particularly galling ad featured a little boy riding a stick horse,
wearing a 10-gallon cowboy hat and wearing a vest much too large for
him.
All
that and a bag of chips, it prompted McNamara supporters to defeat Deputy Plemons by 1,772
votes – 11,652 to 9,880. Deputy Plemons is the candidate chosen by
retiring incumbent Sheriff Larry Lynch to succeed him after 12 years
as McLennan County Sheriff.
During
the campaign, Marshal McNamara gleaned endorsements from the
statewide police union, Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas
(CLEAT), the Waco Police Association, and the Hewitt Police Officers
Association, among others.
His
program includes:
Favoring
a civil service commission for officers and jailers;
Restoring
public operation of the County Jail by the department;
Reinstituting
a drug task force;
Starting
a cold case squad staffed in part by retired law men to clear 53 open
and unsolved homicides in McLennan County, some of them home
invasions, others of them robberies.
Asked
what would become of crooks in Six Shooter Junction, Marshal
McNamara's side kick Matt Cawthon said, “There will be a new order
to things around here.” He is a retired Texas Ranger who is now a
Texas Department of Criminal Justice officer seconded to the Fugitive
Warrant Task Force founded by Marshal McNamara during a 30-year
career with the U.S. Marshal's Service, half of which was spent as
the Marshal in charge of the surrounding 13-county area.
“And
let's face it, strong-arm regimes are threatened by popular outcries
for political freedom that are empowered by unfettered Internet
connectivity,” Robert McDowell, FCC Commissioner
Internet
users are scrutinized daily for certain words they use in desktop
publishing and social media applications such as blogs, Facebook, websites, and
Twitter.
Department
of Homeland Security officials have devised a hierarchy of areas of
concern in guidelines they have published for analysts tasked with
computerized analysis of social media publications, phone calls –
in fact any forms of electronic communications, which are to be
automatically monitored by computer servers when the devices detect
the use of these words.
Waco
– It's been a long war; it's a war that is carried out daily, now, on the
streets of our nation - at the gates of our forts.
The
war has been going on long enough that there are people rapidly
approaching young adulthood who don't remember anything else, young
people who can't recall any conditions other than the status quo.
Arriving
at the Federal Courthouse in this city, a yellow brick affair with
limestone trim, expansive north facing window lights, Spanish tile
accents, a study in faux Moorish architecture, one is confronted by the
latest security precaution.
No
visitors are allowed to carry a cell phone into the premises.
No
need asking why. There have been hundreds upon hundreds of
depredations worldwide that were provoked, provided or performed with
the use of a cell phone. The Federal Court Service guard, chipper and
cheerful in blue blazer and rep tie, is easily appeased with a
grateful attitude and a promise to return after stowing the phone in
the car.
On
return, he says, “Now, then, let's try this again,” in a hearty
tone of voice.
In
reply, The Legendary says, with a smile big as Dallas, “Some days,
the dragon wins, sir...” We both smile, then laugh it off.
We
both laughed, but underneath, the reality remains. When the enemy has
forced you to begin doing things differently than you had always done
them, back in a world we left far, far behind - many years ago - the
battle is not really going in the favor of one's side.
Not
really.
On
the witness stand in the U.S. District Court for the Western District
of Texas, FBI Special Agent Richard Stryker is going through that
peculiarly pettifogging formality known as cross examination.
Defense
Counsel Zachary Boyd is putting him through his paces, recalling his
previous testimony elicited by prosecutors about laboratory efforts
to replicate the construction and detonation of an improvised
explosive device by following the instructions provided in a magazine
article published by Al Qaida.
“Make
A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom” instructs would-be terrorists in
the construction of a deadly fragmentation device by using a 16-quart
aluminum pressure cooker coated on the inside with contact cement to
which BB's adhere, then stuffed with smokeless gun powder and
detonated with a Christmas tree bulb whose bare filaments are thrust
through a hole in the cooker's lid.
The
detonator is designed to be attached to the face of an alarm clock
whose hands are to be brought into contact with two nails to complete
an electrical circuit, thus detonating the highly volatile gunpowder.
The
two are involved in the rambling but always polite thrust and parry
of a skillful cross examiner putting question after question to an
expert witness, often the same question stated multiple ways, while
the opposing counsel objects frequently to leading the witness,
calling for a conclusion, or an argumentative style.
One
learns that the bomb was not constructed in exactly the way the
terrorists' magazine instructed, that putting an “electric match”
for purposes of safety in the bottom of the pressure cooker instead
of the top does not necessarily produce a shaped charge, and that
matters of common sense are not universal to all folks on the planet,
in the expert opinion of Agent Stryker, who remains courteous and
cheerful enough throughout the inquisitive onslaught.
At
one point, he answers his interlocutor by saying, “Regardless of
where it was, it would make it no less of a bomb.”
Onwards.
Police who apprehended Jason Naser Abdo to his hotel near the main
gate of Ft. Hood last July 27 recall that he was advised of his
rights under the Miranda decision, that he had a handgun in his
backpack, and that, yes, they isolated him immediaely, put him in
handcuffs and transported him to a secure law enforcement center in
order to better control the situation while they questioned him and
other investigators searched his room.
A
certain Lt. Boone is seen in a video drawing his pistol, pointing it
at Mr. Abdo and ordering him to assume a prone position face down
under the ramada of the motel where a taxi is waiting for him.
Detective
Willie Winfield is questioned extensively about whether the video
camera in the police car swiveled, and whether he read Mr. Abdo his
rights.
“Is
it true that you really didn't read that Miranda warning?” the
defense attorney asked the young detective.
“No,
sir, it is not,” he answered. At this point, the 5-man, 7-woman
jury panel began to fidget. They're the kind of middle-aged people
you see every day in the bank, the post office, the grocery story.
They clearly aren't the kind of people who are willing to put up with
a lot of this nonsense. In fact, a couple of the gentlemen's eyes
narrow to a squint; they run a protesting forefinger around their
collars, and snort in a subdued way. Several of the women heave a
sigh.
It's
a nasty story, and then the government rests, and the jurors are
removed from the courtroom while Judge Walter Smith considers Mr.
Boyd's Bill of Exceptions, 24 in number and offered under the terms
of Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Under
that rule, after the close of evidnce, a defendant may move for a
judgment of acquittal for any offense for which the evidence is
insufficient to sustain a conviction.
The
highlights are provocative enough. Mr. Boyd asserts that the
conscientious objector packet Mr. Abdo filled out at his former duty
station, an Army fort in Kentucky that is the home of the 101st
Airborne, was deemed insufficient. A prosecutor immediately objects
that the matter is irrelevant.
It
was the reason Mr. Abdo gave investigators for his alleged plot to
detonate a bomb in a crowded restaurant that is popular with soldiers
at Ft. Hood. He objects to the conduct of his fellow soldiers toward
adherents of Islam, his chosen religious faith. It was for this
reason he joined the jihad, this simple one-word concept, which is Arabic for "peace.".
A
certain Lieutenant Colonel reviewed allegations that the soldier was
in possession of child pornography, charges which Mr. Boyd says were
“ultimately proved to be without probable cause.”
Playing
a video of the attempted detonation of an explosive device built by
the FBI “misleads jurors” because, he reminds the judge, “Mr.
Abdo did not buid a bomb.”
The
defense attorney objects to the way the federal statute against
making home made bombs is written; he asserts that it “allows Mr.
Abdo to be convicted for his mens rea alone, and not his mens rea and
actus rea together.”
In
effect, he implies, the government is trying to send a man to the
federal penitentiary to serve a potential life sentence for what he
was thinking, not for what he did.
In
asking for the acquittal, he said, “The government has failed to
prove its case in chief, Your Honor.”
At
this point, the gallery and officers of the court were treated to the
sight of the venerable white-headed judge throwing his hands up in
disgust and reverting to a hostile and abravise tone much unlike his
usual silky smooth affect and manner of speaking.
