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<DIV><FONT size=5><STRONG><SPAN class=bigheadline>Stankiewicz defends local
militia</SPAN><BR></STRONG></FONT><FONT size=-2
face="Geneva, Arial, Helvetica"><I>Posted: Thursday, Apr 08, 2010 - 03:25:16 pm
CDT</I></FONT><BR><SPAN class=smheadline11>By JULIE GOLDER<BR>Staff writer,
<EM>Bonners Ferry Herald</EM></SPAN><BR></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>BONNERS FERRY — Every able-bodied Idaho male 18 through 45-years
old, already belongs to the militia, according to Jeff
Stankiewicz.</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=story>That is outlined in the Idaho
Constitution, said Stankiewicz, major of the 21st Battalion of North Idaho's
Lightfoot Militia.<BR><BR>A member of the Constitution party, Stankiewicz is
challenging incumbent assessor Dave Ryals in the Nov. 2 general election. Ryals
is running on the Republican ticket.<BR><BR>It is not, however, Stankiewicz's
political campaign that is drawing the most attention. It is his membership in
the militia — especially after a similar group in Indiana were arrested last
month for allegedly plotting violence against the government.
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<TD>Stankiewicz and other members of the 21st Battalion were recently
interviewed on ABC's "Nightline" about militias in general and more
specifically about Idaho's Lightfoot Militia.<BR><BR>A certified welder,
Stankiewicz, 41, was born and raised in Connecticut. He worked for a local
steel manufacturing company for five years until he was recently laid off
until new contracts come in.<BR><BR>His interest in the militia was
sparked when he joined the John Birch Society 15 years ago after moving to
North Idaho. Stankiewicz said society members taught him about the U.S.
Constitution — something he was never taught in school.<BR><BR>After
waiting for 10 years, he decided it would be better to start the group
that to wait any longer.<BR><BR>“I waited for someone to come along and
start it; I thought maybe someone ex-military would step up,” Stankiewicz
said. “It never happened, then the Tea Party movement started and people
were waking up to things I have known for over 15 years. I thought, ‘Now
is the time.’ ”<BR><BR>While the state constitution does address the
creation of a militia, it also gives the authority for enrollment,
equipment and discipline to the Legislature. All militia officers must be
commissioned by the governor and the length of their commission set by the
Legislature.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz holds no such commission, and no
legislative sanction has been granted the 21st Lightfoot
Battalion.<BR><BR>While ABC News reported that 12 members showed up for
last week's interview, Stankiewicz said 24 people actually were present.
In total, the group has somewhere between 100 to 200 members, he
added.<BR><BR>“There are members who don’t want to say their names, they
don’t want to give up their security,” Stankiewicz said. “A lot of it is
about not showing our strengths and that is why some people did not want
to be on camera.”<BR><BR>The battalion is preparing for an economic
collapse. Members want to be on the front lines to ensure safety and
provide medical attention in the wake of the ensuing chaos that would
likely come from the dollar falling in a tailspin, Stankiewicz
said.<BR><BR>“We don’t want this to happen, we hope it doesn’t happen, but
we want to be prepared for it if it does,” Stankiewicz said.<BR><BR>Much
of the group's monthly training centers around just that.<BR><BR>“We are
not worried about conspiracy theory, but being this far into debt as a
nation can lead to disorder,” Stankiewicz said. “When the truck stops
delivering food and people’s federal checks stop coming there could be
rioting in cities, that is why I am glad I live here.”<BR><BR>Stankiewicz
said the group uses military manuals and follows basic military training,
including first aid and survival.<BR><BR>Despite the negative connotation
presented by the show, Stankiewicz said the 21st Lightfoot Battalion is in
Boundary County to provide whatever assistance they are asked to
provide.<BR><BR>“I use the examples if there is a flood and volunteers
were needed to sand bag, we would be there,” he said.<BR><BR>As an
example, Stankiewicz cited the call for volunteers by local law
enforcement in the event of an emergency.<BR><BR>It would be better, he
added, for them to call upon a group already trained, organized and
ready.<BR><BR>Boundary County has the lowest turnout of participants in
the regional Lightfoot militia units. Stankiewicz believes it is because
potential members are afraid of the strong stand taken by the county's
sheriff's office and county commissioners against the
group.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz said they are loyal citizens and most of the
militia's members obtain concealed weapons permits to show they are
upstanding citizens.<BR><BR>The 21st Lightfoot Battalion believes that if
there is a breakdown in civil order they will be needed to protect
neighborhoods. Stankiewicz said they will offer assistance to the Sheriff
and other local law enforcement agencies to stand guard where
needed.<BR><BR>“Again, I hope we are never necessary,” he said. “I want to
die an old man with some really nice hunting and camping gear.”<BR><BR>A
person of faith like many in the group, Stankiewicz said the 21st
Lightfoot Battalion is not preparing for the end times — which is the
proclaimed mission of the Hutaree militia in Indiana, where a group of
eight members are currently in jail on charges of trying to overthrow the
government. <BR><BR>While the groups are linked on each other's Web
sites — something which critics say show the commonality of their beliefs
— Stankiewicz said that isn't the case.<BR><BR>“We are linked to other
Militia groups but we are not part of their belief system or group,” said
Stankiewicz said. “We basically wanted to link up with others so when
someone used the search engine we would come up more often.”<BR><BR>While
taken aback by what he says is the negative spin put on the group by
“Nightline” crews, Stankiewicz doesn't regret talking to the
media.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz said he knew there was a possibility of negative
coverage from the outset but that if he didn’t do the interview they would
have still run the story.<BR><BR>“The press is not the enemy, we could
have chosen not to talk to them and then I guarantee it would be bad,”
said Stankiewicz.<BR><BR>The real enemy are those who don't follow the
Constitution, Stankiewicz said.<BR><BR>“One of the funny things is at the
beginning of the piece on ABC, they said, 'They are not police officers
and they are not active duty military, but in reality we are ex-cops,
ex-military, ex-EMT and firemen.”<BR><BR>Stankiewicz said he has
never had political aspirations but was asked by Donna and Terry Capurso
at a meeting of the Boundary County Property Association if he would run
for assessor.<BR><BR>“I thought we needed new blood in that seat and he
came back to us after the meeting and said he would run,” said Donna
Capurso, who is challenging Walt Kirby for his county commissioner seat in
May.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz is hoping his election would allow him to give
back to the community — especially since the group's offers to help the
county have fallen on deaf ears.<BR><BR>“I have tried to offer help by way
of sheriffs office, search and rescue, I ran a food drive for community
action partnership, trying to help this community,” he said. “This is one
way I can help by myself since the Militia is not taking well in Boundary
County.”<BR><BR>Stankiewicz said he is not worried about a troubled past
or the fact that he owes $1,460 on his property taxes dating back to
2007.<BR><BR>According to the Boundary County treasurer's office,
Stankiewicz started making payments to his delinquent property taxes tax
account in October.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz blamed his financial problems on
being laid off and on high medical bills stemming from an accident in
which he was charged with inattentive driving.<BR><BR>“I had a big
hospital bill that I was not able to pay and did not have insurance,” he
said.<BR><BR>“The hospital got a judgment to garnish 25 percent of my
wages, which was a huge chunk of my paycheck. I paid as much as I could
when I could to the treasurer.”<BR><BR>It wasn't the first time
Stankiewicz has run into legal trouble. In 2002, he was accused of
stabbing another man and charged with felony aggravated battery after a
bar fight with two men over a woman. All four had been drinking and, while
there were witnesses to the fight, no one saw the actual
stabbing.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz denies the stabbing but admits to defending
himself when he was jumped in the bar that night. The charge was amended
to simple battery, a misdemeanor, to which Stankiewicz pled
guilty.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz said he agreed to the offered plea bargain
because he was taking care of his then-girlfriend, who was
disabled.<BR><BR>“I had a public defender and I was with a disabled woman
at the time,” said Stankiewicz. “I was scared and told by the prosecutor
he would put me away for 5 years. I decided to take the plea for the sake
of the woman I was caring for.”<BR><BR>He served 12 days in jail, spent
two years on probation and was ordered to pay Taft restitution in the
amount of $15,098. A garnishment of wages against Stankiewicz was later
issued for lack of payment to Taft.<BR><BR>What happened in his past
doesn't change Donna Capurso's support for him as a candidate for local
office.<BR><BR>“I try to respect everyone I meet for who they are when I
meet them,” she said. “I think Jeff is trying to stand up and do the right
thing. He is an intelligent young man and I give him my respect regardless
of what happened eight years ago.”<BR><BR>Stankiewicz wants to dispel any
misconceptions about his 21st Lightfoot Battalion. He does not condone
anti-government talk or actions. Instead, he said the group is
pro-Constitution and denies that race or religion are a factor in any
Idaho militia group.<BR><BR>“We are not racist,” he said. “There are a lot
of people in the militia that are not white. Some militia are private and
only accept certain members, but here in Idaho we are in line with the
Idaho Constitution which states we are supposed to have a
militia.”<BR><BR>In fact, according to Stankiewicz, ABC left out a comment
made by a member when he was asked what he thought about having a black
president.<BR><BR>“I think it shows how far our country has come,”
Stankiewicz quoted militia member “Mike” as saying. Stankiewicz did not
want to give a last name.<BR><BR>Stankiewicz said they don’t care what
color Obama is.<BR><BR>“He could be sian, White or Hispanic,” he said.
“His color doesn’t matter, but he is a socialist. I think that his
policies and ideas are based on socialist principals. Progressive or
liberal whatever they want to call it, the policies and ideas come from
socialist principals.” </SPAN></FONT>
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<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=thansen@moscow.com href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom
Hansen</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, April 13, 2010 5:26
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Oklahoma
Lawmakers Envision a State Militia</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Courtesy of NPR at:<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125872473">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125872473</A><BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Okla.
Tea Parties And Lawmakers Envision Militia<BR><BR>by The Associated
Press<BR><BR>Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders
and some<BR>conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they
would like to<BR>create a new volunteer militia to help defend against
what they believe<BR>are improper federal infringements on state
sovereignty.<BR><BR>Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the
idea with several<BR>supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation
next year to recognize a<BR>new volunteer force. They say the unit would
not resemble militia groups<BR>that have been raided for allegedly
plotting attacks on law enforcement<BR>officers.<BR><BR>"Is it scary? It
sure is," said tea party leader Al Gebhart of Oklahoma<BR>City, who
heads an umbrella group of tea party factions called the<BR>Oklahoma
Constitutional Alliance. "But when do the states stop rolling<BR>over
for the federal government?"<BR><BR>Thus far, the discussions have been
exploratory. Even the proponents say<BR>they don't know how an armed
force would be organized nor how a<BR>state-based militia could block
federal mandates. Critics also asserted<BR>that the force could inflame
extremism, and that the National Guard<BR>already provides for the
state's military needs.<BR><BR>"Have they heard of the Oklahoma City
bombing?" said Joseph Thai, a<BR>constitutional law professor at the
University of Oklahoma. The state<BR>observes the 15th anniversary of
the anti-government attack on Monday.<BR>Such actions could "throw fuel
in the fire of radicals," he said.<BR><BR>But the militia talks reflect
the frustration of some grass roots groups<BR>seeking new ways of
fighting recent federal initiatives, such as the<BR>health reform plan,
which requires all citizens to have health insurance.<BR>Over the last
year, tea party groups across the country have staged<BR>rallies and
pressured politicians to protest big government and demand<BR>reduced
public spending.<BR><BR>In strongly conservative states like Oklahoma,
some legislators have also<BR>discussed further action to fight federal
policies, such as state<BR>legislation and lawsuits.<BR><BR>State Sen.
Randy Brogdon, R-Guthrie, a Republican candidate for governor<BR>who has
appealed for tea party support, said supporters of a state
militia<BR>have talked to him, and that he believes the citizen unit
would be<BR>authorized under the Second Amendment to the
Constitution.<BR><BR>The founding fathers "were not referring to a
turkey shoot or a quail<BR>hunt. They really weren't even talking about
us having the ability to<BR>protect ourselves against each other,"
Brogdon said. "The Second Amendment<BR>deals directly with the right of
an individual to keep and bear arms to<BR>protect themselves from an
overreaching federal government."<BR><BR>Another lawmaker, state Rep.
Charles Key, R-Oklahoma City, said he<BR>believes there's a good chance
of introducing legislation for a<BR>state-authorized militia next
year.<BR><BR>Tea party leader J-W Berry of the Tulsa-based OKforTea
began soliciting<BR>interest in a state militia through his newsletter
under the subject "Buy<BR>more guns, more bullets."<BR><BR>"It's not a
far-right crazy plan or anything like that," Berry said. "This<BR>would
be done with the full cooperation of the state
Legislature."<BR><BR>State militias clearly are constitutionally
authorized, but have not been<BR>used in recent times, said Glenn
Reynolds, a law professor at the<BR>University of Tennessee and an
expert on the Second Amendment. "Whether<BR>someone should get a militia
to go toe-to-toe with the federal government<BR>... now, that strikes me
as kind of silly," he said.<BR><BR>Some conservative legislators in
Oklahoma say talk of a militia, which<BR>would be privately recruited,
armed and trained, goes too far.<BR><BR>"If the intent is to create a
militia for disaster relief, we have the<BR>National Guard," said Sen.
Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, a retired Army<BR>lieutenant colonel.
"Anything beyond that purpose should be viewed with<BR>great concern and
caution."<BR><BR>Democratic Gov. Brad Henry's communications director
Paul Sund also<BR>discounted the militia discussion, saying the National
Guard handles state<BR>emergencies and security.<BR><BR>Federal
authorities say that radical militia groups have not emerged
in<BR>Oklahoma, unlike many other states, in part because of the legacy
of the<BR>Oklahoma City bombing. On April 19, 1995, an anti-government
conspiracy<BR>led by Army veteran Tim McVeigh exploded a truckbomb
outside the Alfred P.<BR>Murrah Federal Building, killing 168
people.<BR><BR>Last month, FBI agents conducted a raid on the Hutaree
militia group in<BR>southern Michigan and accused members of plotting to
kill law enforcement<BR>officers.<BR><BR>------------<BR><BR>Al Gebhart,
co-founder of the Sooner Tea Party and founder of
Oklahoma<BR>Constitutional Alliance, is shown in the showroom of his
business, The<BR>Carpenter Shop, Monday, April 12, 2010, in Oklahoma
City.<BR><BR><A
href="http://tinyurl.com/Al-Gebhart">http://tinyurl.com/Al-Gebhart</A><BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
round town, Moscow,<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"The
Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to
change<BR>and the Realist adjusts his sails."<BR><BR>-
Unknown<BR><BR><BR>=======================================================<BR> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994.
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<BR> <A
href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>=======================================================</BLOCKQUOTE></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>