FBI's Bust Of Black Open Carry Advocate Predicated On An InfoWars Video Ends In Dismissed Indictment
from the making-its-terrorism-investigations-look-solidly-grounded dept
The FBI's throwback to its Martin Luther King Jr.-watching heyday has reached the first stop on its way to its eventual nadir. Deciding backlash against violence perpetrated by law enforcement officers had resulted in too many frightening African Americans organizing, the agency decided to place "Black Identity Extremists" under surveillance, claiming this made-up group would "likely" engage in violence against police officers.
So far, the agency has yet to secure a prosecution under this theory of extreme blackness. But it has managed to severely disrupt the life of at least one black male.
Rakem Balogun thought he was dreaming when armed agents in tactical gear stormed his apartment. Startled awake by a large crash and officers screaming commands, he soon realized his nightmare was real, and he and his 15-year-old son were forced outside of their Dallas home, wearing only underwear.
Handcuffed and shaking in the cold wind, Balogun thought a misunderstanding must have led the FBI to his door on 12 December 2017. The father of three said he was shocked to later learn that agents investigating “domestic terrorism” had been monitoring him for years and were arresting him that day in part because of his Facebook posts criticizing police.
"Domestic terrorism" is one of the narratives the FBI trotted out during this abortive investigation and prosecution. The facts leading to Balogun's arrest are almost literally unbelievable. His surveillance is believed to be part of the FBI's recent "Black Identity Extremists" focus. Balogun (born Christopher Daniels) is a black open-carry advocate residing in Texas, where this practice is legal. He attended a protest in Austin, Texas -- one featuring black open carry advocates like himself. Apparently, the FBI decided it needed to play to edges of reality to build a case against the activist.
Daniels, a founding member of both Guerilla Mainframe and the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, groups that promote weapons training, fitness, and community service among African Americans, first came under FBI scrutiny in 2015 when he appeared in videos participating in an open-carry rally against police brutality. Footage of the demonstration aired by the right-wing conspiracy website InfoWars showed demonstrators chanting “oink oink bang bang” and “the only good pig is a pig that’s dead.”
The InfoWars video drew the FBI’s attention to Daniels’ social media accounts, according to court documents, where he published what they deemed to be comments advocating for “violence toward law enforcement.”
The FBI admitted the comments it reviewed did not actually advocate for violence against police officers, nor did they contain threats from Daniels himself. But what was the agent supposed to do? Stop looking for reasons to fulfill the FBI's "BIE" fantasy?
Nope, instead the FBI raided Balogun's house to arrest him for possession of a handgun, supposedly because it violated restrictions placed on Balogun following a misdemeanor domestic assault conviction in 2007. This bullshit charge doesn't explain why it took the FBI two years from the viewing of the video (a goddamn InfoWars video, at that) to make its move.
The court tossed the indictment -- two years and one InfoWars video in the making -- because the alleged criminal act wasn't actually a real criminal act.
The indictment was dismissed May 1, when a district court in Texas determined “domestic assault” as codified by Tennessee law does not fit the federal definition of domestic violence that would prohibit him from owning a firearm. Daniels was ultimately released from custody two days later.
But that was two days after Daniels spent six months in jail for a charge the FBI offered up because it couldn't find what it was really looking for: a "Black Identity Extremist" calling for violence against cops. The government couldn't get what it wanted, but rather than call the investigation to a halt, it kept digging around in the federal and state rule books to find anything to use against Balogun. "Rule of law" is a joke -- and so is every government official echoing this empty phrase as the FBI pursues bullshit investigations and handcrafts terrorism suspects for easy prosecutions.
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Filed Under: arrests, black identity extremists, civil liberties, civil rights, detention, fbi, open carry, rakem balogun, texas
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We can just call it "breathing while black", or "living while black".
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Imagine: Democrats take a strong pro-NRA stance. Declare that gun ownership is an important part of American citizenship, an important defence against the tyranny of the government and the establishment of a ruling class.
Then they begin a campaign to encourage and assist gun ownership by blacks, Hispanics, Muslims and any minority that has ever feared the tyranny of a ruling class.
The next Republican administration would take away everyone's guns.
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Check out the Mulford Act.
No you folks understand why I constantly tell you all that when you say you "support the constitution" we already know you are full of flaming shit!
Practically no one supports the constitution. They only support it so far as it facilitates their politics.
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Rule 1: Their party is good, all other parties are evil.
Rule 2: If evidence otherwise surfaces, see Rule 1.
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MSNBC tried to make a "racial tensions" comment about a person openly carrying an AR-15 + sidearm + extra magazines at an Obama rally. However, they clipped the video to hide the fact that the person was actually black - and all the white folks walking around him without any concern at all.
The Democrats need to believe that we're all afraid of black people having guns. They need that racist to be believed in order to maintain control.
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Felons
I wonder if felon is going to eventually go the way of terrorist or fake news to become meaningless once it's well known that all it takes to be a felon is to get near a police officer on a cranky day.
Sadly, among those who want to believe the world is a crime pit, terrorist and fake news still are cause for dismissal.
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Reason #9,732
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PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
WOW. Triple LIE just in headline!
This piece is a UNIQUE ANOMALY nowhere near Techdirt's core of leftist corporatism, to say the least, anyone drawn in by this click bait!
Desperate for readers, eh? Think that those you routinely call "conspiracy kooks", the Trump supporters, won't notice shilling for Google and other rabid corporatism if run a few like this now and then, eh?
Infowars readers: take it from one who's had THOUSANDS of comments censored here: this is not the site you're looking for.
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Re: PRETENDING to comment
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Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
Well... you were. wiLLie.
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Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
What are your thoughts on the content of the article?
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Re: Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
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Re: Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
lol
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Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
Just wanted to emphasize this.
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Re: Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
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Re: Re: Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
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Re: Re: Re: Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
You can check his bias in the post below where he and another clearly imply that there is such thing as a "white identity extremist" group. As if most leftists are not already on record as calling all whites priviledge or members of the KKK or nazi's... two groups listed as "white extremists" and are also monitored by these programs.
but hey... don't let your stupid shine too much... it might blind the rest of us who can see clearly enough to not buy your inane bullshit.
"That said, I'd like to know if they have some sort of "white identity extremist" surveillance program as well. My bet will go to "no, because bigotry".
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Looks like we got us a triggered snowflake here.
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Re: Looks like we got us a triggered snowflake here.
"As if most leftists are not already on record as calling all whites priviledge or members of the KKK or nazi's... "
I had a good laugh with this one since I know people in the left that are racist assholes.
But while he is trying his hand in sarcasm, pretty much every single one of us (including blacks themselves) that has slavery in their past has some degree of racism. You don't grow up in a racist society without taking some along with you. Some of us understand it and make efforts to change it as fast as possible. Others... Foam through the mouth as we can see in his reply.
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Re: PRETENDING you're for blacks, 2nd Amendment, AND Infowars!
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That said, I'd like to know if they have some sort of "white identity extremist" surveillance program as well. My bet will go to "no, because bigotry". I say bigotry because racism is but a form of bigotry. Just look at how Arabs and other ethnics are doing in the US as well. I wonder how long will it take till humanity finally evolves from being dumb bigots into really intelligent beings. I'd need to hold my breath for my next few lives to see it.
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Yea, don't let your selective bias get out.
I guess you never heard of a nazi or a neo nazi before? Are you really so fucking clueless to say that you can't come up with one "white identity extremist" category?
This is just part of the selective biases that permeate this place.
In reality TD leftists are no different from the bad elements they claim to stand against. Just on the other side of a shit stacked fence.
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We've heard of neo-Nazis, but when the FBI talks about them, they don't call them "white identity extremists." Hence, not aware of a specific "white identity extremist" category is perfectly appropriate. It's not about whether there are white people who are extremists. It's about whether the FBI has a category into which they dump all white extremists, vs having dedicated categories for violent white socialists, violent Nazis, violent non-Nazi white supremacists, non-violent white supremacists, etc.
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If that logic works for you then you obviously can't label any group a color specific identity extremist category.
Yes there are some semantics involved here, and I do like semantics but when your own semantics only help disprove your own point you should probably not use them.
But hey, I already know that I am talking to a group of people that need to make words mean something they don't mean for political expedience.
Not everyone is a racist, not everyone is an extremist. But there are "white identity extremists" groups whether you use those words to refer to them or not. Play coy all you want, it only shows that you clear are not about helping solve the problem but instead wish to salt the wounds!
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This is not about us playing coy. The question was whether the FBI treat the white/black "extremist" groups the same way, or whether they have a bias.
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Nope... the question was...
"That said, I'd like to know if they have some sort of "white identity extremist" surveillance program as well. My bet will go to "no, because bigotry"."
Now... had he asked YOUR question then yea... we can definitely say there is a clear difference in how each extremist group is perceived based on which time frame you are referring too and which group of cucks were in power at the time.
If there is one thing you an bet on... it is racial, political, ethical, and ethnic bias.
People cannot help themselves and when you confront them with it... many choose to defend their terrible behavior rather than correct it.
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Nobody should label anything by any sort of physical attribute, be it color, height, weight or whatever.
"But there are "white identity extremists" groups whether you use those words to refer to them or not."
That's what we are saying. And the FBI doesn't put nearly as much effort in surveilling and stalking them as with blacks.
I thought that was pretty easy to understand but I forgot there are some people like you.
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Re: "white identity extremist"
One of the main (medium/long term) strategies of the FBI was to have agents infiltrate the groups, and along with turning existing members into informants through both bribery and threats, to entice someone into doing something illegal such as possessing unregistered 'NFA' firearms (a 10 year prison sentence) and by befriending them, engaging in some kind of macho fantasy talk (like admitting to wanting to kill someone) in order to get them saying these things on tape so it could be played to a jury. (a footnote: Matthew Hale, a white racist lawyer who was nailed this way, was represented by attorney Glenn Greenwald in a situation that started out with Hale being the victim of a trademark trolling operation taht stole the name of his un-trademarked organization and then sued him over it)
The FBI's surveillance and infiltration has been so pervasive that almost every single leader of any kind of white nationalist group over the last several decades has ended up in prison for one thing or another. David Duke, Don Black, etc, they've all been to prison for often unusual charges and mundane crimes -- which is probably easy to accomplish when someone is being so closely watched.
I suppose it's only fair play that federal authorities have finally started targeting black nationalists with the same sort of zeal that white nationalists, islamic nationalists, and other groups deemed 'enemies of the state' have been ruthlessly entrapped and hounded into prison for decades. It's seems odd though that in this particular case of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, that the FBI, with its many years of experience taking down White and Islamic Nationalists, would end up doing such a sloppy amateurish job that it almost seems more like a "shot across the bow" warning than the sort of well-planned full-scale lethal strike we've come to expect from the FBI when it takes on militant white and islamic groups.
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Yes... they ARE THAT STUPID!
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The answer to that question is complicated.
Holder restarted the DoJ's domestic terrorism task force in 2014; it's largely (though not completely) concerned with white supremacist terrorist groups. While that was a step in the right direction, there's criticism that it never really seemed like a major priority.
The program is still active under current FBI Director Wray, but the Trump Administration has also cut funding for Obama-era programs for fighting white supremacy, including funding for Life After Hate, an organization dedicated to rehabilitating white supremacists.
And, for all Trump's bellyaching about Obama not using the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism", Trump himself sure seems reluctant to use the T-word to refer to terrorist acts committed by white people.
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Ah yisss... another pseudo contorted load of horse hockey.
The answer is NOT complicated. The answer is yes and and examples already provided. Just because what is and is not terrorism based on which group of loony tunes are in power does not change those facts.
The mere idea that there is a question like this and how you answered it is pretty damn telling about your own cognitive dissonances.
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The situation is a little more gray than that.
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"ethnics"?
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Why do you not get off this I hate white and black supremacy kick. All it does is make Techdirt look bad.
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Who cares?
Get over it, this is what you asked for looks like in application!
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Re: Who cares?
Here at TD the mantra is "more government"... this is more government you silly fucks.
Why do you keep lying?
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180512/09405039824/uk-cops-threaten-facebook-users-with-a rrest-after-they-mock-departments-tiny-drug-bust.shtml#c291
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When all you have is a hammer...
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Re: When all you have is a hammer...
When you learn this, you will have a chance to understand what is next.
As long as your knee-jerk reactions are to constantly run screaming to government to solve all of your worldly problems this is what you get. Just telling you what you don't seem to be able to understand.
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I keep wanting to say to OOTB: 'Out of all the sperm you were the fastest?' Too ad hominem-y.
Instead, too much fear makes people stupid. He is absolutely terrified, of who and/or what? Dunno.
Or maybe he's trying to live down to the worst human impulse. What we do not understand, we fear; what we fear, we hate; and what we hate, we try to destroy.
