by John Price
“Are Pastor Ake Green’s words hate words? Or are they instead words of truth from God’s Word? Due to a high level of international interest in Pastor’s green’s conviction and sentencing to jail, the Swedish Supreme Court eventually overturned his conviction, I am happy to say. I am unhappy to report, however, that in doing so, the Swedish Supreme Court ruled that his Bible-based message did, in fact, constitute hate speech. The Court said that a higher European Court might not agree with them, so it threw out his conviction, even though they ruled that he was properly convicted as a hate speaker. Think about that for a moment. Pastor Green has been labeled by his government and his government’s highest Court as a disseminator of hate speech for those Biblically-based words in his sermon, though they spared him from serving time in jail.
“Could that same thing happen in America? Many of you know that my father, a resident of Tyler, was charged by the federal government with various crimes, all arising from his use of words in a speech in the election campaign that he delivered in Austin to a political meeting. Many of you may also know that I didn’t agree at the time with my dad’s speech, and what I then thought was harsh rhetoric to use in describing the President of the United States. I used, ok, maybe, misused, the verse about rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.
“I love my father, John Madison, but we didn’t see eye-to-eye on this subject, and frankly, it put a strain on our normally very warm father-son relationship. On more than one occasion, usually when I was visiting him in prison, I asked my dad if he knew what he was doing? Was it worth it to lose his insurance executive job and spend time in federal prison, away from mom and his family, just because of words? Dad loves me, as I do him, so he would always gently reply that he was right, and that I would eventually see that he was right.
“Last week I was able to tell my dad that he was right in two ways. First, I told him that I now agreed that he was right to do what he did in opposing an administration that has frequently acted contrary to the best interests of the people of this nation. Secondly, I told him that he was correct when he said that I would one day see that he was right in his actions that led to his arrest and imprisonment. It was a sweet moment, my friends, to be able to be re-united not only in our love for each other, as dad and son, but also united in our belief that standing up for what you believe in is worth the cost, whatever that may be. Words do matter. I’m here today, using words from God’s Word, for which I may be, like Pastor Green, charged with criminal acts. I can’t control what those in authority may choose to do to me for using God’s Word, in their view, in a politically incorrect manner, in their view. I can only control what I say.
“I said to John Madison, my dad, last week, a man I consider to be a true American hero, ‘Dad, you stood up when others, including me, should have spoken up before the second term happened. If more Americans had stood up and raised our voices, as you did, we would still have our First and Second Amendment rights today. Please forgive me.’ And, congregation, please forgive me for not leading you to stand up and speak up when we still had the chance to do so. Because of my lack of leadership, and the lack of leadership by many other pastors and priests, we now live in a different nation than we did before the last election. We can’t go back now and change that, but we can admit we were wrong and speak up now. Will that mean we will be charged with violating the McAlister Hate Speech and Hate Weapon Elimination Act? Only time will tell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
All of the CCC Conservators present that Sunday morning had been carefully trained to avoid any controversy. They were to attend, act respectfully, observe and record what went on and what was said at the worship service and render a recommendation, in writing, after their visit. The Conservators’ joint Memorandum recommending action was completed and submitted to the Regional CCC Offices in Houston by Wednesday and conveyed to national CCC headquarters by Friday.
A draft of a formal notification of the levying of significant fines to be levied on the Church and on Pastor Jack Madison and his Board members was on the desk of the Director of the CCC by the following Tuesday. On the same day a copy of the Memorandum was delivered to the Deputy Attorney General responsible for initiating criminal action. Criminal charges in several counts against Pastor Jack Madison were drafted for final review by the Attorney General. Jack Madison and his Texas church were on a collision course with the government of the United States of America.
SEVENTY THREE
U.S. District Court, District of Oregon
“All rise. The United States District Court for the District of Oregon is hereby convened, the Honorable Hiram McDermott, presiding. All persons present are advised that any outburst in the Court will led to your immediate ejection, and possible incarceration. You may be seated.” Thus began the trial of federal criminal defendant John Madison.
Judge McDermott called the case, “The cause before the Court today is the United States of America versus John Madison, Cause Number 13-ODC-276. The charges brought by the people of the United States against John Madison are a.) that he advocated the overthrow of the government of the United States, b.) that he conspired to advocate the overthrow of the government and c.) that he violated the federal hate crimes act. The charges will be read in full by the District Attorney shortly. You have been selected as a panel of potential jurors to hear and consider the evidence and to render a fair and impartial verdict. Anyone of you on the jury panel have a problem with doing so?....No….Okay, we’ll move to the questioning of the panel. If you’ve been a juror in a state court trial, you’ll notice that we do it differently in federal court. In this part of the trial, what’s called voire dire questioning, I’ll be the one who asks you questions. In state court the lawyers ask you a lot of loaded questions, all attempting to try their case before it actually starts. I just need to find out who should and who should not be jurors of this important case.”
Judge McDermott routinely used voire dire to quickly weed out any perceived ‘anti-government types’ who might be tempted to vote to set free any criminal defendant, just because the federal government, mistrusted by a juror, had filed the criminal charges. He viewed it as giving the District Attorney a ‘level playing field’. Oregon defense counsel saw it as stacking the deck in favor of conviction of persons accused of crimes by the federal government.
Even with federal judges, though, things don’t always go as planned. The District Attorney had read the three criminal charges against John Madison to the members of the panel, including the statutes on which the counts were based. Judge McDermott inquired as to their past jury service and anything about that duty that might affect the potential juror’s ability to be objective in the people’s case against John Madison. He had just started to ask the members of the jury panel if they were related in any way to the Defendant or any of the lawyers, when two panel members raised their hands, at about the same time.
“Oh….yes….potential juror…let’s see… Ms. Litz, what’s your question? Seeing as how I haven’t even started asking my next question. ….And then, let’s see….potential juror Hankins, we’ll take your question next….Ms. Litz?”
Amanda Litz was a registered nurse, taken away from her ICU patients by her call to jury duty, and none too happy about it. As she listened to the charges being read against John Madison, she pondered why everybody was so upset about a mere speech, when the streets and government buildings had been full of real rebels, breaking windows, burning flags and causing havoc. Before she enrolled in nursing school she had given serious thought to a career in law, as her high school and college teachers and professors had praised her for her analytical mind, telling she ‘thought like a lawyer’. Thus, it was that she addressed the Court with a question that did not please the District Attorney.
“Your honor, I don’t know the procedure here, whether I can ask a question or not….” The Judge, momentarily distracted by a staff member whispering a message to him, missed his opportunity to he
ad off the question, as panel member Amanda Litz plunged ahead, “Well….ok….it just seems to me that accusing a man of trying to overthrow the government when all he did was just give a speech, for crying out loud, and he apparently wasn’t violent in any way, or he would have been charged with that, too….and the law that the DA just read said that the overthrow attempt needs to be by force or violence….I mean….your Honor….why are we here? Who would ever vote to convict another American in such a weak case…seriously….this looks like a big waste of everybody’s time….including….”
Crack. Crack. CRACK. “Stop….STOP….No more….” His gavel slamming the bench, the Judge was so flustered he could barely spit out his words. He had been distracted enough by his staffer that he had only just started paying attention to Amanda Litz late in her run-on commentary on the government’s case against John Madison. By then, it was too late. The jury panel had been hopelessly corrupted by her comments, as the lawyers like to describe such a case-destroying outburst.
Hoping that possibly he had not heard what he thought he heard once he paid attention, Judge McDermott tried to ignore her. “Thank you, Ms. Litz. We’ll let the lawyers sort out all those issues. Mr. Hankins, what was your question? Keep it short, please, I let Ms. Litz go on way too long.”
“Well, Judge, it’s funny, because I was about to say the very same thing that she just said….how can we convict somebody for advocating the overthrow of the government when there’s no allegation of force or viol….”
Crack. “That’s quite enough, Mr. Hankins….Quite enough…. Counsel, we’ll meet in chambers. This Court stands in recess.” ALL RISE.
Judge McDermott held in disdain government prosecutors who had no case, but who appeared to be asking him to use the power of his bench to rescue them from imminent defeat. After listening to the digital recording of potential jurors Litz and Hankins’ comments on the government’s case, the Judge, his robe freshly hung up, glared at the lawyers assembled in his chambers. “All right. Blame where blame is due. I should have paid attention when that woman started going off on your case, instead of listening to my aide tell me about a decision overturning one of my cases from the 9th Circuit. But, gentlemen, you all have tongues. You could have objected, and shut her up, and got my attention before she polluted the panel.
“Now, we got ourselves a real problem. It would clearly be reversible error to let this panel decide this case after what just happened. Not going to happen, as I’m sending them home. But the government has an even bigger problem. Madame DA, you just got a mini-verdict from two random citizens of this District. They not only don’t like your case, they think it’s a witch hunt, far as I can tell. My suggestion? Call your Deputy AG in DC, or call the AG himself for that matter, and tell them what happened in Oregon today, in a Court that’s historically not been too antagonistic to your cases.
“Tell them that the Judge suggested a thorough review of this case….a ….thorough….review…. of this case. Remind them that what was said today will be carried by every newspaper, TV station and radio talk show in this District, from whom the future potential jurors will be selected. That is, if there is a future panel of jurors, as I doubt seriously that this case will ever be tried. I’ve already denied Mr. Madison’s dismissal motion, so I’m not throwing out your case….but….today you saw what will happen if you actually take this poor excuse of a case to a jury. They would likely vote to exonerate before they even have time to order pizza. Again….two words….thorough….review….Got it? Now, you all get out of here. And as for you, Counsel for the Defendant, you can wipe that smile off your face. That woman’s destruction of the government’s case today was only by the grace of God.”
