Twenty-six years ago today, an FBI sniper killed Vicki Weaver as she stood in her cabin door holding her baby. That sniper was never held liable for gunning down that mother on a north Idaho mountaintop. As a result, Americans continue to be imperiled by federal agents’ license to kill. Below are some articles I […]
The Hill, June 13, 2018 A politically weaponized FBI is nothing new, but plenty dangerous by James Bovard The Justice Department Inspector General is expected to release on Thursday its report on alleged FBI misconduct during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump supporters and opponents are already pre-spinning the report to vindicate or undercut the president. […]
Future of Freedom Foundation Why Ruby Ridge Still Matters by James Bovard In the wake of violent clashes between protesters last August in Charlottesville, many people demanded a federal crackdown on suspected dangerous extremists. The federal government has previously carried out similar heavy-handed suppression efforts with disastrous results. Rather than intellectually purifying the nation, such […]
The Hill, December 11, 2017 YES, THE FBI IS AMERICA’S SECRET POLICE by James Bovard Politifact delivered a “pants on fire” slam to Fox News on Friday because one of its commentators asserted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation “has become America’s secret police.” The FBI has legions of new champions nowadays among liberals and […]
The Hill, November 14, 2017 Do Trump’s liberal critics seem increasingly unhinged? By James Bovard, opinion contributor Last week’s anniversary of Trump’s election sparked widespread teeth-gnashing by the nation’s pundits. Trump is supposedly the gravest threat to American democracy since the secession of the Confederacy. His presidency, probably, continues to be a boon for antidepressant […]
Future of Freedom Foundation The FBI’s Forgotten Criminal Record by James Bovard October 19, 2017 President Trump’s firing of FBI chief James Comey on May 9 spurred much of the media and many Democrats to rally around America’s most powerful domestic federal agency. But the FBI has a long record of both deceit and incompetence. […]
USA TODAY Ruby Ridge lessons for fighting right-wing extremism by James Bovard, Opinion columnist Published 10:04 a.m. ET Aug. 28, 2017 When the government tries to squash anti-American ideas it doesn’t like, the results are often destructive of American ideals. In the wake of the protest in Charlottesville by white supremacists, many people are demanding […]
