Rick Stanley loses appeal = 6 yrs in prison

[Demosthenes]

Prison term upheld in judge threat
By Howard Pankratz
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 04/06/2007 03:01:07 AM MDT

The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld the six-year prison term of gun-rights advocate and 2002 U.S. Senate candidate Rick Stanley for threatening two Adams County judges.

Stanley was convicted of two counts of attempting to influence a public servant after he threatened to have a militia force arrest the two judges who heard a gun case against him.

The judges were protected by police and SWAT teams after the threats.

The judges had heard a case in which Stanley was arrested in November 2002 for attending the Thornton Harvest Fest with a loaded revolver on his hip.

One threatened jurist, Thornton Municipal Judge Charles Rose, found Stanley guilty of carrying a loaded handgun. The other, Adams County District Judge Donald Marshall Jr., upheld that conviction.

On the day he was to begin his sentence, Stanley failed to appear but had his secretary deliver a "notice and order" to Rose demanding he overturn the gun conviction or he would be charged with treason and arrested by a militia Stanley claimed to control. The next day, Marshall received a similar notice.

The Court of Appeals rejected Stanley's contention that he was exercising his First Amendment rights, saying "true threats" are not protected speech.

What Stanley engaged in was neither "political theater" nor mere "criticism" of the judges, wrote Judge Jerry Jones for the appeals court.

"Rather, the notices expressly threatened the judges with 'arrest' by a 'Mutual Defense Pact Militia,' an act in which the prospect of physical violence is inherent," Jones said.

"Moreover, both judges felt threatened," Jones added.

Appeals Judge JoAnn Vogt said Stanley sent out a "preliminary militia alert" replete with references to the weapons Stanley and his militia would use if Stanley found himself in a standoff.

Stanley was nominated by the Colorado Libertarian Party in May 2002 as its candidate for Senate, but he was later censured by the party after he called for U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard to be hanged "if found guilty of treason" and forwarded an e-mail message calling for police and others to be "blown away."

[ElfNinosMom]

I'd love to see the appellate decision on Stanley, if anyone has it to post.

[ElfNinosMom]

It's too long to post here (43 pages of pdf), but here's the link from the Colorado Court of Appeals website:

http://www.courts.state.co.us/coa/opini ... CA2164.pdf

Thanks, Lawdog!

[silversopp]

Two, the Libertarian Party will NEVER, EVER be a viable political party in any major way as long as they allow lunatics like Stanley (and Chapman, et al) into their camp. It makes the whole party appear to be populated with nut-job, lunatic fringe types.

A political party cannot control who registers with their party. It is also very hard and cost prohibitive to do a background check on everyone who sends in the $25 to become a member of the LP.

It was a mistake to nominate Rick Stanley for office in 2002, but the censure was a good move. Gene Chapman has never served in any capacity within the Libertarian as a candidate or as an officer.

Considering all the scandels involving Republicans and Democrats, I don't think that the Libertarian has any more or less whackjobs as any other political party. I'm sure the Greens have their nutcases too.

Welcome to the world of politics.

[AFTP]

And I’ll bet not 1 of his “militia” friends showed up.

[Joey Smith]

Merely recalling that Stanley has vowed never to be taken alive, and is just the sort of nut who will shoot it out or commit "death by cop".

[scam a patriot]

Awesome!

Stanley is a major nutbag.

He once tried to outrun the cops on his way to his "compound" and was all ready to start a shootout.

The cops caught him.

I hope he enjoys the prison life.

[Colonel_Buck]

The judges were protected by police and SWAT teams after the threats.

"Moreover, both judges felt threatened," Jones added.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

[notorial dissent]

Rick Stanley has gone right over the edge. He has been weird for years, I think he inhaled too many of the fumes at his plant and they finally fried the few brain cells he had to start with.

The really ironic thing of all this is that if he had just kept his mouth shut and his politics and ego to himself he might have gotten six months at the most, and maybe only a slap on the wrist, but no, he had to rant and rave, and then threaten two judges, which is just the height of intelligence. I also don’t have much sympathy for someone who insists on carrying a loaded weapon into a crowded public place. His lack of personal judgement does not incline me to thinking too highly of any of the rest of his attitudes.

[Demosthenes]

Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:10:56 -0400
Subject: [AMOJ_MAIN] Rick Stanley's Bond Revoked!

RELEASE: Rick's Bond Revoked!

At about 11:30am Denver time, as Rick and I were exiting our bank, a dozen or so swat team decended upon us. They fired stun grenades in order to disorient us and screamed at us to get down on the ground. They proceeded to tie our arms behind our backs, then handcuff us. As they were doing this we were asking "what is going on?" They merely told us that Rick's bond had been revoked by a judge. They took him away, impounded our vehicle then they released me, having a female detective give me a ride home since I had no vehicle.

I just got off the phone with the booking department of Denver County Jail. I was told Rick is there on a "fugitive hold" from Adams County for bribery, 2 counts. Neither I, nor our attorney have any clue what this is all about! I assume this is all steming from the original "Influencing Public Officials" charges that he was convicted of and the Colorado Court of Appeals just upheld the week before last.

When I called Denver County Jail they also told me that I can go down there at 7:00pm this evening to see Rick. I plan to do so. I have been in contact with our attorney, Jim Bull, but unfortunately he is up in the mountains and unable to get down here until Monday morning. He is going to request a hearing in front of a judge as soon as possible on Monday to determine what is going on and to see if we can get Rick out on a new bond.

I will keep everyone informed as to what is going on as I get more information.
Pam Stanley

[Joey Smith]

Smart move by law enforcement. I can hear it all now:

"I'll never be taken alive, again."

[to free or not to free]

I am puzzled as to why this post is NOT on the Rant section. I didn't know that Rick was a tax protester as well. No one on this message board has indicated Rick's failure to adhere to the taxing authorities. Could someone please clarify this for me? Thank you for your indulgence (just in case I missed something.)

[Demosthenes]

Just go to his website http://www.stanley2002.org and click on taxes or poke around his site to learn about his recent IRS raid. His status as TP is well known.

[Quixote]

I am puzzled as to why this post is NOT on the Rant section. I didn't know that Rick was a tax protester as well. No one on this message board has indicated Rick's failure to adhere to the taxing authorities. Could someone please clarify this for me? Thank you for your indulgence (just in case I missed something.)

Stanley may not walk the walk, but he talks the talk. That's all that's required to be a participant in the tax dishonesty movement.

[notorial dissent]

Yes, good ole Rick is a multi-faceted whack job, sinking furhter and further into delusion and despair.

While the stun grenade take down might have been a little over the top, considering that he has been convicted of felony menacing or the like, several gun complaints, and has threatened to call out the militia on a local judge, I would say all precaution when apprehending would not be too much. I'm curious as to what the latest round of charges is all about though.

[Demosthenes]

RELEASE: Update on Rick Stanley

I just got back from Denver County Jail a few minutes ago. I was able to visit with Rick for about 10 minutes after waiting aproximately 2-1/2 hours. Mysister-in-law and her husband were kind enough to take me down there and wait with me, although only 1 of us was allowed up to see him. We got there at about 6:40pm and they allow 3 groups of 10 in, starting at 7:00pm. I was in the 3rd group. He seems to be holding up well under the circumstances. He was allowed a shower this morning and he is still in the clothes he had on yesterday when they took him into custody. There is a large hole in the back of his shirt and a large bandage on his back from where they bean bagged him when they ambushed us yesterday. Apparently he was burned pretty bad by that. Needless to say, I am pretty upset about that! You know him though, he seens to be taking all this in stride. I think he feels the worst that I was subjected to their abuse as well.

We expect that he will be moved to Adams County tomorrow. Then he will hopefully get a hearing as soon as possible and a new bond set. I will advise everyone as soon as I get more information.
Pam Stanley

[Cobalt Shiva]

Yes, good ole Rick is a multi-faceted whack job, sinking furhter and further into delusion and despair.

While the stun grenade take down might have been a little over the top, considering that he has been convicted of felony menacing or the like, several gun complaints, and has threatened to call out the militia on a local judge, I would say all precaution when apprehending would not be too much. I'm curious as to what the latest round of charges is all about though.

Threaten the cops, and the cops assume you're a threat.

Simple concept that should be easy to grasp.

[notorial dissent]

Threaten the cops, and the cops assume you're a threat.

Simple concept that should be easy to grasp.

Curious how that works, and even more curious about how few seem to grasp that simple concept. Make a point of announcing you go around packing, and then wonder why you don't get a friendly reception from the men in blue when they have to deal with you.

On a brighter note, DCJ is not in even the remotest of ways a holiday camp, so he is getting a little taste of what is to come when the real doors slam shut down in Caňon City.

[Demosthenes]

To hear Pam Stanley's description of the arrest:

http://www.hipcast.com/export/P88c6dd56 ... REYGBz.mp3

Gosh, she has no idea why her husband would be thought of as threatening...

[LPC]

Gosh, she has no idea why her husband would be thought of as threatening...

That was one of my first thoughts.

Man who has been convicted of threatening judges (following a conviction for carrying a concealed weapon) is re-arrested by a SWAT squad for violating bail, and the wife is surprised?

And SWAT teams don't just swoop down for routine bail violations, so something significant must have happened here. And the wife didn't know?

Are we talking terminal clueless here?