In a bizarre and scary story a 26 year old former Marine, Brandon Raub, was detained and held despite no charges against him. The ordeal ended up lasting about a week before a judge ordered his release earlier today.
Brandon J. Raub, 26, has been in custody since FBI, Secret Service agents and police in Virginia’s Chesterfield County questioned him Thursday evening about what they said were ominous posts talking about a coming revolution. In one message earlier this month according to authorities, Raub wrote: “Sharpen my axe; I’m here to sever heads.”Police – acting under a state law that allows emergency, temporary psychiatric commitments upon the recommendation of a mental health professional – took Raub to the John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell. He was not charged with any crime.
"Now let me make it clear," Glenn said. "I haven't read the entire Facebook posts or anything. From what I've seen with this guy, I don't agree with him. He's a 9/11 Truther, but you know what? Just because I don't agree with him doesn't mean I don't stand up for him. Just because he believes something that I think is crazy doesn't mean that I don't stand up for his right to say it. He apparently said sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads. Okay, is that smart? No, that's really colossally stupid. Could it be metaphorical? Yes. Could it be a long string of alarming threats? Yes. We don't know."
"Here's what we do know, and the media is not showing you a massive governmental shark bump," Glenn said.
Earlier in the show, Glenn had discussed how before sharks attack, they bump their prey to test for any defenses and agressiveness.
" The police have decided to act under state law that allows emergency temporary psychiatric commitments on the recommendation of a health professional. Whew. Look out, gang. This guy has not been charged with a crime. Forget whatever this guy was saying on Facebook. If he was making threats, fine. Give the guy a call, knock on his door, pay him a visit. Chat with him. Do it the right way. Get a warrant. But to detain him for months at a time to undergo psychiatric evaluations, that is 1984. That is the former Soviet Union. That is much scarier than anything anybody could have possibly posted on Facebook. No Miranda rights, no warrant, no charges. In America."
"Number 39 on the 1963 list of Communist goals is dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose your Communist goals," he added.
"Where is anyone that complained about warrantless wiretaps? Where are they? Where are the people on the left and the right? Where are the Republicans and the Democrats? This is un‑American. This is a shark bump. Can we get away with it and no one say a word? The answer so far is yes. I do not agree with this guy. I do not like what he posted on Facebook. I don't think it's reasonable. I don't think it's sane. I don't think it's right. But we still live in the United States of America, and he has a right. And if you cannot defend the people that you despise, if you cannot defend the people that you disagree with, you're in trouble because who will defend you? If this guy is building some bomb, then I want to know about it. But you should be able to make that case to a judge and get a warrant. And if you can't, hands off. This is exactly what President Obama said: He didn't want Americans scooped up in the middle of the night. That's exactly what's happened. And they've put him into a psych facility."
"My gosh, America, where are we headed?"
Raub was released today after a judge ruled that there was no legal ground for his continued detention.
Last night on Real News, the panel tackled the story as well: