Over the weekend this article sounded the warning concerning a bill in Congress that would allow the U.S. military, on U.S. soil, to detain American citizens indefinitely and without due process of law. Various liberty watchdog groups cried foul as Senators such as Lindsey Graham and John McCain claimed that the term 'battlefield' should be expanded to include the homeland, since we are in a perpetual state of 'war' with Al Qaeda.
However, there is significant evidence that the government already routinely detains citizens without due process.
Take the case of Mike Anderson. In the Spring of this year Anderson was arrested with several members of an Alaska militia and charged with plotting to kill state troopers and court officials. He was released in October, however, when it was determined that the FBI had violated the Alaska Constitution in gathering evidence against Anderson. In addition, unlike the other militia members, Anderson was not indicted in federal court nor charged with weapons violations.
1 comment:
Anthony,
So what is the difference between being "arrested" and being "detained?" To a non lawyer, this sounds like a difference without a distinction.
Hopefully, this will be dead on arrival in the House, but one is appalled that it even came up, let alone was backed by someone who might have been President.
Regards,
PolyKahr
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