Firestorm created over militia report
By Allen Palmeri
Associate Editor
JEFFERSON CITY—A report released on state government letterhead that linked pro-life citizens with domestic terrorism and raised questions about the governor, the Missouri Highway Patrol, and the Department of Public Safety profiling citizens based on their political views was retracted only after waves of public outrage refused to subside.
The story of the Missouri Information Analysis Center’s (MIAC) Feb. 20 document on “The Modern Militia Movement” created a firestorm for about two weeks in newspapers, blogs, and political circles. Before it had run its course, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the former governor, and state agency heads had all weighed in to assure the common citizen that he was not being targeted and that the report was no longer being distributed. (It had been sent to law enforcement officers across the state.)
One of the questions that swelled to mammoth proportions with the release of the report was whether pro-life citizens displaying pro-life bumper stickers on their cars would now be subject to being pulled over by Highway Patrol troopers. On the fifth page, under the heading “Militant Abortion,” it is noted that “anti-abortionists have been known to take up arms in support of their beliefs.” Lt. John Hotz, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol, categorically said that troopers do not profile anyone based on their opposition to abortion.
Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, at first defended the content of the report. Later he pointed out that MIAC was created by his predecessor, Republican Matt Blunt, while attributing the controversy to the “overzealousness” of a Highway Patrol unit and the failure to develop a proper oversight procedure.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican, a day before Nixon’s comments called for Director of Public Safety John Britt to be placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation on how the report was produced. In a letter to the Springfield News-Leader, Kinder wrote, “All Missourians should rest assured that we are protected by the freedoms of our constitution and should never have to fear being monitored by their government based upon a person’s race, place of birth, political beliefs, or their spiritual convictions. Unfortunately, that confidence was shaken by the governor. Gov. Nixon remains ultimately responsible for his administration. Gov. Nixon should fully answer and apologize for what has been allowed to occur on his watch.”
Blunt had the final word on the controversy March 30 when he released a statement to the News-Leader through his spokesman.
“The assertion that I am somehow responsible for an offensive report that was issued more than a month after I left office and that profiles conservatives is so absurd that one would not think it requires a response from me, but evidently it does,” he said.
There are four names on the letterhead of the report. They are Nixon, Britt, Highway Patrol Col. James Keathley, and MIAC Director Van Godsey. Britt has issued a letter of apology, and Keathley has pledged that reports similar to this in the future will not be issued unless he and Britt approve them. Neither Nixon nor Godsey have issued any specific statements about whether they are in favor of or against profiling pro-life citizens based on their beliefs.
Blunt said he did not create MIAC to profile citizens based upon political views, liberal or conservative.
Kerry Messer, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) legislative liaison, said the conclusion to be drawn from Nixon’s public statements on the matter is that “he’s not adopting it (the report) as part of his working mindset.”
The overall lesson, Messer said, is that if people choose to do nothing, government can trample on their God-given freedoms and civil liberties. Left unchecked, with no one sounding the alarm, government could have used this militia report to ultimately oppress a segment of Missouri’s citizenry. In other words, biblical vigilance is always in order, Messer said.
Profiling “is what can happen in the near future,” he said. To prevent that from occurring, Missouri Baptists cannot retreat from the public square. On the contrary, they must advance to where they can amplify their collective voices in the name of freedom, Messer said. Only then can they repel the potential tyranny of rulers who may be seeking to control.
Messer has one last inquiry: Who drafted the report?
“That should be discoverable,” he said.
