SWAT Team Like Raid by Ohio authorities on a farm house in LaGange

[Richard]

Posted: 12/04/2008

Ohio authorities stormed a farm house in LaGange Monday, December 1, to execute a search warrant, holding the Jacqueline and John Stowers and their son and young grandchildren at gunpoint for nine hours.  During the raid the Ohio Department of Agriculture and police confiscated over ten thousand dollars worth of food, computers and cell phones.  The Stowers’ crime?  They run a private, members-only food co-op.

While state authorities were looking for evidence of illegal activities, the family was not informed what crime they were suspected of, they were not read their rights or allowed to make a phone call.  The children, some as young as toddlers, were traumatized by armed officers interrogating the adults with guns drawn.

The Morning Journal, a newspaper serving northern Ohio, reported that the Stowers were believed to be operating without a license.  However, the Stowers claim that the food co-op they run does not engage in any activities that would require state licensing.

Friends of the Stowers openly question why such aggressive tactics were necessary to investigate a licensing complaint. 

The Ohio Department of Agriculture has apparently been chastised by the courts in previous cases for over-reach, including entrapment of an Amish man to sell raw milk, which backfired, when it became known that the man gave milk instead of selling it to a state undercover agent, refusing to take money for what he believed to be a charitable act.  The Amish literally interpret the Gospel of Matthew (5:42) to “give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”

The matter has been forwarded to the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lorain County General Health District according to Lorain County court records.

http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com...n-Loeffler

[Sily]

That raid seems wrong on so many levels.  :shock:

Here's a response from the family from here.  I'll post it below.  Also, from same source, it says:

"There were agents from the Department of Agriculture present, one of them identified as Bill Lesho (Obama is appointing him as head of the US Ag). Over ten thousand dollars worth of food was taken, including the family’s personal stock of food for the coming year. All of their computers, and all of their cell phones were taken, as well as phone and contact records. Presumably Manna Storehouse might eventually be charged with running a retail establishment without a license. Why then the Gestapo-type interrogation for a 3rd degree misdemeanor charge?"

UPDATE 4 PM:Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 11:29 AM
Subject: appreciation & present situation
Hi everyone. First of all, we would like to thank everyone for the phenomenal support and encouragement you have given us during this very difficult time for our family. We have been unbelievably overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and concern from many, many people.
At this point, we still have not been charged with anything, so we are devoting most of our time to research. We are trying to prepare ourselves for what lies ahead.
Many people have asked how they can help. Here are a few things that we are in need of.
*Anyone who has any information or experience with the ODA or the Health Department - we would love to hear about it! We are trying to learn the ORC laws regarding these agencies, their administrative procedure, etc… We will gladly talk with anyone who has information, advice or experiences to share.
*Books on criminal law in Ohio. We would love to borrow any legal books of this nature that anyone might have.
*Computers - We need to borrow 2 computers with the capability to recognize a wireless connection, preferably with Microsoft Excel. This is imperative for us in the research we are doing and would only be until we can get our property back.
Our priorities remain as they always have - God, and then our family. Please know that we will continue to observe our seventh-day Sabbath, so we will not be taking any phone calls or answering emails on that day. We are also trying very hard to get back to some type of normalcy for our children’s sake. We truly appreciate all the prayers for them - we watch how they are responding to this entire situation and we can tell that people are praying! We are blessed to see how the Lord is protecting their hearts and minds.
From a business perspective, we are trying to get ourselves back up and running. Our plan is to be taking orders within 2 weeks - we will put out an email once we decide on the date. Our delay at this point is purely administrative - we have lost all our records, so it is taking some time to get everything back in order.
On that same note, I do not have a complete email list of our customers, so please pass this on to anyone who you know that orders from us.
We have had many people contacting us from the media. At this point, for our own protection, we are not saying anything except to confirm what we already know. Once we have all of the facts, we will issue a statement to the press about our position.
Again, we cannot say thank you enough - we are dumbfounded at how the Lord has used people during this time in our lives.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. Please be patient if it takes a while for us to respond to an email or phone call - we are inundated with both and are trying to work through everything without taking time away from our families.
Jackie & Katie Stowers

[Mercy Now]

Pretty blatant and public thing to do.  I suspect they went in for another reason ,right or wrong,not yet disclosed.