Posted on 04/15/2005 7:48:36 AM PDT by marktwain
Sargent Patrick Haab, the reservist who was accused of aggravated assault by political showman, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, says that he is the victim in the affair. In an interview on the 14th of April, Haab says that he was at the rest stop near Sentinal, Arizona, when a group of seven men with backpacks confronted him in a threatening manner. His dog inserted himself between the threatening men and Haab, allowing Haab time to access his pistol. Haab then prevented the men from escaping and called authorities.
The men were later apprehended and accused Haab of threatening them for no reason. All seven were in the United States illegally.
It was posted here. I will search.
This is the article I remembered seeing. It was absolutely trolled.
I don't think this is the one you were referring to though.
Army Reservist Charged in Border Detention
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1382800/posts
The 7 guys with backpacks were just doing the threatening Americans don't want to do.
Let's see now - the government refuses to defend the borders, the president calls the Minutemen folks "vigilantes" and this man uses his pistol to defend himself against SEVEN members of Mexico's invasion forces only to be portrayed as some kind of criminal. Maybe it's just me (and other "unenlightened" people), but maybe there's a serious problem here?
I like that term MIF - Mexican Invasion Force. It's kinda weak in that it doesn't really describe the terrorist aspect of the illegal invaders from the south, but it's more likely to be used by the MSM, kinda like "insurgents".
Arpaio is a political opportunist of the worst kind.
MSM will never use any terms that accurately describes what they'd rather call "undocumented workers" and the Mexican government from Vicente Fox on down denies that these people are even here illegally. As far as I'm concerned, once they've come in in violation of our laws, they don't believe they have to follow any of our laws - and they don't. We need to round 'em up, charter buses and have those buses accompanied by armed guards deliver them back to the OTHER freakin' side of the border. I'm at the point where I want to challenge any Hispanic person to prove that they're here legally, that is, "legally" in terms of U.S. law, not the pronouncement of Mexican officials that there's no crime involved in invading the U.S.
It sure does. I'm glad he was armed to protect himself, and had his dog. Typical MSM
This information puts a new twist on Sargent Haab and the seven illegals.
A new twist on aggravated assault? He chased them. Whatever threat he may have conjured up in his head was gone when he pulled them OUT of their vehicle.
Spell 'i-l-l-e-g-a-l'
Patrick Haab is no hero, just another victim of our failed border policies
Apr. 15, 2005 12:00 AM
He is not a hero.
Army reservist Sgt. Patrick Haab is accused of taking the law into his own hands. Of holding seven Mexican nationals at gunpoint, in fear for their lives.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has a name for what Haab allegedly did. And it's not heroics. advertisement
It's aggravated assault.
The incident involving Haab occurred Sunday at a remote rest stop on Interstate 8. Haab claims he acted in self-defense after the seven unarmed men stepped out of the bushes.
But when they walked back to their sport utility vehicle, Haab followed. He took the keys, forced the undocumented immigrants to get out of the vehicle and made them lie on the ground. According to the complaint filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, he trained a .45-caliber two-barrel handgun on them.
Threatening people with a deadly weapon is a felony under Arizona law.
It's a sad commentary on America's failed immigration policies that some people now label Haab a hero. And criticize the deputy who arrested him.
Haab's actions took place in the overcharged atmosphere of the so-called Minuteman Project. Volunteers in a civilian patrol are making a highly publicized, monthlong stakeout at the U.S.-Mexican border, an effort criticized both by President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox.
We have strong reasons to be frustrated about Arizona's porous border.
Based on apprehension statistics, several thousand people are trying to cross over from Mexico every night. The U.S. Border Patrol finally got badly needed reinforcements just as the Minuteman Project kicked off.
This week we learned that the federal government paid $200 million for high-tech equipment to detect undocumented immigrants, but much of the equipment may not be operating.
We also feel some sympathy for Haab. The 24-year-old has served in the Army Reserve, with stints in Kosovo and Iraq and a planned tour in Afghanistan. Haab said he has taken medication for depression following bouts of post-traumatic stress.
The Maricopa county attorney and the courts will sort out this particular case.
Westerners, steeped in cowboy myths, can take a wrongly romanticized view of vigilante actions.
How different this story would look if it had turned violent. We might be dealing with international repercussions if any of the Mexicans had been hurt. Or bloodshed if Haab had happened upon drug smugglers or desperate coyotes, ready to fight over their human cargo.
The answer to illegal immigration isn't illegal action.
Maricopa County's Joe Arpaio, who enjoys his image as America's toughest sheriff, doesn't mince words: "There's no excuse for any citizen to take the law into their own hands. We're a nation of laws."
And America has trained officers to enforce those laws.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0415fri2-15.html
Maricopa County's Joe Arpaio, who enjoys his image as America's toughest sheriff, doesn't mince words: "There's no excuse for any citizen to take the law into their own hands. We're a nation of laws."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0415fri2-15.html
Self defense is not taking the law into your own hands. Citizens have a right to arrest people who threaten them. When it is seven to one, the threat can easily be deadly and justify the use of deadly force.
What we have here is the word of seven illegals against the word of Sargent Haab, who immediately called the authorities. If he had not felt justified, why would he call the Authorities?
An opinion piece in the Arizona Republic, an amazingly liberal part of the MSM, does not prove his guilt, though it may help in railroading him.
Arpaio has his own problems with "taking the law into his own hands". I recall a number of lawsuits, and I believe that some were successful.
IIRC, 'azcentral' thinks that AJoe is the greatest thing since breathable air. The locals mostly refer to his storm trooper force as the "goon squad"
They are here to make a better life for themselves, leaning english, and being model citizens.
The article is obviously erroneous.
Well if you can't trust the words of a bunch of people who just broke Federal Immigration Law ... who can you trust?
Given that he chose to own and carry a firearm about with him, are we to believe that a guy with tours in Kosovo and Iraq, and headed to Afghanistan, would choose a double derringer as his self defense weapon? Possible I suppose, but very unlikely. I live near a major Army post, the gun shops and pawn shops hereabouts don't carry many derringers, but they do carry 1911 clones, Glocks, H&Ks (very popular), and other .45 caliber handguns. They also carry the civilian versions of the M9 Berretta 9mm that many troops would already be familiar with and might choose for that reason.
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