Here’s another shocker from the “no shit” files:
The Massachusetts man charged this week with stockpiling weapons after saying he feared an imminent “Armageddon” appears to have been active in the Tea Party movement, and saw Sarah Palin, who he said is on a “righteous ‘Mission from God,'” as the only figure capable of averting the destruction of society.
As we reported yesterday, Gregory Girard, a Manchester technology consultant, was found with a stash of military grade weapons, explosive devices including tear gas and pepper ball canisters, camouflage clothing, knives, handcuffs, bulletproof vests and helmets, and night vision goggles, say police. They believe Girard, who pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, was “preparing for domestic and political turmoil,” and feared martial law would soon be imposed.
Girard’s wife said her husband had recently told her: “Don’t talk to people, shoot them instead,” and “it’s fine to shoot people in the head because traitors deserve it.”
You know what this means, don’t you? Prepare yourself for another 20,000 word Reason treatise on the myth of the unhinged right-winger, with accompanying videos from the Fonzi of Freedom.
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
This is good news for McCain!
Jay B.
Really? I was thinking they’d go with the “Yeah, Girard’s case is a little extreme, but this willfully misread and completely misleading slant I have on some very obscure proposal an Undersecretary of the Interior made, pretty much shows you can’t be too paranoid these days.”
licensed to kill time
__
She traded in the Bluesmobile for a microphone.
Mark S.
Handcuffs? Was he planning on taking some prisoners? I think those were for personal use.
namekarB
To arms! to arms! The Armageddonites are coming.
John PM
I would like to chime in again with my theory that, if the Book of Revelations is in fact accurate, I believe that Sarah Palin is in fact the Anti-Christ. If Palin truly were on a mission from G-d, and her followers were true Christians, there would be no need for the fear and hysteria they are spreading, because they are already going to heaven.
Chat Noir
That’s some heavy duty paranoia there.
Violet
Shorter 20,000 word Reason article: White people can’t be terrorists. Only brown people can be terrorists. Therefore, Mr. Girard is obviously some kind of unusual one-off and in no way indicative of any larger issues.
FormerSwingVoter
“Gee, how did Scott Brown win? Everyone knows that everyone in Massachusetts is a Democrat!”
Alex S.
These conspiracy nuts secretly long for the day the world falls apart so they can finally kill people with guns and axes.
kay
I’m just afraid this imperils her chance at the nomination, and I’m betting on that.
I refuse to be afraid of her supporters, just on general principles.
cervantes
And his prediction came true — they broke down his door and took his weapons. I expect he’ll have champions.
Corner Stone
Last time I checked it was not a crime in and of itself to own the things the original story reports were found in his residence.
Firing the .22 inside a certain zone or city limit may be an infraction.
bobbo
Megan McArdle: This once again proves that the Obama administration has moved to far to the left. If only he would adopt policies more popular with the right wing fringe, we would have fewer threats of horrible, unspeakable violence from the right wing fringe.
stevie314159
But what about the crazies on the left who fear that uninsured people won’t have health care?
Jason Bylinowski
Wow, hadn’t heard about this story. What are the chances that we might hear something about this on the evening news? Also, should I start holding my breath before or after pigs fly out of my butt? Thank you kindly for the advice.
4tehlulz
This guy failed at paranoid survivalism; you’re supposed to go down in a blaze of glory when the cops come after you.
BARRASSO
I NEED nuclear weapons because they are the only way to protect me from the US government. Iran or Wingnut?
licensed to kill time
@John PM:
Some of the Tea Partiers are starting to agree with you, sort of:
“Leader Slams Palin as Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”
I see the youtube Fiorina parody ads in 3..2..1…
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Obama and his radical socialist agenda of postpartisanship is driving these poor people insane?
kay
He thinks Obama is recruiting a secret police force composed of “inner city youths”.
Which might be a really amusing, if it were true.
Mark S.
@Corner Stone:
link
SpotWeld
I hate to invoke the “specter of Beck”, but the timing of this falls in nicely with Glenn Beck’s recent show.
(Link is to Crooks and Liars)
MikeJ
I’m guessing it’s the hand grenades that were in the cache that got him arrested.