Judge
Smith thundered, “Do you have all that in writing so you could just
submit it without standing up there and reading all that nonsense?”
Most people looked at the floor, or at some point in mid-space,
somewhere about a thousand yards distant.
Clouds
whizzing along high above brought intense sunlight to the air shaft
outside the expansive windows of the courtroom, alternately throwing
its ornate study in beige, brown and walnut tones into shadow, then
the stark relief of intense sunshine bright enough to make the copper
nail heads in the ornately decorated hardwood doors shine with a
brilliant copper fire that diminshed, then blazed anew, over and
over, while Mr. Boyd stood at the lectern silently, looking at the
toes of his brightly polished dress shoes.
After
a long, rambling explanation, Judge Smith again threw up his hands in
capitulaton, exclaiming, “It would be quicker for you to just go
ahead, and just read what you're reading.”
After
some desultory questioning of a couple of witnesses, the defense
rested, and Judge Smith sent the jury to lunch while he prepared his
instructions for them, to be followed by the final arguments of
counsel.
All
the while, the Army deserter and conscientious objector, Jason Naser
Abdo, sat quietly, his facial expressions hidden by a surgical mask
he is forced to wear over a scraggly beard he has grown.
Its
purpose is simple enough. It is there to keep him from biting through
his lip or his tongue and spitting blood on the guards who lead him
in and out of court.
Somewhere,
an eagle screamed – out loud, and bold as ever.
We
The People all stood respectfully, as the jurors left the courtroom,
then waited while the elderly man of the law strode into his
chambers, his black robe trailing behind him.
What
was told, what was taught, what was learned - is simple enough. When
the chips are down – as they always are in love and war – you're
going to believe in something.
Peshawar,
Pakistan – Big dogs in the Obama Administration are barking loudly for the release of a doctor who helped CIA identify Osama bin
Laden a year ago.
Shakil
Afridi operated a vaccination program in the black for the company in
the town of Abbottabad in order to collect DNA evidence for
verification of Mr. bin Laden's identity.
Once
the job was done, Navy Seal Team 6 closed in for the kill, leaving Al
Qaida to reshuffle its top ranks. This really left highly placed
officials in Pakistan steaming because the American government did
not check with them first.
They
are so angry, Dr. Afridi found himself today being sentenced to 33
years in prison for high treason. But the Pakistanis aren't the only
ones who are uptight.
The
Obama White House is making faces over the fact that the Pakistani
government refuses to reopen NATO supply lines into Afghanistan,
closed six months ago when American airstrikes left 24 Pakistani
soldiers dead in their tracks.
Waco
– As the case against Raed Alzreiqi progressed, the prosecution
showed item after item of evidence on a large screen.
Video
of the gambling parlor operator unspooled before jurors' eyes as
undercover detectives of the Waco police pointed out his actions and
those of his “attendants” with the red, squiggly dot of a laser
pen.
The
officers appeared at the points on the tape mentioned in the droning
series of questions and answers, pointed to the items of evidence
they obtained such as money they were paid when their keno numbers or
slot machine spins came up winners, and identified the items in
evidence bags they logged into the property room.
They
said of the currency inside the little transparent bags, “I
recognize my handwriting,” when asked how they knew it was the
evidence they deposited therein on any certain day.
In
each case, Assistant DA Chris Bullagian would ask them, “At any
point, did the he offer you to pick out any of the stuffed animals?”
The answer in every case was, “No.”
The
point is that the violation of the Texas Penal Code under examination
makes the distinction that a gambling device or any scheme involving
games of skill or chance are perfectly legal – unless money changes
hands when one “wins.”
At
that point, the offense involved becomes a Class C misdemeanor for
the player and a Class A misdemeanor offense for the one who is
operating the game, neither of which are punishable by time in
prison. The maximum penalty is either 6 months in the county lockup,
or a year in confinement and fines of $2,000 and $4,000 respectively.
If
a winner is rewarded with a prize of a decorative pewter platter or a
fuzzy stuffed rabbit, it's perfectly legal unless the “gift” is
more than 10 times the worth of the original wager.
In
the testimony elicited from the women who ran the “General Mart”
at 1808 W. Waco Dr. during the months between late December 2009 and
the day the police served the search warrant in August of 2011, no
one recalled a gambler selecting any of the loud, flashy, tawdry
merchandise that has lain so many years in the glass display cases of
the gambling parlor.
The
marginality of the neighborhood and the commercial property itself is
accentuated by the obvious squalor and general filth made so obvious
by the unpitying glare of the video cameras and digital still
photographs snapped at the time.
The
people sitting around in little swivel chairs before the shabbily
constructed electronic slot machines don't look like they were having
all that good a time at their wagers – at least not at the moment
when their freedom was up in the air. None of them were arrested.
There
is little glamor to be obtained in a place like 1808 W. Waco Dr.
Gamblers are treated to free soft drinks and bags of chips and other
snacks as they play.
There
are the pictures of such items as two pharmacy bottles of Hydrocodone
pain pills, a subcompact semi-auto pistol in a drawer, and the stacks
and stacks of spiral-bound notebooks chronicling the amount paid “IN”
on each machine, and the equally laconic amounts penned in
backslanted feminine handwriting, the amounts paid “OUT” on any
given day.
Notes
were kept on the liberality of the pay-outs of the machines, noting
that machine number so and so of the total of 13 shabbily constructed
computer monitors housed in flat black painted cabinets made of
particle board, was doing “awesome!” - or the occasional missive,
“Not worth Sh_t!” when the figure is preceded by a minus sign.
That means the establishment paid out more to winners than the
machine took in.
Perhaps
the moment that crystallized the presentation of evidence and
testimony came when a detective identified a Western Union credit
slip for an international wire transfer of money to foreign shores.
The document showed that Mr. Alzreiqi sent $500 out of the country,
tax free.
The
faces of the jurors, all of whom wore the casual costumes of
hard-working men and women, seemed to turn to stone when they saw
that bit of evidence, a cash register tape blown up to many times its
actual size, depicted on the big screen in the dimminished lighting
of the courtroom.
Therein
lies the evidence that could send Mr. Alzreiqi to the insitutional
division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Had no money
changed hands on winning and losing wagers, he would have been
involved in a perfectly legal pursuit. Similarly, had the
estabishment been operated by, or by the agent of, a non-profit
fraternal, religious or civic organization, gambling for money
In
fact, they were chosen for their ability to remember the faces of
others among the ranks of the steady players. Only they were paid in
cash. Persons unknown to them were paid in “gift certificates,” a
wager that gave them little incentive to keep coming back.
When
consulted about the nature of the organized crime statute under which
Mr. Alzreiqi was prosecuted, Section 71.02 of the Texas Penal Code,
his defense counsel said with a grim smile, “My problem with all
this is that out of all the people involved in all this, he (Mr.
Alzrieqi) is the only one who is being prosecuted.”
The
jurors were charged to make two findings on two counts of engaging in
organized criminal activity. Did the defendant engage in illegal
gambling activity in a combination with two or more others?
Their
answer to both questions was - yes.
As
he awaited the verdict, Mr. Alzreiqi, a slightly built man with an
olive complexion and pronounced Eurasian features, asked defense
counsel Doug Henager if he could leave for awhile.
Mr.
Henager patiently explained that he was free to go, but that if the
jurors sent a note out to the judge asking a question, or if they
suddenly returned with a verdict, he would have to be available. He
was told not to go too far away. The time was 4 p.m.
And
so, the kingpin of the “combination” spent his last few minutes
of freedom for the foreseeable future sitting utterly alone on a
bench in the third-floor rotunda of McLennan County's rococo 19th
century palace of justice. The felony offense is punishable by not
more than 10 years imprisonment or less than two, a $10,000 fine,
and/or both.
Asked
if one could make a snapshot of him, he replied with a polite smile,
“I am thinking I do not like this very much.” The jury returned
their verdict at 4:30, within 15 minutes after taking a restroom
break and reassembling in the jury deliberation room.
The
prosecutor had earlier estimated each machine had a net yield after
expenses of about $24,000 per month - for a gross of more than a half
million dollars per year in positive, untaxed cash flow.
(Click the picture of The Legendary lower on this page to hear an audio news report on this on the Black T-shirt News on Hog Shed Radio at 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 23)
Robinson
– When Kelly Snell stepped to the podium, he was alone, standing at
a podium in a meeting room at the Hampton Inn, facing a hostile crowd
of voters fed up with higher taxes.
His
two challengers, Steve Janics and Trey Kizer, failed to show up for a
debate on the issues.
The
even't sponsor, Bill Foster, editor and publisher of “The Waco
Citizen,” was forced to make a last-minute move from the Robinson
Chamber of Commerce Building to the hotel.
Though
the first-term Precinct 1 McLennan County Commissioner has vowed to
seek only 3 terms, Mr. Snell was hard-pressed to make constituents
understand that he and his colleagues control only the tax rate, not
the appraisal of their property.
You
would have thought he was a seasoned hack, a veteran of many terms,
judging by the attitude of his interlocutors.
One
man in the crowd said he has paid consistently at minimum of $1,000
more in taxes as a result.
Mr.
Snell explained he has a three-point plan to lower valuations.
First,
members of the McLennan Appraisal District Board should elected at
large, by registered voters.
Secondly,
members should be voted on by one man, one vote, and not on a point
system apportioned by the worth of the taxable properties in their
districts.
Last,
members' terms should be limited to three two-year terms.
But
the deficit spending on the county jail system attracted the most
attention.
Though
Mr. Snell bragged that he has been able to reduce McLennan County's
spending by about $1.9 million a year during his term, he
acknowledged that the $7,000 to $14,000 a day it's costing to house
overflow prisoners in the Jack Harwell Detention Center operated by
CEC, Inc., is an offset that nullifies their best efforts.
“I
wasn't a commissioner when they voted that jail in, you've got to
remember,” Mr. Snell reminded his questioners.
A
man came forward with questions he would have asked Mr. Snell's
opponents, had they been there.
For
Mr. Kizer, he asked, how would his conviction for DWI square with
employees of the County who would lose their jobs is convicted for
the same offense. “Is this a case of do as I say, and not as I do?”
he asked.
For
Mr. Janics, he asked, how would his military experience help him in
running a County with a budget of $137 million per year? They were
not there to answer him.
Washington - With eight out of ten Americans responding that they see the economy as the number one problem, President Barack Obama holds a slight edge in voter approval, according to a new poll released today.
According to a Washington Post/ABC News Poll, 49 percent of voters approve of Obama's re-election, while 46 percent prefer Governor Mitt Romney.
If the election were held today, the voters polled are equally divided over the question of who could best handle the economy; the candidates are in a dead heat at 47 percent each.
Washington – According to an Associated Press report, the White House has centered the power to determine whom will be targeted by drone Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as terrorists in one small group.
Counterterror Chief John Brennan has gathered a new and smaller team of officials who have the power to sign off on the targets both in war zones, and elsewhere, said officials who declined to be quoted directly.
Mr. Brennan's staff consults with the State Department and “other agencies” as to should be included on target lists.
In a
shameful display of disregard for the Constitution and for liberty,
on Friday, the House of Representatives voted to perpetuate the
president’s power to indefinitely detain American citizens.
By a
vote of 238-182, members of Congress rejected the amendment offered
by Representatives Adam Smith (D-Washington) and Justin Amash
(R-Michigan) that would have repealed the indefinite detention
provision passed overwhelmingly last year as part of the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012.
Six
Shooter Junction – It's a great mystery, whether Tucker Peterson
will appear at the Moonlight Music Festival during the
singer-songwriter Musicians' Reunion on Sunday, May 27, at Bosque
Bottoms Park.
That
part of the show is hosted by Casey Kelley and sponsored by Al's
Tokio Store.
