By Ginny Garner
\nLewRockwell.com<\/p>\n
County sheriffs, police officers, pastors and attorneys fighting Covid19 lockdowns, business closings, mask mandates and unconstitutional gun laws met in Lynchburg, Virginia on September 30 to share their strategies. The constitutional training conference was sponsored by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) founded by former sheriff Richard Mack. US citizens were also invited to attend to learn more about how their elected sheriff is the first line of defense in their county who fight for the constitutional rights of their constituents and what they can do to preserve liberty.<\/p>\n
Many remember Mack successfully sued, along with six other sheriffs, the federal government on the grounds that the Brady bill violated the US Constitution and destroyed state sovereignty. As he puts it, \u201cI sued the Clintons and lived to tell about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel this is the most important meeting in America since the constitutional convention,\u201d he said of the conference. \u201cThe people are the rightful masters of Congress, legislators and courts. It is our duty to fight those who would pervert it. There are so many traitors in our midst (for instance, the \u201ccovid dictator governors\u201d) and we must make them irrelevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
What can concerned citizens do? Take action in the countryside of America, county by county, one sheriff at a time. Work with chiefs of police, talk to health departments, and activate the churches.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Dar Leaf of Barry County, Michigan cited the words \u201ca well-regulated militia\u201d in the Constitution. \u201cA militia existed before the government did,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are the chief law enforcement officers in our county. People look to us. Children are not getting this information.\u201d Referring to the policemen who tased, handcuffed and arrested Alecia Keys in Logan, Ohio for not wearing a mask as she watched her son play school football, \u201cThose guys never read the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the last stand,\u201d said Sheriff Mike Carpinelli of Lewis County, New York. He didn\u2019t go along with Governor Cuomo who signed the New York SAFE (Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement) Act, noting New York has the highest gun homicides in the US. When citizens rallied at the state capital, Carpinelli said he was the only sheriff there. The other sheriffs told him, \u201cLook kid, it was nice knowing you.\u201d But he was reelected. When he objected to the \u201ccovid edicts passed by the governor\u201d he was warned \u201cI am afraid your philosophy is affecting the men of your agency.\u201d He stood his ground. \u201cI stand with strength, not because of my badge, but because of God and Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpepper, Virginia, in his third term serving a population of 5,200 said, \u201cSheriffs are one of America\u2019s last hopes.\u201d He could not disagree more with Second Amendment restrictions banning assault weapons. He asked conference participants if they could recall incidents where assault weapons were used in a crime. No hands went up. He asked if anyone could remember one being used in a defensive act and several hands were raised. \u201cThe goal is to start with weapons they say are crazy.\u201d Americans have a right to gather and assemble, he said, and covid does not change this, yet law enforcement are charging people in parking lots. \u201cIt\u2019s a sad day in America.\u201d He said thousands of citizens in his county have been screened and vetted who have concealed carried permits but he cannot think of one incident where any of them have committed a crime. Yet the state legislature wanted to make them criminals. He said he had the right to swear in a posse and auxiliary deputy. \u201cI am a sheriff thinking day and night what I can do to serve the citizens of my county. Their rights are being treaded upon.\u201d The right to keep and bear arms \u201cis a God given right, a law of nature. Any creature will defend their life. It\u2019s up to us to keep it.\u201d Most sheriffs started as police, he said. \u201cDon\u2019t focus on the day you won\u2019t have a paycheck or title. Think of the principles and honor to serve. We have sheriffs elected by the people who make their own determination and not the mayor who decides what is right for people in a crisis. We take our oath seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff J.J. Watts of Eureka County, Nevada said, \u201cWe must not allow criminals to allow legislators to make it illegal to own firearms.\u201d He said he refuses to participate while his citizens are turned into criminals. He filed a lawsuit challenging implementation of Nevada\u2019s \u201catrocious\u201d red flag law which violates numerous amendments. Although his county had 10 covid \u201ccases\u201d covid regulations for mandatory masks, shutting churches down and social distancing were imposed. He and the citizens he represents are pushing back on them. \u201cNo emergency declaration can take our rights from us. You have a right to assemble. It is up to each one of us to protect them.\u201d He said Sheriff Mark Lamb of Pinal County, Arizona also has taken this stance.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Bob Summers, who has 50 years of law enforcement experience, said an anti-gun law was passed in his state and he would not enforce it. \u201cI don\u2019t give a hell what my governor has to say.\u201d The law restricted people from buying semi-automatic weapons until they are 21. Yet the same individuals can be sent to war at 18. He pointed out the injustice of the law charging the owner with a crime committed by a thief who had stolen his weapon. BLM and Antifa are terrorist organizations, he said, and that the governor and mayor support terrorism. \u201cWe are there to protect the First Amendment as long as protestors are peaceful. When they step out of line they are going to gated community called a jail. \u201c He said he has a posse of about 150 citizens and the number is increasing to 250. \u201cSome may think it is a militia, but people get scared about that word. We have a right to bear arms and protect our homes.