Perspectives: From the president to the Bundys, the political press is becoming obsolete

…Closer to home, that lack of trust in the self-styled “legitimate” media can be seen in the information divide that has emerged in the trial of Cliven Bundy, his sons and a handful of supporters currently underway in Las Vegas. NPR recently bemoaned that “parallel universes” were emerging in which established news outlets reporting on the case are being upstaged by Bundy family supporters using…

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John Wayne Gacy:

“I should never have been convicted of anything more serious than running a cemetery without a license.” -- John Wayne Gacy, “A clown can get away with murder.” -- John Wayne Gacy. Who is John Wayne Gacy?  What makes him a serial killer? How was he caught? American serial killer whose killings of 33 boys and young men in the 1970s attracted international media coverage and stunned his affluent Chicago neighborhood, where he was renowned for his sociability and success as a clown at charitable events and children's parties.

Gacy was raised into a blue-collar family and seems to have had a pretty ordinary upbringing. Yet he displayed an increasing inclination towards sadism, which resulted in a number of experiences with the law in the 1960s. In 1968, after his accusation that he had sexually assaulted a teenage boy, he was sentenced to the Iowa State Men's Reformatory (Anamosa State Penitentiary) and forced to undergo psychological evaluation. Following his release in 1970 and while still on parole, he was again arrested for sexual assault, but the charges were dropped later. In December 1978, the police found the first of 29 bodies buried in the affluent billionaire John Wayne Gacy's estate—26 in the crawl space beneath his residence in Norwood Park Township, and three more outside the building. He admitted to four further victims ' killings discovered in the waters south of Chicago. Forty years later, here's a roadmap to Gacy's trial, prosecution and execution, and ongoing attempts to identify the other six missing survivors. Gacy then became a fairly successful independent contractor and bought a house in Chicago's suburbs.

In 1975 teens in the uptown community inform the Chicago police that a man named "John" is circling the city in his car to pick up young people. It's John Wayne Gacy, a suburban man who runs a remodeling company. Officers are watching dozens of young men in and out of Gacy's house in Norwood Park Township. They're stopping many of them for questioning, but they don't say anything against Gacy. He is popular in his family to hold get-togethers and sometimes dress up as Pogo the Clown. In January of 1976 the police stake out John Wayne Gacy’s Home. Suspecting that Gacy might be responsible for the disappearance of a 9-year-old boy, the Chicago Police Youth Division is monitoring his house just east of O'Hare International Airport, although it is outside their jurisdiction. They're not in a position to make a case against Gacy.

“No, I don't think that's possible. I think it...after 14 years under truth serum had I committed the crime I would have known it. There's got to be something that would... would click in my mind. I've had photos of 21 of the victims and I've looked at them all over the years here and I've never recognized anyone of them.” -- John Wayne Gacy. Then in March of 1977 Gacy was suspected by police of a sexual assault. Twenty-seven-year-old North Sider Jeff Rignall says that Gacy lured him into his car by offering him marijuana before using chloroform to make him unconscious. Rignall claims Gacy then brought him to his home, arrested him, then sexually assaulted him before he let him leave. A $3,000 civil suit was dismissed in the incident. On December 31st, 1977 police had seized Gacy but then released him. He was charged by Chicago police when a 19-year-old North Side youth claims he was kidnapped by a gunpoint guy and compelled to participate in sexual acts. The police document reveals that when he was brought into custody, Gacy acknowledged that he was participating in activities with the youth—and their brutality—but declined to encourage the child to participate. The Deputy State Attorney chooses not to charge Gacy.

In December 11, 1978 a young boy by the name Robert Piest who was a 15-year-old sophomore at Maine West High School goes missing. Piest says to his mother to wait for a couple of minutes, because he has to see a man who pays 5 $/hour for a construction job, almost twice as much as he does in the drug store. But he has not been seen again. Then on December 12th, 1978 Lt. Kozenczak, whose son is attending the same high school as Piest, is insisting on a thorough investigation. He learns that Gacy, whose PDM Contractors had recently remodeled Nisson Pharmacy, was the man Piest went to talk about a job. Gacy was then asked to come to the station for investigation.

The next day on December 13th, 1978 Gacy leads police to a search warrant because he denied everything he was being charged with. Later investigators discover that Gacy's car was towed at 2 a.m. from a snowbank. On the Tri-State Tollway north of Ogden Avenue— about 38 miles north of where Gacy later claimed to have dumped the body of Piest. The tow truck company's reports help investigators assess the moment Gacy disposed of the youth's body within an hour. Around 3:20 a.m., Gacy marches with mud on his pants and shoes to the Des Plaines police station. He asks for a conversation with Kozenczak but is told to return later. He returns and gives a brief statement to the officers. Kozenczak asks Gacy to give him a search warrant for the keys to his house. Gacy is protesting but giving up his keys. Then December 21st, 1978 Gacy was arrested. Gacy is seen as passing a package containing cannabis to a gas station clerk while under police surveillance. According to Gacy, then arrested. Investigators were informed that Gacy has already confirmed that he has conducted "maybe 30" killings to his attorney. With Gacy in custody, police from Des Plaines and investigators from the office of Cook County sheriff get a warrant and enter Gacy's one-story. Police accuse Gacy against his will to hold Piest there and threaten to tear the floor to find the body of the teen. Gacy denies that Piest is there but says he was forced to kill a self-defense man and buried him under his garage's concrete floor. He directs police to the driveway and labels the place on the ground where the corpse is found with a can of spray paint., ranch-style house again.

On December 22nd, 1978 Gacy Finally confesses. "(Gacy's) giving all kinds of statements, saying there's a body here, a body there, a body in a lake or a lagoon, a body buried.” -- Cook County Sheriff Richard Elrod. In a rambling, repetitive speech that continues for several hours, Gacy tells police that after having sex with them, he murdered 32 young men. He speaks about himself in the third person, claiming "Jack" or "John" performed the murders and sex acts. He claims he hid the corpses of 27 people on his estate (29 would be found), most of them in the crawl space. Five other corpses (four would be found by police), including Piest's, have been dumped into waterways south of Chicago, claims Gacy. He sketches a diagram showing where the bodies are buried, offering six of his victims ' addresses. Gacy was convicted of the assassination of Piest, although the corpse of the teenager was not identified.  December 26, 1978 the police find eight bodies in the crawlspace in Gacy’s home; but nine bodies were recovered. " ... one of the most horrendous (cases) I have ever had anything to do with."-- Cook County State's Attorney Bernard Carey. eight so far from the crawl space in the northeast quarter of the house, in an area under the office where Gacy conducted his remodeling business.

The Police have found thirty-two bodies but only five were not identified. The victims of John Wayne Gacy are: John Butkovich (18 years old), James Mazzara (20 years old), Frank Landingin (19 years old), Gregory Godzik ( 17 years old), John Szye (19 years old), Rick Johnston (17 years old), Timothy Jack McCoy (16 years old), Michael Bonnin (17 years old), Robert Gilroy (18 years old), Jon Prestidge (20 years old), Russell Nelson (21-22 years old), Victim No. 28 (14-18 years old), Victim No. 5 (22-32 years old), Darrel Samson (19 years old), Samuel Stapleton (14 years old), Randall Reffett (15 years old), William Carroll (16 years old), Victim No. 26 (22-30 years old), Jimmy Haakenson (16 years old), Victim No. 21 (21-27 years old), William George Bundy (19 years old). Michael Marino (14 years old), Kenneth Parker (16 years old), Victim No. 10 (17-21 years old), Matthew Bowman (18 years old), John Mowery (19 years old), Robert Winch (18 years old), Tommy Boling (20 years old), David Talsma (20 years old), William Kindred (19 years old), Timothy O’Rourke (20 years old), and Robert Piest (15 years old).

"I don't know what this trial cost. Whatever the cost, it was a small price. My voice is cracking because I really feel it's a small price we pay for our freedom. What we do for the John Gacy’s of this world, we will do for everyone." -- Judge Louis Garippo. March 13th, 1980 John Wayne Gacy has been sentenced to death. Judge Garippo imposes an execution date for John Wayne Gacy for June 2, 1980, but the penalty is indefinitely postponed while the case is brought before the Supreme Court of Illinois. On May 15th,1980 Gacy’s Lawyers; Sam Amirante and Robert Motta who have been paid each of the amount of $44,424 for defending Gacy have withdrawn from the case and then they billed the county $57,603 for expenses. Then his judge-Judge Garippo resigns from the bench after twelve years as a Cook County Judge to go into private practice. "If his lawyers believed that deluging the court with paper at the last instant would lead us to delay the execution in order to have more time to read the documents, they were mistaken."-- Judge Frank Easterbrook, U.S. Court of Appeals. Gacy finally died after a lethal injection of drugs at 12:58 a.m., with all his civil challenges rejected. At the Corrections Facility in Stateville near Joliet and Fried chicken and butterfly shrimp was his last meal.

      Work Cited:

 Jenkins, John Philip. “John Wayne Gacy.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 31 Oct. 2019. Web. 14 Dec. 2019.

Rumore, Kori and Kyle Bentle. "Here are John Wayne Gacy's victims - Chicago Tribune." Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment. 17 Dec 2018. Web. 13 Dec 2019. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/history/ct-john-wayne-gacy-victims-20181215-htmlstory.html>.

"Timeline: Suburban serial killer John Wayne Gacy and the efforts to recover, name his 33 victims - Chicago Tribune." Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment. Web. 13 Dec 2019. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/history/ct-john-wayne-gacy-timeline-htmlstory.html>.

"Top 20 quotes of JOHN WAYNE GACY famous quotes and sayings | inspringquotes.us." Inspiring Quotes | inspiringquotes.us. Web. 13 Dec 2019. <http://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/1001-john-wayne-gacy>.

Bundy Ranch Update: Surveillance, Wiretapping, Bundy Threat Assessments, and a Hit List

By Lyle Rapacki

STAND OFF AT BUNKERVILLE:

The events associated with the stand-off in Bunkerville, Nevada in April of 2014, supporting the protection of sovereignty came seriously close to the U.S. Government agencies gathered there opening fire on their own citizens; yes, citizens of the United States.  Among the citizens present and supporting a “cease and desist” against infringement upon…

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In a press release, Donald Trump announced full pardons for Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. The pair have long been the focus of right-wing extremists who rallied to their side, including Ammon and Ryan Bundy who organized their supporters to take over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in January 2016. The standoff lasted roughly five weeks before the last of the supporters were convinced to lay down their weapons and surrender to the FBI.

Dwight and Steven Hammond have a history of arson in Oregon, setting fires to nearby properties to allegedly help their own ranch, despite being repeatedly warned against such action by Bureau of Land Management firefighters and law enforcement. They are known to have started at least five major fires in Oregon: the Hardie-Hammond fire in 2001 (which was set to cover an illegal deer slaughter and endangered three hunters in the area); the Fir Creek fire in 2005; the Krumbo Butte fire in 2006; the Lower Bridge Creek fire in 2006, and the Grandad fire of 2006. The Hammond’s claimed they were “controlled fires,” but they most certainly were not and in the case of the 2006 Krumbo Butte fire, Steve Hammond ordered his nephew, Dusty, to start a fire that Dusty barely escaped. Making matters even worse, four Bureau of Land Management firefighters were trapped in the raging wildfire, also barely escaping with their lives. Their testimony and eventual pleas prove they knew everything they were doing was dangerous and illegal. From Oregon Public Broadcasting in 2012:

“Light the whole countryside on fire,” Dusty said his uncle told him. “I started lighting matches.”

Afterwards, he said, over lunch his grandfather and uncle instructed him to “keep my mouth shut; nobody needed to know anything about the fire.”

Despite the threats, Dusty ended up testifying against his uncle and his grandfather, who were also violently abusive to the teen. In 2004, Dusty used a paper clip to scratch his initials into his chest, upsetting his grandparents who had custody of Dusty. They called in Uncle Steve, who said raising kids was similar to raising cattle or dogs, to discipline the boy and Steve cruelly used sandpaper to sand off the initials on the boy's chest.

From abuse investigation in 2004:

The report continues, “Dusty stated that Steve told him that he was not going to let Dusty deface the family by carving on himself. Dusty stated that Steve then took him and began to sand the initials off his chest… Steve sanded on each side of his chest for at least five minutes… Steve used a very coarse sandpaper to sand off the initials.”

The report goes on, “Dusty told me that the process was very painful, but that he did not cry because he knew that Steve would continue the process for a longer period of time.”

Steve vowed to “filet” the initials off if the sanding didn’t do the trick. That wasn’t the only documented abuse.

The report describes Steve as 35 years old, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. The report says that when Dusty was caught with alcohol, Steve had driven him at least 10 miles from the ranch “and made Dusty walk back.”

The report further states that when Dusty was caught with tobacco, “Steve made him eat two cans of Skoal Smokeless tobacco, then again drove him 10 miles from the ranch and made him walk back.”

In 2012, a jury found the Hammonds guilty of starting two fires. In 2015 they were finally sentenced to five years in federal prison and ordered to pay the $400,000 in restitution. Their conviction and sentencing became a flash point for anti-government extremists and the Bundy family in particular. Fresh of their consequence-free armed standoff in Nevada, brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy led the takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, demanding the Hammonds be freed from prison. Militia types from all over the country brought their guns and supplies to hole up in the federally managed wildlife facility for roughly five weeks. The takeover came to a close after standoff leaders were ambushed by the FBI and Oregon State Police as they sought to meet with a nearby sheriff who was friendly to their cause. Standoff leader and noted fierce anti-government advocate LaVoy Finicum was killed by police fire after he jumped out of his vehicle and tried to pull his gun on law enforcement.

Like the pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another militia favorite, Donald Trump is sending clear signals to armed right-wing extremists that he is with them and you better believe if Donald Trump faces federal charges himself, he will demand, and likely receive, their support. This pardon might be one of the most terrifying moves Trump has made to date. He is very, very clearly angling for loyalty from these heavily armed extremists. Look at the absolutely bonkers language issued by the White House announcing the pardons.

Today, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Grants of Clemency (Full Pardons) for Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., and his son, Steven Hammond.  The Hammonds are multi-generation cattle ranchers in Oregon imprisoned in connection with a fire that leaked onto a small portion of neighboring public grazing land.  The evidence at trial regarding the Hammonds’ responsibility for the fire was conflicting, and the jury acquitted them on most of the charges.

At the Hammonds’ original sentencing, the judge noted that they are respected in the community and that imposing the mandatory minimum, 5-year prison sentence would “shock the conscience” and be “grossly disproportionate to the severity” of their conduct.  As a result, the judge imposed significantly lesser sentences.  The previous administration, however, filed an overzealous appeal that resulted in the Hammonds being sentenced to five years in prison.  This was unjust.

Dwight Hammond is now 76 years old and has served approximately three years in prison.  Steven Hammond is 49 and has served approximately four years in prison.  They have also paid $400,000 to the United States to settle a related civil suit.  The Hammonds are devoted family men, respected contributors to their local community, and have widespread support from their neighbors, local law enforcement, and farmers and ranchers across the West.  Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond, both of whom are entirely deserving of these Grants of Executive Clemency.

There is only one reason for Donald Trump to pardon Dwight and Steve Hammond: he is doing so to gain the loyalty and support of hardened anti-government extremists and militias. This should frighten each and every one of us.

Cliven Bundy Explains to Sheriff Gillespie How the Cow Eats Cabbage.

I spent several weeks at the Bundy Ranch in 2014 reporting on the Fed-led standoff and the events that followed. I returned to attend the trial in 2017/18 as both a reporter and as a witness for the defense, #303 on the exculpatory list.

From a kid in 1969, back and forth all throughout life, I have lived and played, gone to school, and worked in Vegas and the Moapa and Virgin Valleys. I know this place, and I know the Bundys.

Visit my site to find out more of what’s really going on in "The War on the American West". What Matters: A Ponder Gander - American Dissonance Radio Writing Series http://RealLibertyMedia.com/Author/VinE

Prosecutor vows 3rd trial for two in Bundy ranch standoff case - Wed, 23 Aug 2017 PST

The top federal prosecutor in Nevada is vowing a third try to convict two accused gunmen of armed assault on a federal officer in a 2014 standoff that stopped a ... Prosecutor vows 3rd trial for two in Bundy ranch standoff case - Wed, 23 Aug 2017 PST

Less than one month after U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial in the case against Cliven Bundy, his two sons, and a self-styled militiaman, Navarro has dismissed the charges entirely. The decision Monday puts an end to the federal case against the four men for their role in the 2014 armed standoff over cattle-grazing rights in Nevada.

Navarro found that the prosecution had committed "flagrant misconduct" by withholding evidence that could have supported the defendants' case. Namely, Navarro explained that federal prosecutors had failed to disclose information from cameras recording video from the standoff and the presence of federal snipers around the Bundy Ranch.

Because the violations prevented the men from receiving a fair trial, according to Navarro's ruling Monday, the felony case against them was dismissed "with prejudice."

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/08/576502739/judge-dismisses-federal-case-against-cliven-bundy-and-sons-bars-retrial

Ryan Bundy's opening statement (H/T Gary Hunt)that was delivered to the jury in the Bundy Ranch trials on November 15, 2017.  Read and remember.

Jury selection began Monday in the criminal trial of Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a supporter on felony charges related to their armed standoff with federal agents more than three years ago over cattle grazing rights. It is the first time that members of the Bundy family — which has become a symbol for activists fighting federal land policy — will be on trial for the 2014 showdown in Bunkerville, Nev., about an hour north of Las Vegas. Some of their supporters stood trial earlier this year. U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro told the roughly 50 prospective jurors that the Las Vegas trial could last into February. The potential witness list includes more than 1,100 names — including Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist, and Michele Fiore, a Las Vegas councilwoman and gun rights activist who was in the Nevada Legislature during the conflict and showed up to support the Bundy family.

The Bundys go on trial for the 2014 armed standoff at their Nevada ranch - LA Times

Perspectives: From the president to the Bundys, the political press is becoming obsolete

“…Closer to home, that lack of trust in the self-styled “legitimate” media can be seen in the information divide that has emerged in the trial of Cliven Bundy, his sons and a handful of supporters currently underway in Las Vegas. NPR recently bemoaned that “parallel universes” were emerging in which established news outlets reporting on the case are being upstaged by Bundy family supporters…

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It’s a travesty of justice what the Federal Government is trying to do to good honest everyday Americans with legitimate grievances. These trials were a massive waste of our taxpayer money. http://bb4sp.com/no-guilty-verdicts-bundy-ranch-standoff/

Bundy ranching standoff trial in Las Vegas comes to an end - Wed, 12 Apr 2017 PST

In the latest chapter of the long-running dispute over Western U.S. land policy, lawyers were set Wednesday to make their closing arguments in the trial of six men accused of ... Bundy ranching standoff trial in Las Vegas comes to an end - Wed, 12 Apr 2017 PST

Bundy Ranch Standoff Trial Surprise: Feds Supposed to Leave the Day Before

Bundy Ranch Standoff Trial Surprise: Feds Supposed to Leave the Day Before

When Federal Agents testified Thursday at the trial of some of the Bundy Ranch protesters from the April 12 Standoff in 2014, several things became abundantly clear: a) it could have been a bloodbath, b) Feds were allegedly told to stand down on April 11, and c) there may have been a mole who was deliberately feeding the FBI misleading information. Somebody’s lying According to the testimony of…

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A Long Train of Abuses By Todd C. Engel

A Long Train of Abuses By Todd C. Engel

IT MATTERS HOW YOU STAND·TUESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2018 On April 5, 2014, the Bureau of Land Management commenced an operation to impound rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle. In the run-up to the operation, no less than five separate threat assessments were conducted to ascertain the threat that the Bundy’s may pose to law enforcement officers during the roundup. Each and every one of the assessments…

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z39xPOoRsqA) This is the second video from John Lamb today.  Sounds like it was a good day.

No Guilty Verdicts in Bundy Ranch Standoff Trial by JULIE TURKEWITZ

By JULIE TURKEWITZ Four men faced charges from the 2014 standoff, when ranchers and militia members faced off against federal officers over Cliven Bundy’s use of public lands. Published: August 21, 2017 at 08:00PM from NYT U.S. http://nyti.ms/2wGGGjd from No Guilty Verdicts in Bundy Ranch Standoff Trial by JULIE TURKEWITZ