Posted: 3/23/2004 5:57:40 PM EDT
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THE STRANGE CASE OF CASEY NETHERCOTT By Carl F. Worden In what may be the first documented case of a non-terrorist, American citizen being held without charges under terms of the so-called “Patriot Act”, Arizona rancher Casey Nethercott was arrested March 1, 2004 by exclusive and arbitrary order of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. Using a “Governor’s Warrant” to hold Nethercott without charges in the Pima County Jail located in Tucson, Arizona, Nethercott was released to the State of Texas on March 22, 2004. According to the records clerk of the Pima County Jail, no one knows where in Texas Nethercott was taken. In fact, she informed me that Nethercott would have to call someone to let him or her know where he is being held. That is, of course, only if Nethercott is allowed to make a telephone call. Nethercott is a member of Ranch Rescue, the citizens group organized by Jack Foote, which has been using volunteers along the American southern border to capture and detain illegal aliens entering this nation for our undermanned Border Patrol. If the allegations of Ranch Rescue are true, Arizona Governor Napolitano used provisions of the Patriot Act to arrest Nethercott for activities having nothing to do with terrorism, and having everything to do with Napolitano’s personal and opposing position on how matters of illegal immigration should be handled. Hey, pinch yourself and remember that the term, “Terrorist” is not a well-defined term, and is therefore quite subjective. For example, you may recall that King George bestowed that term on our future first president, George Washington and his merry band. Perhaps Governor Napolitano thinks a terrorist is anyone who disagrees with her. The standing rule of all law is that if it can be abused, it will be abused. You may recall the arrest of American citizen Jose Padilla, who has been held incommunicado in a Navy Brig for over 2 years under provisions of the Patriot Act, and by direct Executive Order of President George W. Bush. Padilla was fingered by sources in Pakistan, claiming he was a terrorist with orders to detonate a “dirty” radiological bomb somewhere here in America. Federal authorities arrested Padilla when he arrived at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. Padilla had never been in combat with American or our allied forces, yet by order of President Bush, he was labeled an “Enemy Combatant”, and has been held all this time without any charges being filed against him. In defiance of a recent federal judge’s order, Padilla has been denied his right to legal counsel, and his accusers have never been forced to reveal the “evidence” they have against him. Obviously, Padilla has also been denied his most basic right to a trial by a jury of his peers. I wrote an article on the Padilla Case over a year ago, titled, “The Padilla Test Run”, because that’s exactly what it was. The Bush Administration and John Ashcroft’s Justice Department wanted to see to what extent the average American would accept blatant civil rights violations following the terror attacks of 9/11/2001, and they were not disappointed. Just as most Americans accepted the government’s unnecessary and cruel internment of Japanese-Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, today’s American citizen is more than willing to accept violations of a fellow citizen’s most basic civil rights -- if doing so somehow makes them more “safe” from domestic terrorist attack. It is a hard, irrefutable fact that no American citizen outside of a select few employees of the federal government actually knows that Padilla planned to do anything the government publicly alleges. We don’t know if the source in Pakistan got money for falsely fingering Padilla, and we don’t know if this government actually has any hard evidence of criminal intent by Padilla. We don’t know jack about the Padilla Case -- except what we’re being told -- and despite all the lies this government has been caught telling the American public over the past 40 years! From Viet Nam’s bogus Bay of Tonkin incident to Waco, to Ruby Ridge, to Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction, you’d think we’d all have learned to question everything this government tells us -- unless they can prove it with hard evidence. But all the average mindless American needs to hear right now is the word “Terrorist” applied to any fellow citizen in order to disregard his share of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Now we have the Casey Nethercott Case, where Nethercott was never a traveler to any terrorist-sponsoring nation, and is not publicly alleged to have presented any terrorist threat to America whatsoever. Nevertheless, he was held without charges in the Pima County Jail for 3 weeks on a “Governor’s Warrant” that I’ve never heard of, and he has since disappeared into the bowels of Texas somewhere. In order to pull this off, it sounds very suspiciously like the folks at Ranch Rescue are correct in accusing Governor Janet Napolitano of abusing the Patriot Act to punish an American citizen for nothing more than actively opposing her political and ideological sentiments. Now if true, that is dangerous ground indeed. I know of fellow American citizens who are so pathetically naive they actually wrote me their belief that our government would never abuse the outrageously unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act against innocent American citizens. Well now you have your answer. Go tell it to Casey Nethercott and his loved ones. Carl F. Worden References: Ranch Rescue (520) 364-3966 Pima County Jail Records Division (520) 547-8111 Casey Nethercott, Inmate # 997200 Governor Janet Napolitano (602) 542-4331 And don't think that writeing will help... 
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I wrote a letter to that B$#%hes office. I told her that if she only signed out that warrant because of his relationship with Ranch Rescue, she was committing treason. I said that I was not sure of the charges yet, but there better be a "real" reason he was arrested. I thought that might get her attention. I also said that I was aware that Casey was a diabetic and no matter what, she better see to it that he is medically taken care of. I know I won't get a response, but I thought her office might find it disconcerting that an out of Stater was watching this. AND for all that participated in the Civil War thread, I will agree that THIS kind of thing might set something off. This could be the start of some very big riots, if nothing else. |
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Casey Nethercott is NOT being held under the Patriot Act. He was being held on a fugitive warrant, while awaiting extradition to Texas. As an FYI, Jorge Padilla was also NOT held under the terms of the Patriot Act. Here is a little more info on Nethercott: [url]http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2004/03/06/news/news2.txt[/url] |
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Quoted: well if he's been extradited to Jim Hogg county. I wonder how bad this salvadorian guy got beat. and whether or not he was entering illegaly or not. either way I dont think we have all the info from either side of the fence on this one. Witnesses have already put that to rest by stating they were never beat. They were coerced into saying they were so an arrest could be made in an attempt to slow down RR. The only reason they are messing with him was because his attorney messed up and didn’t make the hearing. |
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Padilla is a US citizen. He was arrested in the US. He is not being allowed a trial. Are those three statements true? This isn't "du trolling". I haven't been following that guys story, but that is what I get out of this article. If true, something seems fucked up to me. |
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Quoted: Padilla is a US citizen. He was arrested in the US. He is not being allowed a trial. Are those three statements true? This isn't "du trolling". I haven't been following that guys story, but that is what I get out of this article. If true, something seems fucked up to me. Yeah, but there's a war on, you know. If you have a trial, it has to be a public trial, and you risk compromising the sources and methods that allowed you to snag Abdullah Al Muhajir-or as he likes to be called now that his sorry ass is in a US prison-Jose Padilla. Sorry, but the way I see it if a US citizen is a member of a terrorist organization that is at war with the US, he no longer enjoys the civil liberties granted a common criminal. He's subject to the laws of war, and under those laws he's a illegal combatant. Of course, the gov could be wrong and he could be innocent. But if they're not, the disclosure of sensitive information used to nab him could lead to the death of thousands. If Abdullah Al Muhajir has to sit in jail for a couple of years so we can be sure that doesn't happen, well, tough tittie. War is hell. |
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Quoted: Yeah, but there's a war on, you know. If you have a trial, it has to be a public trial, and you risk compromising the sources and methods that allowed you to snag Abdullah Al Muhajir-or as he likes to be called now that his sorry ass is in a US prison-Jose Padilla. Sorry, but the way I see it if a US citizen is a member of a terrorist organization that is at war with the US, he no longer enjoys the civil liberties granted a common criminal. Even if heaven falls every living soul is entitled to due process, just because there may be evidence incriminating the suspect in the initial investigation does not mean that person is guilty, that has not been determine by a jury of peers yet. JP rights are the same as yours, if you deny them to him you deny those rights to your self when you are labeled an enemy of the state because you possess weapons and believe in the constitution. The war for independence was fought for good reason please do not cheapen the price paid in blood toil and treasure because of some imaginary threat. |