“Your honor, I couldn’t agree with you more. Thank you, sir.”
It was late Friday afternoon following Judge McDermott’s aborted voire dire of the jury panel in the U.S. vs. Madison case. The Clerk of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon was preparing to close for the day, when an employee of the U.S. District Attorney, officed in the same building, walked in with a last minute filing. The pleading withdrew all charges against John Madison previously filed by the United States. No media representatives were in the Clerk’s office at the time of filing. By Monday, when it became known that the charges had been dismissed, mainstream media justified not reporting the story as being “Friday’s news”. John Madison was informed by prison authorities in the middle of the day on Saturday that charges against him had been dismissed and that he would be released within 24 hours. John and Debbie Madison wept as they talked by telephone of the answer to their many prayers. Though their son, Jack, was equally happy at the good news, he warned his parents. “Dad and Mom, this thing’s not over yet. Not nearly over. As good as this news is, I’m convinced the Madisons are not off the President’s radar screen. If what I saw in the eyes of the government visitors to our church services means anything, your son, and this church, are facing significant trouble. Sooner rather than later.”
Pastor Jack Madison could not have known then how right he was.
SEVENTY FOUR
Tyler, Texas
After what seemed like an interminable time away from home, John Madison felt strange sitting in his favorite chair in his favorite room, his comfortable family room. But, he knew he would quickly adjust to being a free man, and to being with Debbie, his wife of twenty-seven years. Surrounded by his bookshelves and able to watch whatever he wanted on his big screen TV, he was thankful for the fact that he no longer faced conviction as a federal felon. But, just as he was relaxing in his new found freedom, his world was shaken by news from Debbie.
“John, now that you’ve been home for a couple of days, I think I need to tell you something.”
“We won the lottery?”
“Very funny, John. You know we don’t gamble, though I was tempted when we were low on funds to make our mortgage payment. Praise God for friends who helped us out. My employment by your friend Ralph was a Godsend. Literally.”
“I know. The guy walks his talk. So, what’s your revelation?”
“Something happened the day before you came home, after it was known that your charges were dismissed and that you were being released. I decided to wait to tell you until you’d settled in and adjusted to life back in Tyler.”
“Yes….Okay, so I’m relaxed, but I’m quickly unrelaxing waiting on you tell me what you’re slowly leading up to. What is it? Are the kids all right?”
“Sure. No, if it was about the kids I would have told you that right off. No, John, this has to do with politics.”
“What? Politics? That’s what landed me the slammer, Debbie, lest we forget. Politics? Whatever are you talking about?”
“Well, let’s start by my telling you that the day before you got home I had some visitors, here at home.”
“Visitors? Who? What did they want?”
“Calm down, John. Let me tell this my way. You get impatient some times, as you may recall my telling you a few hundred times.”
“Sorry. Tell it your way. Who came here to see you?”
“The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Texas Republican Party and the Chairmen of the three largest tea party organizations in Texas. They had with them a person who was introduced to me as a representative of the largest financial contributors to the GOP and the tea party in the last election cycle.”
Of all the things Debbie could have told John Madison, the identity of her visitors was the last thing he expected to hear. For a moment, he couldn’t speak, as he was staring at Debbie to see if maybe an emerging smile might betray a mischievous plan to kid him by pretending to have been visited by such a high powered group. No such smile appeared. After twenty seven years of marriage John knew Debbie well, and he could tell that she was deadly serious.
Finally finding his voice, John asked, “Debbie, what could they have possibly wanted? You of all people know that we’re not able to contribute any money right now until I get back on my feet, go b
ack to work at the insurance company and make some money.”
“No, silly, you think they need our paltry contribution? Even if you were employed? These folks run things in Texas on the conservative side of the political spectrum. No, they don’t want your money, they want you.”
“Hunh? Me? For what? To fund raise for them? I’m not very good at shaking money out of folks, Debbie. I hope you told them that.”
“John, let me get my story told, okay. Patience, my dear.”
“Sorry. Again. Go on.”
“These men and women are convinced that really bad things are going to happen in this country and they want to do something about it. They thi….”
“Going to happen? What about what’s already happened? Over $16 trillion in debt we can’t pay back. Soldiers shooting American protestors. Historical unemployment. The McAlister Act taking away our Constitutional rights. The CCC snooping into our personal affairs. How much worse could it get, Debbie? What are they talking about?
“They mentioned those problems, but they think the US dollar is headed south, that the basic financial and governmental structures will collapse. That as things get worse, much worse, there will be anarchy and a tightening down on average citizens by the government such as we’ve never seen before in this country. Even imprisonment, or worse, of Christian leaders, or just regular Christians.”
“So? I agree with all that. Some of that I talked about in the last campaign in my speeches that got me into so much trouble. What’s their solution?”