Slow Justice for LaVoy Finicum

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

LaVoy Finicum was shot at nine times by State Police and the FBI, and was left to die in the Oregon snow after the government targeted him, and executed him, without remorse, or due process, because he dared to stand up for property rights and against federal tyranny.  After the assassination, there was no noise from the usual folks who demand social justice, and no effective finger-pointing at the one-sided nature of the shooting by law enforcement under the direction of a Democrat Party led federal government on January 26, 2016.

The activists of the nation became afraid.  They did not dare stand against the all-powerful Obama administration.  They were stunned.  All the while they had been convinced that we are in the midst of a political disagreement, not realizing for a moment that from the left's point of view, what is going on is an ideological war.  They use war strategies, and they use war tactics, and when it came to LaVoy Finicum, they were also willing to commit war atrocities.

The problem is, even the Republicans have bought into much of the authoritarianism that haunts our unconstitutional federal government.  They fear standing against the tyrants within our system because they are either ignorant of the truth, are filled with great concern of reprisal, or they are complicit.

Those who live in fear are subjects. Those who promote fear are tyrants. And when there is tyranny, the purveyors of it are willing to murder the innocent to silence any opposition.

At no point did Mr. Finicum, or the passengers in his vehicle, pose a threat to the law enforcement officials present, yet Mr. Finicum was gunned down, and then the federal personnel present on the scene shot up the vehicle full of innocent and defenseless passengers.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown called it, “regrettable."

Oregon's lone Republican in the U.S. Congress, Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River), issued a statement stating that the whole situation and following investigation left him, "disturbed and bewildered."

The media and the politicians downplayed what happened.  The message was essentially, "That's what happens when you dare to stand in opposition to the ruling elite."

LaVoy Finicum never posed a threat.  He was killed in cold blood.

After an investigation, the shooting death of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum during the Oregon siege was deemed justified by investigators.

Investigators from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office accounted for six shots total, three from the AR-15 of a state trooper that hit the vehicle, and three that struck Finicum in his back.  The final three alleged shots were never verified.

"The fourth round, police concluded, was fired by an FBI agent who subsequently twice denied to investigators ever firing his gun. As the investigation proceeded, detectives determined he also fired a second time, but didn't hit anything at the scene," wrote the Oregonian.

Last year, it was determined that five agents from the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team were at the scene, and could face prosecution.

Eventually, more often than not, the truth finds its way to the surface.

“An FBI agent has been indicted and accused of lying about firing shots at slain Oregon militia member LaVoy Finicum during a fatal roadside encounter, reveals a report according to the NY Daily News, June 28, 2017.

“A year-long investigation prompted charges of making a false statement with the intent to obstruct justice against the agent, the Oregonian reported.

The FBI agents involved in the shooting called the LaVoy Finicum execution a “routine traffic stop”—and have been getting away with their murderous actions for over a year.

Judi McLeod of Canada Free Press wrote over a year ago, "..LaVoy Finicum was only one rancher, a citizen trying to eke out a living in a livelihood the government is making all but impossible with the smothering red tape of bureaucracy. And that’s why his death that came as he was standing knee-high in the Oregon snow is all the more unforgettably tragic."

Back then we knew the shooting was committed in cold blood, and the recent indictment of one of the FBI agents involved simply reminds us of the truth, and confirms for us that something is not right about the testimony of the law enforcement officials present when the shooting happened.  Finicum posed no threat, but after being gunned down his body was left to lay in the snow, and his passengers traveling with him were left to traumatized by the murderous actions of federal agents against Finicum.

We can only hope that the FBI agent being indicted as is now being reported is the beginning of the slow road to justice regarding the execution of a hero willing to stand up against federal tyranny.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary