From: James Parker [jamesp@hillsdale.epcorp.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2001 8:08 AM
To:
Subject: Report From the Front
Vandalia, MI
Sept 3, 2001
If you haven’t heard of Vandalia by now, you should
have. The people in this Cass county
village are _literally_ under assault by their government as federal, State,
and county officers attempt to pin down the owner of Rainbow Farm campground,
Tom Crosslin, who has never hurt anyone-not yet. The citizens have been forced from their homes _at gunpoint_ by
the Cass County sheriffs. I have this
from five eyewitnesses. I, also, have
had a gun pointed at me when I came up to a roadblock. My intention in going was to petition at
Rainbow Farm. News Channel 16, WHDN of
South Bend, FALSELY stated that local residents were evacuated
voluntarily. My last eyewitness explained;”
We were told to “voluntarily” evacuate with guns pointed at us”. She was a mother with two teenage
children.
Tanks, FBI, swat teams, armored vehicles and patrol boats
have all been marshalled against a man who ran a free speech forum for
petitioners in the “Activist Tent”, which was a fixture at all of the
events. With nothing more substantial
than _allegations_ of drug use, a child was taken and the 34 acre property
forfeited. Tom Crosslin evidently
burned his buildings and holed up on the property with one or two companions,
creating the current standoff.
The truth must also include the fact that this activist
forum is a thorn in the side for the state administration and the Cass county
administration. We promote our party
there, and petitions backed by our party (PRA). Any political cause or party is welcome-usually all unpopular
with the Engler administration. Fourth
Amendment rights are at issue with the greed-motivated seizure of the
property. A child was taken from his
father and put into foster care, since the mother was previously found
unfit. Crosslin is the male partner of
the father, so this is also a gay fatherhood issue.
A small, gritty but determined and peaceful protest group
had gathered a couple of miles away by the time I had the pleasure of staring
down a 9mm pistol wielded by a Cass County sheriff’s deputy at the
roadblock. I joined this group. The location is the intersection of M-60 and
White Temple, just at the eastern edge of Vandalia. It turned out to be an excellent source of signatures for our
petition as well as the PRA, as frightened and angry local citizens drove by
honking their support, with many stopping to sign and talk. Newscrews stopped
by, and I did several interviews.
Last night I led the first of two candlelight marches to the
command post, in a school a quarter of a mile away. An Illinois Libertarian-author by the name of DiGrazio was
present with the newscrews. He came
over to our site and spoke with us for a long while until his newscrew picked
him up again.
Everyone is looking to resolve this standoff. I believe Tom Crosslin has been pushed
beyond the point of reconciling with the authorities, but I hold out the hope
that a _very_ good lawyer, skillful in mediating such situations, and with
expertise in Constitutional Law or child custody rights, could make him change
his mind. He had a lawyer named Dori
Leo who apparently failed to defend him successfully, and she is now unable to
contact Tom, making her useless as mediator.
If Ghazey or Gregg wants this, I can give you the contact info for Tom’s
sister. Sharon, can CATO provide any
help here? Even the big bad FBI would
find a defendant’s lawyer helpful in this situation.
Anyone from Berrien County, Van Buren or Allegan County
could help out at the site during the work week. (Since we have almost no members in Cass County) It is a GREAT source of petition
signatures. A reasoned Libertarian
voice is also helpful to temper the rasher ones.
James Parker