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Two Republic of Texas members were accused of the misdemeanor offense of "simulating legal process" in Kerr County. Don't get bogged down by that, it's a misdemeanor. Big deal.
In connection with the investigation, a district judge amazingly authorized the raid of a meeting of that group at the local VFW. It occurred and sixty members were present. So what? Maybe the cops were just looking for evidence to support that heinous misdemeanor offense.
But get this: The raid was based upon a search warrant signed "by state District Judge Keith Williams [which] authorized collection of fingerprints, photos and DNA swabs from those at the VFW hall to prevent anyone from providing a false identity to authorities. It also authorized officers to seize computers, cell phones and paper documents 'relevant to, or which describe criminal conduct or suspected criminal activity.'”
Holy crap. I'm not accused of a crime but because someone in my "group" is I can be detained, fingerprinted, photoed and swabbed??!!! You kidding me? Hey, I know the Republic of Texas can be a pain in the arse for local officials, and I'm all for prosecuting one of its members if he commits a crime. But for the government to target a group with a search warrant for the purpose of identifying its members (which is what this sure sounds like) is beyond scary.
Or at least it is scary to me. I might call the Texas Attorney General about this after he's through fighting gay marriage.
Source.
