Demanding Accountability

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Man Facing Jail / Fine
for Removing Branch
BLM intentionally obstructs trails with dangerous debri and deceptive signage

By H. Howard Hewitt
Investigative Reporter

Josephine County, OR - A man is facing 1 year in prison and $1000 fine for removing hazardous obstacles from trails.

Notice, foot and horse travel is permitted

John Henry, spoken of as a peaceful and generous man by people knowing him, intending with his daughter to enjoy a trail marked open for horses found booby-traps obstructing their way.

Since the debris is hazardous to the horses by complete obstruction or for safe passage, it seemed like common sense to abate any peril found upon the trail.

Despite a congressional mandate to maintain and improve the quality of recreation, the BLM does not share Congress' or Mr. Henry's ideas, logic, or sense of trail safety and wants to further its Closure Agenda.

While Mr. Henry and a friend were scouting for hazardously placed debris, a BLM employee, Tom Gentry, appeared from the brush and asked what they were doing on the mountain trail.

Mr. Henry told Gentry that he was taking pictures of all the dangerous debris intentionally thrown on the trail and to secure safe passage.

Henry's friend added, "There is no way to do endurance training on the trails" with all the obstruction he'd seen on the trail.

Henry inquired into why the dangerous obstructions were being placed on the trail.

"We place the obstructions because we don't know what else to do to stop motorcycle riders from coming into the area," BLM agent Gentry timidly answered.

Henry told Gentry that placing obstacles was making a hazard for everyone and that Obstruction placements were acts of terrorism, that unsuspecting people are going to get hurt. Gentry did not respond to that and disappeared, running up the trail.

In an exchange, a week before on May 29, 2006, with another BLM employee, Vickie Whiteaker, Henry first found out BLM employees are placing the hazards on the trails. Whiteaker, out of apparent frustration with Henry's discovery snapped, "Any time those are removed, we'll be right back out here to put them back on!!!" "And the trail you rode on earlier, we just got finished placing obstructions on that one, again."

"And there's nothing you can do to stop US!!!"

"You can leave the trail and ride around them!!!"

Henry's young daughter was shocked at Vickie's response and conduct coming from the, once, long-time riding partner, "Friends don't do that."

Some weeks later upon an inferior and apparently self-serving investigation, BLM Officer, Donald Robinson, issued two violation notices charging $100 "collateral" plus $25 fee for each count of Maintaining A Trail Without BLM Authorization, 43 CFR 8351.2-1 (8) (d), instructing a court appearance for a Sunday.

The federal court in Medford, Oregon, closed on the weekend works to deny Henry due process.

Robinson also stated, when questioned upon the reason for the violation notices,"I'm just doing my job," that the U.S. deputy attorney [Douglas W. Fong], told him to, "Just give him [Henry] the papers and we'll take care of him."

Mr. Henry states, "The violation notices didn't issue until after I had informed various government departments, such as the Department of Interior, Inspector General, and the U.S. Attorney, Oregon, exposing that their employees were creating risks of harm to people, and providing opportunity to fix it."

That the notices are facially defective but the persecution continues confirms the U.S. Attorneys intend, to "take care of him." What's more ironic is the United States is merely 'a Federal corporation', 28 USC 3002 (15), as the U.S. Code shows. This is a corporate hit on Henry.

The court record shows a filing challenging the subject matter jurisdiction of the court remaining unanswered by the government. Failure to answer such a challenge normally is fatal to any authority respecting lawful avoidance remedies.

Instead of answering the challenge, government Attorneys had Henry arrested, brutalized, and deprived of substantial rights as retaliation.

Ironically, in September of 2006, the Inspector General of the Department of Interior testified before Congress regarding the prevalent corrupt influence of Special Interests upon the Dept. of Interior.

Mr. Henry, already denied the most basic due process, indicated this, "was obviously going to be a Railroading."

Seven days later, despite the special appearance and challenge, instead of writing the required Finding from the evidence in the record, a magistrate, of challenged authority, issued an arrest warrant which was executed by more than 6 federal marshals, guns drawn, who descended upon Mr. Henry, while he helped a friend with a custom truck.

Henry said, "The force used to arrest an innocent man was unwarranted, but that was nothing compared to the abuses in the jail. I was denied every right, dignity, or respect and put four days in a place they call The Hole, and isolation."

"I was even told by the jail guards that Abu Ghraib got it from them."

"Maybe this is why I was threatened with Tazers and suffered other abuse every time I attempted to invoke my inherent rights," Henry supposed.

In recounting the hearings forced upon him, "Magistrate Cooney and Judge Panner are ignoring my court filings and rights and they are not going to let me have a jury trial.

As Cooney said when I tried exercising a lawful preplea remedy, "HEY! This is the way it works . . . I'll tell you what your rights are."

"My true name didn't conform to the complaint so Cooney continued the fraudulently fabricated name, a wrongful Identity FOR the prosecution."

Henry considered, "People would be shocked to see the systemic abuses of the U.S. courts."

"You have no rights, but to pay exactions [extortions] of every kind." See: "Civil Rights": 42 USC 1981. "I'll tell you your rights, Toby!"

He continued, "It feels just like the movies ROOTS, or ARMISTAD where the Spanish Slaver renamed their abductees and then sold them into the Commerce of the United States."

"A ticket is forced on you and punched for the Train to Deprivation and leaves the station."

"They have the cart WAY before the horse, but these Attorneys do not care. There is no law."

"Unlike the Movies or TV, Bar members and their courts are not any protection but an obstruction, Woe as stated in Luke 11:52."

"We're all present day slaves feeding the system Lawyers invented, not peaceful or dignified."

"I see why the prisons are full."

"But I can't let this go. It is wrong for the BLM to put people at risk and for Bar members to cover it up." "If I lose, we all lose."

"Notwithstanding my innocence, I could just pay the $100 extortion to get out from under the oppression and keep clearing hazards, but the agencies will use it as an excuse to keep endangering people."

"If I do not oppose this and more people get hurt, I don't know how I would feel about that." "Things have gotten absolutely insane."

"No government agency has any right to attack people enjoying their own land."

"This is our backyard, God given."

"Using unlimited organized resources, the U.S. courts are working with the U.S. prosecutors who work in concert with the U.S. Agencies committing violence to deny us land and safety.

They are treating me like I'm some paid profiteer, contractor, employee, or human resource of the United States violating some performance agreement."

"But the truth is, they are trying to make an example out of me for exposing them for the crimes they are committing against us," Henry observed.

A friend who was with Mr. Henry also investigating the many reports of people being damaged by the BLM agenda to close off the forest said, "This is absolutely outrageous."

He says his letters to the agencies about his investigations have remained unanswered as well; No response.

Henry added, "I see with my own eyes, the government can not be trusted. I have absolutely no confidence government secures or protects people."

"There is no doubt, the only terrorism that is occurring in America is that committed by the government itself. As a friend says, "The Federal corporation has failed its mission statement." "If it won't respect its limits, it won't respect any one, and we have a big problem."

Henry stated, "The immense impudence of these Federal corporation employees is evident.

I won't leave a hazard on a trail which will harm me or others. This can only be a problem because the BLM and Government wants people harmed."

"I have the inherent right and duty to protect those around me and no just law says otherwise."

Disappointed, Mr. Henry and his daughter never did finish their attempts to complete the trail rides. If the BLM Closure Agenda has its way, that ride will not happen, for while Henry wastes away in jail for moving a branch from a trail, unchecked BLM trail-trashings prevail.

"And there's nothing you can do to stop US!" -- Vickie Whiteaker, BLM Employee.

Howard Hewitt may be reached at hhhewittving@yahoo.com.

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