Joey Maloney
@John PM:
I surmise this is why Bible Spice did that whole write-on-her-palm thing. Which hand did she write on, hmm? Her left hand. And everyone got so excited about that, did anyone bother to check her right hand? You know, to see if there was a mark there? No, they didn’t.
The Evil One is aware of all stage-magic traditions.
eemom
there’s another blurb on memeorandum that some tea party kingpin said Palin is bad for the “movement” cuz she’s an “Insider.”
Trouble in Paradise. Tee hee.
eemom
@licensed to kill time:
oops, ya beat me to it…
SpotWeld
Also… gentlemen, I present to you the target audience for the “Red Dawn” remake.
John Quixote
Gotta love his spouse’s comments.
You’d think she would have gotten the hint that her hubby just might be homicidally insane.
m3872
And still the Republicans I’m sure will ask for Napolitano to be fired for releasing the report from the DHS that warned about right-wing violence.
Gosh, what little those career officials know when compared to Inhofe and DeMint …
Corner Stone
@Mark S.: and @MikeJ
I read the original story at Gloucester DT before I commented.
He didn’t have “hand grenades” he had tear gas and pepper balls. IMO they aren’t the same thing but I guess we’ll find out shortly either way. If classified as tear gas and pepper spray/balls then they are not illegal.
As to the batons – those are legal to own. Both the fixed baton and expandable versions are sold through Moteng.
They make it sound like owning some of the other non-weapon gear is a crime as well. I just disagree with the breathless reporting that owning these materials is somehow criminal.
John Quixote
@4tehlulz:
That’s what he gets for not listening to G. Gordon Liddy, America’s Plumber.
@SpotWeld:
Which will be worse, I wonder: the Red Dawn remake or the upcoming (and future Best Picture winner) A-Team film. And they didn’t even have the balls to cast Mr. T.
Osprey
crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-beck-apocalypse-now-hour-guest
Funny that you mention Reason writing an article, and there’s a writer from Reason on Beck’s show where they spent the hour talking about, you f’in guessed it, anarchy and apocalypse!
Alan
I’ve heard this before… did law enforcement really round up people’s weapons during the aftermath of Katrina?
And if it did happen, wasn’t the GOP running all branches of the federal government?
SpotWeld
@Alan:The main report of that focused on goverment supplied transportation. There were buses transporting people out of the disaster zone post Katrina. People getting on those buses weren’t allowed to take firearms. (I’m summarizing horribly.)
Alan
@SpotWeld: If that’s the gist of it, that’s a huge difference than law enforcement rounding up guns.
Darkmoth
What fascinates me with these cases is how their preparations for turmoil would only be effective in a well-policed society. Yeah, being armed to the teeth is fine against a burglar with a Saturday Night Special. You can rely on the fact that the cops will be there eventually, and that pillaging gangs won’t be patrolling the streets.
But if things really do go to hell, all that survivalist stuff is a joke. You have to sleep sometimes, and a couple of molotov cocktails through a window puts an end to the Omega Man/I Am Legend fantasy in your head. It’s like these guys are so invested with their innate superiority that they can’t form an accurate picture of how dangerous true turmoil would be.
And…handcuffs, really?
Zandar
The Jihad is always fun when Paul Muad’Dib is running it.
Not so much when it’s the Fremen themselves.
Jess
@Corner Stone:
Maybe it’s like weed, and you only get busted for more than a certain amount. Or maybe they busted him for tax evasion.
cat48
Sully has mentioned several times that Palin’s stmts to her mob are very Queen Esther-like; very Biblical.
I can’t personally judge because I haven’t read the Bible in 30 yrs and have forgot most of what I learned.
Brachiator
Why, then, was the guy arrested?
“Target audience.” Interesting word choice.
HyperIon
the Fonzi of Freedom was on Bill Moyers Journal last week, wearing the jacket. He was, of course, defending Citizens v United.
I was amazed to hear Moyers say he read Reason.
John Quixote
@Zandar:
They just lack thier Mah’di.
Nevermind, they seem to have found one.
Let’s hope she cannot access her genetic memory.
The (Bible) Spice Must Flow.
birthmarker
Licensed to Kill Time at #19–
this is an interesting link..I have always wondered how the Repubs would control the teabaggers. I heard some fellow on cable news hollering abut term limits and the corporate takeover of our country. It’s like the repubs have unleashed the hounds of hell–on themselves.
Mark S.
@Corner Stone:
Doing a couple minutes of googling, I found there’s a wide range of state laws concerning tear gas and pepper spray. I admit, I think banning police batons is pretty stupid.
Unless the DA is an idiot, there must be laws against possession of these materials in Massachusetts.
scudbucket
@Darkmoth: What fascinates me with these cases …
The armed up guys I know aren’t preparing for chaos in the streets, but for armed resistance against the guvmint. What I find fascinating is that they think a few extra rounds (or whatever) will somehow make a difference. Doubly fascinating is that when they tell other folks of their arsenal, they often get nods of agreement, like it’s rational. Like it would actually work.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Not that I like agreeing with Corner Stone, but other than the possibly getting in trouble for shooting his gun inside the condo, I don’t really see much that he should get in trouble for. Can it be illegal to own a police baton? The grenade type explosives look like smoke bombs.
At best, they should have asked to see what he had, rather than arresting on a tip. If he wants to prepare for armageddon, that’s his right.
Now if they are arresting him for trying to get a dangerous weapon – Sarah Palin – in the White House, then I say lock him up for years.
Comrade Dread
Esther didn’t talk much. And when she did, she was reluctant to use her power (and risk her life) and only did so with her uncle’s encouragement.
Palin’s speeches aren’t biblical. They’re mostly digested sound byte pablum that she’s vomiting into the ears of her followers. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@scudbucket: It’s the myth of the Rebels against the British government, and Red Dawn. Most people do not realize that we were losing the Revolution until the French started training our army.
licensed to kill time
@birthmarker:
Yes, I always wondered when they might come to the realization that riding the tiger makes it difficult to dismount.
SpotWeld
@John Quixote: Re: A-team vs Red Dawn.
I’m kinda optimistic about the A-team. It seems to be not taking itself too seriously at all.. then even remember to flip a jeep in the trailer.
Red Dawn, without that humor will fall flat. And the people this movie being targeted to won’t get that humor. Instead they’ll need jokes like a hippy getting raped/shot becuase they didn’t have any guns.
SpotWeld
@Brachiator: He set up a target range in his attic
SpotWeld
@Brachiator: He set up a target range in his attic
Corner Stone
@Brachiator:
That’s a very good question. The article indicates a friend of his wife’s tipped the ATF to some “hand grenades” which they passed to local police. Now we find out the wife has some interesting comments regarding his mental state.
He was unknown to LEOs before this which proves absolutely nothing except he hadn’t been charged with anything prior.
I’m not defending the guy at all. He may be a real mess.
My stance is that it is not a crime to own 20 firearms and an amount of ammo, plus camo clothes and other non-lethal gear – like 6 months of rations.
But once the police went in they practically had to charge him with something. And the reporting is making it seem like owning these items is all by itself an indictment.
WTS, it’s still unclear exactly what the “grenade type explosive devices” are. Maybe they are illegal to own. But tear gas and pepper balls are not, nor are batons or bulletproof vests.
His statements (at least the ones his wife allegedly volunteered) are irrelevant unless he threatened some specific person.
Maybe instead of two wetsuits and a dildo this guy likes to play dress up with his camo, vest, handcuffs and fixed batons.
But now he’s pretty much screwed whether he’s a nutter or just a gun nut.
Comrade Dread
I think, in their paranoid conspiracy fantasies, most of these people assume that at some point a large swath of the military will opt to disobey Barrack HUSSEIN Obama so they’ll have tanks and F-22s on their side of the civil war they all seem to expect.
Tsulagi
That’s odd, in MA possession of basically a stick is a criminal offense? Most people carry something just as if not more lethal concealed in their car, a tire iron.
Funny part of the linked story is it mentions Girard’s wife is a psychiatrist. I dunno, maybe it’s a judgment call, but if my SO seriously said to me “Don’t talk to people, shoot them instead,” and “it’s fine to shoot people in the head because traitors deserve it” don’t think I’d need a doctorate in psychiatry to say “Whoa” and put a few extra locks on my gun cabinets.
Corner Stone
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): Even though it’s freakin’ freezing here, you have just warmed the cockles of my heart.
John Quixote
@Corner Stone:
There’s a difference?
Seriously, I imagine this nut-job lacked the proper documentation to go along with his weapons. You can own pretty much any gun that you want. You do have to register it, though.
Corner Stone
@Mark S.:
Yes, and most likely an even larger variation of local ordinances, codes, zones, etc.
They will find something that sticks and confiscate his items, they can do little else now.
Joy
@John PM: Absolutely. I said the very same thing the other day to my husband. On the other hand, I don’t believe she really has any intention of running for President. She only pretends to be so that she can continue her charade. Face it, without the pretense of running for President and scaring the living shit out of every sane person in the United States, she really has nothing going for her and wouldn’t be able to rake in the dough.
Comrade Dread
@Tsulagi
Or start slipping some Prozac into his morning coffee.
SpotWeld
@Corner Stone: He set up a shooting range in his attic.
Girard was also charged with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.
Allan
If we don’t hear from BoB again until this guy posts bail, well…
Jay B.
I would think there’s some public utility in outlawing grenade-style tear gas canisters. As far as police batons, I dunno, but I know that blackjacks are outlawed in many places — the irony being, of course, that you can have a fucking AK-47 anyway. Or a Glock.
So: Military-grade weaponry? A-OK!
Things several orders of magnitude less lethal? No.
Corner Stone
@John Quixote: I’m not familiar enough with the gun laws in MA to know what their licensing or permitting requires.
From one of the pics at GDT the weapons look like pretty ordinary wood stocked rifles or shotguns. But I can’t find an itemized list so it’s hard to say. They refer to them as assault rifles and military grade weapons.
Maybe they are. But that’s not illegal either unless they are fully auto with no accompanying tax stamp/permit/license or whatever MA requires.
Once again we’re back to the “framing” of the issue, at least for me.
Corner Stone
@SpotWeld: Yes, I know.
And that may be against the zoning or local ordinances as indicated. I don’t know what all the rules are where he lives. So I guess we’ll find out.
But that’s not why they went into his house to arrest him. They didn’t know about that until after. None of his neighbors had ever reported hearing gunfire.
And honestly? If that’s what they charge him with to bring all this to a close it will be pretty uncalled for, IMO.
Mark S.
@Corner Stone:
Yeah, I’m not sure they have much on him.
Corner Stone
On a slight tangent – anyone who has ever tried to carry a 6 to 8 pound rifle with accompanying ammunition, a handgun in a holster with magazines, a backpack with food/clothes/etc – knows how foolish it is to stockpile 20 different weapons (with different ammo) for some doomsday event.
Try moving a couple thousands rounds of ammo from one location to another. For that matter try moving several gallons of water from one location to another.
Nothing wrong with being prepared for some natural disturbances like snow, hurricanes, power plant outages but prepping for the ballon to go up is really way too hard core for 99.9% of the population.
Michael D.
So wait, when Jesus comes, Girard’s planning to shoot him?
SpotWeld
@Corner Stone: Let me postulate this.
If a man owns a number of hunting knives, it is not an issue
If a man owns a number of hunting knives, and expresses a political opinion, it is not an issue.
If a man owns a number of hunting knives, expresses a political opinion, and (in a manner that makes his friends and family feel distutbed) speaks of threats and conspiracy in a manner thats uggests irrationality and violence then it is reasonable for the police to investigate.
I think nothing there is controversial.
If as part of that investigation it is found that this man is breaking the law, then it is reasonable for charges to be filed.
Also, you state “None of his neighbors had ever reported hearing gunfire”. I know this will be argumentative, but how can you claim this. I do not see any statement affirmative or negative on his neighbors observation of gunfire. This is speculation. (Please provide links if it’s otherwise)
LarryB
Hmm. This story sounds strangely familiar. I note that his wife is singing to the press. I wonder if she ratted him out to the Feds?
Corner Stone
@SpotWeld:
You’re right, it may be a little too broad to say “none”. The police do not mention it in the GDT report of this incident, and the article mentions this:
and this:
So I concluded the police were unaware of official reports from neighbors hearing gunfire. Maybe they did and those reports haven’t been discovered yet. So it may be premature to say “none”.
ETA – but I still maintain my point that the illegal range was not the reason they entered his house. That discovery came later.
protected static
@MikeJ: actually the only obviously illegal things were the police batons, banned under MA law. MA law also limits the amount of ammunition you can legally store in your house to something like 10,000 rounds, which he may also have been in violation of. One of the photos showed the police chief displaying a Saiga rifle which is a genuine Russian AK47 only sporterized (traditional rifle stock, no flash hider/muzzle brake, no bayonet lug) – and it’s totally legal in MA, as long as you only have a 10-round magazine in it.
OTOH, it’s doing things that rise to the level of a Tarasoff violation that can get you arrested quickly, particularly when your spouse is a mental health professional (as his wife is).
aimai
I know it will come as a shock to you all but I have stood in line behind white guys, in Cambridge fricken’ MA, who are wearing Rush Nation/dittohead T shirts. There are plenty of nuts here, and they are even more paranoid than the regular red state variety because they feel surrounded and outnumbered.
aimai
Chad N Freude
@Comrade Dread: But when Queen Pester speaks, whatever she says is by definition Biblical.
Robert Sneddon
If the gentleman in question had been a dark-skinned Muslim talking wildly to his wife about jihad rather than Armageddon and speaking of shooting infidels in the head then I don’t think he would be getting given the benefit of the doubt by many folks.
I presume, since he’s white, he was Mirandized?
Chad N Freude
@Comrade Dread: I think they see themselves as the Inglorious Basterds, a small band of brave elusive heroes.
Comrade Dread
Of course, if that’s the case, there is a certain irony that they fantasize about being a band of armed guerrillas (insurgents) conducting asymmetrical warfare (terrorist acts) against an illegitimate government.
FormerSwingVoter
@Darkmoth:
I’m reminded of an acquaintance I had a couple years ago, a friend-of-a-friend, who was completely convinced that society was going to collapse any day now. This led to an interesting conversation.
He bought a gun and a box of ammo in preparation for it, and didn’t like when I pointed out that other people also had guns, or even improvised weapons, and that a single box of ammo wasn’t gonna last long during the endtimes. I also asked him what this “collapse of society” would look like, exactly. Does the President come on TV and say “Okay, all rules don’t matter anymore! START KILLING EACH OTHER!!” The people who believe THE END IS COMING RIGHT NOW SOCIETY WILL COLLAPSE ETC ETC never actually have some sort of mechanism by which it occurs. It’s like the Underpants Gnomes, except instead its the Anarchy Gnomes:
Step 1: Something I don’t like happened!! Why did they not consult me first, in my ever-knowing wisdom?
Step 2: ???
Step 3: CHAOS IN THE STREETS!!!!
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
Let me get this straight from a teabagger point-of-view…it might be wrong to arrest a man armed to the teeth and prepared for Armageddon but it’s probably right to arrest an elderly black professor who raises his voice in his own home. Amirite?
Chuck Butcher
Because we live in a country with a “free press” it is up to the media to take responsibility for what they disseminate. There are people who are skidding along the edge of sane behavior and a constant “reputable” reinforcement of their craziness will have an effect. I’m real unsure how to hold media accountable beyond relentless mockery.
That doesn’t just apply to Armageddon nonsense, there are any number of folks who are ignorant of firearms and would be shocked to know that, for instance, having a swimming pool is more dangerous than having a firearm in the house, that doctors kill more people per year than civilian firearms, gun violence has been on a down trend for the last 10 years.
Media sensationalism crosses a lot political/ideological lines.
Corner Stone
@Robert Sneddon: Predator Drone strike.
It’s the only way to be sure.
DonkeyKong
Maybe David Brooks should have this guy over for dinner. He’s real.
scav
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: Don’t forget the flashcards: THOSE things we really gotta keep under control.
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
Yeah, just in case there are still a few who are not paying attention …..
There were two things you could do last year. One is to celebrate the fact that the fucking moron crazy lunatics are on the outs politically right now in this country and THAT FACT ALONE is a reason to hope that America might have a future, or ….
….spend the year whining like a suckass pussy baby whinemonkey that you didn’t get whatever pony you thought you deserved for voting for Barack Obama, and acting like THAT was what was really important.
It’s like this. The former is important, and the latter is a bunch of bullshit. And the sooner everyone on our side gets this, the better off we will be.
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
Oh, and FUCK YOUR WORTHLESS MOD FILTER.
Repost, until I get it to work:
Yeah, just in case there are still a few who are not paying attention …..
There were two things you could do last year. One is to celebrate the fact that the f_cking moron crazy lunatics are on the outs politically right now in this country and THAT FACT ALONE is a reason to hope that America might have a future, or ….
….spend the year whining like a sueck_ss pu$$y baby whinemonkey that you didn’t get whatever pony you thought you deserved for voting for Barack Obama, and acting like THAT was what was really important.
It’s like this. The former is important, and the latter is a bunch of bullsh_t. And the sooner everyone on our side gets this, the better off we will be.
Darkmoth
@Comrade Dread:
Once they figure out how to land an F-22 in the cul-de-sac, they’re all set. Getting the Abrams into the garage is another matter entirely.
MTiffany
@Chuck Butcher:
Sorry, no. In a free society, with a free market and a free press, it is the responsibility of the citizens to hold media outlets accountable for what they disseminate – by voting with our dollars, in much the same way it is our responsibility to hold our elected officials accountable – by voting.
FormerSwingVoter
@Comrade Dread:
I know a guy like this. He honestly believes that the entire military is just itching for a reason to rebel against the government, and that, as soon as the revolution begins, the entire military will turn to the One True Teabagging Path.
Martin
@MTiffany: I can’t vote with my dollars. I have no way to reward MSNBC (or whoever) and punish Fox by buying one channel and not the other.
And the big three are using the public airwaves, which are therefore prepaid. Since they’ve been given my tiny sliver of spectrum before they broadcast anything, I can’t reward or punish them either.
You got a roadmap we can follow?
Blue Raven
@Martin:
It’s called shopping/not shopping for products from their sponsors and informing them why in friendly and pointed letters. Did you really miss every last call for consumer boycott/support for various causes in the last 20 years?
MTiffany
@Martin:
Yes you do. Watch the former and not the latter. But in this case, you’re the commodity being sold (your eyeballs to potential advertisers) AND the consumer of those products advertised.
Terrestrial stations do use spectrum, but first, they pay licensing fees for the use of that spectrum, second, there is this thing called the FCC to whom YOU or any other person can complain when a broadcaster unleashes some horror on the unsuspecting public, like a nipple, and third, see the first paragraph above.
Sure, quit whining, start thinking, and then get to doing.
M. Bouffant
Not sure what the Mass. laws on body armor are, but take a look at the shipping regs on the knives & some other items on this site.
Link leads to this, for body armor:
Tire irons, crow-bars & baseball bats have legitimate, non criminal uses. A police baton has one use. And a collapsible baton is, essentially, a concealed weapon.
Haven’t prowled around the US Cav site for several yrs., but the shipping regs. for knives, ninja throwing stars & the like used vary from state to state & country to country.
So don’t claim that something “just isn’t illegal” until you’ve researched the state laws.
Bastard WP effed up my blockquote!
Paul L.
Remember when progressives were condemning and claiming they did not engage in guilt by association.
Comrade Kevin
and then, the babbling idiot shows up. Isn’t there a lacrosse game on somewhere?
jake the snake
@John Quitxote
Whoever controls the (Bible) Spice controls the universe.
Tax Analyst
@Mark S.:
Wow! I read the comments from that link and there sure were a lot of folks who thought it was perfectly OK for this delusional guy to have as many weapons as he could “legally” buy…some because he had “no criminal record”. How many times in the recent past have we had to read that some nut-job who went off the deep end and killed a handful (or more) of innocent people had “no criminal record”?
This type of zealot almost NEVER has a “criminal record” until they finally fill their gym bag with enough guns and ammo to clean out all all the “undesirables” or “police spies” for a couple city blocks or so.
The scary part is that in reading many of the gun-lover’s comments I can see the same type of wild-eyed paranoid attitude that this Girard character was operating under.
Mike G
Bender
Meanwhile, Harvard-educated liberal neuroscience prof actually kills three people in Alabama because she’s denied tenure.
Balloon Juice has no comment.
New Media!