ATF arrests evil Briton in Northern California

[megalomania]

WEAVERVILLE, Calif., Sept. 14 from PRNewswire

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and deputies from the Trinity County Sheriff's Department announced today that they arrested Mark Sherman, a British citizen living in this rural northern California community, for violations of federal firearms and explosives laws.

Sherman, 26, was arrested yesterday in a mountainous area east of Weaverville. He was armed at the time of his arrest, but was taken into custody without incident.

A federal search warrant was later served at Sherman's residence on Grandview Drive in Weaverville and among other items, investigators seized an SKS assault rifle, a semi-automatic shotgun, a rifle and a homemade silencer designed for the rifle. In addition, three suspected improvised explosives devices (IEDs) were located and removed safely from the property by ATF Explosives Enforcement Officers.

The arrest and search of Sherman's residence culminated a five-month investigation by the Trinity County Sheriff's Department and ATF. Sherman is an illegal alien prohibited from possessing firearms, and was alleged to have several firearms and illegal explosives devices. Sherman was transported to Sacramento for his initial appearance in federal court today.

"As a team, ATF and the Trinity County Sheriff's Department worked diligently and after careful planning, were able to take Mr. Sherman into custody without incident," ATF San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Stephen K. Martin said. "The illegal possession of firearms and explosives will not be tolerated by law enforcement in Northern California."

[megalomania]

Thank the gods fedgov was all over this terrorist plot. I wonder if this guy actually hurt, or ever would have hurt anyone. I think the last line says it all, with a slight bit of paraphrasing on my part

The possession of firearms, explosives, and freedom will not be tolerated by law enforcement

If this man had threatened or hurt anyone the fedgov mouthpiece would have been quick to rally the sheeple and declare fedgov as the protectorate of the people. Since he was actually taken “without incident,” this implies he was just an ordinary citizen exercising his true rights and freedoms within the current environment of illegal laws and corrupt gestapo police enforcement.

I wonder what it was that tipped off the fedgov to his activities? Did he do something stupid, or was he snagged through any of the numerous illegal searches and seizures? Perhaps he was spotted buying bullets by a gestapo informant and a warrant was crafted from fabricated evidence. Or perhaps it was just a peeved neighbor/friend/relative/doogooder sheeple type.

The plot thickens. I found a bit more information in another news article:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A British man is being held without bail on charges of stockpiling weapons and building homemade explosive devices at his Trinity County home in anticipation of Armageddon.
Mark Sherman, 26, also is charged with living in the U.S. illegally. He has been living for more than two years with a woman and her mother in their mobile home in Weaverville, a mountain community 45 miles west of Redding.
He and the woman, Crystal Hodges, had carried on an Internet correspondence for about a year before she invited him to California. He arrived from the United Kingdom in April 2004 and stayed on even after his visitor's visa expired that July.

Before Sherman's arrest on Wednesday, Hodges told authorities he was obsessed with apocalyptic biblical prophecies and believed the end of the world was near, said Steven Carman, a senior special agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Sherman also threatened to kill Hodges and her mother if they tried to turn him into immigration authorities or the police, Carman said in an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Sherman.
Hodges said Sherman stored eight firearms and a cache of ammunition in the mobile home, and that he told her he was making pipe bombs to use against police or attackers, according to the affidavit.
Sherman appeared in federal court in Sacramento on Thursday but did not enter a plea.

There are, what, 1.5-2 billion Christian types in the world? The bible says the end cometh, and believing in the bible is something of a requirement for the faith. Having a few guns and a pipe bomb does not make you a nut, it makes you slightly more prepared than 80% of the rest of the world. Considering how the end times is expected to result in an 80% decrease in the population, I would say being a little prepared is just good common sense.

Since this is the 21st century, and nothing could EVER go wrong in Kalifornia (like natural disasters, a terrorist attack, biological weapons, or a fedgov gun grab), you don’t need guns. Just like when Katrina hit in New Orleans, nobody needed guns to protect themselves from the hordes of rampaging looters, rapists, and killers because the fedgov had adequately prepared and evacuated everyone days in advance. Good ol fedgov knows best.

Perhaps he was a bit of a nut, but that is how the media would portray him in any circumstance. Looks like it was all the mother in laws doing if you ask me. It must be rather hard to stockpile an arsenal and plan for the endtimes in a trailer along with your cohabitating gf and her mother. I’m guessing the weddings off?

[Hirudinea]

A British man is being held without bail on charges of stockpiling weapons

The British are comming, the British are comming, quick get your guns ... and turn them in! :D
(By that way Zorak is it true you eat your own young, or just newbies?)

[Match]

Caught by the (wo)man. Sounds like he got too cocky, and then his girlfriend had a bad week of pms and turned him in. Women =worse then the 'fedgov'
He should have PHDTS

[IronMongrel]

The U.S. has a bit of a draw for Brits, we can speak the language just like the natives, well, kinda, and its not too hard to blend in.

But the real draw is, that it isn't too hard to get a gun. You can go to a range and practice, you can join a club and compare notes or try other firearms.

I'm sure most Americans take this for granted, but in the Uk only a privilaged few get to use firearms.

I think its almost certainly a criminal offence in some way for me even to view this forum, which is genuinly quite scarey.

In the UK all avenues of emergency preparedness are being closed down.

They need a helpless population who can't look after themselves, it makes governing this multicultural nightmare so much easier.

I think thats why alot of Brits head to The States, though personally I'd be heading for Eastern Europe or Russia, its cheaper.

[Marmaloon]

I have found some useful concepts (goes with out saying) in dealing with your contingency plans, 1 is 'dual use' and 2 is 'sub components and precursors'. Basically, deniability;"Mr. Policeman, prove I was going to subvert this or that substance"

[c.Tech]

Just possessing the chemicals are enough to send you to prison.

In drug manufacture charges you don’t even need to make the drugs, do you really think the police are going to believe you if they find a couple of pounds of red phosphorus, iodine crystals and about 100 packets of flu and cold relief tablets sitting around with lab equipment?

The same goes for explosives, you should know the police interrogation techniques and reply to every question "no comment".

If you want to be safer when you’re at risk of being caught for one thing or another you should check out this thread (http://www.roguesci.org/theforum/water-cooler/5423-methods-interrogation-forewarned-forearmed.html).

[Marmaloon]

I'll take a look at it later, I'm sure I'll learn something good. I can say I'm glad the BATF is not up here to torture us. There was a book from Loompanics some time ago about how to deal with the police. Could be some good crossover in it, even though it was mainly geared towards US law enforcement. What's also needed is a good book on how to conduct business covertly, like the pros do.

[Marmaloon]

It would seem that it sucks to be him.

[5_seven]

Yes, I wonder what they'll give him. 10 years? 25? And they're talking of just sending an illegal immigrant back to mexico for shooting a cop four times in the head, no prison, just a free ride home so he can come back over the border and do it again. I can smell the hypocracy, and it stinks worse than anything

[nbk2000]

That's because there aren't too many canadians in the US, compared to the countless millions of beaners.

If the beaners stopped coming to the US, who'd pick our lettuce? :p

[5_seven]

I'm sick of that excuse. I'd fucking do it, just to pass the time and earn some extra cash, though I sense a hint of sarcasm in your toneless words, mainly because of the smiley ;)

[megalomania]

A mexican killed a cop, and now he is being sent back to a country where the cops can reach out and have him killed in many nasty ways and there will never be more than a few forms filled out for the investigation. They don’t have a CSI: Mexico for a reason…