Originally published March 24 2015
Feds raid Texas independence meeting even as Ron Paul says secession has already begun
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) It seems the federal government has about as much tolerance (or as little tolerance) for secession as it did 150-odd years ago, which is to say, not much at all.
A recent "congressional" meeting of a pro-secessionist group called the Republic of Texas at a Bryan, Texas, meeting hall drew more than a few onlookers, as the "senators" and "president" gathered to discuss issues pertaining to the national currency, the development of international relations and to recognize and celebrate the birthday of one of the oldest members.
However, as MySanAntonio.com reported, "this wasn't 1836" and it would not turn out to an "ordinary legislative session."
Just minutes into the meeting, a man positioned among onlookers rose and moved to the hall door, opening it for scores of armed and armored law enforcement personnel. The 20-plus officers were members of the Bryan Police Department, the Brazos County Sheriff's Department, the Kerr County Sheriff's Department, and the Texas Rangers. Also included in the law enforcement group: Agents of the Texas District Attorney and the FBI.
Illegal summons
MySanAntonio.com further reported:
In the end, at least 20 officers corralled, searched and fingerprinted all 60 meeting attendees, before seizing all cellphones and recording equipment in a Valentine's Day 2015 raid on the Texas separatist group.
"We had no idea what was going on," said John Jarnecke, president of the Republic of Texas. "We knew of nothing that would warrant such an action."
The San Antonio paper said that the raid was conducted in response to a legal summons sent by the group to a Kerr County judge and bank employee, demanding they make an appearance before the Republic's court at the Veterans and Foreign Wars building in Bryan the day before the raid.
The group maintains a small working government which includes official currency, courts and a congress.
"You can't just let people go around filing false documents to judges trying to make them appear in front of courts that aren't even real courts," Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer, leader of the operation, told MySanAntonio.com.
"Show of force"
Hierholzer said that he intentionally used a "show of force" to serve a warrant for what was only a suspected misdemeanor. But he said he did so because he had concerns that there are some extreme elements within the group that may become violent. He cited as proof a 1997 incident where an armed Republic member held at bay some 300 state troopers for a week.
"We've had years of bad press, but we're not those people," Jarnecke said, regarding the '97 incident. "But yes, we are still making every attempt to get independence for Texas and we're doing it in a lawful international manner."
The group has a number of issues with the federal government, and chief among them is that Texas was illegally annexed into the United States in 1845. However, most of their complaints have to do with the U.S. Congress and the president.
One of the Republic's senators, Robert Wilson, has compared politicians in the nation's capital to the "kings and emperors" of past times. He sees independence for Texas as a part of a worldwide effort by people seeking to regain more local control over their lives.
"This is the century for colonialist ambitions to be reversed," said the 78-year-old pastor. "I've watched a lot of things happen, and the people of the world are fed up. The spirit of the world right now is: make things smaller, move governments closer to home, take back self-rule."
"There is going to be a de facto secession movement going on"
According to the search warrant, the invalid court summons to the Republic of Texas was signed by Susan Cammak, a Kerr County homeowner, and David Kroupa, a Republic of Texas judge from Harris County.
Meanwhile, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, says he believes in many ways, state-level secession has already begun.
In a mid-February event hosted by the libertarian Mises Institute, Paul said:
I would like to start off by talking about the subject and the subject is secession and, uh, nullification, the breaking up of government, and the good news is it's gonna happen. It's happening. ...
There is going to be a de facto secession movement going on. The states are going to refuse to listen to some of the laws. We've seen tremendous success already with states saying to the federal government, 'We're not gonna listen to you anymore about the drug laws.' And they're getting out of it, and I think the American people are waking up to that, and as far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier.
Sources:
http://www.mysanantonio.com
http://thetexasrepublic.com
http://www.buzzfeed.com
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