The Battle for Washington State
Liberty for All Federal Protest: The Rest of the Story

by Kit Lange | Mar 7, 2015 |

Every time we have a rally or action, I sit down later and write an article about what happened. As the intel officer, I am also privy to information that the public does not know. Sometimes the weight of that information weighs heavily on me, and yesterday it seemed almost crushing. The depth and breadth of the efforts being put against us were unlike anything we had seen yet. We were used to dealing with state authorities, used to putting up with the cowards and the naysayers—so used to it, in fact, that the slimy hit pieces and childish Facebook foot-stompings have become nothing more than a running joke among those of us in the Liberty for All core group.

This, however, was a whole new ball game: this time we were going up against the force of the federal government, against agencies whose sole directive is to leverage government control over law-abiding patriots. This time, we were met with tactics we expected, but had not experienced yet. Communications were disrupted or even blocked; those of us in the leadership could call anyone except each other. Emails never reached their destination. In one particularly asinine instance, a rental car company literally claimed that they changed their policy midway through the day in order to prevent us from renting a car for Mike Vanderboegh to get home—after the airline inexplicably barred him from boarding his flight to Washington, effectively leaving him stranded at the Atlanta airport.

rally8Behind the scenes, in the Facebook chats and the various group conversations, another operation was ongoing. Known, confirmed federal informants were working in conjunction with each other to disrupt the rally efforts and discourage people from attending. Citing secret inside sources they had access to, they claimed it was a trap, claimed that anyone involved with it would be filmed and catalogued, or even arrested and detained indefinitely. Their efforts, while concerted and well-executed, underlined both their own cowardice and a basic misunderstanding of who they were dealing with. They apparently don’t understand the level of fortitude that my brothers and sisters possess.

We already knew all of those things were in the works, and the only people these fools deterred were the ones who would not have the courage to stand in the face of them anyway. As a result, these little stoolies had the opposite effect they intended. Their efforts decreased our numbers, yes…but they also managed to purify them. Those who showed up yesterday would have stood the line until their last breath; if it had gone badly, they would have died with a smoking gun in their hand protecting the man next to them. So, as a side note, I’d like to sincerely thank those who spent so much time and effort on their propaganda and disruption campaign, and ask that you do it again next time. You did us a great service.

Those of us in the leadership spent countless hours planning and gaming out the rally, answering a million and one questions with no good answers. What if someone got arrested? What if we met with a huge presence? What if, God forbid, they opened fire? What if? We knew that tensions would be incredibly high, and the information coming across my screen was almost terrifying. Some who were privy to the intel coming in even asked if maybe we should cancel. The entire situation was a pile of tinder on a hot, dry day…just waiting for a spark.

The night before, the leadership sat in someone’s livingroom and soberly looked at each other across the room. We had planned all we could, done all we could—and still, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Cancelling, for us, was not an option. We would stand the line, and we would lead from the front—no matter what. We did not sleep that night. As the sun peeked over the desert mountains, with heavy hearts and unshakeable resolve we hugged our kids, we put on our guns, and we went to work.

As we made our way to Spokane, messages came in to us from all over the country. Words of love and support, of fiery defiance. It warmed my heart to know that there were others on the road at that moment, coming to stand with us. We reached the destination about an hour early, met up with some familiar faces, and started walking to the rally point. As we came around the corner, I saw a large group of people halfway down the block. Shining in the middle was the bright yellow of a Gadsden flag, and I knew I was home. We rallied up and started walking to the courthouse a few blocks away, and we started singing the national anthem. Loudly. Imagine the sight—30+ patriots, with flags and rifles, boldly marching down the sidewalk while singing the Star-Spangled Banner for the whole world to hear. This is liberty. I held back tears as we stood on the corner waiting for the light to change.

As we reached the courthouse, several DHS vehicles were outside. As we stood on the sidewalk, outside federal property, a few of us started scanning—and found what we were looking for. Aside from the DHS helicopter overhead, there was a roving perimeter manned by SUVs with fake license plates. A homeless man on the sidewalk next to a building, holding a smartphone that was taking video. Another man sitting on a bench pretending to read a book while watching closely. Someone else walking around through the crowd trying to chat up the attendees and get their business cards or contact information. There were snipers on the roof…many of them, positioned in such a way that no matter where we were in the area, we could be taken out any moment.

rally3Think about that for a moment. In a public area, where a group of law-abiding, America-loving patriots were gathered to exercise their rights and stand for the Constitution, the federal government had snipers trained on us, ready to put a bullet in our heads at any moment. If that simple fact does not stir something in your core, then you are beyond hope. These were only a few of the things we saw; much of what was in place and what happened behind the scenes will not be spoken of here.

The DHS agent who was involved in Anthony’s arrest came up and shook his hand, telling him that they wanted to see a safe event and asking us to please not bring our guns onto the plaza again. Anthony pointed out that a judge’s arbitrary decision does not make law, that we absolutely have the right to be there. After several rounds of “please don’t do this because it would be a really bad idea for you,” Anthony turned to the crowd.

“You are all individuals. You make your own decisions. Do we stand here on the sidewalk, or do we take the plaza?”

rally7It was a formality for him to even ask. We would be taking the plaza. We did, however, agree not to approach the doors of the building. We moved onto the plaza grounds, half-expecting to be arrested.

But we weren’t.

Just to give you some perspective, let’s recap. Anthony was arrested for being openly armed on that plaza. AFTER his arrest, they amended a rule to state that NOW firearms aren’t allowed on the property, which proves they knew Anthony wasn’t breaking the law when they arrested him. Yet now, with their “rule” in place, a whole group of armed patriots were standing on the plaza in direct violation of it…and they did nothing. We took photos of the snipers, of the agents moving in the crowd, of the vehicles and personnel they had working against us. We know our own, and we know those who do not fit.

We made sure to get a photo standing in front of the building; the photo’s perfect caption was given by another one of our number: They said we couldn’t stand there. We stood. And while we did not get Anthony’s firearms back, we will. I can promise you that.

There are those who will say that we are paranoid, that the feds in attendance were simply looking out for our safety, or that there was never any danger and all of this was standard protocol for an armed rally. They did not see what we saw. They were not there watching what happened leading up to the event. They were not in the quiet conversations where we read collected intelligence and were so sickened by it that we literally just closed our eyes and prayed to God Almighty for our safety. They did not see the incredible, insidious operation to derail every single thing we were doing.

There are those who will say we were lucky, or that we never should have been there to begin with. Some will say that we are radioactive, that even associating with us is dangerous because we have “Fed attention,” and somehow that’s a communicable disease. To them I say good riddance. You would never have had our backs in the fight anyway. At this point, federal attention is almost how you know you’re doing your JOB.

What people should take away from this is simple. It is the same thing we have been trying to tell people over and over for months, even years. If you stand, you can win. If you don’t, you won’t even have a chance.

Could there come a day when we stand, and it does not end with joyous victory? Yes. Every time we go, every time we stand could be that day. But here’s what you don’t understand:

The idea of arrest or harm is not a reason to stay away. That’s the reason to GO.

Because on that day, your brothers and sisters will need you. They will need every able-bodied patriot, every rifle, every man and woman who believe in liberty. If you stay away out of fear, or because you think you’re waiting for the “big SHTF event,” then you are effectively telling your fellow patriots that you aren’t willing to come in until they’re already dead or arrested. How do you reconcile that?

Come stand NOW. We need to know that when the day comes, you aren’t hiding out somewhere waiting for us to go down so you can decide whether it’s bad enough to stand up. When that day comes, we need to be able to look to our left and right and already see you there.

THAT is what this fight requires. That is what liberty demands.

Yesterday, standing on federal property, I looked around and I saw enemy everywhere. But I also saw people who would have given their lives in a heartbeat, who understand the cost and are willing to pay it next week, tomorrow, or two seconds from now. Yesterday is now part of history, and our children will remember the days that their parents stood. They will tell their children later that this is how it is done. That liberty can NEVER be allowed to fall, even if it means that every single one of us does.

We will not comply. Not today, not tomorrow, and not even if our blood pools on the ground.

You have our word.