Radio Talk Show Host Harrassed At CBP Roadblock

Talk Host Refuses Border Patrol Citizenship Question

While on vacation and traveling the Southwest in January of this year,  Mark Edge along with his wife and young son gained some valuable insights into what it’s like to live within the occupied territories of the United States of America.  During their travels, they were stopped and seized absent reasonable suspicion no less than four times by armed paramilitary troops operating suspicionless roadblocks with impunity along public highways inside the United States of America.

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Policing For Profit in Atlanta Georgia

georgiaCPI recently received an email from Joe Williams regarding his ongoing legal battles over suspicionless roadblocks in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe sends word that he will be in court on Wednesday February 10, 2016 over bogus charges filed against him by Atlanta checkpoint cops who prefer policing for profit.over protecting and serving.

For past posts regarding Joe’s principled stands at suspicionless checkpoints, follow this link.

For current information regarding the state of policing for profit in Atlanta Georgia along with Joe’s status, read his recent update below and consider supporting him in court along with his efforts in general however you can:

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Border Patrol Agent Speaks Out Against Unlawful Checkpoint Operations

Showing both courage and integrity, the video above depicts an active duty Border Patrol agent speaking out against the unlawful actions of fellow agents at so-called internal immigration checkpoints in Southern California.

Mike Flanders went public with his allegations of Border Patrol misconduct at internal checkpoints after his attempts at redress within CBP (Customs and Border Protection) were rebuffed. Not only were his concerns marginalized by his chain of command but his duties at the Interstate-8 checkpoint near Pine Valley were suspended and he was reassigned to roving patrol while an internal investigation and other adversarial actions were initiated against him.

In other words, Agent Flanders was retaliated against for daring to question the illegal actions of the agency. Something Customs & Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security are obviously quite good at – retaliation that is as opposed to Border Protection or Homeland Security.

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CBP Agents Raid Home & Seize Evidence of Their Own Malfeasance

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Not content to harass domestic traffic absent individualized suspicion of wrongdoing at roadblocks inside the country, Border Patrol agents are now storming private homes to seize video evidence of their own wrongdoing.

The folks over at Photography Is Not a Crime bring us a story about seven Border Patrol agents who hunted down a man in Escondido, California who had taken video of an agent and an undercover police officer beating a suspect laying on the ground. After discovering where the videographer lived, the agents stormed & searched his house hours after the incident without a warrant. They then seized his cell phone, also without a warrant, containing video of the incident. See:

Seven Border Patrol Agents Storm into Man’s Home After Midnight Seeking Footage of Abusive Agent

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ACLU Requests Probe Into Southern Arizona USCBP Checkpoints

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On January 15, 2014, the ACLU of Southern Arizona filed formal complaints with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and Office For Civil Rights and Civil Liberties regarding CBP’s conduct of internal checkpoints in Southern Arizona. In the complaint, the ACLU details a dozen incidents of gross Border Patrol abuse at these checkpoints over the past fifteen months or so.

Having experienced first hand the harassment of Border Patrol agents at these types of checkpoints over the past six years, none of the abuses highlighted came as a surprise to me. Indeed, several themes appear to be repeated over and over again. First, many of the incidents described by the ACLU are ones where Border Patrol agents never even bother to ask the vehicle occupants their immigration status even though immigration is the sole ‘legitimate’ purpose of the roadblocks. Second, the number of false or falsified drug dog alerts described in the complaint should be eye opening. Third, many of the Border Patrol agents described in the complaint are equal opportunity abusers. It doesn’t matter to them if the person they’re abusing is male or female, six years old or seventy seven. Everyone daring to use the public roads these federal roadblocks have been setup along are fair game. Everyone is a target.

My thanks go out to the ACLU for helping to shed additional light on the true nature of these federal roadblocks and the so-called public servants who operate them.

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Reason Magazine Publishes Article On Internal Checkpoints

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Appearing in Reason Magazine’s January 2014 edition is an article written by Wes Kimbell titled:

America’s Internal Checkpoints: Refuseniks fight back against feds demanding paper

As you might imagine, Checkpoint USA is figured prominently in the article. It’s well worth the read so if you have the time, please check it out on Reason’s website. If for some reason it’s not available on their website, the article appears in its entirety at the end of this blog post.

The first part of Mr. Kimbell’s article highlights a violent encounter Steven Anderson had at the hands of Arizona DPS Officers and Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint near Yuma, AZ several years ago. For those of you unfamiliar with the story and the legal aftermath, I’ve written extensively about it here. From the link, you’ll also find various videos of Mr. Anderson’s legal proceedings and his assault and tazering at the hands of those who are supposed to serve & protect us.

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Uvalde, Texas Checkpoint Lawsuit Goes To Appeals

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Back in 2010 and 2011, I posted several articles regarding a decorated military field grade officer who was illegally detained and harassed by armed Border Patrol agents at an internal CBP checkpoint near Uvalde, Texas. During that encounter, the military officer was not only illegally detained and harassed at the checkpoint but was also harassed at work when agents called his military command regarding the encounter and when the Chief Patrol Agent for the Del Rio Sector, Robert L. Harris, wrote a letter of complaint to his commanding officer months after the fact.

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Checkpoint USA Interviewed By ReasonTV

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Last month I was interviewed by Tracy Oppenheimer, a producer for Reason TV, regarding my work with Checkpoint USA and my many videotaped encounters with armed Customs & Border Protection enforcement agents seizing me at internal suspicionless roadblocks. That interview is now available on Reason’s website at:

Holding Border Patrol Accountable

IOWA Political Party Warns Travelers About Suspicionless Roadblocks

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A reader recently forwarded me the link from Reason appearing below:

Iowa GOP Warns Residents About Traffic Safety Checkpoints in Des Moines Area Tonight, Want Audio/Video Sent to Party

It appears that police near Des Moines, Iowa are setting up suspicionless checkpoints in the area tonight and the Iowa Republican party has sent out bulletins warning drivers to be on the lookout for them and to be ready to assert their rights as necessary.

My hat’s off to the Iowa Republican party for doing what political parties across the country should be doing. Educating & assisting individuals in asserting their rights against intrusive and over-reaching government operations.

Checkpoint USA Interviewed By NPR’s ‘On The Media’

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As a followup to an incident one of NPR’s On The Media producers recently had at the border (see My Detainment Story or: How I learned to Stop Feeling Safe in My Own Country and Hate Border Agents), I was recently contacted and asked to talk about some of my experiences at CBP checkpoints inside the country.

That interview with OTM appears below: