Chapter 31
“One riot, one Ranger.”
Chuck Dixon sat on a couch outside the governor’s office in Austin waiting to meet with Cooper, the Texas Rangers, Lt. Gov. Gene Foster and various congressional and state legislators.
After the ATF raided Chuck’s residence, they hit his business the next day and took all the computers. His terrified employees were sent home. The IRS levied his bank accounts. His operations manager could not pay any bills or run payroll.
The negative publicity Chuck received in the mainstream media for allegedly being tied to Rash Sally chased many of his customers away. What was a vibrant going concern a couple of weeks ago was now a business with no way to operate. Still, most of his employees still showed up every day with no promise of being paid. His employees knew him well, and many of them were also involved in the Tea Party movement. They didn’t believe a word of the government’s claims of Chuck being a co-conspirator with Rash Sally.
Chuck had just gotten off the phone with his operations manager, who had given him the latest update on the state of his business, when Pops Younger appeared in the hallway.
“Hey, Chuck, the governor is ready to see you.”
“Okay, Pops, thanks.”
Chuck entered the governor’s office. The room was packed with men in suits and men wearing cowboy hats. Cooper stood up to greet him. Chuck stuck out his hand to shake but the governor hugged him.
“Let’s all have a seat. We have a lot to discuss,” said Cooper.
Jeff Weaver spoke up. “Gentlemen, we are likely to have some type of constitutional crisis as a result of our operation to free Chuck. I have received a call from Deputy Atty. Gen. Justin Coleman in Washington and he is demanding we turn over Chuck and the Rangers involved in the Ellington operation.”
“So, Tibbs himself didn’t call you?” one of the congressmen in attendance asked sarcastically.
“Of course not. He’s too goddamn arrogant,” replied Weaver. “After consulting with the governor, we called them back and provided our answer.”
Chuck was worried. Something told him he could be back in federal custody in no time.
“We told them to go pound sand!” Weaver said.
The room erupted in applause and yells. “Additionally,” Weaver continued, “we have filed for search warrants this morning with a state district judge to search all FBI, ATF and Homeland Security offices for all documents and emails related to the raids on Texas citizens involved with the Tea Party. We believe their actions are unwarranted and do not fit within the terrorist definition of the NDAA.”
The people in the room got more excited with each bit of news coming from Weaver.
“We have also just filed charges for those in connection with the deaths of the three Texans who died at the hands of these federal agents.”
Chuck Dixon was visibly moved. “Thank God. Stan Mumford did not deserve to die. He was my friend.”
“Yes, Chuck,” Gov. Cooper said, “we know. And he won’t be forgotten. We are committed to bringing those responsible to justice right here in Texas. We’re currently conducting searches to find the names of all those involved. And, let me assure you, if this is like other DOJ operations that have proven to be unconstitutional or illegal—which we believe they are—we will not rest until they are brought to justice.”
Cooper stood and walked around his huge desk to lean against it.
“Pops, can you update us on what you are doing with Chuck and his family?”
“Sure, Governor,” Pops said. “Right now we have Chuck’s family at an undisclosed location. We believe it’s possible that the DOJ could send a team to snatch Chuck back. For that reason, his location will be kept secret on a need-to-know basis.”
“Governor, I do ask that I am able to communicate to my employees who are still dependent on me,” Chuck said.
“Of course, Chuck,” Cooper said, “we’ll find a way for you to continue to communicate with your staff so as not to put you in jeopardy. For those that don’t know or aren’t aware, the feds took all the computers out of Chuck’s business and had the IRS levy his bank accounts. Right now, his employees cannot get paid and are there out of sheer loyalty to Chuck.”
“Damn,” said several people at the same time.
“We are raising the ante with the actions taken this morning that we feel are absolutely necessary,” Cooper said. “We fully expect the administration to try to punish Texas. That means withholding matching federal funds for everything from schools to highway projects. This may take many months to resolve, and I expect Texas is not going to be popular with most of the country. But we have many friends in Congress and elsewhere who will support us.”
The closed door of the governor’s office flew open and a Texas Ranger came in with a piece of paper he handed to Pops. Pops read the paper, then asked Weaver and Gov. Cooper to sidebar in another room.
The rest of the participants made small talk, anxiously waiting for the three to come back in.
When they returned, Weaver held the paper. He took a deep breath, then said, “Gentlemen, it appears our esteemed colleagues in the DOJ have beaten us to the next steps. They have issued federal warrants for all members of the Rangers team that rescued Chuck at Ellington. They have also issued a fugitive arrest warrant for Chuck.”
Chuck sat there in disbelief. “Wow. One minute I’m a family man and independent businessman, and a couple of weeks later I have no home, barely have a business and now I’m a fugitive from justice?”
“Chuck, we will work through this,” Cooper said. “They are not only messing with you, but they’re messing with Texas. I will do everything within my power to get this straightened out. It’s in our best interests. This administration has been stomping on the Constitution since it came into power, and now they’ve got four more years to trash it. I won’t stand for it. Texas won’t stand for it. And it’s not only us. I am in daily contact with the governors of Arizona, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. Enough is enough.”
