Government Retaliation is Out of Control 

Using color of law to injure someone is a crime, not just a lawsuit.

Monetary compensation will not stop this... The government will just tax more. There has to be criminal charges brought for these sorts of violations.

The sheriff’s office was LITERALLY guilty of terrorism. Their INTENTION was to terrorize the Plaintiff.

Everything a government official or officer is convicted of should be penalized 10x over what a private citizen would face.

Just proves how right James Madison was. Unless the Constitution lives in the hearts and minds of the people and in the decisions of the courts, it is nothing but a parchment barrier to tyranny. And tyranny is what this is.

The government has forgotten they take their orders from the people. The people have forgotten they are meant to give the government their orders.

Should have been a MILLION DOLLARS, not 2 hundred thousand. Paid out of the PAY CHECKS OF THE COPS AND THE JUDGE!

The term thick as thieves fits here and the large majority of employees within federal, state and local judicial systems stick together regardless of right or wrong. For them, it’s not about guilt or innocence of an individual. It’s about winning and they will stop at nothing!

We have an out of control government in this country.

They make it dangerous to become a concerned citizen.

It's tremendously troubling that a man innocent of terrorism is being caste as a terrorist BY the government DEMONSTRATING WHAT TERRORISM LOOKS LIKE.

There is a serious lack of accountability in cases like this. The Judiciary should be more punishing of government workers abusing their power.

Every case of "Qualified Immunity" should go to a jury to decide. Institute for Justice, thank you for all of your hard work helping to keep governments accountable. ❤

I had a cop ticket me for being parked to far into the street because I gave him a hard time about his language he used on these kids who were playing kickball on the street. I went to court to dispute it and the DA. handling parking tickets could not believe the cop used a law that was amended 50 years ago. The local paper did an article about the case and the cop became the butt of jokes on the local radio shows. Fortunately I lived in a different town because every time the cop saw me, he tried to provoke me to arrest me. He was finally fired after being caught lying too many times on court. Then he went to worl as a security guard at a defense contractor, where he would use his flashlight to look in worker's cars looking for items they may have stolen from the contractor. The workers started calling him Flash Gordo. Too often the wrong type of person enter law enforcement for the wrong reasons.

What's even more troubling is the fact that the 'sheriff' showed up with a SWAT team, fully armed with machine guns, over a POST online. This is why the founders drafted the 2nd amendment.

The money I contribute monthly to IJ has been some of the best money I have ever spent. Keep up the excellent work and the fight against injustice!

The illusion of freedom we've been taught we have quickly falls apart when put into practice .

The problem is that the government side never pays personally. No charges no fine lawsuit payed by the people.

Keep up the great work, IJ. Remember, it's not only about your clients. It's about everyone!! If the government can use it, they will use it against everyone!!

When I was in the Navy, the Chiefs' mess retaliated against me for going against them sleeping with young Airmen. They told me they would ensure I would never make a first class, and they were right. What hit me hard was that even my branch Chief turned a blind eye. I worked hard for my Chief, and I thought he had my back when I did the right thing. I guess I was wrong. The sad part is that my case is not uncommon. You know what I am talking about if you were in the Navy.

*_It's not so much_* that Government retaliation is out of control, so much as it *_is_* one of their forms of control. You're free so long as you Obey and don't question authority. 🤐

Goes to show we no longer live in the land of the free at all.

It largely boils down to professionalism. The less disciplined, knowledgeable, and emotional you are the more likely you are to break rules for your needs. In my experiences those crossing the line think they are not crossing a line at all and believe they are acting with in the scope of their authority which is also why they fight so hard when called out. Finding these people and bringing more oversight and guidance to them tends to alleviate these issues. Simple legal penalties only make people sullen and more likely to be covert in their future attacks.

A similar thing happened to me unfortunately I was not afforded a lawyer, allowing the DA to overstep his bounds, ending with my conviction of Terroristic threatening, and a 13 dollar fine, not a large sanction , but now it is on my record, when I am the complete opposite of a terrorist, I am a decorated veteran, I was on the tarmac in Sicily when they brought down the hijackers of the Achellie Lauro!

I love how cops have intimate knowledge of hundred year old laws, but not the Rights of citizens, or modern laws

That Sheriff's Dept. was accusing that man of doing what they were setting the example of.

