Free Republic

As the criminal trial of two So Cal Antifa members goes into its third week, the public is learning about how one of the notorious Antifa groups organizes and carries out violence against targets. Jeremy Jonathan White, 41, and Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., 27, both of Los Angeles, are accused of carrying out violent attacks on supporters of former President Donald Trump in a felony conspiracy—the first time Antifa suspects have been charged with such a serious felony accusation anywhere in the US. Nine of their co-defendant comrades have already been convicted in plea deals, including Luis Francisco Mora, 32,...

Bears have killed nine times as many people when bear spray is sprayed than when handguns are fired in defense against bears. Fatal bear attacks are rare and make the news. Powerful cartridge handguns became popular and relatively easily available about 1873. Bear spray became available in 1985. The ability to learn about and report fatal bear attacks has expanded enormously since 1960.Data which are nearly impossible to obtain are:How many times are bears sprayed with bear spray?How many times are handguns fired in defense against bears?How many times are firearms generally fired in defense against bears?What percentage of human/bear...

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof posited the idea in a recent piece that people who are worried about people breaking into their homes should get bear spray for self-defense instead of a firearm.Kristof wrote about the idea after home shootings involving Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis.Elsewhere, brutes send their victims to the E.R.; in America, they send them to their graves. Foreigners admire our popular culture, our technology, our lifestyle, but are bewildered by our refusal to rein in guns. In the 1990s when I was Tokyo bureau chief of The Times, Japanese people regularly spoke to me about...

Nearly 20 years ago, there was a well-documented bear spray failure in Russia. A world-famous bear researcher, Vitaly Nikolayenko, was killed by a bear only two months after Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard were killed and partially consumed by a bear or bears in Alaska. Nikolayenko was half-eaten. All the bears involved were variations of the brown bear, also known as the European brown bear, grizzly bear, or Kodiak bear.Treadwell disdained any type of defensive weapon. Nikolayenko had bear spray and a flare gun. When Nikolayenko was late in reporting, a search team, including his long-time friend, Victor...

Scene five hours after Leah Lokan was Killed by Grizzly Bear in Ovando, MTIn the early morning hours of July 6, 2021, in the village of Ovando, Montana, mere feet from several buildings, Leah Lokan was attacked by a 417 pound grizzly bear. She valiantly used bear spray in an attempt to stop the attack. The bear spray failed. Ms Lokan was a small but strong woman. She was killed in the unprovoked predatory attack. Leah Lokan as remembered by a friend.Leah Lokan facebook image link While not the first bear spray fatality in 2021, the attack and defensive failure...

From a driveway in the Snoqualmie Valley, buddies Jeff Kissick and Gavin Pendleton – former U.S. Marines, now married with five school-age kids between them – were out to prove a point. Part chemically-burned tongue-in-cheek and part serious, the men say their experiment was designed to show the relative efficacies of a military gas mask, a KN95 mask and the more common paper or cloth masks most students in Washington state use in school. That’s why they staged their own scientific experiment complete with a military-grade gas mask, canopied tent and one can of honest-to-goodness bear spray. Before videotaping their...

On April 15, 2021, Carl Mock was attacked by a grizzly bear, just outside of Yellowstone Park. Mock was an accomplished woodsman and guide. He did not have a firearm with him. He had bear spray. He used the bear spray but was fatally injured.irected to Montana Fish and Wildlife Morgan Jacobsen, was able to determine bear spray had been used in the incident. Initially, the use of bear spray was reported as unknown by ktla.com: Mock when attacked had bear spray — a Mace-like deterrent meant to protect against attacks — but officials said they did not know if...

Cops are hunting for a Florida man who stole candles from a Miami Bath and Body Works — and made off with the stolen loot by spraying everyone in his way with bear mace, reports said Sunday. “This is one of those ‘only in Miami’ stories,” Doral Police spokesperson Rey Valdes told CNN. The suspect robbed the Miami International Mall store on Saturday and injured at least 30 people, including one who took a direct hit of the bear repellent to the face and needed to be hospitalized, Valdes told the outlet. The man allegedly sprayed people with bear mace...

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- On the afternoon of 15 April 2021, Carl Mock was attacked by a grizzly bear near Baker’s Hole Campground in Gallatin County, Montana. The campground is a few miles from the town of West Yellowstone, near an entrance to Yellowstone Park. Mock was able to dial 911. Several agencies responded to the call at about 3:42 p.m. The first responders were able to find Mock after about 50 minutes of searching.Mock had “sustained significant scalp and facial injuries” according to the Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue Facebook page. Localnews8.com gave more details of the injuries:Authorities say the...

Authorities on Monday confirmed two suspects were arrested and charged for assaulting Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who reportedly died after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, although his cause of death has not been disclosed.

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities arrested two men over the weekend on suspicion of assaulting Capitol police Officer Brian Sicknick and two others with bear mace during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Julian Elie Khater, 32, and George Piere Tanios, 39, were arrested Sunday and are expected to appear in federal court Monday, The Associated Press reported. In a criminal complaint obtained by The Washington Post, an FBI official said surveillance footage and other video showed Khater and Tanios talking Jan. 6 as supporters of President Donald Trump gathered at the Capitol.

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday refused to tell senators the cause of death for Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, whose death heavily influenced coverage of the Capitol riot. Reports after Jan. 6 originally said Sicknick died after being bludgeoned by a fire extinguisher while fighting off then-President Donald Trump’s supporters, which authorities didn’t deny at the time. The claim became part of the impeachment trial case against Trump for allegedly inciting the riot — though his family now says it’s untrue. Wray cited an “ongoing” investigation into Sicknick’s death. “I certainly understand and respect and appreciate the keen interest...

“An Investigation of Factors Influencing Bear Spray Performance” was published on 1 October 2020 in the Journal of Wildlife Management. The lead investigator was Tom Smith, of Brigham Young University.Tom Smith is well known for his publications on bear spray and firearms effectiveness when dealing with bears.Tom Smith graciously supplied me with a copy of the full paper, which shows all the results of the study. The study provides useful information, which can help in choosing between bear spray and other systems, such as firearms, as well as in understanding some of the limitations of bear spray under different...

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- On 29 July, 2020, Daniel Schilling went to clear trail about a mile from his cabin in Alaska. His dog returned home without him. His wife was very concerned. Searchers found his body, killed by a bear, where he was working. An empty can of bear spray, with the safety off, which had been discharged at the site, was also found. From adfg.alaska.gov: August 6, 2020 (Anchorage) – Employees of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) responded to the location of a fatal bear attack that occurred Wednesday, July 29, near the community of Hope, to...

In the United States, some governmental authorities are strongly pushing the use of bear spray over other methods of protection against bear attacks. From the Montana Hunter Ed Course:In sudden encounters, bear spray has proven to work. Bears sprayed with bear spray often stop attacking and, as such, are less likely to inflict serious injury. Use a firearm only as a last resort and only if bear spray is unavailable. Always use your bear spray to help a hunting partner who is being attacked. Misdirected bear spray is survivable; bullets are not. Bears wounded with an arrow, knife, or firearm...

The Santa Monica Police Department said they received reports that a young man pepper sprayed four or six people at the pier at about 1:20 p.m. It's unclear if that's the same person seen being detained after the incident. The crowd, some holding Trump flags and U.S. flags, others holding orange posters that read "Trump Pence Must Go" appeared to be involved in an argument before the cloud is seen spreading through the panicked crowd.

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- Two pairs of archery hunters were attacked by a grizzly bear or bears in Montana, in the Gravelly Mountains. The attacks occurred within 11 hours and one mile from each other.  Because of the proximity, it is suspected the same bear was involved in both attacks.The attacks are remarkably similar with an interesting difference. In one, the hunters used bear spray. In the other, they used 9 mm handguns.  From mt.gov: The first attack happened about 7:30 a.m. when two archery hunters from New Mexico were following elk tracks south of Cottonwood Creek, west of Black Butte....

People who had sprayed bears assured me it works, but I also learned things that changed the way I thought about it. Blowback is one aspect I never considered. As a state wildlife biologist, Dave Battle has pepper-sprayed black bears dozens of times in hazing situations. A few years ago he found himself on the receiving end. Battle was called to deal with a problem bear, a young black bear, at a home in a wooded Anchorage neighborhood. It's a situation he's familiar with and he had a good idea how things would play out. "I figured I'd spray it...

Which is Better when you're on a walkabout in Bear country? is it better to have both? Not one or the other. One thing about bears out in the woods they can be quite stealthy, not your typical Yogi bear hanging out at the dumpster. If you're in their neck of the hood (bear country) while on a hunt, hike or fishing they see you. You may never even see them. Bears may follow at a distance or run from you. Then there are the bears that size you up for their next meal. So yes, arming yourself with shotguns...

On 5 May, 2019,  Ashley Gribble was walking in the woods with her five dogs. She had bear spray. She encountered a black bear that exhibited typical predatory black bear behavior. The bear kept coming, even after the bear spray was used.   Fortunately, one of Ashley's dogs, 80 pound Bane, jumped between the bear and Ashley. Here is some of Ashley's account from facebook: I was able to discharge my bear spray but it did not stop the bear. At this point I'm yelling and backing up while the dogs are barking. As I do so, I fell backwards over...