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Senator Asks DOJ to Investigate SWAT-ting Attacks on Conservative Bloggers

Senator Asks DOJ to Investigate SWAT-ting Attacks on Conservative Bloggers


A number of conservative bloggers allege they have been targeted through the use of harassment tactics such as SWAT-ting (fooling 911 operators into sending emergency teams to their homes), in retaliation for posts they have written, and now Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., has stepped into the matter. He has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to investigate the SWAT-ting cases to see if federal laws have been violated.

“I am writing with concern regarding recent reports that several members of the community of online political commentators have been targeted with harassing and frightening actions. Any potentially criminal action that incites fear, seeks to silence a dissenting opinion, and collaterally wastes the resources of law enforcement should be given close scrutiny at all levels,” Chambliss wrote.

Senator Asks DOJ to Investigate SWAT-ting Attacks on Conservative Bloggers - ABC News

As well as other sites discussed in the article, Patterico and Red State have already been targeted, and these aren't "pizza pranks." In Patterico's case, a phone call was made from inside his home by a man claiming to have killed his wife, but nobody inside the house had phoned. Deputies arrived and helicopters hovered, and the blogger was handcuffed.

I hope that AG Holder will take an interest in this. In the Red State case, Georgia is well aware of a person of interest. In general, though, if it's a cyber-attack, it could come from anywhere, so the DOJ's active involvement makes sense.

The SWAT incident with Patterico means that for someone "anything goes." Patterico could have been killed. This is something new.
 
That's not necessarily a party line. I belong to no party and yet say that the DOJ's not handling the Philly voter intimidation was wrong. So suggested the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Skip to pages 87-91 to read about the DOJ's "inherent conflict of interest" and its "intransigence and baseless refusals to reply to our supoenas," and etc.

http://www.usccr.gov/NBPH/USCCR_NBPP_report.pdf
The poster that I was responding to was wrong when he repeated the party line falsehood that the DOJ "threw out the Black Panther Philly voter intimidation case".

Now I don't really know what your claim means: "the DOJ's not handling the Philly voter intimidation was wrong." but it certainly appears that like the other poster, you too are wrong, and are dangerously close to repeating the same right wing falsehood.

The facts of the matter are that
* one NBPP member -- the vocal one with the billy club -- was convicted and served with an injunction,
* his partner's case was thrown out because he brandished no weapon and was an official poll watcher on top of that (see page 6 of your report) (there was also some confusion in that the DOJ originally thought he lived at that polling location (page 95)),
* and the cases against the New Black Panther Party itself and the leader of that party were thrown out since there was simply no evidence against them (guilt by association, so popular with the right, is not actually a crime).

Now, as to your pages -- I read them. I've read that report in the past. They have nothing to do with the actual case; it is merely whining by the commission that the DOJ did not cooperate fully, as I'm sure you well know. So, instead of discussing the case, you deflect to a discussion about the investigation of the case. Therefore I will assume you have no argument about the case itself (since you have not presented one). That's a good thing, since as we can see above, you really don't seem to have a grasp of it. The only gray area is the DOJ letting off Jackson (the cohort); even though his actions were mostly passive, his on-site association with the loud mouth with the billy club would technically be over the line IMHO.
 
The SWAT incident with Patterico means that for someone "anything goes." Patterico could have been killed. This is something new.

I honestly hadn't gotten this far in my thinking until I read GJ Flash's post, and he's right: This is a form of political terrorism. And no matter who's doing it, it's unacceptable.
 
And so the "intransigence" and willful refusal to respond to supoenas is just part of the job? :roll:

It's nothing new. The attacks are largely political too. Remember what people said about Alberto Gonzalez? Some of them had merit, but he picked and chose what he would do.

Point is you've got political appointees being attacked for political reasons. Why would you expect tht to be apolitical?
 
I honestly hadn't gotten this far in my thinking until I read GJ Flash's post, and he's right: This is a form of political terrorism. And no matter who's doing it, it's unacceptable.
It is political terrorism only if it is being done for political reasons.

Since we do not know why it is being done, the right is up to their usual tricks of spreading irrational fear and -- by blaming it on liberals with no evidence -- propaganda. SOS, DD.
 
Well, you don't know what they're doing. Your lack of information is proof of nothing (other than your lack of information). But you've got a good conspiracy theory going, and Sen. Chambliss put out a nice chest thumping press release which I'm sure will rile up his base (always in search of victimhood), so carry on :roll:

How do you know that is why they are being harassed?

