Texas Crackdown

Feds raid, fingerprint, seize cell phones at political event:

Members of the Republic of Texas, a secession movement dedicated to restoring Texas as an independent constitutional republic, had gathered Feb. 14 in a Bryan, Texas, meeting hall along with public onlookers. They were debating issues of currency, international relations and celebrating the birthday of one of their oldest members. The group, which describes itself as “congenial and unimposing,” maintains a small working government, including official currency, congress and courts.

According to MySanAntonio.com: “Minutes into the meeting a man among the onlookers stood and moved to open the hall door, letting in an armed and armored force of the Bryan Police Department, the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office, agents of the Texas district attorney, the Texas Rangers and the FBI.

“In the end, at least 20 officers corralled, searched and fingerprinted all 60 meeting attendees, before seizing all cellphones and recording equipment in a Valentine’s Day 2015 raid on the Texas separatist group.”

“We had no idea what was going on,” said John Jarnecke, president of the Republic of Texas. “We knew of nothing that would warrant such an action.”

Intimidation, much?

I’ve heard of groups like Republic of Texas, and really they’re just more pointed versions of the Tea Party. Present their members with a choice of “Would you rather secede or see Washington restored to its constitutional limits,” and I bet you 99% of them would choose the latter every time. Secession talk to them is a way of making the case plain of just how important constitutional rule is. They certainly aren’t spearheading any actual secession movement, and even if they were, they’re so small and so powerless that the proper response from the Feds ought to be bemused tolerance.

Besides, these people are Americans, and Americans have the right to say and believe in whatever political cause they support — without being fingerprinted and having their personal possessions confiscated by the jealous god of progressive government.

So why the crackdown? Washington knows in its corrupt, greedy heart that it is losing legitimacy with great big swathes of the American public — and with many people DC has already lost it. Which leaves Washington with little more than thuggish displays of intimidation, because that’s what thuggish governments do.