Not Patriots, Convicted Felons!
Jul 2, 2007 General Interest
It appears Joe Loya of Loya insurance and the father in law of Ignacio Ramos, one of the two convicted ex border patrol agents, Ramos and Campeon, is up to his old tricks again.
Waving American flags and chanting “U.S.A., U.S.A.,” protestors angry about the imprisonment of two U.S. Border Patrol agents rallied Saturday, demanding the release of the men and calling for the dismissal of the prosecutor who handled the case. The demonstration drew about 200 activists to the office lawn of U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, the top prosecutor for the Western District of Texas who won the convictions last year and has become a main target of groups fighting for tighter immigration controls.
“We’re here because we have Border Patrol patriots who have been caught up in a political process and they’re not being treated fairly,” said Pat Byrne, deputy director for the Texas chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, one of the event organizers.
The agents, Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos, are both serving more than 10 years in prison for shooting at a suspected drug smuggler as he ran away from them. Although a jury rejected the agents’ claim that the suspect had a gun, supporters contend that Compean and Ramos were convicted for simply doing their jobs.
Turnout for the rally, at San Pedro Avenue and U.S. 281, fell far short of a forecast crowd of several hundred. But what the activists lacked in numbers they made up for with impassioned speeches, including one that hinted at violence.
David Marlett of Dallas climbed into the back of a white pickup and told the crowd that there are “four kinds of boxes — the soap box, the jury box, the ballot box and the cartridge box.”
We have seen a misuse of the jury box,” he said. “We’re going to use the ballot box to get rid of you. But don’t test our use of the last box.”
With a small group of immigrant rights supporters posted across the street, much of the two-hour rally was tense and fraught with racial undertones.
“We as American patriots won’t step aside and allow that flag to be any color other than red, white and blue,” said Curtis Collier, president of U.S. Border Watch.
In front of him, activists hoisted signs that read, “Texas is not a Mexican colony” while counter-protestors shouted “Viva La Raza.”
At times, it was hard to hear the speakers over competing microphones.
Jina Gaytan, who was among the counter-protestors, said the case against the agents comes down to basic human rights.
“Immigrants are no less human than we are, and they need to be protected just like we do if something has been done to them,” she said.
About midway through the demonstration, police arrested a man after he crossed the street, confronted an immigrant rights supporter and allegedly hit him in the back of the head. Police spokesman Joe Rios said the man was charged with assault, but otherwise the event was peaceful.
U.S. Attorney Sutton pointed out that Compean and Ramos failed to report the shooting and tossed out the spent bullet casings to cover it up.
In recent years, agents in the same El Paso Sector have shot their guns 14 times and killed four people, but in each of those cases investigators found that the shootings were justified.
“Prosecutors are bound to follow the facts where they lead,” Sutton said. “Sometimes the facts and the evidence lead to places where a prosecutor really doesn’t want to be.”
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July 5th, 2007 at 8:54
First of all these border agents should be set free. THey ARE PATRIOTS, they were doing what the job called for them to do. Mr Sutton should loose his job.. It is a SHAME that these fine men are spending time behind bars. Yes they made some mistakes.
Thats garbage about human rights.. I agree everyone deserves to be treated fairly
but when you come across the border illegel well you give up any rights!!
THESE AGENTS DESERVE TO BE FREE!!
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July 12th, 2007 at 6:50
Better read the Constitution, The Bill of Rights to see how wrong you are. Anybody in this country, irregardless of their legal status or how they got here, have certain inalienable rights. You may not like it, but that’s the way it is! And has been for more than 230 years.
Ramos and Campeon shot an unarmed man in the back without knowing his immigration status and then lied and destroyed evidence. For that, they are serving time.
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July 13th, 2007 at 2:30
First off they never shot him in the Back! Take a look at where he was shot it was in the backside not the back!! There is no evidence that the man was for sure unarmed.. AND worst of all he is a DRUG DEALER!!Even Mr Sutton will tell you that!!!
But Mr Sutton says there was no evidence he had a gun.. DO you believe this loser was just walking down the street and these two agents just started shooting him?? What Sutton did was take the word of a Drug smuggler over the word of two LAW Enforcement officers!! THATS A JOKE!!!! AND THATS WHY HE NEEDS TO LOOSE HIS JOB.
FOr the United States to give this man imunity to testify against two men who were doing their job and protecting the border from the likes of him
is just WRONG.
Also for Mr Sutton to go on TV and slander the names of these men is down right wrong.. If the President can pardon Mr Libby then these two fine men should see a pardon also.. And then we should go after the DRUG RUNNING LOSER who Mr Sutton felt the need to set free.
I dont need to read the Constitution.. been there done that many times. This man broke the law and the agents were trying to aprehend him.
FREE RAMOS AND COMPEAN
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July 13th, 2007 at 3:52
Never shot him in the back? His ass is behind him. He was moving away from them, looking over his shoulder at them
They did not know whether he was a drug dealer, a preacher, a school teacher nor did they know his citizenship, only that he was running. The rules do not allow shooting someone simply because they refuse to stop when told to unless there is evidence of a crime being committed. And remember, they did not know if he was an illegal or not.
Ramos and Campeon will probably get a commutation, which is what they deserve, when Bush leaves office, which is the right thing to do, for by that time, they will have served the time that their crime deserves. I agree that 11 and 12 years is excessive. 18 months is not!
Try reading the case files on this. They’re available. Johnny Sutton is one of the finest prosecutors the government has judging by his past record
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July 13th, 2007 at 3:58
Its good to see that you also feel 11 and 12 years is excessive, and you feel its the right thing for the President to give these men a pardon.
I have read a good amount about this case, and the way I see it is it was the word of a drug smuggler vs the word of two law enforcement officers and the Govt went with the word of the illegal who is also a drug runner. Mr Sutton said he could not take the word of the officers because they had no hard proof the drugs were his etc.. But then he went and took the word of the illegal on everything he said happened… Seems kind of strange when you can take the word of one person (who is running DRUGS) but not the word of men who put their lives on the line every day and night!!
To me its not a issue of him being illegal or not.. the bottom line is we now know this guy is a low life DRUG Smuggler and two men are sitting in jail because we took the word of a lowlife like him…
I do not know much else about Mr Sutton, but will be watching when he is on CNN with Lou Dobbs on TUE.. I hope Lou nails him on this issue, it will be good to see what he has to say..
Lou is the right peorson to get this guy on his show..
Good discussion with you, and I know we will ahve to agree to disagree on it..
Take Care
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July 13th, 2007 at 7:40
Actually, despite what some would think about this blog, I am quite conservative, but in a right is right, wrong is wrong type of way and looking at things in a logical and practical manner.
You might be interested in reading this handout from the U.S. Attorney’s office discussing the reasoning behind the prosecution. http://mexicoverdad.com/?p=471
And if you are interested in reading the entire trial trabscripts, they are available on the right sidebar for download at http://ladiesofnuevolaredo.com
Agree to disagree is a good middle ground. I appreciate the info about Sutton on Dobbs. That should be a good debate, although I don’t care much for Lou Dobbs. His obsession with the immigration problem has become obsessive and a little old. But I do listen most days.
Your more than welcome to post your opinions here anytime. Perhaps both of us can learn from one another and at the same time, allow others to use their mind and think for themselves instead of letting others tell them what to think, which seems to be happening more often these days.
Take care!
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July 14th, 2007 at 1:07
Sounds good, I like that you are open to other points of view, and you did not just bad mouth me as a fool for feeling the way I do on this issue.
I will be around and post when I see interesting things on here.
Thanks Again
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