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| Soldier overwhelmed by support since arrest |
| 2005-04-16 |
| Patrick Haab, the Army reservist arrested on suspicion of holding seven undocumented immigrants at gunpoint at an Arizona rest stop, said he is overwhelmed and encouraged by an outpouring of legal, financial and moral support. On Thursday night, a Cave Creek locksmith put up $10,000 to free Haab on bail from a Maricopa County jail, where he had been held since Sunday on seven felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Offers of money, room and board, free legal assistance and pledges of solidarity are coming from sources who are not only upset about illegal immigration but others who say Haab acted in self-defense and are angry that authorities want to prosecute him. "I think he is getting a raw deal," said Bisbee resident Ronald Stone, a retired Army chief warrant officer and Vietnam veteran. "I want to do all I can for him . . . As far as I am concerned, he was defending his country." Haab's arrest comes as tensions build along the Arizona-Mexico border between law enforcement and residents who say the government isn't doing enough to stop illegal immigration. Haab, who turned 24 this month, said Friday that he was not trying to make any statements about illegal immigration when he ordered seven men out of their vehicle and told them to lie face down on the ground at the Sentinel rest stop on Interstate 8. He said his military training took over when the seven men "rushed" him out of the darkness at the rest area, where he had stopped to relieve his dog. He explained this week that the men climbed inside a Chevrolet Suburban when they saw his gun and he followed them to the SUV, took the vehicle keys and forced them out. Haab said he called 911 as soon as he had the situation under control and a dispatcher told him to do what he thought was best until authorities arrived. "I have put out the real story," he said, adding that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has made this out to be a case of vigilante justice. "I was acting in self defense." Arpaio has said repeatedly that Haab's story doesn't make sense and has noted several contradictions. Among those: Haab's claim that he was being attacked even though none of the men made aggressive moves; Haab's claim that he was afraid for his life even though he followed the men to their car; Haab's claim that he did not know the men were undocumented immigrants though he later said he believed they thought he was a Border Patrol agent. Arpaio has said Haab's actions were illegal and dangerous and he had no right to take the law into his own hands. All seven immigrants, who were being held at a detention facility in Yuma, asked to press charges against Haab. The driver has also been charged with human smuggling. Bill Weingard, a locksmith at Cave Creek Lock, said he felt compelled to help Haab and waited for hours at the jail Thursday to post his bail. He believed Haab was a scapegoat and said he didn't want authorities to make an example of him because of the border issues. "I really appreciate it," said Haab, an Iraq war veteran assigned to the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion from Kalamazoo, Mich. "It makes me feel better about this country." Haab, who has lived in Arizona since January, was only weeks away from a volunteer tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was arrested. Now, he said the military has put his deployment on hold. He faces 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Haab's father, Dave, of New Paris, Ind., said he was torn between hiring a lawyer and bailing his son out of jail. He said he is grateful for the support. "I think he has been maligned," the elder Haab said. "There is a lot of stuff in (news) reports about Patrick being a vigilante. He's not. He was trying to do what is right." Dave said his son, who has acknowledged taking drugs to fight depression since the death of a friend in a bombing, acted with a clear head and did not use excessive force. He said the family is building a Web site to keep supporters informed about the case and provide details for donations to Haab's defense. The address is www. k9mc.com. "We've had offers of support from D.C. to Los Angeles," Dave said. "And if there is any money left over, we're not going to keep it. . . . It is going to go to another person caught in a similar situation." |
| Posted by:.com |
| #8 This issue is the next "firebell in the night." If the Repubs don't get serious about this, then I can easily see the southwest and Rocky Mtn swing states sliding into blue territory in 2008, if only because so many enraged conservative voters in those states will stay home in November. Who will step up and address the complete travesty that our immigration policy has become? NOt Vincente Fox's buddy in teh White House. Not the clueless Dems. If Hillary can figure out how to play this one, then she'll be a strong contender in '08, and the Repubs will have only themselves to blame for pissing away what should be a natural winner for them. |
| Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) 2005-04-17 12:02:14 AM |
| #7 It's time to educate Arizonans on the concept of 'jury nullification'. Legal scholars seem to hold that jurists may only rule on guilt or innocence, not on justness of the law, but simpletons like me disagree. Why even bother with a jury of 'peers' if they were not to provide a last line of defence against tyranny of government? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2005-04-16 11:47:17 PM |
| #6 St*b - I'm with you - I find the situation obviously broken and in need of immediate action. One death is too many. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-16 12:33:20 PM |
| #5 Point taken...sad, as it is. |
| Posted by: St*b 2005-04-16 12:30:43 PM |
| #4 St*b - You know what I mean and how it works. Recall the Serbian Cleansing of Bosnia: Day 1 - 10, 6 people die each day on average in Sarajevo. Almost no coverage in the MSM. Day 11 - 60 people die in mortar attack that hits a market. The NEXT DAY, Peter Jennings, et al, are hosting the evening news, in their Roland Hedley safari jackets, from that market. Almost no violence for the next 2 weeks because of bad PR for the Serbs. Now what's idfferent about 60 dead spread over 10 days, at 6 avg per day, versus 60 dead in one day of 10 where 60 is the total for the period? That quirk of human nature and MSM marketing approach is my answer to your post. If 1,000 Americans die in a terr hit from a border-crossing jihadi, shit will start happening. Per my pervious comment, nothing will happen otherwise. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-16 12:07:34 PM |
| #3 "Dead Americans, unfortunately, seem to be the missing ingredient to foment real action by the Govt." HUH? There are thousands of Americans who have been killed by illegals. |
| Posted by: Shut the ***** borders 2005-04-16 11:57:08 AM |
| #2 This is one of those borderline (pun intended) situations where it sounds like, with the info available, that it could go either way. That he was right, in the end, to detain them doesn't explain everything. At sum, however, Frank nails it: If there wasn't such a HUGE problem because our borders are wide open and the laws of the land are not being enforced, this event would not have happened. Having been a border state Governor must be what's behind Bush's attitude regards illegals - the economics and politics are byzantine. It's the only thing that really explains it. The fact that the Congress won't address this squarely either, just makes it more ominous and frustrating. There will be a different price to pay, someday... not votes and not filling unfilled labor needs. Sooner, rather than later, the economics and politics will have to give way to security. Dead Americans, unfortunately, seem to be the missing ingredient to foment real action by the Govt - which never seems to get off the damned dime until forced by events. That just sucks. See that, Bush, Senators, Congressmen? That's an oncoming train, fools. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-16 11:06:18 AM |
| #1 Shut the f*&king border |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-04-16 10:44:33 AM |