Ok, I was told to put the whole story and what happened to me out to protect myself in any way possible. So that is what I am about to do. I was at the Ares Armor raid that occurred 3/15/14. At approximately 11:50am I was standing there alone in front of a closed store front waiting for the owner or protestors to show for the rally I helped organize (I was the only organizer to attend the rally, and as an organizer of the event I had to arrive early to greet arriving protestors) The only other person there was a gentleman that came to find what was going on as he heard about it, and we were chatting. So at 11:50am ATF pulls up in three unmarked vehicles and parks in the red at the curb, local police then pull vehicles onto the street and strategically place themselves around the area, and a local officer pulls to the curb directly in front of the store all of them proceed to exit their vehicles and start walking towards me which is at the front of the store, where I was standing holding a flag, I quickly put the flag down and readied myself to run…I was terrified, I didn’t know what to expect. One of the ATF officers approached me to show me what he states is a search warrant and he flashes what appears to be a court pleading inside a folder, I told him I was not the owner or representative of the company, he then closed the folder and walked away immediately after I stated that. That same agent then told me to step away from the store as I may get hurt from flying glass. I obliged, I was very scared….approximately 4-5 agents then proceeded to rip out the door which is where I start videotaping and photographing to document everything going on. The agents then proceed to search the store, but they appear to go straight for all paperwork, then one agent goes to the store front and grabs the rifle displayed in the window and starts checking it, by that time other protestors and patriots started showing and in bewilderment immediately started filming also. At one point maybe an hour into the raid, the main ATF agent comes out and states ‘who is the organizer?’ it becomes immediately apparent to him that I am the organizer, partly because I was wearing a name badge to identify myself for protestors and press (press which never showed). The agent then states ‘I have the owner on the phone and he wants to talk to you’ I took the phone and had a brief conversation with the owner where we discussed not interfering with the investigation, where I assured him I always remain to legal codes and guidelines. He then asked for my contact information I stated ‘I prefer not to give that as I am on the agent’s phone’. I then asked him if I could have a copy of the warrant later that night and that I would redact sensitive information, he stated we would ‘talk later’. The call ended and I handed the phone back to the agent. Approximately an hour later the main agent comes out again, and states ‘the owners attorney would like to speak with you’; I was confused but took the phone to speak with him. The gentleman on the other end of the phone claiming to be the owners attorney (it is unconfirmed if he is as yet) proceeds to tell me ‘you cannot have a copy of the warrant’ I asked ‘have you spoken with the owner? Did the owner tell you that?’ the gentleman on the phone replied ‘I have spoken with the owner on and off all day’ I then repeated, ‘did he tell you that I asked for a copy of it?’ and he wouldn’t answer quickly repeating ‘I have spoken with the owner on and off all day’, that made me suspicious so I then asked ‘did the owner call you and tell you this or the officer?’ he replied ‘the officer’. Nothing much more was said and the conversation was ended, I handed the phone back to the agent. Not long after a local police officer in uniform showed up and asked us, ‘what’s going on?’ as he tries to peek into the store front, we told him ‘they are being raided’. He then left in vehicle after briefly chatting with us. Approx. an hour later a local locksmith showed up to replace the door lock. He finished and left. They at some point go to the store back where I assume is a warehouse and an agent comes from the back to the front of the main store room and attempts to close the warehouse door so we cannot see, but it stays ajar, I zoomed in to see two agents sledge hammering the safe, cracking it like an egg. Approx 3-4 hours after the raid began all of the ATF agents that were at the store started to exit with the items they had seized and gathered in plastic bins. At the stores entrance another agent proceeds to photograph us, appearing to pay particular attention to me. Meanwhile they carry those bins to a waiting unmarked vehicle parked at the end of the street to the west of the store. While an agent loads those bins another agent stands there and stares us down ominously with his trigger finger at the ready and near the trigger of his rifle. A protestor approached him angrily, the agent did not move, he just continued staring at us. The ATF all enter their vehicles and leave the area. All the protestors including myself enter our vehicles and leave. I live a very long distance from the store so I get onto the 15 going north bound and am traveling normally. Not long after I am on the freeway I notice a new Dodge ram (the nose slope and shape was that of a dodge ram truck) 4 vehicle lengths behind me. I become suspicious, I have a degree in Private Investigations and am trained in tailing a suspect I am also trained in surveillance and counter measures. I begin to make small moves to out the vehicle and confirm my suspicions. As I change lanes and loose line of site with that vehicle, not long after…. they change lanes, I then pick up speed, and they pick up speed. I then start traveling at an excessive rate of speed, at times traveling more than 100mph as I weaved in and around the traffic which was heavy at times. The vehicle matched my speed yet stayed 4 car lengths behind. At one point the vehicle had appeared to get boxed in when I was trying to lose them, I kept my pace and when I could no longer see them in my mirrors, I slowed and hid among passing big rigs, the next thing I saw in my mirrors was the vehicle come up like a bat out of hell, they saw me because they immediately slowed, slowing so much as to impede the flow of traffic and still never passing me. I floored my accelerator at that point I eventually came upon the 15/215 split, the vehicle was still pacing me, but the traffic was getting heavier, I made it appear as though I was going straight onto the 15 and immediately jerked my wheel to enter the 215 going over the embankment to enter, like a freaky scene out of a movie. They had no choice but to continue straight, as my turn was so sudden and there were other vehicles blocking the path for them. Don’t get me wrong, at no point did any single agent ever touch me, or say anything to me was not professional…but words were not necessary. I am now very scared, both for myself and my family.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:02:53 +0000
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