Yesterday I mentioned:
I've been sitting on some facts for a few days at the request of Ryan Horsley. BATFU had threatened him that he needed to cease all blogging and keep their agents and inspectors free from being photographed or observed, or they would go to the judge and file a complaint of harassment. Ryan was in a dilemma--he has been single-handedly bearing the burden of his defense against a fe(de)ral government with practically unlimited resources--yet if he continued to allow his
persecutors to operate in the dark, that is where they would kill Red's.
Here, as
Paul Harvey says, is the
rest of the story:
Ryan had been agonizing over this--on the one hand, he wanted to fight for what was right, and keep people informed of what was happening. On the other, the threat of a complaint like the one that was filed would mean a new round of legal expenditures that could break the bank. His legal counsel worked behind the scenes and received assurances from the US Attorney that the complaint would not be filed if Ryan simply did what all clients are advised to do: keep quiet and rely on non-involved observers to do the reporting.
Here's what the government demanded in order to not go to the judge:
No more video recordings of the ATF
No more audio recordings of the ATF
No more pictures of the ATF
No more information being posted about the inspectors
No more publicity
No more blogging
No more letting supporters know when the audits/investigations are being conducted
No allowing supporters to come in contact with the ATF (ie, speak with, video tape, photograph, etc.)
This is the agreement Ryan thought had been negotiated. This is what our government, instituted among men to secure the blessings of liberty, now demands of its citizens. Except US Attorney
Deborah Ferguson and her
BATFU "clients" reneged on their promise, and filed anyway after Ryan had reluctantly begun holding up his end of the deal and stopped posting.
