Posted on 01/22/2014 9:43:24 AM PST by Altariel
Unwarranted NSA surveillance, the passage of NDAA, stop and frisk programs, and the rise of warrior cops, have essentially turned America into a centralized police state.
Blurring the lines between the U.S. military and local sheriff departments sets a dangerous precedent that erodes freedom and civil liberties.
Those lines are being blurred right now in South Carolina.
According to The State, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will participate in secretive joint exercise Monday and Tuesday with unnamed units from Ft. Bragg.
The drills are scheduled to run up to midnight on both days and occur primarily in Lower Richland, around Hopkins and Eastover. Exercises will also take place around the Screaming Eagle Road near Elgin and North Richland County near outbound Monticello Road.
According to The State, a sheriff’s department spokesman refused to provide which units from Ft. Bragg are involved. Ft. Bragg is home to the U.S. Army’s elite groups, including the Special Forces and Delta Force.
The spokesman also said the drills would be noisy at times.
“Citizens may see military and departmental vehicles traveling in and around rural and metropolitan areas and may hear ordnance being set off or fired which will be simulated/ blanks and controlled by trained personnel,” a sheriff’s department press release said.
The secretive exercises are off limits to the media, reports The Activist Post.
The implications are serious.
Locally elected Sheriffs take an oath to uphold, preserve, and defend the Constitution. They are not an extension of the centralized federal government. They have the ultimate say in their county as the top law enforcement officer.
If sheriff deputies engage an enemy in conjunction with the U.S. military who do they take orders from? The ARMY commander? Or their Sheriff?
This violates the separation of local authorities and the federal government. If the separation of powers are eliminated, who will protect the Constitutional rights of citizens?
ping
Time to ORGANIZE people!
ACE, or whatever Delta/CAG is called now, has always had exercises with law enforcement there.
What will it take? dead civilians. an accidental blow-up.. an ill-timed visit to the woods with an excitable dog?
STay out da marijuana growing fields, or they could face series challenges.
The precipitating events that lead to open warfare are close to fruiting,, the baiting goes on,, the lessons of Concord are lost on those who should know better who the true enemies are .. of freedom, liberty, peace.
Who are they training to fight against? US citizens who refuse to bow to the will of the federal government?
Uh yeah, cops and soldiers train together sometimes. This is news, why exactly?
There are areas of this country, such as South Carolina and Southern California outside of Los Angeles County, where 1960s-1980s “law ‘n’ order” conservatism is the dominant wing of the anti-liberal opposition. One reason Lindsay Graham has survived thus far in the Palmetto State is because, for all his RINO tendencies on other domestic issues, he is staunchly in favor of authoritarian measures like the Patriot Act and the War on Drugs. Many conservatives of this stripe applaud military-police cooperation and the arming of LEOs with military equipment, including armored vehicles.
Go up a litter further in NC and many a local helps out with robin sage and such. I suspect this one could be nuclear security related in the form of a security exercise.
There are alot of power plants in SC and few not too far away.
But, Richland does have a APC and some other wasted gear.
Thousands should show up to watch from all different locations in and around that area. If it is public land you have as much right to be there as they do. They have no legal reason to declare it a “National Defense Area” and exclude anyone.
They are “conservative” only in that they wish to conserve State authoritarianism.
That was the most sickening demo of Police Power that I ever saw in my life.
And Boston was heavily defended here, when the news first broke out about it.
Sadly, I think it will take the same measures to be implemented in the very towns and villages where most Freepers live before a lot of the current authority-worshipers will wake up.
Hopefully, they won’t be being loaded into cattle cars at the time.
.... yup .... Of course this all sounds like scary stuff to some ..... however ... if you are a hostage in need of extraction .... you will damn well be thankful that these LEO's have this training.
Ahh, but as a Freeper, you are a “hostage” to outmoded ideas and in need of re-education.
And so they’ll ensure you get it.
And everyone else at your residence.
During a midnight raid.
And then you’ll be the government’s hostage.
Who will protect you from the protectors?
Freepers love their law and order believe me
When SWAT teams first came out, Americans were assured that they would ONLY be employed for rare situations, such as a criminal holding someone hostage.
Look at history. How did that really play out?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.