Marine won't quit fight over forced mental lockup
Cops held him 1 week over chatter on social media
Published: 7 hours ago
Former Marine Brandon Raub served several tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq and his attorney describes him as a "loyal American."
A decorated Marine who didn’t back down during his military career is taking the same stance in a fight with authorities over his forced, and unjustified, stay in a mental hospital.
Brandon Raub was seized by a swarm of Secret Service, FBI and local police and involuntarily locked up in a mental institution for a week after “posting controversial song lyrics and political views critical of the government on his Facebook page,” according to officials with the Rutherford Institute, who have pursued a lawsuit on his behalf.
They have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after lower courts said it was “far-fetched” that there would be concerns over the government suppression of Raub’s speech.
Further, the case is asking the justices to establish standards to limit mental-health professionals when they want to lock someone up on the basis of that person’s free speech.
“This case has thus far been the unfortunate victim of a growing trend toward granting government officials – be they police officers or health-care workers – ‘qualified immunity’ in lawsuits over alleged constitutional violations,” said John W. Whitehead.
He’s the chief of Rutherford.
What about that free speech in America? Read “Shut Up America!: The End of Free Speech” by Brad O’Leary and find out what’s happening.
“However, as this case makes clear, social media and the Internet have become tools for the government to monitor, control and punish the populace for behavior and speech that may be controversial but are far from criminal. It’s our hope that the Supreme Court will weigh in on the side of free speech and preserve one of the last truly free forums remaining to us in this country.”
Raub was decorated for his service to the Marines, which included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He uses his Facebook page to post song lyrics and his political opinions.
On Aug. 16, 2012, “Chesterfield police, Secret Service and FBI agents arrived at Raub’s home, asked to speak with him about his Facebook posts, and without providing any explanation, levying any charges against Raub or reading him his rights, handcuffed Raub and transported him to police headquarters, then to a medical facility, where he was held against his will for psychological evaluation and treatment,” Rutherford reported.
When his situation got the attention of Circuit Court Judge Allan Sharrett, he ordered Raub’s immediate release, stating that the government’s case was “so devoid of any factual allegations that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or controversy.”
But he’d already been locked up a week.
Rutherford attorneys filed their lawsuit against the government officials in May 2013, challenging their actions as procedurally improper and legally unjustified.
WND reported earlier when court documents revealed state and federal prosecutors – at the time Raub was snatched by police – found there were no grounds for criminal charges against him.
At issue was the behavior of the mental-health screener, Michael Campbell, who allegedly failed to exercise reasonable professional judgment in interviewing and in wrongly determining Raub was mentally ill and dangerous, thereby violating Raub’s rights under the 4th Amendment.
“They were concerned about me calling for the arrest of government officials,” Raub told the Richmond Times Dispatch in a phone call from his hospital bed at the time. Raub accused the government of lying about 9/11 and spoke of “starting a revolution,” mere words he had taken no steps toward carrying out, according to his attorneys. Raub said he doesn’t even own a gun.
The appellate court noted Raub never threatened violence, and he was detained on orders from Campbell after only an interview between Campbell and officers who had talked with Raub.
“Whether it’s a Marine arrested for criticizing the government on Facebook or an ex-husband jailed for expressing his frustrations through rap lyrics on Facebook, the end result is the same – the criminalization of free speech,” said Whitehead.
Read more at
http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/marine-wont-quit-fight-over-forced-mental-lockup/#tk8oGRkVQs2PcTFr.99