You guys handle these injustices so much better than I can... I get so upset and angry that our Constitutional rights seem to have been SO subverted over the past 20 years, and we the people just seem to take it on the chin. I was sitting in a local village park parking lot a couple years ago.. There were 11 other cars in the same parking lot with other people walking dogs, taking a stroll down the trail, etc... I was sitting there studying for my Commercial and Instrument Pilot practical exam that I had coming up the next week. I had flown almost 60 hours of intense flight training and hundreds of hours of study prep getting ready for the flight exam. A cop starting banging on my window startling the crap out of me. I rolled the window down and he demanded my ID asking "what was I doing?". I showed him the 3 books open on the front seat along with 2 Ipads open to Flying-Pilot Apps and told him I was studying for my upcoming flight exams. When he still very sternly demanded my ID, I asked if he was demanding ID from the other dozen cars and 2 dozen people. He said he wasn't because I was the only one that was suspicious... I showed him my books and iPads again and said this doesn't answer your questions? He said it did not and threatened to pull me out of my car if I didn't produce my ID. Now, I'm a 60 year guy just minding my own business and I didn't want him undoing a shoulder surgery I had trying to put me in handcuffs, so I finally gave my id to him and he went back to his car that was blocking me in.. There he sat in his car for almost 2 HOURS with MY ID, probably trying to find something to charge me with. I decided to just keep studying since he was taking forever... Finally he came back and the sun had gone down about 10 minutes by then. He told me people had been killed in this park and that's why he was checking up on the park. I pointed to the house 200 yards away explaining that was my house and my family had been living there for 38 years, and there was never a murder, let alone ANY crime that was committed in THIS PARK! He then said he was going to be writing me a ticket for being in the park after dark. I told him that was OK, because I was going to be playing the recording of our encounter at the village meeting in August and putting him and the PD on display for the community, and then filing a lawsuit for retaliation because he didn't like me pointing out his ridiculous lies, and that I would expose him for keeping me prisoner in my own car for 2 hours until the sun went down, so he could write me a ticket. He mumbled, said I didn't have permission to record him - but that he was going to let it go. He mumbled something else, got in his car, and drove away. Because he didn't give me a ticket, and I couldn't remember his full name, I tried to get an appointment with his Lt. or Chief, to discuss what happened and find out his name, but he he was always out of town or on vacation, or out of the office, etc etc. ....

I once fought a speeding ticket and appealed the judgment. It was an insanely difficult task and I lost in the end as the judge was corrupt (judge wrote and changed the officer’s brief/testimony). Thank you for all that you guys do and for fighting for the avg citizen who often doesn’t have time or resources to fight these battles.

Unfortunately, sociopaths are difficult to train. Best to keep them out of law enforcement!

MANY years ago I was pulled over on a John Deere at a rural, all dirt, intersection because I was pulling four empty hay wagons. The sheriff's deputy did let me off but said he could ticket me for pulling 'more than the legal limit of 2' He said I couldn't see behind four wagons so it was unsafe. In case you've never pulled a hay wagon, you can't see behind ONE of them if it's full. Several weeks later he pulled me over again for 'failure to come to a complete stop' also on a John Deere while pulling a single loaded wagon full of corn sileage. Said JD had a TOP speed, down hill, with a tail wind, of 13 (Thirteen) MPH. I likely made the turn at 4 or 5 MPH. Mind you this is a cabless tractor that can see clearly in every direction (except backward!) I had likely made that turn 200 times by then and except in the rare traffic case, had never stopped completely. Again the same deputy let me go after chewing me out. TURNED OUT this officer had been denied a zoning variance and my employer was on the zoning board. So he chose to hassle him, and also the other members of the board. In this case, the sheriff himself solved the problem by 'UN-Employing' said deputy. But that was 50 years ago!

Thank you for saving America one case at a time.

Here's my take on all this as a Vietnam Vet.....Police in America today are being trained by returning war Veterans. The problem with that is this....The rules for engagement during wartime policing vs civilian engagement is very different. Local Police agencies are being trained WE civilians are the enemy! And that is why Police are being armed with military grade weapons, armor, SWAT teams, and military grade vehicles. That has led too huge "Officer safety." training hands out of your pockets, lay on the ground, sit on the curb, out of your car etc. etc etc. Here's one example that I saw video of a few yrs ago.....A mentally challenged homeless man somewhere in Arizona had put up a tent in a vacant lot. Cops were called, they responded with a SWAT team. The man was confronted and he moved away about 50 yards up the side of a hill. He pulled out a small knife and started waving it around. SWAT was yelling at the guy too drop the knife, drop the knife. Another SWAT member shot a stun granade the guys direction. Another SWAT member clicked off one shot from his M-16 executing the guy. Bottom line Civilian policing was never meant or designed to work the way it is today. I myself tried to complain too my State representative about this illegal fact regarding our States (Mi) FOIA request law. In order for me or anyone to request a FOIA, we must provide, name, address, phone. email etc. That is absolutely ridiculous!!!! If for example I had info on corruption in my local Police Dept, by giving all my personal information that would leave me wide open to retribution by those very corrupt police. I wanted to meet on the providing personal info matter directly too the Representative, but he passed me on too his support staff. Bunch of BS!

When the biggest employer in the United states is the federal government and not private free Americans we have a problem, government doesn't create revenue it takes. And we the people let the government grow out of control by not keeping them in check by letting a person makes a career out of being a professional politician we need term limits and do away with qualified immunity and special treatment of government all government officials. I could go on and on but I think you get the point .ps stop the nanny and police state disgraceful

Sadly, it's the taxpayers who pay not only the lawsuit awards but also the legal fees for both sides. There should be a way to pierce the government veil (similar to piercing the corporate veil) in order to make those who abuse their official powers pay at least come of the costs.

10 years ago, I became a victim in a child removal case. They removed my child when she was 6 days old, and accused us of being neglectful (I had, by this time, raised 3 boys into their 20's...and they're all doing great). They terminated my rights at 6 months, because we wouldn't play the game. 2 months later, in front of an administrative law judge at CPS, they ruled, on the record of the court, that CPS had made a mistake and said they shouldn't have removed our child. 10 years fighting it, and I still have not seen my child since she was 3 weeks old. During the course of all of this, they took away my visits (because I was exposing all the illegal things they had done on my online blog), tried to have me arrested for lies twice,k falsified 2 drug tests (and I caught them doing it both times) They threw me out of the case when it looked like I might win, saying I had no rights to the child...then terminated the rights they said I didn't have. I was arrested 10 times in relation to exposing what they were doing. I tried to file on the fed level, and they denied me, even though everything was open and shut, legally. It's quite the story

You guys perform a great value in ensuring rights of the people are upheld !! You are invaluable to this republic !!

A woman who owned a bar was arrested for allegedly public intoxication in her bar after she let the unpopular with the police department candidate for sheriff put a sign in front of her business.

This is by design, Qualified Immunity is the standard and used as cover for everything from legitimate mistakes to gross negligence, so gov't just does whatever they want knowing they can investigate themselves and find they did nothing wrong and the courts will grant them cover. With no accountability, the process IS the punishment.

Glad you shinning a light on petty tyrants

I signed a petition to stop high density housing and car dealerships on Arapahoe Road in Centennial Colorado and was immediately extorted by the Republican city councilman of my district. I have been stalked and harassed by him since 2015 all the way to California and as recently as three weeks ago.

we really need to start treating arresting people as a form of kidnapping and if anyone makes false statements to the police to cause somebody to be arrested intentionally or even if a police officer intentionally uses his power to arrest somebody as a form of retaliation without cause should be a criminal crime or even the police officer or the person can spend time in jail significant time in jail

Beyond time for people raise up and Hold all these Government Cartel Members actually accountable with real consequences.

We need accountability for judges that make atrociously ignorant rulings, like a lien against their right to practice law.

I love to see IJs subscribers grow! They are needed, maybe more than they even know! Thank you Institute for Justice

The government is just plain out of control. Qualified immunity has had its day, needs to be ended/restricted. Government needs to be held accountable for their oversteps in violating our Constitution and constitutional rights. Thank you for your work in keeping the government in line.

Town of Lagrange NY councilman created a lawsuit for $10 million dollars against me for posting audio video of his own statements. His attorneys sent a fake subpoena to youtube for all of my personal information. All because the Town is refusing to allow us to farm on the farmland we purchased in 2020.

What an incredible video and what an amazing organization. My brother, a veteran police officer, was retaliated against by his police department when he alleged corruption within the police administration. He was targeted with patently retaliatory internal affairs investigations and punitive measures beyond that which any other officer had ever been subjected to. It's such a crazy, convoluted story that we made an entire documentary about it. It's called "Unbecoming | Full Documentary", available to watch on RU-vid. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly among those in law enforcement. We are in the process of raising funds and seeking out council that can help him prepare a case. I believe it will be a very important case with respect to police accountability and government transparency. If anyone at IJ is willing to take a look, we'd be beyond grateful.

UN-PERMITTED (FLOWER BOX!) OMG! 😱 What a CRIME!

Better government is less government.

I’m dealing with a narcissist in power who thinks the rules don’t apply to him, but he’s not above being willing to state with absolute confidence he has the law behind him. He simply looks for sentences out of context and uses them.

Prosecutorial misconduct isn't unseemly, it's slimy! Thank you IJ, it's a shame you're so needed.

the reason this is possible is because of how profitable it is for judges to convict ALL who go before the court and they give incentives for cops to bring in as many men and women as they can

Child welfare is the worst! They need to be put in check

it's corrupt power-hungry individuals in government with grossly self-assumed egotistical authority using intimidation by retaliating against ANY and ALL the individuals questioning, "Why are you lawfully having a different opinion than me?"-essentially, it's "Rude KARENS Bullying" of everyone else.

What an AWESOME TEAM IJ is! I just found your channel yesterday and I've watched 4 cases already. .Thank You all!!! ❤ I'm sharing with others. God Live ya!!

I'm so glad took Steve Lehto's suggestion to heart and became a monthly donor. You do incredible work for those who have no options.

We the people are pissed off

"So basically this guy made an edgy joke online, so they got a dozen people together and pulled up on his house."

Nothing in this universe is as fragile as a cop's ego.

Qualified Immunity to me is the same thing as the excuse of “I’m just doing my job “ when things go bad. It’s up to every person to hold these agencies and judges accountable. If and when any government employee does something wrong, they should be on the hook for all monetary compensation. It’s so sad that “We the People “ have let this go. Sheriffs and all officers should know and understand their responsibilities and the constitution of these United States.

It was an insane interpretation and abuse of a terrorism law that started the Oregon Wildlife Refuge standoff. An accidental brush fire that did no damage was charged as terrorism, and forced a judge to sentence two men to 5 years in jail for a petty accident. This in turn led to the protest where they took control of the vacant Wildlife Refuge offices, which in turn led to the government assassination of LaVoy Finicum.

Humans can't be in law enforcement for long durations of time without the power corrupting them.

Thank you for helping these people fight tyrannical government corruption

Once in NJ, a woman cried and pretended to be a victim, without ever actually stating it outright. LEO harassment is real, and they feel entitled to run you out of town, and high five each other when you leave. Even when the abuser, is the one crying.

You all are TRUE AMERICAN HERO’S.!!! I live paycheck to paycheck and give what i can, Steve Lehto & John Bryan (The Civil Rights Lawyer) made me aware of yiur work. I swear that if i ever hit the powerball, come into a large amount of money or grow my business to be more successful…..ALOT of that $$ is going to you.!!! #IjIsForThePeople

Thank god for I.J

Your organization makes me wish I were a billionaire instead of a broke old man. I'd be writing you a BIG check! Thank you IJ!

Truth is, the joke was not even pointed at them. It was pointed at the federal government.

What I really don't understand is the pattern, they get sued and then immediately retaliate in the pettiest way. Do they really think no one is going to notice.

I've only just become familiar with IJ after watching a couple of videos, but I am now a huge fan. So relieved to find out about you. Your work is paramount to keeping hope alive of getting this country on the right track.

You speak truth to power and you are going to be a target . Politicians , prosecutors, sometimes police , local officials , and others will be on your back for life.

Thank you IJ! What you do gives voice to all of us in the silent majority.

The Constitution says... You have Due Process & Rights. The Government says... You are Due to be Processed, Right this way to your CAGE! Government does any damn thing they want with NO Accountability for their Actions. Your only remedy to Sue them. If you can find a lawyer it cost you a fortune and a lot of time.

Glad to see Institute for Justice focusing on cases like this.

This is an excellent and much needed resource for the general public. I am not an inherently politically-driven person. In my opinion, Thomas Jefferson was correct in his statement, "A government that governs least, governs best." We need recourse against the latent or explicit tyranny of all levels of government.

Unpermitted flower box? What is wrong with people?

I think our government needs a special division of the legislative branch whose soul purpose is to review law books and remove outdated invalid or abusive laws to prevent retaliatory use. Preferably one that allows people to directly challenge the spirit of a law and put things to a popular vote to get unpopular legislation quickly struck down. Very useful for fighting special interests snuck into popular laws

It’s not a government retaliating,it’s the people in the government !

In GA alone 20,000 new laws are passed every year not including tax laws. It seems the brochure overselling Freedom for All is actually an open-air prison with unwarranted 24hr surveillance of citizens.

I own a commercial building in a small town 100 miles away. The city manager wants the building cheap. They hired a consultant to “reinterpret” the zoning regulations to create a violation, then they asked me if I would reduce the price of the building by the amount of the fine. They then requested that the county building inspector red tag the building. I have not yet received any notice listing any items out of compliance, or any notice of required corrective actions.

Ammon Bundy is a great example of the government retaliating not only with their agencies but also with private sector which happen to financially support the government officials that are retaliating. The hospital sued him for using his free speech, but they did this law suit to support the governor of Idaho. He is now homeless. The hey took everything from him. Even his kids college funds. It’s so disgusting how the retaliation from gov agents and their buddies use law fare to destroy lives

About the screaming "fire" in a crowded theatre analogy. What bothers me about that is that it is labeled "incitement" when it is actually "fraud". Shouldn't that kind of speech be covered by fraud laws? The same that protect consumers from "fraud"? That is exactly what yelling "fire" without one is, a type of fraud. The same word would be valuable if, indeed, there were a fire. I don't think incitement should be touched upon. Incitement becomes broad and, frankly, should be protected speech. Advocating beating up someone and actually doing it are substantively different.

I'm in a top 15 metro area. I have law enforcement trying to break into my home claiming a wellness check. You have to understand the dynamics of how the city will do whatever the county tells it to do. I was the victim of a horrendous malfeasance in their court system. Nobody's going to believe me but I believe that they arranged to have me killed. I suffered a subdural hematoma in an assault robbery and rather than operate after I was taken to the hospital they discharged me to a convalescent facility where my condition exacerbated and if it hadn't been for me insisting on staying at the ER to be seen after a CT scan, I would have died. The context is that I have also been denied healthcare for 4 years where they're willing to make appointments for me but then cancel them the day before so that I never get seen. I am also subjected to a 24/7 organized stalking harassment program are the neighbors on four sides of me are all paid on a full-time basis or compensated in some manner to do nothing but keep track of me and perpetrate some sort of harassment or noise campaign every time I go out into my yard. They have to have monitoring inside my house because they can do it the second I walk out my door. There's a lot of information about organized stalking harassment on the internet but most of it's fake where people are just trying to act crazy. The plethora of voices it's hard to tell who's really a victim and that just speaks to how much money they put into this. I have also posted a lot of information on Quora and on a Sunday the day after I posted it, my internet restriction became limited to a cell phone only. In other words all of my internet can only be accessed 6 inch screen I have changed providers and they're doing the same thing. It's clear that they're sending the message that harassment will never end. It's been over 2 months now and it hasn't changed.

The skills required to be a City Attorney appear to be heavily weighted toward not getting fired by successive elected groups of officials, and less toward keeping the duty toward their resident employers (taxpayers) in mind. They should say no, but do their best to say yes by figuring out how.

Freedom isn't free, and we need lawyers who fight for our rights or we won't have any rights left. GJ IJ TYSVM

Hmm....lemme see. 5 years ago, I fought the mayor in my city on something he wanted....and I didn't. I sent him 3 emails, saying I didn't like it. Nothing. I met with him in person. Nothing. I spoke out at several city council meetings. Nothing. then printed up and passed out 2000 15-page docs on the subject...and that got a lot of attention. Later, I filed an unrelated federal lawsuit against him, and put a copy of it into his general email. 4 hours later, 4 sheriffs broke down my door WITH GUNS DRAWN to arrest me on a misdemeanor stalking charge. They kept me in jail for 3 months on a $50,000 cash only bail, saying I was a "danger to the community" (even though no one in my "community" would ever say that)...then, when everything was said and done concerning the matter, I magically just stopped being a danger to the community, and they released me without bail. They also tried to put me in prison with a felony charge. I beat that one without an attorney. They then changed the law to ensure that no one like me would ever beat them that way again. The media absolutely libeled me and demonized me on this, reporting on it as far away as San Francisco CA (it happened in SD.) The news in my city actually reported on me when I disseminated the libelous police report on the matter (it's illegal to copy and distribute a police report in that state...Gee, I wonder why?) If you Google my name and Sioux Falls, SD, I still come up the first full page of results and more.

