In 1946, loyal American Citizens were forced to take up arms as a last resort against corrupt government officials in the town of Athens, Tennessee. It looks like loyal American Citizens may have to take up arms again in the town of Quartzsite, Arizona, where corrupt government officials, having lost an election, refuse to leave office.

For those of us who love Freedom and Liberty, the story of the Battle for Athens, Tennessee is a familiar one.  Corrupt local officials refused to follow the law of the land, the Constitution, and needed to be removed.  The good citizens of Athens tried every peaceful option open to them.  They petitioned both the state and federal governments but were met with nothing but stark silence.

To quote the excellent article by Aaron Zelman of the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO):

On August 1-2, 1946, some Americans, brutalized by their county government, used armed force as a last resort to overturn it. These Americans wanted honest open elections. For years they had asked for state or federal election monitors to prevent vote fraud (forged ballots, secret ballot counts and intimidation by armed sheriff’s deputies) by the local political boss. They got no help.

These Americans’ absolute refusal to knuckle under had been hardened by service in World War II. Having fought to free other countries from murderous regimes, they rejected vicious abuse by their county government.

It is indeed the ageless story of Freedom vs. Tyranny and in the early days of August, 1946, Freedom won.  But that freedom came at a cost.  American citizens were forced to take up arms against fellow Americans who had fallen to the seductive power of tyranny over their fellow man.

Hallmark even made a movie (a clip from that movie is at the end of this article) about this amazing event called An American Story. It is a story that appears is about to be repeated in Quartzsite, Arizona if the petty tyrants that currently occupy the offices of power refuse to accept the Rule of Law.

You may recall that the tyrants of Quartzsite, Arizona, have been in the news before.  I wrote about it previously in an article titled Corrupt and Autocratic Politicians are the same the world over that showed how petty tyrants the world over always do the same things, starting with stripping people of their Right to Freedom of Speech.

At the time of that original article town officials, including the [allegedly] corrupt Police Chief Jeff Gilbert, literally dragged Jennifer Jones out of the June 28, 2011 Quartzsite council meeting for the crime of (gasp!) exercising her Right to Freedom of Speech.  This is America, after all, where the Right to Freedom of Speech actually exists and, in fact, is the very cornerstone of the United States Constitution!

When asked by reporters about the town council members, Jennifer Jones responded

 “I liken them to monkeys in the zoo. They make a lot of noise and throw a lot of feces around, but at the end of the day they’re just primates and don’t deserve to be writing checks for [a town of] about 3,800 people. They don’t deserve to be managing money. They don’t act like they’re at the top of the food chain. It’s embarrassing.”

Of course little things like a Constitution mean nothing to tyrants, petty or otherwise, so the [allegedly] corrupt council members ordered the [allegedly] corrupt police chief to remove Jennifer Jones from the meeting.

They did so, physically dragging her from the room.  The video of this event is also at the end of the article.

Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert already faces many allegations

for both criminal conduct and ethical violations of the town’s personnel manual. They range from assault, illegal searches and arrests, surveillance and investigation of political opponents, “official police business” being conducted without reports filed, false reporting, and grant fraud, to abuse of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) background checks for personal use and/or without probable cause.

La Paz County Republican Precinct Chairman Michael Roth maintains he was falsely arrested for “disorderly conduct” and placed on the FBI “terrorist watch list” for his outspoken criticism of Police Chief Jeff Gilbert.

Fast Forward to today. 

A municipal election was held in Quartzsite, Arizona, on May 15, 2012.  Candidate Ed Foster won the election for mayor, and Mark Orgeron won the election for a seat as a councilman.

The defeated mayor, Jose Lizarraga, currently refuses to leave office, as does defeated vice mayor Barbara Cowell.  They’ve made frivolous claims about both winning candidates and are using those as reasons why they cannot leave office.

That is, of course, complete and utter garbage.

Petty little tyrants like Jose Lizarraga and Barbara Cowell are simply drunk with power and cannot fathom a life without it.  They desperately crave to dominate their fellow Quartzsite citizens and will do anything to keep their fingers on those levers of domination.

Yes, that even includes having dead people vote for them in the May 15th election.

“We have proof that there were (three) people who were dead who voted.”

It’s disgusting but, as I said at the beginning of this article, it’s not the first time petty tyrants have needed to have their fat and corrupt behinds removed from office by force, and it isn’t likely to be the last, either.

Remember the Lesson of Athens, Tennessee.

Mark Orgeron has filed federal legal action, looking for a judge to force the incumbents from office.

Among the points mentioned in his complaint, Orgeron says both he and Ed Foster are legally qualified to be lawmakers in the town, and are, in fact, the legitimate officeholders now since they won the election, with their terms starting immediately.

“The mayor is no longer the mayor of the town, and cannot legitimately exercise the powers of office, and the vice mayor is no longer the vice mayor of the town or a member of the town council and cannot legitimately exercise the powers of office,” the complaint states.

The Arizona Republic reported Foster has filed papers asking La Paz County Attorney Sam Vederman to file a writ under a state law allowing a court to remove usurpers from public office and seat a legitimate candidate.

So far the state officials have turned a blind eye to the political corruption running rampant in Quartzsite.  That is a dangerous path for the state of Arizona to take.

La Paz County Attorney Sam Vederman so far is handling the situation rather pathetically.  He needs to grow a backbone and stand up to those corrupt few who refuse to leave office.  At the moment he is “exploring the situation” or, as I would prefer to call it, wringing his hands in despair while doing absolutely nothing.

“We’re exploring the entire situation,” Vederman said. “A lot of people are concerned there could be violations (of Arizona law). I just want everyone to remain calm.”

When petty tyrants refuse to allow Freedom and Liberty to reign, when they strip citizens of their First Amendment Rights, thank God there is a Second Amendment of the United States Constitution for us to fall back on.

To the corrupt former officials of Quartzsite, Arizona, you should really leave town now under your own steam, while you still can, before the good citizens of your town to take up arms and remove your corrupt behinds by force, just as the good citizens did in Athens, Tennessee, back in August, 1946.

Remember the Lesson of Athens, Tennessee… before the good citizens of Quartzsite remind you in person.