Local Tea Party Leader is Investigated for Menacing Email to GOP Senator

The Republicans have gotten pretty upset over their belief that Agenda 21 is going to let the UN take over America. They are very implementing laws in various states to prohibit state and local governments from working with the UN or its affiliates to implement any sort of “international law” that would violate our constitution or their state constitutions.

An Oklahoma local Tea Party co-founder is so upset that his state senator hasn’t brought the bill that would ostensibly stop the UN from doing what it’s not trying to do up for a vote that he sent a threatening email to state Republican Senator Cliff Branan. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is now investigating his email to see if his threats qualify as blackmail or are protected under free speech.

Al Gerhart, the co-founder of the Sooner Tea Party admitted in an interview with The Oklahoman that he sent the March 26th email to state Sen. Cliff Branan (R-Oklahoma City):

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“We will expose that man’s dirty laundry. We will show people what he is like,” Al Gerhart said. “It is not a threat. I put down there clearly: This is a promise.”

Misspelling one word, Gerhart wrote: “Get that bill heard or I will make sure you regret not doing it. I will make you the laughing stock of the Senate if I don’t hear that this bill will be heard and passed. We will dig into your past, yoru family, your associates and once we start on you there will be no end to it. This is a promise.”

The bill that is supposed to save Oklahoma from being treaded on by UN is House Bill 1412: “An Act relating to property; defining term; prohibiting adoption of United Nations Agenda 21/Sustainable Development policies that restrict private property rights without due process; prohibiting state and political subdivisions from entering into certain agreements and expending and receiving funds to implement United Nations Agenda 21/Sustainable Development; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.” (Read the full text.)

The Sooner Tea Party co-founder seems to think that the UN will take away our property rights, “It’s all about property rights. It’s about whether or not you can build that pool in your backyard or whether you can put a fence up there. And Agenda 21 is one of these issues that is real. It’s out there. They’re implementing it. It’s going to take decades for them to do it but it’s coming and now is the time for people to stop it.”

In reality, Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily plan to try to combat pollution and poverty:

Agenda 21 is a voluntary action plan developed by the United Nations and national governments at the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. At the Summit, governmental leaders around the world agreed on the need to become more sustainable—to meet today’s needs without sacrificing our future. Agenda 21 presents a vision for how all levels of government—especially in the developing world—can take voluntary action to combat poverty and pollution, conserve natural resources and develop in a sustainable manner. One-hundred-seventy-eight nations adopted the agenda, including the United States under the Bush Administration.

Agenda 21 is not a treaty or legally binding document and does not infringe upon the sovereignty of any nation, state, or local government. Agenda 21 does not advocate for abolishing private property or have any bearing on U.S. local and state land-use decisions. In other words, it isn’t being forced on anybody, anywhere, by any organization.

Mr. Gerhart seems to embody the paranoia of the Tea Party, telling the paper that he wanted to know if the Senator had his family under control, if his wife had done anything illegal, and the coup de grâce, “They’re harassing me because we’re focusing the power upon them, because we’re making them look bad. My friend, they get me, they’ll be after you next. That’s all I can say.”

Ah yes. The sounds of persecution. Gerhart might recall the warnings:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Republicans and I said —.

The imaginary threats of the UN might seem rather benign compared to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Sarah Jones

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