From the Radio Free Michigan archives ftp://141.209.3.26/pub/patriot If you have any other files you'd like to contribute, e-mail them to bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu. ------------------------------------------------ JANET RENO READIES REGIONAL FORCES IN AMERICA Regional, multi-jurisdictional task forces, under federal control, are being established throughout the country. Exclusive to The Spotlight by Mike Blair The U.S. Justice Department is in the process of establishing Rural Crime and Drug Task Forces within each federal judicial district of the nation, as provided for in the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill, which has been signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Under the new law, Attorney General Janet Reno has the authority to establish the task forces in each judicial district and to deputize local law enforcement officers as federal marshals. The SPOTLIGHT has learned that various federal agencies, which were designated by the law to be part of the task forces, are in the process of being trained and organized for their new duties. As an example, The SPOTLIGHT has learned that officers of the U.S. Park Service are to begin receiving training in the use of the military M-16 assault rifle, which they then will be required to carry in their vehicles. According to SPOTLIGHT sources the training is to be undertaken at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Semi-Automatics Sources said the rifles to be provided to the Park Service will have their selective fire mechanisms removed, which will make them capable of firing only semi-automatically. However, this semi-automatic version of the M-16 is one of the so- called "assault rifles" that was banned from civilian sale and ownership in a provision of the crime bill. In addition, The SPOTLIGHT has also learned that members of the enforcement division of the U.S. Forest Service are no longer under the jurisdiction of the supervisory personnel of the districts they serve. Now they receive their orders directly from the Washington or regional offices of the service. Further, The SPOTLIGHT has received a copy of a Forest Service requisition submitted to a local ammunition supplier in Montana for 300 boxes of Federal Premium Hydra-Shok .45 caliber pistol ammunition for the rangers' sidearms. This ammunition features a cartridge with a bullet designed for its expanding, destructive power that has been highly criticized by anti-gun forces. The requisition, which was for the approximately 30 Forest Service officers who serve the Kootenai National Forest at Libby Montana, also includes 240 boxes of regular Winchester ball or jacketed .45 caliber ammunition and 80 boxes of Federal 12 gauge shotgun 00 buckshot cartridges. Under the crime bill, the membership of task forces will include state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Customs Service, United States Marshals Service, U.S. Park Police, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management "and other Federal law enforcement agencies as the Attorney General may direct." The law gives the task forces, including the federal officers, jurisdiction to act on non-federal land. The task forces, according to the new law, will be financed largely through "Assets seized as a result of *investigations* [SPOTLIGHT emphasis] initiated by a Rural Drug Enforcement Task Force . . . " In other words, the subject of an investigation will be in danger of having his assets confiscated and liquidated by a task force, regardless of the fact that he has not only not been convicted of any crime but has not even been arrested or charged. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi. ------------------------------------------------ (This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the Radio Free Michigan archives by the archive maintainer. All files are ZIP archives for fast download. E-mail bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu)