DHS Checkpoint Blog Entry 14: Obedience Training

On November 26th, I was stopped & seized for about the 50th time since the beginning of 2008. The seizure took place at an internal suspicionless Homeland Security checkpoint along Southern Arizona's SR86 near mile post 146. SR86 is an East-West public highway located over 40 miles North of the border and never intersects the border at any point.

During the stop, Agent Gilmore admitted he knew who I was & all three agents told me I wasn't being detained. Nonetheless, these facts didn't stop the agents from refusing to allow me to go about my lawful business, choosing instead to escalate the encounter by requesting that I move to secondary inspection for more intensive scrutiny absent my consent or any articuable suspicion.

While continuing to deny that I was being detained and refusing to allow me to leave, the agents threatened me with arrest for impeding their operations.

After close to eight minutes of being unlawfully detained, a Border Patrol supervisor eventually arrives on-scene and wastes no time in telling me that I'm free to go with no further scrutiny.

Given the circumstances surrounding this extended non-detention, the only reasonable explanation that can be attributed to the agent's behavior is a desire to train the traveling public to be obedient to the whims of any federal agent with a shiny badge & a gun.

For those of you who actually think the government cares about the border, how many illegal aliens do you think crossed unchallenged 40 miles to the South because three Border Patrol agents were harassing Americans 40 miles to the North at a suspicionless checkpoint?

Find out more at:

https://www.checkpointusa.org

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[Michael Meersman]

You must have a lot of time on your hands. I suppose you are trying to prove a point, but man, the opportunity cost is too damn high.

[CheckpointUSA]

And what do you suppose the opportunity cost will be for society if nobody ever challenges gov't overreach?

[Michael Meersman]

I absolutely agree with you that this is unconstitutional government overreach, but I believe their intentions are pure, and considering you can do little to nothing as far as putting these stops to and end, it may just be simpler and less costly of your and other people's time to simply work with them and answer a question which does not threaten you in any way. The fifth amendment was purposed to protect people, but you use it to prove a point.

[CheckpointUSA]

I'm glad you agree but am having a hard time with your rational that despite the gov't engaging in unconstitutional overreach, their intentions are pure. If the gov'ts intentions were pure, its agents wouldn't be engaging in unconstitutional enforcement ops by definition. Indeed, if the intent of these specific agents had been pure, they would have waved me through when it was clear they didn't have consent or pc instead of illegally detaining me & illegally threatening me with arrest.

[CheckpointUSA]

Regarding my ability to do something about unconstitutional checkpoint ops, you may want to ask the TOPD whether or not I have any such ability. If you don't know to what I allude, you may want to refer to my website & blog to see just what one person can do regarding such stops.

You are of course welcome to do nothing in the face of gov't malfeasance but don't presume your unwillingness to take action has anything to do with someone else's ability to actually realize change.

[CheckpointUSA]

Regarding the 5th, here's its purpose:

“One of the Fifth Amendment's basic functions is to protect innocent men who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances. Truthful responses of an innocent witness, as well as of those of a wrongdoer, may provide the government with incriminating evidence from the speaker's own mouth." - Ohio v Reiner

If you don't have the intestinal fortitude to exercise your rights when challenged, at least have the fortitude to not badmouth others who do

[CheckpointUSA]

Thanks for outing yourself as not only an authoritarian punk but one with fantasies of lethal violence against folks who peacefully and lawfully exercise their rights as well.

I appreciate the comment though. What better way to show the average mentality of those who advocate for the suspicionless seizure & investigation of others absent suspicion and under threat of force.

[CheckpointUSA]

Golly billy, my job doesn't involve standing around the middle of a public highway no where near an international border to seize people absent suspicion & interrogate them for unknown crimes under threat of force. What that means is the only people harassing anybody in this video are Border Patrol agents not actually patrolling the border.

Thanks for outing yourself as a foul-mouthed authoritarian punk though.

[Michael Meersman]

Never meant to bad mouth you, in fact, props to you for being so strong willed.

[Shaun Partylover]

is Agent Soto a US Citizen? Loll!

[1Ezk]

lol have a nice life