Posted on 09/17/2016 11:24:05 AM PDT by AuntB
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Nestled under the dominating silhouette of Mt. Shasta in northernmost California is a bustling community of Vietnam War refugees and Hmong-Americans seeking solitude in normally tranquil Siskiyou County. Hundreds of newly settled Hmong residents sought calm in the mountainous terrain, but many say they have collided with a sheriff hell-bent on restricting their voting and property rights.
Alleging systematic voter suppression in the June primary and subsequent racial profiling by Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey, 10 Hmong property owners sued the sheriff and Siskiyou County on Monday in Federal Court. "I remember the panic and the fear in my clients' voices when they first called me," said their attorney Kyndra Miller, of San Francisco.
Among the refugees' claims are that the county rejected their voter registrations for lack of information — though the county has not issued many of their properties an address.
Jesse Vang and his nine co-plaintiffs say they have been subjected to threats from heavily armed plainclothes officers, and restrictive, racially motivated county laws aimed at Hmong residents.
Miller says the problems with the sheriff began when an influx of Hmong started buying undeveloped land in 2015. The Hmong families are attracted to the rural terrain because it reminds them of their homeland in Laos.
After partnering with U.S. troops during the Vietnam war, thousands of Hmong were killed or uprooted into refugee camps. Hundreds of thousands of refugees eventually resettled in the United States. Today the largest Hmong-American populations live in Northern California and Minnesota.
Rather than welcoming and incorporating the new residents into Siskiyou County, pop. 44,000, the plaintiffs say, the county quickly passed ordinances targeting "people of Hmong ethnicity."
With Lopey's support, Siskiyou County officials passed Local Ordinance SC 10-14 in 2015, calling it a marijuana cultivation law aimed at keeping outsiders from growing on unincorporated land. The ordinance requires homes to be connected to sewer or septic tanks as a prerequisite for occupancy or medical marijuana grows.
Most of the land the Hmong bought was in unincorporated areas without city or county sewer hookups. There are no known aquifers in the area, so drilling wells can be fruitless. And Siskiyou County has not assigned addresses to many of the newly purchased, two-acre plus lots.
Citing the timing of the ordinance, critics said it was meant to give Lopey "unfettered power" to target the new Hmong homeowners. In June this year, Siskiyou County voters approved two more measures, declaring outdoor cultivation of medicinal marijuana a public nuisance.
Outdoor marijuana grows are common in Siskiyou County and the surrounding counties of Trinity, Modoc and Shasta. Northern California's legal medical marijuana business is a multibillion-dollar industry.
While Miller acknowledges that some of her clients grow medical marijuana, she says the new ordinances were passed to allow Lopey and his deputies to continue threatening and intimidating the new Hmong residents.
Miller's law based firm, CannaBusiness Law, is "committed to helping the medical marijuana patients of California form and operate not-for-profit, democratically controlled cannabis cooperatives," according to its website.
"Clearly, the intention of the defendants is to run the Hmong people out of the community. It seems to be a concerted effort to get rid of all these newcomers," Miller said in an interview. Siskiyou County's population is 87 percent white, according to the U.S. Census.
Shortly after enactment of the new ordinances, the plaintiffs say, Lopey and other law enforcement agencies started showing up at their land in unmarked cars and without warrants, policing Hmong subdivisions and disproportionately issuing citations.
"Notices of nuisance violations have been issued overwhelmingly to Hmong property owners as opposed to white property owners, and abatement proceedings have reflected a similar disproportion of Hmong property owners prosecuted under the 2016 ordinance," the complaint states.
Large numbers of Hmong residents registered to vote in Siskiyou County in the lead-up to the June 7 primary election. An estimated 1,800 new registrants came from unincorporated areas, and Siskiyou County Clerk Colleen Setzer alerted Lopey and the district attorney of the number of registrations.
County officials rejected many of the Hmong voter registrations because their addresses were assessor's parcel numbers — though Siskiyou County had not assigned many of them an address yet.
Setzer, a defendant, and Siskiyou County suspected voter fraud and sent the plaintiffs and other Hmong residents letters stating: "The voter registration card you recently sent to this office does not contain all of the information required by law."
Then the plaintiffs received letters from the Secretary of State's Office, confirming that an investigation of voter fraud in Siskiyou County was under way. The new voter registrations stirred Sheriff Lopey to call a news conference just four days before the primary, where he applauded the state for opening an investigation.
Lopey warned residents of potential voter fraud in rural Siskiyou County and said that citations were being handed out. "While assisting the state investigators, which entailed security and investigative assistance, some county ordinance violations were observed and some persons were cited for those misdemeanor violations," Lopey said in a statement on June 3.
Miller said the timing of the sheriff's statement and news conference was meant to scare Hmong residents away from the polls. She said county officials have no business investigating voter fraud in the first place. "The press conference was done to intimidate and suppress voter turnout," Miller said. "It's my understanding that voter fraud investigations are conducted by the secretary of state, not the local sheriff and county clerk."
Miller says Lopey's news conference worked, as about 50 Hmong voters stayed home due to threats of retaliation. The controversy attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberty Union of California, which received formal complaints about Lopey. The ACLU organized 40 Siskiyou residents, some Hmong, to monitor the June primary.
Lori Shellenberger, director of the ACLU of California's voting rights program, called Lopey's press conference "suspect." "If there's a suspicion of voter fraud, that gets referred to the secretary of state's office and it's for them to investigate. The sheriff is not in charge of policing our voters," Shellenberger said.
In a phone interview, Lopey was unyielding in dismissing plaintiffs' complaints of racial profiling. He said he's never been accused of profiling in his 38 years of law enforcement experience and that the property raids were initiated by complaints from Siskiyou County residents, not his department. He said the major issue in Siskiyou County is not racial profiling or voter suppression, but "sophisticated criminal operations" being conducted in the county's unincorporated areas.
"Every single search warrant we've served there's been illicit drug activity," Lopey said. "Most of these parcels have 99 or more [marijuana] plants." In an effort to deal with the rising number of outdoor grows, the county has created a task force and sometimes does flyovers to identify large grows. Lopey said that when they conduct raids, the property owners usually aren't there or flee from the task force through a maze of connected backwoods trails. "There's millions of dollars being infused into our county on these grows. Where are people getting all that cash?" Lopey said.
Lopey remains steadfast amid the batch of accusations and is confident the defendants will prevail in the lawsuit because "we're doing the right thing." Shellenberger said she's never heard of such severe voter suppression allegations as the ones in the days before the primary. She said the complaints detailed sheriff's officers "visiting communities armed with assault rifles, wearing bulletproof vests and telling residents they could get arrested if they vote." "When you hear something like that, you think, 'Not California, maybe 1960s Alabama or something, '" Shellenberger said.
After plaintiff Dang Xiong registered to vote in May, officers approached his property on two occasions, "ransacked" his trailer and seized his medical marijuana. "The gate to his lock was cut and his gate was damaged. Mr. Xiong was not cited or arrested," the complaint states. Raids on Hmong properties continued. On Sept. 7, peace officers performed a series of search warrants on Hmong properties, including the plaintiffs'. "In the execution of these search warrants, residents who were present were handcuffed and held at gunpoint while their properties were ransacked, and unseized belongings damaged or abused," the complaint states.
The plaintiffs seek punitive damages on 11 causes of action, including violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, municipal, supervisory and employer liability, negligence, violations of state and federal election laws, and emotional distress.
The ordeal has left many Hmong residents reticent to participate in November's election. Miller says she and the ACLU are informing the Hmong, many of whom do not speak English, of their constitutional rights. "Some clients feel strong in their beliefs and right to vote so they will show up," Miller said. "Those with young children are terrified because they don't want to do anything that may lead to retaliation against their family."
The State of Jefferson is being destroyed before it can get off the ground.
