FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No Weed, Just Weeds
City of Arlington SWAT Raid on Peaceful Organic Farmers is a Big Budget Bust
Arlington, TX August 5, 2013
At around seven thirty last Friday morning, inhabitants of The Garden of Eden, a small Intentional Community based on Sustainability, were awakened by a SWAT raid conducted by the City of Arlington for suspicion of being a full fledged marijuana growth and trafficking operation. Ultimately only a single arrest was made based on unrelated outstanding traffic violations, a handful of citations were given for city code violations, and zero drug related violations were found.
The entire operation lasted about 10 hours and involved many dozens of city officials, SWAT team, police officers and code compliance employees, and numerous official vehicles including dozens of police cars and several specialized vehicular equipment that was involved in the “abatement” operation. Witnesses say that there were helicopters and unmanned flying drones circling the property in the days prior to the raid that are presumed to have been a part of the intelligence gathering. The combined expenses for the raid itself and the collection of information leading up to the fruitless raid are estimated in the tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
All 8 adults present in the house were initially handcuffed at the gunpoint of heavily armed SWAT officers, including the mother of a 22 month old and a two week old baby who was separated from her children during the raid. The police enforced activity on the day of the raid included mowing the grass, the forcible destruction of both wild and cultivated plants like blackberries, lamb’s quarters and okra, and the removal of other varied materials from around the premises such as pallets, tires and cardboard that the Community members say they had collected for use in sustainability projects. No marijuana or other drugs were found on site and the inhabitants of the premises were all unarmed.
After several hours and many requests from the community members, the City Police Officers finally produced two warrants. The first was a Search Warrant for a suspected marijuana growth and distribution operation purportedly being concealed on the premises. There was also an Inspection & Abatement Warrant for code compliance violations such as tall grass and storage in the yard, an issue that the City of Arlington and The Garden of Eden have been disputing since February of this year. The marijuana warrant was issued based on an unsubstantiated claim by an Arlington City Police Officer of possession of marijuana by one of the community members for which there is no police record. Garden of Eden community members also say they have a series of documents showing that their dispute with the City of Arlington over the code compliance violations had already been addressed and settled.
Landowner Shellie Smith states that she has been requesting a peaceful and honorable resolution since the onset of the dispute in February, requesting the aid of the City Manager Trey Yelverton, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson and Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, but has received no response in the matter. Ms. Smith says “the City codes are in violation of our natural and Constitutional rights to live freely while causing damage to no one, and since there is no damaged party, there has been no crime committed on our part.
Rather, the City of Arlington has trespassed and committed robbery against us, amongst other crimes, and will be held accountable in a court of law in due time. We have been targeted by the system because we are showing people how to live without it. We are growing more than just tomatoes here, we are growing the consciousness that will allow people to live freely and sustainably, and the system doesn’t want that to be known.”
For updates on the unfolding of these matters:
Press release:
http://intothegardenofeden.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140&Itemid=382
Petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/seeking-truth/
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The Garden of Eden is a small intentional community in southwest Arlington dedicated to Freedom, Sustainability and Responsibility. Since 2009 they have been providing food, shelter and sustainability education classes and workshops to the public for free. Their 3.5 acre land contains chickens, bees, composting stations, a large vegetable garden and many wildcrafted trees and plants that are used for foods, medicines, and household and beauty products. Their vision is to be a fully self-sustaining center for education on sustainable living. To learn more about the Garden of Eden, or be in support, visit intothegardenofeden.com or contact them at gardenofedenvortex@gmail.com.
Contact: Quinn Eaker
E-mail: gardenofedenvortex@gmail.com
Phone: 817- 992-4615
Sign up for Eden updates! Email: gardenofedenvortex@gmail.com
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[…] No Weed, Just Weeds City of Arlington SWAT Raid on Peaceful Organic Farmers is a Big Budget Bust […]
Hmm the WEED warrant was based on a police officers word? “The marijuana warrant was issued based on an unsubstantiated claim by an Arlington City Police Officer of possession of marijuana by one of the community members for which there is no police record.”
The officers involved need to be disciplined.
We need photos to see if the image of the area is damaged , can you see the grass over the fence? House look bad?
I just think this was a over step of the city of Arlington.
They live in the country on 3+ acres and Arlington City Limits grew into their area. This is corruption and intimidation by the city. Their property is nice. They took their rain barrels along with other materials for building and gardening.
Their property is a garden! The 3+ acres was in the country until the city annexed that part of the county! The criminal police are guilty of lying, corruption, criminal theft and it was all to intimidate these people because they stand for truth!
Scum
here we go folks! now you cant even grow your own garden or as you choose
Now you k now why they want to take the guns away! Eden gardeners, arm yourselves! hell, everybody arm yourselves!
Okay, let’s nip the gun argument now. There are many thousands of gun owners in Texas, right? So why haven’t thousands (hundreds? Dozens?) of them marched on Arlington to demand justice? The state doesn’t need to confiscate guns, because even the whiniest and most prolific gun fetishist is no threat to the state’s monopoly on violence. It’s a lot of tough, paranoid talk, a lot more cash in the gun manufacturers’ coffers, and not a single shot fired in defense of anyone’s freedom. (Not to mention there are quite a few suicides, domestic shootings, and the occasional random killing spree.)
Tweet me when the revolution starts, tough guys. In the meantime, this sort of thing is becoming more common because most people have long since abdicated their civic responsibilities, and have allowed the wealthy puppetmasters of the state to expand police tyranny beyond oppression of swarthy minorities to reining in middle-class white nonconformists. Pretty soon you’ll all be field negroes. Welcome to the plantation.
One word… Sue. Sue the ever-loving bejoseph out of them. Sue the city, sue the state; definetely sue PERRY! Deal with them in the only language they’ll comprehend.,.. sue everything and their socks off. Then they’ll have the chance to live an alternative lifestyle.
OMG! I have been thinking more of us should teach our children how to grow victory gardens like in the twenties, so they will be able to eat, when the power hungry, and the poisonous foods they manufacture stop being available because, we are either not one of them or not worth feeding. I am very disturbed by this. I think the money (tax dollars) should have been spent on searching out child molesters, or money launderers, who come to our country and hide large sums of money in real estate etc. If you get my point. NOT humanitarians, I Hope you find the meanest, baddest lawyer and sue them on all counts, And even then what?????????? Just keep on rockin, we love you. and hope this turns out well, if you decide you need a larger voice, just let us know and we will show up with cameras, recorders, comments and some of us will make sure this gets around. Peace for now.
People get their panties in a bunch because there isn’t enough “food to feed the people in need”. SO instead we buy the 99 cent candy bar, the dollar sugar rush in a can, all that crap… while the healthy stuff is in the refrigerated, misted sections of the store boasting 1.99 a lb. The world is brainwashed by sugar, caffeine, fat and unnecessary empty carbs that “Taste so good it must be good for you!”.
When will the higher ups quit being so smug about their choices for gun control and “bail out programs” that sponsor welfare and food stamps and start getting to the point of the problem.
WE ARE HUMANS. We need five basic things. Food. Water. Shelter. Education. Companionship/friendship.
Address these problems naturally.
A city disaster center, turned into a park and public food garden.
Natural energy where it makes sense. T
his earth is the only home we have, and we were given it for a reason. We are not SUPPOSED TO FIND A NEW ONE! We are the care takers of this “garden”, of this world, and all we seem to do is take it for granted, destroy what we came here to protect and pollute the very air we breathe. We are cutting the limb we stand on, if this continues. This attitude that only one can be right and all the rest are wrong needs to be stopped. In life, there is most always more than one answer to a problem. And some how, people end up taking the shortcuts that “cost more”, financially and biologically.
Have a heart, save our home.
Green and blue, forever true.
We are Gaia’s children. We are her blood, her bone, her life. Time to end this political strife. Do what is right.