Wednesday, August 22, 2012



Outcry after military veteran detained for anti-government Facebook posts

A former Marine involuntarily detained for psychiatric evaluation for posting strident anti-government messages on Facebook has received an outpouring of support from people who say authorities are trampling on his First Amendment rights.

Brandon J. Raub, 26, has been in custody since FBI, Secret Service agents and police in Virginia's Chesterfield County questioned him Thursday evening about what they said were ominous posts talking about a coming revolution. In one message earlier this month according to authorities, Raub wrote: "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads."

Police -- acting under a state law that allows emergency, temporary psychiatric commitments upon the recommendation of a mental health professional -- took Raub to the John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell. He was not charged with any crime.

A Virginia-based civil liberties group, The Rutherford Institute, dispatched one of its attorneys to the hospital to represent Raub at a hearing Monday. A judge ordered Raub detained for another month, Rutherford executive director John Whitehead said.

"For government officials to not only arrest Brandon Raub for doing nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights but to actually force him to undergo psychological evaluations and detain him against his will goes against every constitutional principle this country was founded upon," Whitehead said.

Source

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Next stop for him? A movie theater where he tries to out do the shooter in Aurora CO.

Anonymous said...

Obviously it is a reaction to all the crazy mass-murderes in the US, Norway and other western countries who were not prevented from their crimes until it was too late, and the various "authorities" were heavily criticized for not acting on the "signs" sooner. I guess for the relevant authorities you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Anonymous said...

Some of his posts:

Friends,
You deserve to know the truth. There has been an overwhelming amount of evil enacted and planned against you, your children, and your countrymen. It is great in scope. Your government evil. It is as simple as that.

And the calvary is coming.

(August 12 at 10:02am)

and ...

I'm starting the Revolution. I'm done waiting.

(August 10 at 12:11am)

and ...

Sharpen up my axe; I'm here to sever heads.

(August 13 at 10:38am)


The last is from a song lyric, btw. It looks like he was making public threats to take some kind of action, not just complaining about the government. After receiving complaints & warnings from the public, I think it was fair for the police to at least investigate. The fact that they are keeping him under observaton leads me to believe that he is probably a psycopath that I'd rather not have on the street. I guess we'll now for sure in a month.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the Obamanation!

Anonymous said...

Bush put it all into action with the Patriot Act

Anonymous said...

Be careful what you say, the stazi will come get you without due process or a warrant. Day or night it matters not. Make sure you thank a vet for your "freedoms".

Anonymous said...

So, Anon 3:59 and 3:20, if we disagree with a "political" statement from you, we have the right to put you away also?

This is a great story for all those fools who believe we still live in a free country.

Anonymous said...

Just because he is a.vet doesn't mean he should be ranting and no one be concerned . If public officials just assume that it is all just talk and the guy goes postal, they will have to explain why they didn't do anything. I am a vet and think there is plenty in our.government that deserves criticism, but using threatening language in today's environment is foolish.

Anonymous said...

Actually, this gentleman was entitled to due process of law. It seems to me that he has been before a judge and his incarceration temporarily extended.
This was no suspension of habeus corpus or star chamber or whatever. He has been before a judge (in what seems to have been a fairly expeditious manner) and his detention has been extended. He even received legal counsel. So far it seems to me his constitutional rights have been protected perfectly.

Anonymous said...

Another hate crime hoax

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/21/13397580-lesbian-who-alleged-nebraska-hate-crime-charged-with-lying-about-attack?lite

Anonymous said...

6:41 pm. so would be ok if they came for you, your wife, kids and put them in a nut house for no reason but freedom of speech? I wonder why the hate speech muslims and libturds are not hauled away for calling for violence etc. They came for my neighbors books, i said nothing, they came for my neighbors, i said nothing, than they came for me...... FREEEEDDDOOOOMMMMM

Anonymous said...

I agree with some of the comments surrounding being damned if you do and damned if you don't. People are upset about this man being detained, but again, the conversation would definitely be about missing the warning signs if this guy where to take that axe he was talking about and literally start chopping people's heads off.

Also, I was a police officer in Texas for 12 years, and one of my roles was as as mental health officer. I was one of the ones that came to talk to you if you thought you were Jesus. I'm not sure on the laws in that state, but in Texas, I could only "detain" someone if their mental state made them a danger to themselves or to others. Even then, I didn't have the final word. if I detained someone, they didn't go to jail, they went to the hospital. From that point, a Doctor needed to make the decision if the person stayed in the hospital or if they were released.

Anonymous said...

"From that point, a Doctor needed to make the decision if the person stayed in the hospital or if they were released."

That could be a problem with state run health care.

Dman said...

To all those crying about how America is acting like the Nazis or the Stazi: Really? REALLY???

Consider the following:
1. We know Raub was detained.
2. There are public records of his detention.
3. Raub is still alive.
4. If he is charged with a crime, he will be judged by a jury of his peers.
5. This site hasn't been taken down.
6. Nobody is going to arrest you for the posts you just made here criticizing the government.

Save your Nazi comparisons for those who act like Nazis.

His postings to me seemed more like threats or at very least somebody who was/is on the verge of commiting violent acts vice simple political speech. Maybe we should takea closer look at him. Or perhaps you would rather just ignore him and wait to see if kills anybody?

Anonymous said...

When all other arguments have been exhausted, pull the "Nazi/Hitler" card. That's a great tool for deflection of rational thought.

Anonymous said...

ok, how is this card,,the antichrist obama and his satanic dolts are trying to wipe out all resistance to the devil ruling the earth.

Anonymous said...

8:06 - yawn.

Anonymous said...

8:06 - no original thought there - typical ditto head.