More here: On Thursday, 09/15/2016, 7:00 AM, Agents with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Investigation Team served a search warrant at 5083 Poplar Ave in the unincorporated area of Anderson, CA. The search warrant was served in regard to an illicit, outdoor, large scale marijuana cultivation site in the back yard of the residence. Upon arrival at the residence, two subjects were located and detained inside. The two subjects were identified as Keo Sayavong, 70 years old, and One Sayavong, 71 years old. It was later determined Keo and One were husband and wife and lived at the residence together. No other subjects were contacted at the residence. A search of the residence and property was conducted. During the search 159 actively growing marijuana plants were discovered in the back yard of the residence. The marijuana plants discovered were in multiple stages of growth which is consistent with a continuous cultivation operation for profit. Inside the residence, Agent’s located approximately 15 pounds of processed marijuana, packaged for sales, with an estimated street value of approximately $15,000-$20,000.00 dollars. Digital scales, packaging materials, and other evidence indicative of the sale of marijuana were also located. Agent’s located and seized over $113,000.00 in US Currency hidden inside the residence. The investigation revealed, the US Currency was determined to be proceeds from the sales of illegal controlled substances. Two rifles, one handgun, and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition were also located inside the residence. One rifle and the handgun were loaded and readily accessible for use.
Records checks were conducted on both subjects contacted at the residence which revealed Keo was convicted of a firearms related felony in 2003 and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. The firearms, ammunition, US Currency, and documentation of narcotics sales were all located in a room of the residence which was determined to be occupied by Keo. Keo Sayavong was placed under arrest for the following felony charges: Cultivation of marijuana, Possession of marijuana for sales, Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, Possessing ammunition as a convicted felon, and being armed during the commission of a felony. Felony charges for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales will be filed with the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office in regard to One Sayavong’s involvement in the criminal activity. Contact: Lt. Pat Kropholler Patrol Operations (530) 245-6025 https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1715443802042454&id=1527637610823075
And here: http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2016/09/breaking-hmong-federal-lawsuit.html
No fresh water. No sewers. Not even septic?
Who in their right mind would want to live like that?
They don’t care...it’s just like ‘home’....they live like that because they CAN...now, I can’t live or even camp on my own land in Siskiyou county.....of course the ACLU won’t work for free for me or you.
BFL
MORE
Breaking: Hmong Federal Lawsuit Retaliation - How immigration destroys one county at a time
‘Constitutional Sheriff Under Fire By Hmong Immigrants Who Feel They Are Above Our Laws’....
I just received information from Capt. William E. Simpson - USMM, who has been keeping an eye on the events in Siskiyou County, Oregon, aka The State of Jefferson. Earlier this year the huge influx of Hmong refugees into the county had caused problems when they claimed voter intimidation by the local Sheriffs office, which was pure NONSENSE. I know Sheriff Jon Lopey. He’s a fair man and does his best to uphold the law in a county of 6,278 square miles, much of which is used by Illegal alien Mexican Drug Cartels to grow dope. This has taken so much time that local crime is out of control because they simply have no resources to fight it all.
Now, these new ‘immigrants’ and their powerful immigration lawyers (men like Cesar Conda who OWNS Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio) want our laws changed to suit them...laws like having septic tanks on property when you live there! Or not having to register or even be legal to vote. They want to turn this nation into the 3rd world dumps they were saved from!
Hmong Federal Lawsuit Retaliation For Cannabis Law?
A Federal Lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court – Eastern District of California on September 12, 2016 (2:16-cv-02172-JAM-CMK) by a group of Hmong Plaintiffs led by Jesse Vang and Wang Chang against Siskiyou County, its Sheriff (Jon Lopey), the County Clerk (Coleen Setzer), along with Alex Nishimura (an investigator for the Secretary of State of California) and many others, including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The lawsuit makes many claims including voter intimidation and discrimination.
(Note: In the interest of full disclosure,Capt. Simpson, who covered this story lives in Siskiyou County and has been following the story over last year.)
There is no doubt that a significant percentage of Hmong immigrants that have moved into Siskiyou County have taken-up the cultivation of cannabis, allegedly for ‘personal medical use’. However, when any person grows more than a dozen plants, which can yield five to twenty pounds of flowers (‘buds’) per plant, any logical person has to ask; can anyone smoke or consume the low-end quantity of that production (27,240 grams of bud)? Any claim that a medical patient requires more than that amount of marijuana as ‘medicine’ is just ridiculous. So why grow more? This leaves us with the other alternative; anyone engaged in the cultivation of quantities of cannabis beyond the legal personal limits in Siskiyou County is clearly planning on the illicit distribution and sale of a Federally controlled Schedule 1 narcotic on the street, which has some very serious consequences, including adverse social-economic as well as public safety ramifications.
