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Last Thursday, decorator form US Marine Brandon Raub, who served two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, was detained by the FBI and local authorities for posting controversial anti-government political comments on the social media site Facebook.
Although 26-year-old Brandon Raub was detained against his will for his political views, he was not charged with any criminal misconduct, a hallmark of the NAZI gestapo tactic of indefinite psychiatric detention which was used to crush political dissent.
John Whitehead, a constitutional attorney representing Raub, discussed how the US government violated his client’s first amendment rights with RT yesterday.
He also made an appearance on GBTV with Glen Beck in which he made even more shocking revelations.Whitehead tells Beck that he is getting calls from military veterans all over the country subjected to the same Nazi style psychiatric detention for their political views.
More alarming, is when Beck asked if people of left-wing ideology – specifically members of Occupy Wall Street – are being detained. Whitehead responded saying he can’t say for sure because people all over the country are just disappearing.
He also reveals that while Raub was in psychiatric detention one of the psychiatrists that he was seeing threatened to “brainwash” him and force him to take medication.
Watch the entire interview:
More from The Blaze:
Attorney of Former Marine Detained for Facebook Posts Tells Beck: Psychiatrist Threatened to ‘Brainwash’ My Client With Meds
Whitehead told Beck that he and his organization are planning to sue over a provision in Virginia state law that allows authorities to place a person in emergency custody and hold them for four hours unless a magistrate enters a temporary detention order (TDO). Raub was held under this law, specifically Va. Code § 37.2-808, for days.
‘We are getting ready to file a civil lawsuit…because [Raub] has been put through hell for a week,’ said Whitehead. But, he explained, ‘Under the civil commitment law in Virginia, the police can do this.’
Whitehead said that veterans have since been contacting him from across the country claiming they too were victims of wrongful detention in psychiatric institutes like Raub. Apparently, there are civil commitment laws in other states as well, he said.
‘It happens. There’s about 20,000 civil commitments alone in Virginia each year,’ he added. It was actually Raub’s mother, who took to Facebook in a rage after he son was taken by federal and local law enforcement officers, that sounded the alarm and made the entire country aware of his situation.’Did they have a warrant for his arrest?’ Beck asked.
‘No warrant for his arrest and no search warrant,’ Whitehead replied. ‘They haven’t [charged him with a crime] and they’re not going to.’Stunned, Beck asked how this could take place in the United States of America, where the Constitution provides protections from such things, most notably the First Amendment.
‘Is this America,’ the attorney said. ‘That’s what I keep asking.’To be clear, Raub is a 9/11 ‘truther’ and harbors some pretty questionable beliefs. However, as Beck explains, Americans should defend the free speech of even the people they disagree with. ‘I will stand with anyone on the left for their right to express themselves in a non-violent way… especially if I find it offensive, I will stand for their right to say it,’ Beck said.
Further, in a surprising twist, Whitehead revealed a startling allegation that his client made regarding an incident that occurred before his release. Raub complained to his attorney that one of the psychiatrists that he was seeing threatened to ‘brainwash’ him and force him to take medication.’That really scared him,’ he said.
After soaking in all that Whitehead had shared with him, Beck reflected:
‘From what I know of this story, this is an outrage. There were some things that stick out to me — as flares of caution. But the one thing we should be reckless with is our defense of people who have opinions that we don’t agree with. I’ve never asked for a boycott, I’ve never asked for someone to be fired.’
He continued: ‘If we can’t meet on the battlefield of ideas, as George Washington said, If we can’t speak to each other openly, if we are paranoid and watching over our shoulder, we lose the essence of who we are and we will never be a great nation again… Buckle up, I have a feeling that this is going to be an interesting ride.’
Source: The Blaze