Is This America?

Is This America?

The Progressive, September 25, 2009

“I don’t have any information on this so I’m unable to comment,” says Lt. Col. Almarah Belk in the Pentagon’s press office. “It's curious. It's bizarre. But since I can't confirm its validity, I can’t comment on it.”

The website RawStory said it received the following statement from officials with G20 security:

“Military members supporting the G20 Summit work with local law enforcement authorities but do not have the authority to make arrests. The individuals involved in the 9/24/09 arrest which has appeared online are law enforcement officers from a multi-agency tactical response team assigned to the security operations for the G20. It is not unusual for tactical team members to wear camouflaged fatigues. The type of fatigues the officers wear designates their unit affiliation. Prior to the arrest, the officers observed this subject vandalizing a local business. Due to the hostile nature of the crowd, officer safety and the safety of the person under arrest, the subject was immediately removed from the area.”

This statement raises several questions:

1. What’s the name of the multi-agency tactical response team?

2. Why do “tactical team members . . . wear camouflaged fatigues”?

3. What unit were these law enforcement officers with?

4. The safety of the person under arrest certainly did not seem to be the reason for the person to be whisked away, did it now?

5. Was the person read his rights before being arrested?

For more information on this general topic, see:

“What Is NorthCom Up To?”

And “The Pentagon Wants Authority to Post Almost 400,000 Military Personnel in U.S.”

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