TORONTO – A 26-year-old political activist and former U.S. Marine was arrested in Virginia after posting his anti-government beliefs on Facebook.
One of Brandon J. Raub’s posts says the federal reserve has designed a system to crush middle class Americans between taxes and inflation, and that wars are lies that deceive the U.S. “with terrorism.” Raub also lists conspiracy theories involving 9/11.
According to The Washington Times, local authorities along with the FBI* and Secret Service questioned, then seized Raub on his property without a warrant and without reading him his rights. While the original YouTube video of the arrest has since been removed, you can watch the arrest during the first 45 seconds of this video posted by a user who has come to the defence of Raub.
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Authorities used a statute that allows the detainment of a citizen for psychiatric evaluation as their reasoning for his seizure, and Raub is now set to undergo 30 days of psychiatric evaluation against his will.
Raub had reportedly made no direct threats on Facebook, using some song lyrics from rock music in posts that authorities considered incitements to violence.
Raub has organized peaceful political demonstrations in the past, and has no history of mental illness, according to The Washington Times.
Although some believe authorities are doing their job in light of recent violent events, such as the Colorado movie theatre shooting, many are speaking in Raub’s defence, even starting an online petition.
The petition opens with a statement that says: “The government does not have our permission to monitor our Facebook posts and they do not have permission to arrest someone for non-violent patriotic posts.” It had over 4,100 signatures as of Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
*The FBI has since told The Business Insider their agents had “nothing to do” with Raub’s detainment and placement in a psychiatric ward, despite an interview on the Josh Tolley radio show with a woman who identified herself as Raub’s mother who claimed that FBI officers were present at the arrest.
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