Turning to his brain trust and Pops, the governor said, “Okay, folks, we know our next moves. Everyone is getting an assignment or two from this meeting. Let’s get through the list. I ask that everyone in this room keep our mission public, but our strategies confidential.”
During the next six hours, the team assembled in the governor’s office was assigned certain tasks. The state legislators were to brief their colleagues and report in town hall meetings with their constituents. All agreed to update their newsletters, staff and websites with information related to the public relations war that was about to begin between Texas, other like-minded states, and Washington.
The same was true of the congressional members who attended. There were eleven congressmen in the meeting, including two Democrats. The congressional delegation was to take their fight to the House and Senate floor. Only one of the two senators from Texas attended the meeting. The missing senator wasn’t invited. Although he was a Republican, the governor’s office didn’t trust him and he hadn’t been an ardent supporter of the Tea Party.
The next day, a press release was issued from the governor’s office:
“Yesterday, the Texas attorney general obtained arrest warrants from a Texas district judge for the federal agents who were involved in the unwarranted searches, destruction of private property, trespassing, and theft of private property of certain citizens of Texas. In addition to these charges, we have referred the three unfortunate deaths at the hands of federal agents to a grand jury, where we expect them to recommend indictment of the federal agents involved.
“We have also learned that the Justice Department has issued arrest warrants for the Texas Rangers involved in the rescue of Chuck Dixon from an illegal kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. This is a political stunt by the Justice Department and we fully expect these Texas Rangers to be fully vindicated.”
* * *
Atty. Gen. Tibbs was livid. “Who the fuck do these cowboys think they are? Issuing arrest warrants for federal agents? They need to be taught a very strong lesson.”
Tibbs was speaking to Deputy Atty. General Coleman, FBI Director Wodehouse, ATF Director Adamson, and Homeland Security Director Sarah McDermott at a meeting in Washington, DC.
Adamson, the ATF director who took over after the demotion of the prior ATF director in the gun-walking fiasco, spoke. “I have been in touch with our field offices in Texas, and there is definitely some hesitation from those local agents acting on the arrest warrants for this guy Pops Younger and the other Rangers. Apparently, Younger is somewhat of a law enforcement legend in Texas. They believe it would be a public relations nightmare, not to mention the fact they may meet resistance.”
Tibbs was still fuming, “Are you serious? You have agents in your department who will not exercise a federal arrest warrant? Will they not follow orders?”
“Mr. Attorney General, you’re talking about arresting Texas icons. Hell, you might as well go piss on the Alamo. This will be hugely unpopular.”
“Unpopular where, in Texas? Who gives a damn? These jokers violated federal law.”
Tibbs turned to his staff members. “What are the polling numbers telling us?”
A thirty-something assistant with an Ivy League MBA wearing a three-piece suit, stood up and said, “The Texas Rangers have a very high approval rating; however, when asked about the raid at Ellington, the majority—51 percent—believe it was a violation of law. The ATF, on the other hand, only has a 42 percent favorable rating. When asked if the federal government should arrest the Rangers involved, 49 percent said yes.”
“What did the polling say about Chuck Dixon?”
“In latest polls, 59 percent said he should be arrested, but only if he was connected to Rash Sally.”
“What is the latest we have regarding that subject?”
Adamson stood up and stopped the conversation, “Jamail, let’s discuss this offline. I’m not prepared to discuss specifics of the investigation here.”
“Okay, let’s take that up directly after this meeting. Now, what I want to know is, what steps are we going to deploy to arrest these fugitives?”
“Jamail, do we expect to just walk into Austin and march down to the Texas DPS and arrest these guys?” Adamson asked.
“Why not? What’s your plan?” Tibbs looked at Adamson inquiringly.
“I think we give them the opportunity to turn themselves in.”
“Well, that’s fine, but I want a ton of publicity when they do. I want cameras everywhere and I want them in handcuffs doing the perp walk.”
Adamson stood up. “I’ll call Jeff Weaver and give him that opportunity. I can’t imagine they want to see any Texas Rangers get handcuffed.”
Tibbs retorted, “Actually, that’s exactly what I want to see, and I want the country to see it.”
Adamson looked worried and a little disappointed with Tibbs’ response.
Tibbs continued, “Let’s give them the opportunity to report to the FBI office in Austin, then they get handcuffed and transported to a federal facility for processing. But the offer is off the table in forty-eight hours. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I also want the staff coordinating with media. Now, can everyone else leave the room so we can discuss the Tea Party guy Dixon? I want ATF, FBI and Homeland Security directors here only.”
The rest of the room took about three minutes to clear out.
“Adamson, what do we know about Dixon’s whereabouts?”
“Not much. We think they have him and his family in some type of protective custody. I do know the IRS has locked down his accounts, but he is still communicating with his office staff.”
“Let Texas know we want Dixon, too. We’ll give him the same opportunity to turn himself in as the Rangers.”