One hell of a lot of circumstantial thats not being investigated very thoroughly by authorities.

The Profoundly Dishonest Brett Kimberlin : The Other McCain

The central figure in this is Brett Kimberlin, the speedway bomber.

Essentially he files suits over and over as a form of lawfare and there is some circumstantial evidence of more shady pressure. His standard mo is to go after people that blog about him and then file harassment charges for telling the truth about his history and criminal background. After he has that information they start getting harassed themselves. With two of the people that have had internet run ins with Kimberlin getting SWATed, its either an amazing coincidence or its something else.

Poke around, this is specifically about Kimberlin and his associates.

Karl, Im not sure if you got some background into this, but you dont have the whole story. I probably dont for that matter but I think Ive got more background than you.
 
Congrats on following the breadcrumbs. Kimberlin was discussed in the OP's link; apparently no one bothered to read it. Too busy concocting a liberal boogyman, it seems.

But several conservative bloggers have been vocal about who they believe is responsible for the SWAT-tings and other forms of harassment — Brett Kimberlin, a man who was convicted of a series of bombings in Speedway, Indiana in the 1980s and made headlines in 1988 when he claimed to have once sold marijuana to then-vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle.

The group of conservative bloggers organized “Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day” on May 25, during which they urged the blogging community to write about the actions of Kimberlin.

Kimberlin, who is now the director of a non-profit organization called Justice Through Music, told ABC News that he did not commit or ask anyone to conduct the SWAT-ting hoaxes that were perpetrated against Erickson and Frey.

Senator Asks DOJ to Investigate SWAT-ting Attacks on Conservative Bloggers - ABC News
 
Congrats on following the breadcrumbs. Kimberlin was discussed in the OP's link; apparently no one bothered to read it. Too busy concocting a liberal boogyman, it seems.

I knew the background of this story approximately a week or two ago. The OP link was a continuation of the actions of conservative bloggers to draw attention to Kimberlin's activities and his possible role in the SWATting incidents on Patterico and Erickson.

I dont think Kimberlin is a true believer in liberal ideaology he just seems like a sociopathic power wielder. His political alliance is liberal but I dont think thats why hes doing this. Its more personal with him.
 
It is political terrorism only if it is being done for political reasons.

Since we do not know why it is being done, the right is up to their usual tricks of spreading irrational fear and -- by blaming it on liberals with no evidence -- propaganda. SOS, DD.

Oh, please, Karl, just cut the crap. Don't try to place the blame here on "the right." Insofar as I am aware, the "right" hasn't said a freaking word. Unless, of course, you regard the ABC blog "The Note" as a rightwing news outlet. :roll:

What other reason could there be for terroristic attacks on conservative bloggers? Just random weirdos who targeted conservative blogs?This is all just a coinky-dinky?

You diminish yourself and your platform when you are disingenuous. Better to man up and express your disgust at this tactic--because it could happen to any site, couldn't it?--than to dismiss complaints about this cyber-tactic as "tricks of the right."

Or "spreading irrational fear." I'm not aware of anybody speading "irrational fear"; this OP simply reported a Senator asking the DOJ to investigate. :roll:

How about getting off your own little agenda and discussing an issue that could have an impact on every POV? How about that?
 
Agreed. Just as they had no business dismissing the Black Panther voter intimidation conviction.
LOL... don't have your facts straight on that case either. Surprise!
Really? Which fact(s)? That Black Panther voter intimidation crime was "the simplest and most obvious violation of federal law I saw in my Justice Department career," according to one (now former) DoJ attorney. The Black Panthers were charged for their "obvious" crime. What happened then? Anyone?

If men in white hoods had been standing in front of a polling place in Philly, they would be in jail right now (if not executed on the spot).

If liberal bloggers were being targeted by political terrorists who were sending armed squads of soldiers to their door in the dead of night, Eric Holder would be all over it. You know it. I know it. You won't accept that fact. I can.

(You can read the statement by the aforementioned attorney, perhaps you can tell us both where we're wrong.)
ADAMS: Inside the Black Panther case - Washington Times

I don't care what your point is.
Yes. I know. Which is why this response, like the one above it, isn't really directed at you. Nothing I could ever say would get through to you, there is little point in trying to rationalize with those like you. My comments are mostly for the other people reading the thread, those with the ability to rationalize.
No offense. :)
 
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Why should the DOJ get involved? Were any Federal crimes commited? If this isn't the action of a government agency, it's not a First Amendment thing. So unless there's something else going on that we don't see, it is at best a State issue.