\u201d Members of his posse go through a background check, are sworn into office, wear a patch, blue jeans and a uniform shirt, and on their private vehicles is a placard saying Neighborhood Crime Watch. The \u201coutstanding volunteerism\u201d includes six pilots who fly at no cost to citizens, and fire spotting looking for smoke, he said. They are allowed to carry firearms after instruction for liability reasons. \u201cWe can\u2019t run from liability, we have to face it and minimize it. The posse is told not to harass protestors, but that they have arrest authority under their badge if people get violent.\u201d \u00a0He said he had the resources to do the job \u2013 19 sworn deputies in reserve with total authority to arrest. \u201cIf BLM and Antifa show up in my county I have fire trucks with high pressure water hoses and I will knock them right off their feet.\u201d He said BLM has had four protests in his county but they were peaceful. \u201cIf I put a call out I could have 600-700 people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a constitutional sheriff and encourage those of you who are not to become one,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to be constitutional sheriffs and our primary job is to protect citizen\u2019s liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senator Amanda Chase said she was the only Virginia state legislator to not comply with wearing a mask. In response, a plastic shield was placed around her desk. \u201cThis is my safe space from liberals,\u201d she said. She is running for governor to replace Democratic Governor Ralph Northam. She is known as the Annie Oakley of the Virginia Senate. \u201cI was assaulted on three occasions because I am a loud-mouthed conservative. I got tired of being the silent majority and decided to speak out. I am one ticked off mom and that is why I ran.\u201d She said she has one child getting a good education at Liberty University but many other children are being indoctrinated. \u201cI attend support the blue rallies, and there has been all out attack on constitution. We are at war.\u201d The Democratic Party has been hijacked in Virginia and there is an all-out attack on 2nd<\/sup> Amendment rights. \u201cThe status quo does not work anymore. We need elected leaders to do something to stand up to domestic terrorists who want to destroy our country. We are freedom loving people, not racists.\u201d As for the call to defund the police she asks, \u201cWhen has it ever been funded? Police, how can you defend something that hasn\u2019t been funded? We train them, they go somewhere else to get higher pay. We need best practices so law enforcement can do their jobs they have been trained to do. It is an embarrassment what Virginia pays law officers. Law enforcement must be funded through the regular budget. Deputies earn $32,000 a year with a family of four which qualifies them for public assistance. This is an embarrassment and unacceptable, no wonder we have shortages in counties across Virginia. We need to give law enforcement the tools to do what they are trained to do. As for the police reform bill, \u201cI am against taking away qualified immunity. They have said it is OK to lessen the offense to misdemeanor. You are empowering criminals. We need to take politics out of policing.\u201d Sen. Dick Saslaw threatened to deny sheriffs a raise if they did not enforce the governor\u2019s executive orders and unconstitutional laws against the Second Amendment. \u201cThis is the time to have courage. Constitutional officers must resist this all-out attack on law-abiding citizens, whether on masks or unconstitutional gun law. We must protect the US Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheriff of the year awards were given to Richard Vaughn of Grayson County, Virginia and Scott Nichols of Franklin County, Maine.<\/p>\n Mack gave an historical presentation about the founders and constitutional rights. He said a posse could also be called a Community of Safety Minutemen. He assists others around the country of any creed or race seeking strategies to fight covid regulations or unconstitutional gun laws. The best way to combat viruses, he said, is with vitamins C and D and whole food plant-based probiotics.<\/p>\n Bob Good, running for Congress in the 5th District of Virginia, warned the Democratic Party is trying to take away qualified immunity, which grants government officials performing discretionary functions immunity from civil lawsuits unless the plaintiff shows the official violated \u201cclearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheriff Scott Nichols of Franklin County, Maine refused to enforce the order by the governor banning anyone from entering the county. He said stopping vehicles and asking drivers and passengers their purpose for entering the county would put his officers at risk. \u201cWe will not be setting up a police state,\u201d he posted on his Facebook page.<\/p>\n Conference participants were given copies of \u201cThe Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates: A Proper Resistance to Tyranny and a Repudiation of Unlimited Obedience to Civil Government\u201d by Matthew J. Trewhella, a book explaining the intent of the US Constitution.<\/p>\n Mack showed a clip of a deputy sheriff explaining to TSA airport workers that they are not violating the law to tell people not to go through body scanners. Mack has been unfairly smeared as a racist who advocates violence. He cited Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. as examples of Americans who engaged in civil disobedience based on their beliefs. \u201cAllowing citizens to be frustrated and abused\u2026.do you think that it is not going to get violent? It will.\u201d He cited a no knock incident where a swat team was trying to collect the unpaid student loan of his former wife. \u201cFederal bureaucrats want to join in this. This should never happen in America.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two types of laws: just and unjust,\u201d said Mack. \u201cI would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.\u201d The Nuremburg trial defense of \u201cI was just following orders\u201d does not justify following unjust covid regulations or gun laws. The Brady bill called sheriffs CLEOs \u2013 Chief Law Enforcement Officers \u2013 and selected them to enforce the law. He said he is helping pastors open their churches and mentioned how Rodney-Howard Browne was arrested by his sheriff for conducting a church service and the arrest of citizens all over America for not wearing a mask. \u201cHow could we pretend everything is fine? Don\u2019t tell me you are shutting my business down and taking away my freedom and that it is for my own good. We will unite in this holy cause of liberty. Let your governors know the constitution in this county will be adhered to, enforced and loved.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Peroutka, former county commissioner, constitutional attorney and presidential candidate, pointed out Thomas Jefferson said the purpose of securing your liberty is so you can protect your health. He cited Maryland Governor Hogan\u2019s misuse of intended legislation. Peroutka said gun laws are acts of pretended legislation and that the law is following your oath. Article I of the Maryland Constitution states all rights come from the people and that no inherent authority comes from lockdowns and Hogan has broken his contract with the people. If he suspends the Constitution, he suspends his own authority. By declaring some businesses to be non-essential and unlawfully closing churches, he is depriving the rights of his people. \u201cIf I could address law enforcement officers I would say you did not swear allegiance to the governor. Use your police power to protect the people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor a sheriff to be successful he has to know the truth and be able to distinguish between intended legislation and law, must know he is right, and be backed up with a citizenry who understands these things,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n Pastor Ernie Sanders said he kept his church in Newbury, Ohio open since March and his congregation did not wear masks. Regarding Romans 13 which many pastors cite as a justification to always obey the government, he said the word God was changed to government. On masks which he said does not guarantee spreading a virus, \u201cWhen you put one on you are denying the image of God.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheriff Richard Vaughan of Grayson County, Virginia who predicts gun control measures would be introduced in the legislature in the spring, plans to identify people to run for office who support law enforcement and the Second Amendment. \u201cYou must stare legislators in the face to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger Morningstar, Police Chief of Morton City, Washington, has refused to enforce mandates to wear masks. Antifa posted on social media they were planning to attend a City Hall meeting to demand the recall of Morningstar. \u201cThe covid mandates chip away at our constitutional rights and educating people on their rights is our duty.\u201d His teaching constitutional law to area youths and enacting a replica of Trump Tower on his front lawn resulted in hatred and attacks from the left. The City Council planned to meet to fire the Air Force veteran and Army National Guard member, but when 500 people showed up to support him, the council dropped the matter.<\/p>\n Steve Bukala, Police Chief of Lowell City, Michigan unfortunately was fired for supporting the 2nd<\/sup> Amendment. He got a call two days after the riots in Grand Rapids from four citizens who said they were going to carry long guns to deter any planned violence. Bukala told them if they saw anything to not engage but to call him. Bukala posted this on Facebook and informed the media. \u201cI was activating our militia. I didn\u2019t even know I was doing that.\u201d Anonymous complaints from outside of Lowell City posted on Reddit. The city hired a PR firm and he was called into the City Manager\u2019s office with the mayor and an attorney and told to resign or he would be fired. The City Manager said he had \u201ccommitted conduct unbecoming for an officer.\u201d After 24 years, Bukala was five months away from retirement and is now finished with law enforcement.<\/p>\n Katherine Henry, Bukala\u2019s attorney, said she would fight a long battle for him. Covid awakened her spirit to fight against tyranny. She warned \u201cWe are living in a time when at the governor\u2019s stroke of a pen, criminal actions like terrorism are being protected.\u201d She said in law school she was taught the Constitution is a growing, living document. She had to do her own research to learn there is no such thing as case law and that \u201cthere is no basis for the government to exercise any authority related to public health.\u201d Emergencies do not increase the government\u2019s power, she said, and the government exists to protect our rights, even the unenumerated ones. Article 6, the supremacy clause, states the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Unconstitutional acts are not laws and oaths must be kept. She cited Article 4 Section 4 of the Constitution: When the government steps outside of the law, they have lost their authority. \u201cHold your elected officials accountable, do your part, read and study your state constitutions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Pastor Selby Volpe said his Kars Creek Baptist Church never closed.<\/p>\n Pastor David Whitney said his Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Annapolis did not close. \u201cMorality is indispensable,\u201d he said, citing the need to recapture the sacred nature of oaths which are made to God. \u201cEvery tin horned dictator\u201d need the external controls imposed on them by individuals keeping their oaths.<\/p>\n Retired officer Rick Dalton, CSPOA also spoke. He has noted that militarism has crept into contemporary training of recruit officers along with the idea that cops are better than the citizens and must supervise them. Every officer\u2019s training should include principles from the General Orders Manual.<\/p>\n