And since it is obvious he doesn't understand himself, or others...
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Your Lords And Masters Shall Not Be Criticized
The father of three said he was shocked to later learn that agents investigating “domestic terrorism” had been monitoring him for years and were arresting him that day in part because of his Facebook posts criticizing police.
Criticism that will go completely away after the calm and friendly chat agents had with him after knocking on his door at a reasonable hour of the day to ask him a few questions and clear up some concerns.
... oh wait, they did none of that, and in fact acted in a manner that you'd almost thing was carefully tailor designed to inflame any criticism into outright hate and disgust in him and anyone else?
This was either monumental, 'Fire Everyone Involved'-level incompetence, or they are once more trying to drum up some criminals to pad their stats by taking 'annoyed' and 'angry' people and turning them into 'violently furious' ones(or at least people they claim are).
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Re: Your Lords And Masters Shall Not Be Criticized
This is the kind of spin that makes anything posing as journalism completely untrustworthy these days.
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You can 'suspect' all you like, but unless you can demonstrate it I'm going to call that baseless insinuation and dismiss it as such.
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Got any evidence to back that up, Jed, or just your fee-fees?
That One Guy is a pretty regular poster here. There's a link next to his name; it's the blue part that says "profile". If you click on it, you can view his past posts.
If you can find one that supports your hypothesis that "if someone of a different color 'criticized' someone non-white in a similar manner," he "would want their head on a pike," please feel free to share it. If you can't find such a post, anywhere in his fourteen-thousand-post history, then perhaps you might consider that your suspicions are not very reliable.
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Way to bury the lede here. Seems to me this is the most significant thing in the entire article: the guy's a scumbag who beat on his family, but apparently didn't beat on them quite enough for it to be officially enough of A Bad Thing to ensure that the next time he tries it, he won't have a gun available.
That right there, that's truly sad.
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It is truly sad, but it's got nothing to do with domestic terrorism or threats against the police.
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You've been around here long enough to know that just because someone did A Bad Thing over a decade ago, the government does not earn a free pass to grossly abuse their powers and lock someone away for six months on a completely bogus charge. A misdemeanor domestic assault charge is not the most significant thing in the article.
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a prediction: re-using the same FBI playbook
Consider the cases of Matthew Hale and Edgar Steele, who were both lawyers and prominent figures in the white identity movement. Both were separately convicted, years apart, of the same crime in the same fashion. The stock-in-trade operation went something like this: a close friend, who was secretly working for the FBI while wearing a recording device, eventually talked the person into letting him kill someone (or at least not opposing it). That's all it takes to be found guilty of solicitation for murder. Hale was sentenced to 40 years and Steele got 50 years. The thing that is so unbelievably odd is that in the small world of old-time white racists, Steele helped defend Hale in his trial and appeals, and then succumbed to the exact same FBI confidence-trick that had entrapped Hale years earlier.
I'm going to predict that now that black nationalist groups are in the FBI's crosshairs, the FBI will re-use that same tried-and-true "murder solicitation/conspiracy" entrapment scheme that worked so well putting their white counterparts Matthew Hale and Edgar Steele in prison for essentially a life sentence. Though it's also possible that the FBI will reach into its "Islamic radical" tool box and execute the standard entrapment scheme used for convincing a muslim to participate in blowing up a building with a fake bomb, only this time around with black nationalists instead of muslims.
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A black man is being charged for a thought crime.
Last I checked it is not a crime in the United States to have extremist or radical opinions. You have to do something, take some kind of action before it becomes criminal. Granted, if one says Somebody should shoot this man for what he done. that's incitement and is a crime depending on how you word it. Or if you're rich and influential (Bill O' Reilly practically dared Roeder -- or some other crazy extremist -- to assassinate Dr. George Tiller)
It doesn't sound like Balogun did any such thing. No incitement, no shooting, not even threatening or brandishing with his open-carry weapon. Ergo, the FBI busted into his house and charged him with a thought crime.
Yeah, that should alarm everyone, even if this indictment fails, that the FBI believes it has the right and capacity to raid houses and arrest people for thinking wrongful thoughts.
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Where Is The NRA In All This?
Has the NRA issued a statement supporting Balogun’s “right to bear arms”? They were somewhat less than forthcoming when Philando Castile was shot, and it seems like this is more of the same.
Which makes it quite clear which parts of the Constitution they really care about, doesn’t it?
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