Wow! Redux
Remember Lyle Barkley? I blogged about him here:
Lyle Barkley is bulldozing four-foot berms around his three acres in Bay Township and requesting support from conservative militia groups to prepare for a possible armed confrontation with county law enforcement officers over a zoning dispute.
Well, he’s got his own blog and another here. His actions lead to the sheriff meeting him and potentially avoiding an armed stand off:
The Barkley family and Charlevoix County and Bay Township officials agreed Thursday to put off any confrontation over a contested zoning violation until after a circuit court judge has ruled on the matter.
They agreed on:
“First, we got a commitment from Mr. Olson that he would have control of the militia and that they would take no aggressive action.
“Second, we will all await the decision of the judge (Circuit Judge Richard Pajtas) in the appeal process, and until then there will be no arrest of Mr. Barkley and the township will make no effort to remove the trailers in that period of time.
“And third, we will meet again after the judge’s decision and before any enforcement action is taken.”
October 15th, 2003 at 12:05 am
First, we got a commitment from Mr. Olson that he would have control of the militia and that they would take no aggressive action.
That agreement just sounds wrong to me, from the sheriff dept.’s point of view. It sounds like acknowledging the homeowner has his own private army and is able to control them.
Does this not sound like the sheriff is allowing this armed contingent – that has stated it is fully prepared to do battle with the law – to remain intact, armed, and potentially dangerous to themselves, the officers, and anyone else within gunshot range?
Not dissolving this group and sending them home before they’ve actually broken any laws would seem the prudent way to protect the public good and serve justice. If the judge rules against Barkley, and the militia mobilizes itself under his command, since the sheriff allowed them to stay organized he would share responsibility for whatever happens next.
I hope this resolves peacefully and everyone goes home safely.
October 15th, 2003 at 8:26 am
They haven’t actually assembled any where and Olson is the militia leader, not homeowner.
The sheriff can’t just disband a group of armed men (that second amendment, and all).
I do hope it ends peacefully but I like the fact that Barkley is standing up for his property rights and that him standing up for them has made the police think twice before running in with guns ablaze.
October 14th, 2003 at 12:46 pm
Rocketing Around the Blogosphere
Jeff at Alphecca talks about lists and who keeps them. I’m firmly in the list-making camp, but only because my memory is so lousy. I’d hate to forget someone on my ‘must bite’ list if I ever get rabies. Annika…