Rutherford- We must hold the line against any further encroachments on our freedoms.

Dear Mr. Leonard Henderson, As I have warned before, if America keeps traveling down the road we’re presently on, someday—and in the not-so-distant future—our children will turn to us and ask, “Daddy, what was freedom like?” followed closely by “Why didn’t you do something to stop the government from taking away your freedoms?” Consider some of the mile markers on the road to tyranny which we have already passed by this year. In June 2012, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a pregnant woman who was repeatedly tasered by Seattle police during a routine traffic stop simply because she refused to sign a speeding ticket. In doing so, the courts essentially gave police carte blanche authority when it comes to using these electro-shock devices against American citizens. Incredibly, some Americans have died from being tasered. In July 2012, Phoenix resident Michael Salman began serving a 60-day jail sentence for the so-called “crime” of hosting Bible studies at his home. Thanks to outlandish zoning laws that are cropping up all over the country, Salman and his family were subjected to armed police raids of his property, repeated warnings against holding any form of Bible study at his home, and a court-ordered probation banning him from having any gatherings of more than 12 people at his home. Unfortunately, as government officials crack down on families like the Salmans who choose to worship at home, this country is increasingly coming to resemble China, with its well-known persecution of Christian home churches. In August 2012, a swarm of FBI, Secret Service agents and Virginia police showed up at 26-year-old decorated Marine Brandon Raub’s home, interrogated him about his views on government corruption, arrested him with no warning, labeled him mentally ill for subscribing to so-called “conspiratorial” views about the government, detained him against his will in a psych ward for standing by his views, and isolated him from his family, friends and attorneys. Raub’s mother contacted The Rutherford Institute, and our team of lawyers got him released from the mental hospital, where he was being detained. Raub’s case exposed the seedy underbelly of a governmental system that is targeting Americans—especially military veterans—for expressing their discontent over America’s rapid transition to a police state. Of course, this is all part of a larger trend in American governance whereby dissent is criminalized and pathologized, and dissenters are censored, silenced or declared unfit for society. In September 2012 and in the months preceding it and since, in major cities across the country, including Boston, Miami, Little Rock, and Los Angeles, the U.S. military carried out training exercises involving Black Hawk helicopters and uniformed soldiers. The exercises occurred in the middle of the night, with the full cooperation of the local police forces and generally without forewarning the public. They involved helicopters buzzing buildings and performing landing and take off maneuvers. Justified on the grounds that they prepare troops for urban warfare situations and future deployments, these training exercises are actually aimed at conditioning Americans to an environment in which the buzz of Black Hawk helicopters and the sight of armed forces rappelling onto buildings is commonplace. If you connect the dots, it all starts to make sense—the military drills carried out in major American cities, the VIPR inspections at train depots and bus stations, the SWAT team raids on unsuspecting homeowners, the Black Hawk helicopters patrolling American skies, the profit-driven private prisons, the cracking down on home churches and outspoken critics of the government. What we are witnessing are the birth pangs of an emerging police state. The time is coming when each American will be forced to decide whether to be pushed around like pawns, or to stand up and say, “enough is enough.” Indeed, with the state of our freedoms and our nation in such disrepair, we all have a moral duty to take a stand for freedom. For the sake of the many battles still to be fought, I hope you will affirm your support of our work by standing with us as a “card-carrying member” of The Rutherford Institute in 2013, and make a tax-deductible donation of whatever you can afford, whether it be $25, $250 or $500. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to The Rutherford Institute TODAY! Or, if you prefer to make your donation over the phone, please call our Donor Hotline toll-free at 1-800-225-1791. Yours faithfully, John W. Whitehead President The Rutherford Institute Post Office Box 7482 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482 Phone: 434-978-3888 FAX: 434- 978-1789 http://www.rutherford.org Under the regulations of the United States Internal Revenue Service, The Rutherford Institute is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Donations to support The Rutherford Institute's legal and educational work help to safeguard the constitutional rights and religious freedoms of all Americans. Donations are tax-deductible. In compliance with general industry standards of a nonprofit organization, the Institute is audited annually by an independent accounting firm. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated.   HOW CAN I TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Send a personalized version of this message to your friends. HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Click here to give an online donation.