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Quoted: Even if heaven falls every living soul is entitled to due process, just because there may be evidence incriminating the suspect in the initial investigation does not mean that person is guilty, that has not been determine by a jury of peers yet. JP rights are the same as yours, if you deny them to him you deny those rights to your self when you are labeled an enemy of the state because you possess weapons and believe in the constitution. The war for independence was fought for good reason please do not cheapen the price paid in blood toil and treasure because of some imaginary threat. "Some imaginary threat". I think that sums it up nicely. If anyone has a suggestion for a procedure under which those who are accused of taking part in terrorist activities could be publicly tried without compromising the methods by which terrorism is foiled, I'm all ears. Until then, that's just the way it's got to be. I understand that it's a slippery slope and a dangerous precedent. But, again, it's wartime, and tough calls have to be made. If it came down to a real violation of the constitution and a mass deprivation of civil liberties I'd be right there in the streets with you. But this isn't that black and white. If war is a serious business, rebellion against one's own government is doubly so. The only excuse for it is victory. And I don't want to see folks like Abdullah Al Muhajir victorious. |
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Maybe I'm a stickler for details and I'll probably get flamed for it, but I'll say it anyway. When exactly did Congress declare war? And with whom did they declare war on? I ask this in regards to Jose Padilla. If he is being held as an enemy combatant, then who are we at war with? The Framers of the Constitution had very good reasons to not allow the Prez to make this decision unilaterally. As far as the situation with Nethercott it stink to high heaven since it seems he is being held for reasons that do not reflect the stated charges. |
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From Viet Nam’s bogus Bay of Tonkin Not bogus, as the Vietnamese have now admitted. “Governor’s Warrant” that I’ve never heard of .. I know of fellow American citizens who are so pathetically naive they actually wrote me their belief that our government would never abuse the outrageously unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act against innocent American citizens. Well now you have your answer. Go tell it to Casey Nethercott and his loved ones. A Governor's Warrant has nothing to do with the Patriot Act. It is a longstanding state procedure involving extradition. It has nothing to do with the federal government. A simple google search would confirm this. Governor's warrants are allowed by Title 13 of the ARIZONA state code. Google the text of the Patriot Act. The term "Governor's Warrant" is not found in the Act. In fact, the only reference to "Governor" in the Act is the governors of the federal reserve. The guy who wrote this article does not seem to understand the difference between the state and federal governments. If ignorance is bliss, this guy is in seventh heaven. |
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Quoted: Casey Nethercott is NOT being held under the Patriot Act. He was being held on a fugitive warrant, while awaiting extradition to Texas. As an FYI, Jorge Padilla was also NOT held under the terms of the Patriot Act. Here is a little more info on Nethercott: [url]http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2004/03/06/news/news2.txt[/url] No he's not. The second time he was arrested (at a gas station in AZ.)he was held for missing a court aperance in texas. He missed that court aperance because he was locked up in A Jim Hogg County Texas jail. No one knew what was going on. He was than later after that arrest, released. The gov swore out the warrent and instead of making them come get him Casey surendered to them. Also casey never beat anyone, There were media witnesses to the whole incident where he suposedly beat two slavadorian illegals. |
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Quoted: Maybe I'm a stickler for details and I'll probably get flamed for it, but I'll say it anyway. When exactly did Congress declare war? And with whom did they declare war on? I ask this in regards to Jose Padilla. If he is being held as an enemy combatant, then who are we at war with? The Framers of the Constitution had very good reasons to not allow the Prez to make this decision unilaterally. As far as the situation with Nethercott it stink to high heaven since it seems he is being held for reasons that do not reflect the stated charges. WWII was the last declared war. That needs fixing. We're way too worried about people's sensibilities. If we were to have declared war, we would have had to declare it on an extra-national group and there allies. That would have been a first. I think the only parallel would be the Barbary Pirates. But we could have managed it. |