Funny how the people who scream loudest about states rights are the same ones wanting Holder to get involved in a State jurisdiction.

Nothing in what I've read indicates a Federal crime has been commited. Should the perps be arrested? Yes, of course, they are breaking the law. Unless there's something going on that's not in the OP, It's not the DOJ's place.


Didn't I say - "I think the Senator is p*ssing in the wind if he thinks the DOJ will get involved". But I applaud the Senator for requesting the DOJ to look into.
 
Really? Which fact(s)? That Black Panther voter intimidation crime was "the simplest and most obvious violation of federal law I saw in my Justice Department career," according to one (now former) DoJ attorney. The Black Panthers were charged for their "obvious" crime. What happened then? Anyone?
[...]
You still don't know?

If the Washington Times didn't give you that info, I would suggest switching to a better source. You might try reading this thread as well . . . .
 
Oh, please, Karl, just cut the crap. Don't try to place the blame here on "the right." Insofar as I am aware, the "right" hasn't said a freaking word. Unless, of course, you regard the ABC blog "The Note" as a rightwing news outlet. :roll:
Incoherent.

What other reason could there be for terroristic attacks on conservative bloggers? Just random weirdos who targeted conservative blogs?This is all just a coinky-dinky?
At least two of us in this thread know the "other reason". Even setting that aside, a lack of imagination or information is not justification for a conclusion.

Example: The sun moves across the sky every day. Therefore the sun orbits around the Earth. :doh

How about getting off your own little agenda and discussing an issue that could have an impact on every POV? How about that?
I discuss the issue of right wing fanaticism all the time. It leads to intolerance, belligerence, and violence -- all of which certainly impacts every POV, or at least the free expression of it. Just look at McCarthyism, which is enjoying a resurgence of late (on "the right").
 
Aaron Justin Walker Attorney at Law: JAILED
For violating a restraining order and for maliciously attacking Brett Kimberlin. According to sources inside the courtroom, the Judge in the case ruled against Aaron Justin Walker in a most severe way, telling Mr. Walker that the courts were the rule of law and not Mr. Walker. Further news will be posted as it comes in. For now, Aaron Justin Walker is in the Montgomery County Maryland Jail after being escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs. The Judge was heard to say as Mr. Walker was being escorted out, “that if this were a criminal case in his courtroom that Mr. Walker would be looking at serious jail time.” Mr. Walker was in total shock as he was escorted out to the jail.
Aaron Justin Walker Attorney at Law: JAILED

.....read backstory and follow the links to this intriguing saga of fueding trolls

Legal Schnauzer: Liberal Activist Brett Kimberlin Engages Right Wingers In a Battle of High-Stakes Hard Ball


As I understand this very complicated and weird story, this guy Brett Kimberlin got fed up with Breitbart and his minions dirty little pranks against the left so he set up a website to counter Breitbart a few years ago. This made Breitbart's minions angry so they targeted him with a smear campaign on the internet that apparently crossed the line into inciting violence against Kimberlin. So Kimberlin found out who the anonymous bloggers were and filed a lawsuit against them.

Meanwhile Kimberlin had a previous lawsuit against blogger Justin Walker, an attorney charging him with assault in which the judge had issued a gag order during the ongoing investigation. But Walker couldn't keep quiet and wrote a 28 page blog about the case. So Kimberlin filed another lawsuit against him for that and during the hearing Walker lost his cool and the judge ordered him hauled away in handcuffs. So in retaliation, the Brietbart bloggers logged an internet attack against the judge to try and get him dismissed.

A few days later Walker was released on bail and no sooner was he out he's claiming Kimberlin was behind some dubious SWAT pranks. But that doesn't seem to fit Kimberlin's mo of using the legal system. So I suspect that this SWAT prank was actually perpetrated by Justin Walker and with "the help" of other bloggers so he would have something to countersue Kimberlin with. Meanwhile, the conservative bloggers are lamenting that the MSM hasn't picked up their smear campaign or the arrest of Walker.
 
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Carlton Nalley was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to offenses related to a SWAT-ting conspiracy in Fort Worth, Texas.
This has nothing to do with Kimberlin and the Brietbart trolls. Carlton Nalley was a lonely blind kid from a bad home who had a gift for impersonating voices and got himself involved in a nasty circle of trolls on message boards(?) and used SWAT pranks to retaliate against other trolls across state lines that had offended him or wouldn't give him phone sex. It had nothing to do with politics or this current wave of troll wars.
 
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This has nothing to do with Kimberlin and the Brietbart trolls. Carlton Nalley was a lonely blind kid from a bad home who had a gift for impersonating voices and got himself involved in a nasty circle of trolls on message boards(?) and used SWAT pranks to retaliate against other trolls across state lines that had offended him or wouldn't give him phone sex. It had nothing to do with politics or this current wave of troll wars.

While I agree that the two situations are different, there IS a connection. That would be the tactics...the SWAT-ting.
 
This has nothing to do with Kimberlin and the Brietbart trolls. Carlton Nalley was a lonely blind kid from a bad home who had a gift for impersonating voices and got himself involved in a nasty circle of trolls on message boards(?) and used SWAT pranks to retaliate against other trolls across state lines that had offended him or wouldn't give him phone sex. It had nothing to do with politics or this current wave of troll wars.
While that may true (and it sounds reasonable), it was offered to offset the right wing claim -- troll claim, if you will -- that the Obama administration would do nothing about the current situation for partisan reasons. That is the typical right wing attack -- find some rather obscure event and use it to trash someone they don't like (usually on an incorrect or simply preposterous premise).
 
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Whoever did the deed should be held accountable for the misuse of 911, harrassment, and being a nimrod.

30 years in the slammer should straighten out the stooge. :D
 
Whoever did the deed should be held accountable for the misuse of 911, harrassment, and being a nimrod.

30 years in the slammer should straighten out the stooge. :D

Yes, they should be. That's just not the DOJ's jurisdiction.
 
Yes, they should be. That's just not the DOJ's jurisdiction.


I see this as political harrassment. But we agree they should be held to the letter of the law. When the "rule of law" is dismissed, you have chaos.
 
While looking for info on the FBI's investigations of "swatting," I found this Brietbart exclusive (I think) that says 70 or more House members plan to send a formal letter to DOJ asking for it to investigate and to include the FBI:

Report: 70 House Members to Call on DOJ to Investigate SWATting of Conservative Bloggers

Erick Erickson/Red State is gaining a lot of attention, but it's important to remember that there are others in other states--Patrick Frey (California), Robert Stacy McCain (Maryland), and Ali Akbar (Texas).
 
Yes, they should be. That's just not the DOJ's jurisdiction.
If they can determine that interstate phone lines have been used, it probably will be.

However, to the right the most important determination has already been made: "Holder = bad."

And now, as we can see, it has become great bandwagon fodder for the right, as they trumpet their other predetermined mantra: "We're victims of the eeevil left".

Such great theater. Such little to do with running the country.
 
If they can determine that interstate phone lines have been used, it probably will be.

However, to the right the most important determination has already been made: "Holder = bad."

And now, as we can see, it has become great bandwagon fodder for the right, as they trumpet their other predetermined mantra: "We're victims of the eeevil left".

Such great theater. Such little to do with running the country.

Yes, Holder is a very bad AG. I guess I've missed the "bandwagon," but I've thought Holder was a poor choice since the beginning, and he hasn't demonstrated that my opinion was misplaced.

Here's a fun read for you: Eric Holder explains why he should be fired over Operation Fast & Furious. | RedState
 
If they can determine that interstate phone lines have been used, it probably will be.

However, to the right the most important determination has already been made: "Holder = bad."

And now, as we can see, it has become great bandwagon fodder for the right, as they trumpet their other predetermined mantra: "We're victims of the eeevil left".

Such great theater. Such little to do with running the country.

Yes...I, at least, have already determined that Holder is bad. That's why I don't expect much from him on this issue, though...if Congress gets vocal enough and if the media runs with this story...he may be forced to prove me wrong.

Suffice it to say, I don't expect him to willingly deal with this issue till after the election...if then.
 
Yes...I, at least, have already determined that Holder is bad. That's why I don't expect much from him on this issue, though...if Congress gets vocal enough and if the media runs with this story...he may be forced to prove me wrong.

Suffice it to say, I don't expect him to willingly deal with this issue till after the election...if then.


I agree.

If during the Bush Admin a "Fast and Furious" had occured, those responsible would have been drawn and quarter by the press at this point and time.

Holder can't even find the documents requested by the subcommitte. But then he probably couldn't find his butt hole with both hands and a flashlight either.

IMO, AG Holder is a boob.
 
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