Tag Archives: land grab

Featured, Police State, Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff Stands Up to IRS, Cancels Land Sale

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WASHINGTON, February 7, 2015—New Mexico’s Eddy County Sheriff Scott London notified the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) via letter that the sale of county resident Kent Carter’s property is canceled until Carter receives due process of law and his appeal is heard. The certified letter dated February 4 received an immediate response from the Undersecretary of the Treasury’s office. According to the Treasury’s website, however, the public auction is still slated for February 19.

“Many officers have stood up over the years for the rights of citizens being victimized by the federal government,” said Sheriff Mack, founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, “But Sheriff London is the first one to stand up to the IRS since the early 1990s.” Mack said, “His actions show courage and humility. London is setting a good example for the rest of our sheriffs.”

Approximately ten days before Christmas, U.S. Marshals broke in the door of Carter’s rental property with their guns drawn. The tenant was a young mother with a new baby—home alone while her husband was at work. Sheriff London was called to the property to intervene. He advised the Marshals that Carter’s case was in appeal and he deserved due process. They threatened to arrest London, but he stood his ground and they backed off.

Carter has battled the IRS for decades over taxes on the earnings of his modest construction business. One court document listed his debt at $145,000, a figure Carter says an assessing agent “pulled out of thin air.” Every time he challenged them, his bill would shoot up a few hundred thousand dollars. His legal complaints state that the IRS failed to adhere to its own tax code, did not use proper accounting methods, and that the collection activity was unlawful because no notices of deficiency were given. Carter says his private and confidential information, including his social security number, was filed in public records and given to third parties. The IRS countered that it can publish and disperse the private information of Americans if it is trying to collect their money or property. A judge agreed.

Carter says the IRS is currently claiming he owes $890,000, a figure that “doubled with the stroke of a pen.”

The Taxation & Revenue Department ordered Carter to cease “engaging in business in New Mexico” until his arbitrary tax debt was paid. Carter appealed this injunction on the grounds that it was both unconstitutional and vague, as it deprived him of his right to make a living and also prohibited him from, “carrying on or causing to be carried on any activity with the purpose of direct or indirect benefit.”

“The IRS fabricates evidence against citizens by pulling numbers out of a hat and adding fees,” said Mack, “They wear people down emotionally and financially until they can’t take it anymore. No citizen should ever have to fight the IRS for decades in order to keep his land.”

“The IRS is a lie. The income tax is a lie,” said Carter. “Why should they be able to take anything? They’re worse than the mafia.”

The Carter properties have liens placed against them. A locksmith was instructed to change the locks. The IRS authorized the United States Marshal Service to arrest/evict anyone found on the premises. London, however, physically stood in front of Carter’s gate until the Marshals backed down. A public auction on the front steps of the Eddy County Courthouse is scheduled, but the local county sheriff—trained in the Constitution—resisted.

Carter voluntarily vacated his property and relocated his mobile home to an undisclosed location. “I chose to leave to keep it from escalating to something ugly—like Ruby Ridge, Idaho,” he said. Carter said he advised the Marshals and IRS Agents who publicly claimed he had armed friends on his land, “If there is going to be any violence, it is going to be you who starts it.”

Carter says 100% of his Social Security benefits is seized each month by the IRS, in addition to $2,800 the agency drained from his bank account. Legally, the IRS can take no more than 15% of Social Security benefits.

Mack says banking institutions quiver when faced with the IRS’ gestapo tactics and generally hand over customers’ personal banking information, including access to accounts, without requiring a warrant or even any documentation. He encourages county sheriffs to brief every bank in their jurisdiction to refer inquiries from IRS agents to them.

Sheriff Mack is calling for the IRS to start following the law, including no “random” audits without probable cause, as they violate the Fourth Amendment. He asks them to stop committing crimes and rewarding IRS employees with bonuses for cheating on their personal taxes. “I agree with Senator Ted Cruz and others who say the IRS should be abolished,” said Mack. “It’s time they got off the backs of the American people.”

Carter says he prays daily for wisdom, and that he is surviving to be able to look into his grandchildren’s eyes and tell them he fought for their future and for America.

London is the first Republican to ever be elected sheriff in Eddy County. He distributes Bibles on behalf of Gideon International and met his wife in choir practice.

Politics, US

EPA’s New Property Grab, Private Water

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting a redefinition of the bodies of water that are under their jurisdiction for regulating pollution.

The Clean Water Act, originally passed in 1972, is the primary federal law in the United States concerning water pollution. Any area covered by this act requires a special federal permit for certain activities. Some U.S. lawmakers are worried that an expansion of the Clean Water Act would give federal officials a new world of power over private properties.

The EPA’s proposed regulation has been nicknamed, “Waters of the United States,” and has been in the works for the last eight years. Bob Perciasepe, EPA Deputy Administrator, told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the new ruling wouldn’t reduce the scope of waters covered under the Clean Water Act, and that it “would not assert jurisdiction over any type of waters not previously protected over the past 40 years.”

The EPA’s attempt to extend its power is drawing attention from lawmakers in both parties, who are referring to the proposed ruling as a land grab. A request to withdraw the regulation was sent to the EPA by a group of 231 members from the House of Representatives. “Although your agencies have maintained that the rule is narrow and clarifies CWA jurisdiction, it in face aggressively expands federal authority under the CWA while bypassing Congress and creating unnecessary ambiguity,” the group wrote.

The House lawmakers in opposition to the regulation criticized it for being too broad. They wrote, “The rule would place features such as ditches, ephemeral drainages, ponds, prairie potholes, seeps, flood plains, and other occasionally or seasonally wet areas under federal control.”

Along with the House, the Senate also has a group of lawmakers who are opposed to the EPA’s proposition. Last week, thirty Republican senators signed a bill to prevent the EPA from moving forward. The bill’s main sponsor, Senator Pat Roberts, explained that after already calling on the EPA to withdraw the proposed rule, he wanted “to make sure that the expansion of regulatory jurisdiction over ‘Waters of the United States’ is shelved for good.”

US

Open-Carry Rally Hosted in Opposition of Federal BLM

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Standing up to the Bureau of Land Management as feds try and claim thousands of acres of ranchland along the board of the Red River, patriots held an open carry rally in Burkburnett, Texas.

People from southern Texas and Arizona joined Texomans to support the ranchers whose land is in jeopardy by the BLM. Men, women and children exercised their Second Amendment right to bare arms during the rally, reported by Newschannel 6.

A candidate for County Commissioner Lee Harvey said the rally was put Washington, D.C. on notice.

“Absolutely, this group of individuals is sending a message to Washington that says, ‘hey we’re still out here, and we still have our Constitution, and we’re going to stand by it,’” said Harvey.

Bill Lockwood, another candidate for County Commissioner, said the concept of liberty has been lost.

“Because really we’re living in a time in which people have the concept that freedom comes from the government or that liberty is a grant of government,” said Lockwood. “But that’s not the case at all. Liberty is a grant of God and government is only there as a protection so that you might enjoy what God has already given you.”

Lockwood said our founding fathers considered life, liberty and property as a package. And Lee Harvey says the BLM told him they’re taking Red River property based on precedence.

“We paid taxes on that land,” said Lockwood. “Now they tell us it’s not ours. Well we say we have a deed and we pay taxes. The man told me himself that a Texas deed does not trump the federal government.”

 

Featured, Politics, US

Exclusive Videos: Fed’s 260K Acre Land Grab At Vail Lake

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The issue of federal agencies seizing public and private land is gaining more national attention, largely due to media coverage of the Bundy Ranch conflict with the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada. This attention has been prompting others to come forward to share their experiences dealing with federal land seizures in the United States.

Another individual is shedding light on these disturbing practices. In videos exclusive to Benswann.com, land owner Bill Johnson discussed the attempts from the BLM and the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) to take control of enormous, valuable properties in California.

Johnson owns approximately 11,000 acres of land in Riverside County in Temecula, California. His property includes Vail Lake which spans about 1,000 acres. Three million acres of wilderness surround the property. The BLM manages land on the northern and southern sides of this massive property, and both the BLM and the  MSHCP have been claiming “habitat conservation protection” rights on about 260,000 acres of land to aggressively restrict what Johnson and other land owners do with their property. Johnson said that these agencies are actively trying to push him and other land owners out of the area with endless regulations and intimidation.

Johnson said that tactics to drive out land owners included lying to them about the process being voluntary and falsely promising to purchase the land legally. He explained that the main strategy of the BLM and MSHCP is to render most of the Riverside County land useless to private owners in order to gain complete control. When MSHCP declared the land “habitat”,  farming, building, or any other developments became impossible, and the values of the various properties have been dramatically reduced. In the video below, Johnson describes previous dealings with federal agents seizing property.

Johnson believes that “habitat conservation” is simply a ruse to coerce him and others into surrendering their land to federal authorities. He said that the goal of the MSHCP is a “very coordinated and concerted effort” to devalue property and re-market it to developers who give large campaign contributions to politicians who are responsible for driving out the original land owners.

Johnson said that he heard Karin Watts-Bazan, of Riverside County Counsel, inform a property owner that “this is our core area property. We want to buy it, just try to build on it.”

Johnson has begun forbidding any government agent coming onto his property without a court order. He intends to pursue taking 200,000 acres out of county control, with the help of other land owners, and turning it into a “sovereign city”. He rejects the idea of MSHCP planning and would work with others to have their own land planning. Johnson believes this is the best way to raise the value of their properties and “unleash an economic boom out here that’s had a wet blanket over it for the benefit of a bunch of builders that are outside the area.”

Johnson said that on Memorial Day there will be a “massive demonstration” of land owners who are standing up to the federal manipulation of their property. He believes that freedom is “irrepressible” despite the attempts made by the government to impose tyranny. In the video below, Johnson explains freedom and optimism despite the circumstances.

“Freedom is in our DNA,” Johnson said. “It’s in our souls, it is our God-given right, and people want it. And I think you can squash it. I think you can run code enforcement all over it, you can intimidate it with guns and badges, you can call their property ‘habitat’, you can do all those things but at the end of the day, freedom is going to well up. And it’s welling up now. This is, after 20 years, finally our moment.”

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Featured, US

Harry Reid’s Attempted Land Grab thwarted by Bundy Supporters

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As reported by Ben Swann, there was a victory for Nev. rancher Cliven Bundy when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Saturday that it would stand down in its operations of rounding up cattle.

The BLM wanted to avoid potential bloodshed due to the fact that militia members from other states rallied around the Bundy family to help protect his property. A spokesman for the one of the militia groups said to local 8 News Now: I’m not “afraid to shoot,” he said.

The National Review reported that the situation between Bundy and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is over land near Bunkerville, Nev., and the controversy is over whether Bundy owns the feds millions in grazing fees for his cattle being on the land, which he claims is his going back more than a century. 

The situation escalated when the federal government started seizing hundreds of cattle and the people started to fight back. See video.

At the end of the day, it wasn’t free speech that caused federal agents to back down, it was Americans willing to use their 2nd Amendment Right against an encroaching government.

Fortunately, there wasn’t any escalated incident, so far.

However, as Ben Swann reported, there are snipers surrounding the Bundy ranch.

A report by InfoWars.com connected the dots between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his little-known connections to a Chinese solar energy giant. Reid’s influence could be playing a major role in the confrontation between the U.S. government and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.

The report cites The Blaze’s Diane Loesch connecting the dots with Reid on her blog.

She wrote, “A tortoise isn’t the reason why BLM is harassing a 67 year-old rancher. They want his land. The tortoise wasn’t of concern when Harry Reid worked BLM to literally change the boundaries of the tortoise’s habitat to accommodate the development of his top donor, Harvey Whittemore.”

According to Loesch, Whittemore was convicted of illegal campaign contributions to Reid. Reid’s former senior advisor is the head of BLM, and Reid is using that as his advantage to seize land to pay back special interests.

“BLM has proven that they have a situational concern for the desert tortoise as they’ve had no problem waiving their rules concerning wind or solar power development. Clearly these developments have vastly affected a tortoise habitat more than a century-old, quasi-homesteading grazing area. If only Clive Bundy were a big Reid donor,” continued Loesch.

The Infowars.com’s article hones in on some important questions regarding Bundy’s property and the interests of Reid’s solar connections. These connections should be explored further.

But the principle of Ockham’s razor states that when confronted with limited information it is always the best to choose the simplest explanation. And the simplest explanation here is that this land grab has nothing to do with a tortoise or cattle, but has everything to do with powerful people trying to steal a man’s property for personal gain.