Hog Tied to a Post” was originally published at Truthout.org and republished here with permission. By JM Kenney I am an aging conservative from the Reagan/Bush era who has spent a considerable amount of time in political activism. I still have plenty of hope that the American people will eventually return to their constitutional roots and I’m convinced they can do so if they only knew how close the country was to political suicide in 2004. That’s why I’ve decided to launch a petition campaign designed to bring about awareness about the many blatant abuses of power now occurring in both the executive and judicial branches of our government. This past year, the Republican National Committee (RNC) used its federal funding to defraud a Florida couple in order to get the husband out of prison on a bogus tax lien, and now the White House has taken this despicable crime and run with it like a dog with a bone. This could be worse than Watergate but I think the average voter is so far gone in confusion that they don’t realize the government is still trying to steal their property. The story starts back in 2004, when I was working with American Right To Life (AR2L) and learned about the plight of Scott Terry, a disabled former police detective in Hollywood Florida. Scott had been targeted by a private organization in a dispute over a building donation that was used as a shelter for homeless veterans. Scott had done nothing wrong and was merely trying to help these veterans who would have otherwise been wandering the streets or sleeping in the homeless shelter in downtown Orlando. Since all of this took place before the new Republican administration, Florida attorney general Charlie Crist felt compelled to take Scott to court and file a bogus tax lien in an effort to get him out of the picture. Scott went through hell because no one would listen to him and finally a federal judge ruled against the “wicked witch” in Tallahassee, although by that time Scott was in jail because of a spurious contempt of court charge instigated by the state of Florida. Then in 2008 the state of Florida agreed to pay Scott a settlement and the federal government ended up paying Scott $9,000 to make the whole thing go away. This could be worse than Watergate but I think the average voter is so far gone in confusion that they don’t realize the government is still trying to steal their property. Fast forward to 2010 and I was asked by Paul Horner, a conservative blogger who writes under the pseudonym of Publius, to help Scott Terry defend himself. Paul has a personal interest in this case because Scott had lived in the house next to Paul’s family for many years prior to the arrest, and Paul believed the “big government liberals” in Tallahassee were out to get him because they thought he was a drug dealer. During our research, we discovered that Scott’s real estate company was raided and all of his records seized without probable cause, and of course Scott was forced to spend $9,000 for a settlement against the government, something I don’t know if the taxpayers received a penny for. Scott and his attorney Paul Horner went to the Florida Second District Court of Appeals in October 2010 and they were told that the trial court judge had no jurisdiction over the settlement agreement. That’s right, the taxpayers were not allowed to know the terms of the settlement and the judge’s order. Even Paul found this disturbing. Paul knew about the RNC’s use of money raised under false pretenses in Florida and his interest in the Terry case prompted him to send an email to the Republican Party of Florida (RPF), an RNC official who said Scott should be allowed to receive all of the funds he had accumulated prior to going to prison. I was present when that same official called Horner and told him that someone had taken his email from my computer and deleted it. I was then directed to a person named Gretchen Borchelt and told that I would have to sign a document in which I agreed to the above stated facts. The same document was signed by Horner and Scott, which was sent to the RPF. I explained to the gentleman that Scott did not owe them anything and asked him to help me understand the legal theory involved, at which point he explained it was an argument over jurisdiction and said it was his decision not mine. I told him I wasn’t sure I agreed with that theory, especially considering that a judge was involved, and I refused to sign the document. I didn’t want them to have anything to do with my family either and was told that if I didn’t sign the paper I would be in serious trouble. I explained that we wanted to take the case to the Supreme Court if need be and that I would not sign anything that required me to take any of the settlement funds. He said I could be disbarred if I didn’t take them because I would be stealing from the government. I told him I didn’t care and that I still hoped the government would be forced to make restitution. He said it was very important that Scott be made whole because he had “spent three years in a cell with nothing but a bare, concrete floor, and it was all because of this guy over in Tallahassee.” I can only imagine the number of “sick days” Scott spent in his small, concrete cell, but I did know he was falsely accused of selling $30 worth of crack cocaine. He never sold drugs and had no criminal history of any kind. Scott was simply attempting to help people in a troubled neighborhood by donating the building, and he even went out of his way to make sure his tenants didn’t break any laws. The only thing they were guilty of was having a bad attitude towards the housing inspector. But because of the lack of due process and the government targeting him for no reason, Scott spent three long years in a prison cell where he was abused by several different guards, and it seemed the only thing the government didn’t take from him was his freedom. I then spent four years trying to make the government give Scott the settlement funds, and Paul would work for hours on the phone every night making calls to the RPF and other Republican leaders. The result of all of that was that Scott’s money went away and now it’s reappearing under another name. My concern is that the government is trying to steal the house from Scott’s parents, who do not want to give it up. I’m a retired firefighter and I know a thing or two about stolen goods and how the law views those who steal from someone else. But I also know that if the government was going to steal something they would just take it without any kind of legal action. In this case it is clear that the RPF has been scheming to steal what is rightfully Scott’s since before Scott went to prison. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but even I know when someone is trying to steal something in broad daylight. So what’s going on? The only conclusion I can reach is that Paul and I have pissed off one of their high-ranking officials and now they want to put a knife in our backs. I don’t want to do this for the money, although there is a lot of it, but I want to stand up for principle. I’m tired of the federal government stealing my property and I’m very concerned about what is going to happen if Scott’s parents lose their home. Paul and I will do what it takes to get this done. Scott’s sister, who is also his attorney, and I were interviewed on the radio yesterday and we are going to be sending emails to every member of the Florida legislature asking them to save Scott’s parents’ home. To them, this is not about Scott’s past indiscretions. This is about his parents losing their home. They lived in this house for 20 years before the government seized it for a bogus tax lien, and now I can only imagine the agony Scott’s parents will suffer when they lose their home again because the government is doing it again. They are planning on stealing this house while Scott is still inside and he is about to be released because of some bogus charges that have nothing to do with him or his property. This is another violation of the 4th Amendment and I don’t think Scott did anything wrong, but now he is being targeted because the government needs to make up for its past wrongs. It’s really sad. Scott was not a drug dealer and had no criminal history, but the feds have been working on this case for three years and I don’t know why. And I fear if the home is taken away, Scott will not be able to get to work in the future and it will only be a matter of time before the IRS tries to steal more of his money. I’m a conservative Republican and I’m against taxation, but it was never my intention to steal Scott’s money. His was a victim of fraud, and I pray to God he has his case heard in court soon. I also don’t think the government should have this kind of power because it is very easy to get locked away for something you didn’t do. The federal government should not be in the business of keeping people locked away. Most of us have no idea how easy it is to land yourself in the slammer and have your life ruined for things you didn’t even do. The truth is we do need a revolution in this country because our system of government is corrupt to the core. And like most revolutions, it will happen in a non