Here's
a story from way back that will give our listeners a chance to make
up their own minds about old Tucker. He's a sure enough cowboy -
plumb full of stunts, and a gifted writer of cowboy songs that tell a
story.
It
all happened a long time ago – long ago enough that there was still
a prison rodeo at The Walls, Huntsville Penitentiary.
The
facts may be a little bit murky, but the truth is the same. It came
to pass that a certain cowboy from Norse, Texas – near deepest,
darkest Clifton in Bosque County – got to robbing banks with a six
gun.
From
there, the story takes on a character all its own, and it's one with
an ironic twist of cowboy stunts, and all such as that.
When
Deputy U.S. Marshal Parnell McNamara came to get Mr. Peterson on a
fugitive warrant, he noted that in the report it said the cowboy
Tucker Peterson kept a big smile on his face and did nothing
threatening to the women in the banks, though he was demanding money
in robbery.
In
fact, the tellers couldn't get over how polite the cowboy was when he
said he wanted the money – pronto. He almost made it sound like a
good deal for everyone concerned.
Not
long ago, Tucker told The Legendary, “Old Parnell asked me,
'Tucker, what would you have done if that lady said she just wasn't
going to give you any money. How about that?'
“I
told him, well, Parnell, I would have run for the door about as fast
as I could,” remembered Tucker Peterson.
We
both cracked up.
It
be that way some times. Most days, that is.
It
tickled the Marshal, and he told people all about it. When the story
got around, it helped Tucker Peterson get a job as a horse wrangler
in the penitentiary's rodeo cowboy outfit, where he rode bareback
broncs in the show.
That
was his job while he was down there - doing his time.
Waco
– Prosecutors and defense attorneys are picking a jury today for a
trial beginning on Wednesday in 54th District Court of a man accused of engaging
in organized criminal activity by operating an 8-liner gambling
parlor at 1808 W. Waco Dr.
Raed
Alzreiqui is charged with the offense in connection with the Class A
misdemeanor of illegal gambling activity. That offense is punishable
by as much as one year in the County Jail or a $4,000 fine, or both.
If
the offense concerns engaging in organized criminal activity, the
punishment may be enhanced to felony status if on trial the offense
is shown to involve a combination of fraud, forgery, money
laundering, deceptive practices, computer crimes, bribery and corrupt
influence, perjury and other falsifications in crimes against public
administration.
Marine
combat veteran Caleb Duty announced a solid outlaw country lineup for
the Moonlight Music Festival May 25-27 at Bosque Bottoms Park in
Meridian.
Billy
Joe Shaver headlines Friday night, with Granger Smith wrapping up the
show on Saturday evening.
Casey
Kelley will host a singer-songwriter musicians reunion on Sunday, the
27th sponsored by Al's Tokio Store. Music begins daily at
3 pm and ends at midnight.
The
festival is dedicated to returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans,
a large percentage of whom are amongst the homeless and the brave.
Overnight
camping is considered de rigeur. Arrangements should be made in
advance.
MANHATTAN
(CN) - A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction late
Wednesday to block provisions of the 2012 National Defense
Authorization Act that would allow the military to indefinitely
detain anyone it accuses of knowingly or unknowingly supporting
terrorism.
Signed
by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve, the 565-page NDAA
contains a short paragraph, in statute 1021, letting the military
detain anyone it suspects "substantially supported"
al-Qaida, the Taliban or "associated forces." The
indefinite detention would supposedly last until "the end of
hostilities."
In
a 68-page ruling blocking this statute, U.S. District Judge Katherine
Forrest agreed that the statute failed to "pass constitutional
muster" because its broad language could be used to quash
political dissent.
"There
is a strong public interest in protecting rights guaranteed by the
First Amendment," Forrest wrote. "There is also a strong
public interest in ensuring that due process rights guaranteed by the
Fifth Amendment are protected by ensuring that ordinary citizens are
able to understand the scope of conduct that could subject them to
indefinite military detention."
Weeks
after Obama signed the law, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris
Hedges filed a lawsuit against its so-called "Homeland
Battlefield" provisions.
Several
prominent activists, scholars and politicians subsequently joined the
suit, including Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg;
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Noam Chomsky;
Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir; Kai Wargalla, an
organizer from Occupy London; and Alexa O'Brien, an organizer for the
New York-based activist group U.S. Day of Rage.
They
call themselves the Freedom Seven.
In
a signing statement, Obama contended that the language in Section
1021 "breaks no new ground" and merely restates the 2001
Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF).
Government
lawyers whistled the same tune to swat away the lawsuit, but they
failed to convince the judge that no changes had been made.
"Section
1021 tries to do too much with too little - it lacks the minimal
requirements of definition and scienter that could easily have been
added, or could be added, to allow it to pass constitutional muster,"
Forrest wrote.
Scienter
refers to a person's knowledge that a law is being
violated. "For the reasons set
forth below, this court finds that § 1021 is not merely an
'affirmation' of the AUMF," Forrest wrote. "To so hold
would be contrary to basic principles of legislative interpretation
that require Congressional enactments to be given independent
meaning. To find that § 1021 is merely an 'affirmation' of the AUMF
would require this court to find that § 1021 is a mere redundancy -
that is, that it has no independent meaning and adds absolutely
nothing to the government's enforcement powers."
Brushing
aside that argument, Judge Forrest took aim at government arguments
that the NDAA did not affect Hedges and his co-plaintiffs
personally.
"Here,
the uncontradicted testimony at the evidentiary hearing was that the
plaintiffs have in fact lost certain First Amendment freedoms as a
result of the enactment of § 1021," Forrest wrote.
At
a hearing in March, three of the plaintiffs testified that the
possibility of government repression under the NDAA made them
reconsider how they approached their journalism and activism.
Guardian
journalist Naomi Wolf read testimony from Jonsditir, who prepared a
statement saying that she would not visit the U.S. for fear of
detention. Forrest alluded to this
testimony in her decision. "Hedges,
Wargalla, and Jonsdottir have changed certain associational conduct,
and O'Brien and Jonsdittir have avoided certain expressive conduct,
because of their concerns about § 1021. Moreover, since plaintiffs
continue to have their associational and expressive conduct chilled,
there is both actual and continued threatened irreparable harm,"
she wrote. "In addition, it is
certainly the case that if plaintiffs were detained as a result of
their conduct, they could be detained until the cessation of
hostilities - i.e., an indeterminate period of time," Forrest
continued. "Being subjected to the risk of such detention,
particularly in light of the Government's inability to represent that
plaintiffs' conduct does not fall with § 1021, must constitute a
threat of irreparable harm. The question then is: Is that harm
immediate? Since the Government will not say that the conduct does
not fall outside of §1021, one cannot predict immediacy one way or
the other. The penalty we know would be severe."
The
judge added that she did not make the decision lightly.
"This
court is acutely aware that preliminarily enjoining an act of
Congress must be done with great caution," she wrote."
"However,
it is the responsibility of our judicial system to protect the public
from acts of Congress which infringe upon constitutional rights. As
set forth above, this court has found that plaintiffs have shown a
likelihood of success on the merits regarding their constitutional
claim and it therefore has a responsibility to insure that the
public's constitutional rights are protected."
In
a phone conference, the plaintiffs' attorneys Bruce Afran and Carl
Mayer hailed what they called a "complete victory."
"America is more free today than it was yesterday due to the
courageous and righteous and very sound ruling by Judge Forrest,"
Mayer said. "I think this is a hugely significant development...
I think it's also a testament to the courage of the plaintiffs
here."
One
of those plaintiffs, O'Brien, was also jubilant in a separate
interview. "I am extremely happy
right now, and what I'm most happy about it is that this ruling has
given me trust," O'Brien said, "Trust is the foundation of
just and stable governments, and this ruling gives me hope that we
can restore trust in the foundations of government."
While
the U.S. Attorney's office declined comment on the ruling, Mayer
urged the Obama administration to "drop it," and forego an
appeal. "They have to come to
terms with the fact that it's wholly unconstitutional," Mayer
said.
