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Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Not a Red Flag Seizure But A Swatting

In Broward County, city of Weston, the wife of a city commissioner filed a police report after a resident of the city named Peter Van Antwerpen posted a meme to a Facebook group.  The meme consisted of a reference to a draft law that appears to be in line for consideration in our state's next legislative session.  The session is looking bad for gun rights in Florida after the way the Stupid Party sold out last year.  While the session starts in mid-January of '20, word of preliminary hearings and activities are coming out now.

The law in question appears to be senate bill SB 134, which repeals the state preemption law and allows political subdivisions and municipalities to pass firearm laws more restrictive than state laws and potentially pass their own gun control ordinances.

The state preemption law this is about is something we picked up in the last few years.  Ten years ago when I got my Florida CWFL, preemption was the law, but there was no enforcement - no consequences for breaking it.  The reality was while state law might have said it was legal for one to carry their concealed weapon in a county park, the county could say no.  The current preemption law added enforcement and individual liability, punishing the county legislators who passed the law violating the state law.
Van Antwerpen posted a meme of Charleston Heston holding up a rifle with the caption “from my cold dead hands.” The picture and quote originate from the 2000 NRA convention where Heston gave an impassioned speech about gun rights.

In the social media post by Van Antwerpen a few anti-gun politicians were named. Van Antwerpen wondered if the gun banning politicians were going to lead the confiscation effort in person. Nowhere in his post were any threats issued.
....
Van Antwerpen is also a well-known philanthropist in the community. He is involved in local politics fighting against liberal corruption. The semi-retired executive is a strong believer in the second amendment and the Constitution.

Beth Jaffe, who is the wife of city commissioner Bryon Jaffe, felt that the meme was threatening her life. Ms. Jaffe contacted the district office of the Broward County Sheriff's Department and asked for them to investigate Van Antwerpen.
Remember, this is the same Broward County Sheriff's Department formerly (and potentially to be again) run by Chief Coward Scott Israel, and the home of the Broward Coward School Resource Officer who ran and hid during the Parkland shooting.  They're not known for blistering competence.

The SWAT team showed up banging at Van Antwerpen's door in the early morning, in full tactical gear, without any warrants.

As SWATTINGs can work out, it ended well.  I'm guessing that's probably because of his being "a well-known philanthropist in the community."
Van Antwerpen, in a bath towel, greeted the members of the unit. The investigator's started to question Van Antwerpen about the social media post. He is a major supporter of law enforcement, so he chose to answer their questions.

Van Antwerpen explained the meme and asked the lead investigator if the meme broke any laws. The Sheriff's Deputy admitted that it did not break any laws. The investigator concluded that Van Antwerpen was not a danger to anyone. He gave Van Antwerpen the police report number.
This being the Broward County Sheriff's Department, it took them three weeks to deliver the report to Van Antwerpen.  That's when he found the complainant was Beth Jaffe, the wife of Weston city commissioner Bryon Jaffe.  There's a history of "bad blood" between the leftist Jaffes and the more freedom-oriented Van Antwerpens.  Peter Van Antwerpen took to Facebook to highlight what he sees as a personal vendetta against his family.
“A city commission member's wife, Beth Jaffe, who has a well known antipathy for my wife, myself and my family, sent an email to the threat assessment division of Broward Sheriffs Office and over a week later BSO deputies in full tactical gear showed up at our house to interrogate us on this post,” Van Antwerpen wrote on Facebook.
Because the article source (Ammoland News) doesn't mention Peter Van Antwerpen owning guns and having them removed, this doesn't appear to be a Red Flag law misapplied, but it's clearly a SWATTING (although Ammoland strangely doesn't call it that directly).  It's yet another example of unreasonable search in violation of the 4th amendment (the SWAT team had no warrants).  Still, it could have gone much worse and might have if Mr. Van Antwerpen wasn't well known in the city.  Nuisance SWATTING should be a crime. 


Weston City Hall (source)



14 comments:

  1. Turn about is going to be fair play soon. He could have been killed on the spot under other, understandable, circumstances.
    I hope he sues the shit out of the instigator.

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  2. Amazing what the "entitled" think they can do...

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    1. The entitled don’t think, they know.
      And each day, the cucking Murikan’ white man gives them no reason to think otherwise.

      Delete
    2. What can the government get away with? Whatever you let 'em. So far, you're letting them do whatever they want. No consequences, no reason to pull back.

      Vote at 'em again, it'll work this time!

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. The appropriate police response to this BS complaint would be to look at the online post, determine that no threat was made, and advise the complaintant of the punishment for making a frivolous or false police report. If there was some doubt as to whether a veiled threat was being made, then maybe call the guy and talk to him instead of showing up at his door with a SWAT team.

    This is the problem with giving government too much power. There are people like Beth Jaffe who believe in big government as the coercive means to inflict their will on others. Don't like someone's Facebook post? Send a SWAT team to intimidate them so they'll think twice about posting something you don't like.

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  5. There is a BIG lesson here. STFU! Do not allow TPTB to know what you are thinking. This fellow is ruined, even though he is right. There are many ways to make your feelings known to those who rule over you without broadcasting them on social media. Channel Claire Wolfe. Use your imagination.

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  6. And I'm sure she feels justified. How dare that man oppose her!

    Certainly no reason to be concerned about giving this power to government to do this routinely.

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  7. You beat me to it. That's ALL you need to know

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  8. Tick Tock MFer's Tick Tock. I am thinking it's high time to use their games against them. Stop being lazy people, fuck with them just as hard...

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  9. Left wing death squads wear blue. And badges.

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  10. Make a list now of all the progs in your sphere of influence - militant and otherwise. If this Red Flag nonsense is passed - at either a local or national level - SWAT FLAG them. Repeatedly. Over and over and over and over. They wanted this. They SCREAMED for this. This is the world they voted for, this is the world they agitated for. Give it to them. Let them enjoy being zip-tie, face-down d on their front-lawn, with barking dogs nipping, their kids shrieking and their neighbors staring in shocked silence, with the red-and-blues flashing in everybody's windows.

    Anything the left does, no matter how heinous, is justified in visiting upon them. No prog is guiltless in this, as they support this nonsense - materally. They want this to happen - they are not guiltless, they are not harmless. Make them own the consequences of their beliefs. Make them suffer right alongside the good people of this world they mean to destroy and kill.

    Make these evil bastards eat what they shovel... and if a few of them get killed by trigger happy pigs... well that's just too goddamned bad. Remember... this is what they WANTED.

    Give it to them.

    Good and hard.

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