Marine Vet Still Detained for Posting Government Criticisms

[https://www.facebook.com/IAmBrandonRaub]

2012-08-20 "RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE DEFENDS MARINE ARRESTED: Statement on Hearing":
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated.”
Contact:  Nisha N. Whitehead, Ph: (434) 978-3888; Cell: (434) 466-6168; nisha@rutherford.org
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RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE DEFENDS MARINE ARRESTED, INCARCERATED IN PSYCH WARD & DETAINED INDEFINITELY FOR POSTING POLITICAL VIEWS, SONG LYRICS TO FACEBOOK.
CHESTERFIELD, VA— The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a former Marine, 26-year-old Brandon Raub, who was arrested, detained indefinitely in a psych ward and forced to undergo psychological evaluations based solely on the controversial nature of lines from song lyrics, political messages and virtual card games which he posted to his private Facebook page. Although the FBI and Chesterfield County police have not charged Brandon Raub, a resident of Chesterfield County, Va., with committing any crime, they arrested Raub on Thursday, August 16, 2012, and transported him to John Randolph Medical Center, where he was held against his will due to alleged concerns that his Facebook (FB) posts were controversial and “terrorist in nature.” In a hearing held at the hospital, government officials disregarded Raub’s explanation that the Facebook posts were being interpreted out of context, sentencing him up to 30 days’ further confinement in a VA psych ward. In coming to Raub’s defense, Rutherford Institute attorneys are challenging Raub’s arrest and forcible detention, as well as the government’s overt Facebook surveillance and violation of Raub’s First Amendment rights.
“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. This should be a wake-up call to Americans that the police state is here,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “Brandon Raub is no different from the majority of Americans who use their private Facebook pages to post a variety of content, ranging from song lyrics and political hyperbole to trash talking their neighbors, friends and government leaders.”
Brandon Raub, a former Marine who has served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was detained by FBI agents and police officers at his home in Chesterfield County based upon the nature of content posted to his Facebook page in recent months. Like many Facebook users, Raub uses his FB page to post songs lyrics and air his political opinions, as well as engage in virtual online games with other users. On Thursday, August 16, police and FBI agents arrived at Raub’s home, asking to speak with him about his Facebook posts. They did not provide Raub with a search warrant. Raub was cooperative and agreed to speak with them. Without providing any explanation, levying any charges against Raub or reading him his rights, law enforcement officials then handcuffed Raub and transported him first to the police headquarters, then to John Randolph Medical Center, where he was held against his will. Outraged onlookers filmed the arrest and posted the footage to YouTube. Law enforcement officials have stated in press reports that Raub was not arrested. However, as attorney John Whitehead points out, if the police have put handcuffs on you and you’re being held against your will, that qualifies as an arrest. In a hearing before a judge on August 20, government officials again pointed to Raub’s Facebook posts as the sole reason for their concern and for his continued incarceration. Ignoring Raub’s explanations about the fact that the FB posts were being read out of context and his attorney’s First Amendment defense, the judge agreed that Raub should be incarcerated at a VA hospital for up to 30 more days. Rutherford Institute attorneys are working to challenge Raub’s detention and the highly unconstitutional nature of the government’s actions.


2012-08-20 "Marine Vet Still Detained for Posting Government Criticisms" by Oskar Mosco from "Media Roots"
[http://mediaroots.org/marine-vet-still-detained-for-posting-criticisms-of-government.php]:
MEDIA ROOTS – Federal agents are continuing to detain a Marine Corps veteran in Chesterfield, Virginia for posts made on his website that expressed discontent for the federal government and accuse elements of it for orchestrating the 9/11 attacks.
On the evening of August 16, FBI agents accompanied by US Secret Service and Chesterfield County police officers approached the home of Brandon J. Raub, 26, a decorated combat engineer who had served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2005 to 2011.
After talking with authorities for “20, 30 minutes” it is still unclear what justification was used for his detainment as his posts did not mention any specific threats of violence to any person or place, nor did they include any imagery of destruction [http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/aug/19/tdmet02-chesterfield-man-held-in-hospital-on-conce-ar-2140519/].
Having risen to the rank of sergeant, Raub returned home and continued to serve his country by helping establish the Richmond Liberty Movement. As an organizer, he frequently updated his web page with sentiment of an impending revolution. As a citizen journalist, he made several contributions to Don’t Tread on Me [http://dont-tread-on.me/], a blog that serves the expanding liberty movement in the US. And as an American citizen, he could become an example of what's to come with the newly signed, and heavily debated, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Mr. Raub was most likely legally abducted under state statute [http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/group-representing-ex-marine-says-veteran-is-being-detained-for-anti-government-facebook-posts/2012/08/20/84d78320-eb18-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html]. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, individuals may be interned for up to 30 days if deemed necessary by a public mental health official. However, coincidentally, the state is leading the country in fighting the NDAA that was drafted in-part by Senator McCain and signed into law on December 31, 2011 by President Obama. In April 2012, state legislators passed a law that forbids state agents from assisting the federal government in the suspension of due process against citizens of that state [http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2012/04/18/new-law-virginia-will-not-cooperate-with-ndaa-detention/]. The law went into effect on July 1, 2012 which means Chesterfield Police were in direct violation by aiding FBI and US Secret Service in Raub’s detainment and transport should this have been executed under the controversial law.
Both the Richmond bureau of the FBI and the US Secret Service claim that Raub was not arrested but rather simply detained for psychological examination. Chesterfield Police also claimed they did not make an arrest but were only aiding in the transport of Raub. This, however, is classic doublespeak as the very definition of arrest is to “seize a person by legal authority and take into custody,” which is exactly what occurred.
Additionally, Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution has been clearly violated. Drafted well after the Magna Carta which initially enshrined the concept of Habeas Corpus, the section specifically safeguards against unlawful detention: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” The Latin phrase literally means “may you have the body” and implies that a person detained by the state must be formally charged within a very short period of time. In the United States, the government is given 24 hours to arraign an individual and makes no mention of lawfully detaining a person for merely the potential to commit a crime.
Those close to Raub have boycotted the corporate media throughout this encounter and consequentially are getting very little exposure among the masses [http://unitedtruthseekers.com/m/blogpost?id=6387970%3ABlogPost%3A141799]. “We believe that the mainstream media is compromised,” writes Raub’s mother, Cathleen Thom. “Thank you to all the real media sources out there who daily place their very lives on the line to report uncompromising truth to the American people.”
The civil liberties organization, The Rutherford Institute, publically stands by Raub in a statement issued earlier today [http://virginiacopblock.org/232/rutherford-institute-defends-marine-arrested-statement-on-hearing/]. “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.”
Several pages on the internet are springing up in support of the liberty activist such as I Am Brandon Raub which has received a several dozen Likes in the past 24 hours.

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Filmed by Mr. Raub’s mother, the video shows Mr. Raub acting in a civil manner as he is unlawfully detained by federal agents.
Marine who served with Brandon Raub testifies to his sanity