Black-market growers (many of the Hmong growers in Siskiyou County are allegedly illicit growers) use many pesticides and other chemicals (some of which are banned for use in CA) that remain in the final product to be consumed by people (in the flowers/buds), which if ingested causes various health problems, including cancer. I am surprised that OSHA and the Dept. Agriculture haven’t stepped-into the fray in the interests of protecting the health of the public (workers and consumers), who are and will be exposed to the ‘commercial use’ of the pesticides and chemicals being used by illicit cannabis growers, including these Hmong growers (for instance, do these growers properly post the Hazard Communication Standard: Safety Data Sheets - OSHA 3514 ?).
Imagine for the moment that you live in a neighborhood where there is a mix of homes and vacant home sites (lots) for sale. And someone buys the lot next to you and then moves onto the land and starts using an open-pit cesspool for human waste, and starts growing dozens or in some cases, hundreds of illicit cannabis plants, necessitating many field workers to manage the crop. This along with numerous water trucks and cars driving up and down the minimal neighborhood roads, creating dust clouds that fill the air occasionally scented with pesticides… how would you feel about having some basic county ordinances to manage these issues?
When the illicit cannabis cultivation industry became an obvious problem for Siskiyou County as a result of hundreds of citizen complaints, the County asked its citizens for input, as is the Democratic process. And cannabis measures ‘T’ and ‘U’ were ultimately placed on the County ballot for the June 7, 2016 vote. These measures gave the County the tools it needed to help control and abate illicit cannabis growers in the County, while simultaneously assuring that people who needed a reasonable amount of cannabis as medicine could legally produce their own cannabis. However, these measures (‘T’ & ‘U’) presented a serious impediment to all the illicit commercial-level growers, including the large organized group of Hmong growers.
Unlike other illicit commercial growers in the County, the Hmong people obviously realized that they represented an ethnic minority within the County, and it now seems they are trying to capitalize on that position with their recently filed lawsuit, which falsely alleges voter intimidation and discrimination among other sensationally false claims.
It’s a sad fact that the American judicial system is now burdened with cases that smack of ‘abuse of process’, and in the case of these Hmong plaintiff’s, such a theory seems to fit the facts. This lawsuit seems to be no more than a baseless counter-attack by some illegal pot growers; retaliation for the law enforcement actions against their alleged illegal enterprises.
Some of the relevant points in this matter are as follows:
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office has at all relevant times exercised law and zoning code enforcement authority without regard to the ethnicity of the violators, and this practice is well-known among non-Hmong growers. It is important to note that in 2016, numerous enforcement actions have been taken of the type alleged in the complaint against those of other than Hmong ethnicity.
The Hmong Plaintiffs’ claim that Siskiyou County did not enforce its ordinances requiring County approved water and septic before significant numbers of Hmong people began taking title to land in Siskiyou County, which is manifestly false. Aside from the County’s common-sense health ordinances, any layperson realizes that approved septic and water services are essentials for basic sanitation and public health even at a personal level.
The fact that voting enforcement efforts were taken against many members of the Hmong community is because of the concerted action by members of that community to attempt voter registration from parcels on which no legal residence was allowed, and which were not bona fide domiciles under state law. California law does allow, under certain circumstances, domicile to be established from “public camp or camping grounds” (Election Code section 2027), but does not allow domicile to be established where residence is unlawful.
On its face, the evidence suggests a concerted and unlawful effort by marijuana growers to influence the outcome of the June 2016 election on Siskiyou County measures T and U. And having lost the election, they now demand immunity from enforcement of those ordinances and others. Marijuana enforcement efforts have been taken against many members of the Hmong community because of their conduct in growing marijuana in violation of local ordinances, not from any form of discrimination.
As of this article, the Sheriff of Siskiyou County and his office continues to enforce marijuana-related ordinances and laws against all violators in Siskiyou County, whether or not of Hmong ethnicity. And it should be noted that the vast majority of residents in Siskiyou County hold Sheriff Jon E. Lopey in very high regard, and his record in law enforcement is exemplary: https://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/content/sheriffs-office-sheriff-jon-e-lopey
If the theory of the Hmong’s complaint were to be accepted by the Court, any minority community would be privileged to violate local and even Federal laws to the extent that it organized itself to violate the law in concert, so that enforcement efforts for the organized-for violation appear to disproportionately target that minority group. And allowing this to go unchecked assures further lawlessness in our State and County.
Related Story: http://www.westernjournalism.com/is-wrong-replacing-what-was-right-in-america/
Capt. William E. Simpson II - USMM Ret.
Member: Authors Guild
Writer for: Western Journalism
Columnist for: MyOutdoorbuddy.com
The just filed lawsuit : Case 2:16-cv-02172-JAM-CMK Document 1 Filed 09/12/16
[snip ]1. The local government in Siskiyou County is engaged in a systemic campaign to deprive Plaintiffs, and other members of the Hmong community, of their right to vote, and their right to the exclusive use and enjoyment of their private property. (This is what is know in The State of Jefferson as BULL CRAP!)
This will give you an idea what they have to deal with:
On Thursday, 09/15/2016, 7:00 AM, Agents with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Investigation Team served a search warrant at 5083 Poplar Ave in the unincorporated area of Anderson, CA. The search warrant was served in regard to an illicit, outdoor, large scale marijuana cultivation site in the back yard of the residence. Upon arrival at the residence, two subjects were located and detained inside. The two subjects were identified as Keo Sayavong, 70 years old, and One Sayavong, 71 years old. It was later determined Keo and One were husband and wife and lived at the residence together. No other subjects were contacted at the residence.
A search of the residence and property was conducted. During the search 159 actively growing marijuana plants were discovered in the back yard of the residence. The marijuana plants discovered were in multiple stages of growth which is consistent with a continuous cultivation operation for profit. Inside the residence, Agent’s located approximately 15 pounds of processed marijuana, packaged for sales, with an estimated street value of approximately $15,000-$20,000.00 dollars. Digital scales, packaging materials, and other evidence indicative of the sale of marijuana were also located. Agent’s located and seized over $113,000.00 in US Currency hidden inside the residence. The investigation revealed, the US Currency was determined to be proceeds from the sales of illegal controlled substances. Two rifles, one handgun, and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition were also located inside the residence. One rifle and the handgun were loaded and readily accessible for use.
Records checks were conducted on both subjects contacted at the residence which revealed Keo was convicted of a firearms related felony in 2003 and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. The firearms, ammunition, US Currency, and documentation of narcotics sales were all located in a room of the residence which was determined to be occupied by Keo. Keo Sayavong was placed under arrest for the following felony charges: Cultivation of marijuana, Possession of marijuana for sales, Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, Possessing ammunition as a convicted felon, and being armed during the commission of a felony. Felony charges for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales will be filed with the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office in regard to One Sayavong’s involvement in the criminal activity.
Contact: Lt. Pat Kropholler
Patrol Operations
(530) 245-6025 https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1715443802042454&id=1527637610823075
SEE: http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2016/09/breaking-hmong-federal-lawsuit.html
The damn hmong need to go back to where water doesn’t come into homes thru pipes. Instead, they need to “fetch it”.
So sick of these 3rd worlders trying to dictate laws to us in our land.
There are so many of them that they’ve now taken over the Home owner association of the biggest subdivision there...where I own property. The ACLU will win this. Citizens, natives, like me will not be able to use their own property, but these invaders will. Bet on it. There’s not enough $$ to fight them.
It’s going to get even uglier if these 3rd world uncivilized immigrants continue to pour in.
My advice, move to a more red state.
This kind of nonsense could even trigger a civil war.
I don’t live in Siskiyou county now, just own property. And sadly, there is no more red place that that...or there wasn’t until the Feds dumped all these ‘refugees’. It’s systematic..they are putting them in all the RED rural counties...like Twin Falls, Idaho and the muslim refugees. This is to DESTROY private property ownership by Americans.
I do not believe that this is aimed at the Hmong, but this kind of extremely restrictive land use ordinance is being promoted by deep green activists to channel the population away from rural areas.
I would pretty much bet that it is tied into a statewide, California centralized land use plan.
There seems to be a problem with the logic, though. If there is no water on the land, how do they grow marijuana there?
Marijuana takes quite a bit of water.
My sister lived on an acre near Silver City NM in an area that “has no aquifer.” Her acre had water. She had a shed over the spot where an underground stream looped up almost to the surface. She just pushed away a foot or so of dirt and voila! lots of water. Her acre was the only green spot for miles around with trees and grass and flowers. The neighbors thought she was a bruja- a witch and she encouraged that because if the state discovered that she had water they would take it and pipe it away and she would have had to petition and beg to get the use of a bit of it.
You said it.
It is all by design. It is all communism in action. It is all traitorous to the United States and its Constitution.
Welcome to the depraved vision of Barry Soetoro, pathetic son of an immoral father who seeks his dead father’s approval by destroying the nation that gave him enormous wealth, status, and power.
I am ambivalent here. I have known Hmongs here and know some in Viet Nam. They are a very independent people. They do not like government and are used culturally to getting up and moving the village when the government gets too close. They do not try to inflict any religion or way of life on others. Then again, most of the ‘Vietnamese’ gangs in Southern Cal are, in fact Hmong. I wish the ACLU would stay away from this group and the sheriff, too. All the ACLU is good for is screwing them up worse than they are. They don’t transplant to an advanced society well. They were Injuns back there so far as the Viets and the Thai and Chinese are concerned and they are Injuns here.
Sounds like the problem is that the new dope growers are cutting into the business of the established dope growers, and they haven’t paid the going rate to the local politicians.
I live in Siskiyou county also, we are being swamped by people buying bare parcels of land up here to grow Marijuana. There are no houses built, they camp out or put trailers on the land and have the water trucked in. Some people who are near creeks or rivers are pumping water out of them to grown pot.
It has gotten ridiculous and if you live next door to them they ignore your complaints about never ending water trucks and the smell of pot. The people of Siskiyou county recently passed two propositions, measures T & U, where you can not grow pot outside (you need to build a greenhouse with permits and your parcel must have a regular residence on it) and you are limited to 12 plants you can grow per parcel. Article about those two propositions is here
http://ijpr.org/post/siskiyou-county-tightens-pot-regulation#stream/0
Some neighbors of ours recently got busted growing 3412 pot plants, that was what was reported in our local paper. We watched the police haul it out using a CHP helicopter, it was 22 loads of pot that was put on trucks and hauled away.
“I do not believe that this is aimed at the Hmong, but this kind of extremely restrictive land use ordinance is being promoted by deep green activists to channel the population away from rural areas.
I would pretty much bet that it is tied into a statewide, California centralized land use plan.
There seems to be a problem with the logic, though. If there is no water on the land, how do they grow marijuana there?
Marijuana takes quite a bit of water.”
Some of the agenda 21 bs is envolved, but this is an immigration problem...the alien NOT having to abide by the laws that all the CITIZENS do.
Yes, weed takes water...lots of springs and they pump out of the Klamath River or run unapproved/unpermitted wells.
“They do not try to inflict any religion or way of life on others. “
Well...fine..but they are sure inflicting their crap on all of us.
“Sounds like the problem is that the new dope growers are cutting into the business of the established dope growers, and they haven’t paid the going rate to the local politicians.”
No, nothing here sounds like that. Not even close. Did you read any of this story?
“
I live in Siskiyou county also, we are being swamped by people buying bare parcels of land up here to grow Marijuana.”
Plenty of us have lots we can’t sell. I have a beautiful lot with a view to die for..1 1/3 acre and can’t get $10,000 for it. Some of these ‘immigrants’ are squatters on public land or bare land owned by someone else. I expect to go down there one day and see them using my property...but the county won’t let me camp one damn night on my own land.
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