"Show me the man I'll show you the crime." was literally Letitia James and Alvin Bragg's campaign promises.

As a resident of Rapides Parish, I am happy that the 5th Circuit overturned the silly District Court decision. I hope that the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office has learned its lesson but I doubt it.

It’s hilarious how _some_ certain people are easily able to simply get an attorney and sue for their wrongdoings, even if they are minor.

Years ago, I received a chippy speeding ticket for a stretch of two-lane highway which was near a bridge which was being up graded. The Highway on which I was driving did not cross or pass by the bridge. The speed limit had been reduced by the County temporarily until the repairs to the Bridge had been completed. Knowing in the State of Oregon only the Department of Transportation has the authority to set or change the posted speed limit (By Oregon Revised Statutes) I was confident The Citation would be dismissed by the Judge. The Officer showed up and was completely honest in his testimony. I addressed His Honor with the statute Number and read its information. The Judge told me that reading this Statute was' Hearsay' and found me guilty...Huh? Hearsay...reading the law in a court of Law is HEARSAY? Needless to say, I quickly paid the Clerk of the court with my credit card (Paper trail and all) and got the Hell out of town...never to return...

Thank you for your work.

My city has been trying to force their way into my apartment for 3 years without a warrant. I have been threatened with "police action", fines and trying to have me evicted. Pretty sure you guys have already taken this to court and I have read both the U.S. Supreme Court and MN Supreme Court cases that cover these rental inspections and both have held that I have a constitutional right to insist on a warrant. The city has threatened to with hold the rental company license to rent if I don't let them in without a warrant, trying to force the rental company to evict me. While the rest of the country is trying end veteran homelessness, my city is trying to throw one out on the street for insisting on his rights.

I and many others need help badly from an organization such as this. I have recently found that justice can not be had without the ability to hire a lawyer or a whole team. I chose a life of service never thinking that descion would keep me from being able to protect my kids and myself, legally that is. Now that I have had this realization, I see the miscarriage of justice everywhere. God bless the work you do and I pray for the cases you represent. How can I help?

Love this! The people rule the government NOT v.v.! Great job these people are doing and fighting for all of us. TY!!

The courts tag teamed qualified immunity to make sure a Constitutional violation is impenetrable and unaddressable. -- If there is no case law saying some activity is illegal, then the presumption is the violator did not know it was illegal and case dismissed without further case law being created. No further case law to inform a future violator means they can just violate again, "cause they didn't know any better".

If I ever become wealthy IJ will be on the top of my donation list.

Thank you for, and each and every member of your team. Answering phones, opening envelopes, renting office space, ordering supplies, researchers, legal clerks, attorneys and directors. One reason the US Constitution is as robust as it is because of the willingness of those individuals to stand up and say no. To ask for help and those who have the skills to help do so. Lawyers as dedicated, staffers as dedicated could turn a small for profit business into a Fourtune 500 company. But no they fight for the individuals against the state thereby ensuring more freedom for everyone! Kudo! Unfortunately other countries have not had thier laws tested or rights fought for as often for as long. One day hopefully more people will take up the fight in other countries. IG is also a example of what is possible when people stand together. IG helps other people in other countries indirectly. Oh last thing. Thank you to everyone who donated. Be a little or a lot.

I absolutely adore the Institute for Justice. They do such important work. I wish I was in a position to support you financially, but the least I can do is watch and like your videos.. And share them.

What gets me is, the government has TOTAL access to all information, materials, and can make minuscule changes to the laws that they are breaking so that they are no longer breaking them.

The entire DoJ under Merrick Garland is now indistinguishable from a crime syndicate. The Attorney General and most of his staff belong in jail.