Pa. man jailed for weapons back on radio station
Associated Press
9:47 AM CST, February 9, 2009
MEADVILLE, Pa.
A western Pennsylvania man recently released from a federal prison where he spent 35 months on weapons charges has resumed running a low-powered FM radio station that features militia talk shows and tips on using firearms.
In an interview published Sunday in the Meadville Tribune, Darrell Sivik said he still espouses the views that helped get him arrested and is discussing them on his station, Braveheart Radio 88.3 FM. Sivik co-hosts a show called "Weapons Wednesdays" with Mark Koernke, a militia activist from Michigan.
He also has a show on Saturdays with Mike Wagner, a friend who tried to keep the station up and running while Sivik was in prison.
Sivik, 60, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing unregistered firearms in January 2005 after federal authorities found machine guns at his home and in a cabin near the Allegheny National Forest, about 85 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Sivik is barred from practicing his profession as a gunsmith or leading the Braveheart Militia he had headed when he was arrested. He was released from prison less than a year ago.
Sivik was one of five men nabbed by federal investigators who also accused the group of belonging to or heading potentially violent anti-government militias.
Since his release, Sivik has acquired a new building and equipment for the station, which he runs from his property outside Meadville, about 90 miles north of Pittsburgh. Sivik and Wagner are the radio station's main financial backers.
In addition, Sivik said he is planning a march through Meadville on April 18 to call attention to his anti-tax views and weapons tips. April 19 is Patriots' Day, which marks the first battles of the Revolutionary War.
Sivik said he did lead an armed militia group and knew he was breaking the law by manufacturing machine guns for himself and others. Still, Sivik said he believes the Constitution's Second Amendment allows citizens to acquire all weapons, and does not rule out nuclear arms.
"The Constitution does not specify what firearms you can or cannot have," Sivik told the Tribune. "If it is not forbidden in the Constitution, you have a right to do it."
When asked directly about nuclear arms, Sivik said a weapon is "OK as long as you don't transgress on others' rights."
Darrell Sivik gets out of the pokey
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Demosthenes
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webhick
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Re: Darrell Sivik gets out of the pokey
Yeah, like the right to grow extra limbs because your neighbor's unregistered nuclear bomb has a radiation leak.When asked directly about nuclear arms, Sivik said a weapon is "OK as long as you don't transgress on others' rights."
When chosen for jury duty, tell the judge "fortune cookie says guilty" - A fortune cookie
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Demosthenes
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Re: Darrell Sivik gets out of the pokey
After prison, Sivik won’t let message fade away
By Pat Bywater
02/08/09 February 07, 2009 11:14 pm
— WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP — In his first mainstream media interview since being released from federal prison, West Mead Township resident Darrell Sivik has revealed that he was, as the government claimed, the leader of an armed militia group and that he knew he was breaking the law when he built unregistered machine guns for himself and others.
Now back at home after nearly four years away from family and friends, the gunsmith is permanently barred from practicing his profession. Far from being chastened by the experience, however, the 60-year-old’s been hard at work rebuilding his most effective weapons against what he sees as a federal government run amok. He has his 13-year-old low-powered FM radio station back up and running with a local program and a full complement of militia and Patriot Movement shows. He’s joined forces with Mark Koernke, a prominent Michigan-based militia activist, to produce a weekly audio Webcast about gun tips called “Weapons Wednesday” that is also carried on a number of radio stations. And
the former organizer of public protests against tax increases and the United Nations is planning to step into the public square yet again with a march through Meadville in the planning for April 18, a day before the annual holiday called Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts that marks the first battles of the Revolutionary War.
The hand of God
It was March 2004 when a group of heavily-armed federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents stopped Sivik as he left his home, took him into custody and raided his home and gunsmith shop. An ATF agent had infiltrated militia groups across the region and Sivik was one of six people eventually arrested who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of violating firearms or explosives laws.
Sivik says he intended to fight the charges, claiming the law was unconstitutional. “The Constitution does not specify what firearms you can or cannot have,” Sivik says. “If it is not forbidden in the Constitution, you have a right to do it.” Does that mean it’s OK to have a nuclear bomb in the garage? A weapon is “OK as long as you don’t transgress on others’ rights,” Sivik says, and as long as it is used for defense or is acquired as part of a collection. In Sivik’s view, the Second Amendment is a call for all citizens to be armed to defend themselves against enemies foreign and domestic, and that means having as powerful of a weapon as possible is “common sense if you are going to take it seriously.”
Sivik never did advance these arguments in court. Shortly after being arrested he began having chest pains that led doctors to conclude he had advanced heart disease. Concerned that a court battle would aggravate the condition, Sivik pleaded guilty. Uncle Sam funded several operations and two pacemakers while Sivik was incarcerated.
Looking back, Sivik sees the hand of God at work.
“I didn’t know I had these problems. This is the way the Lord got me the health care I needed,” he says. The time in prison also “gave me more time to think and come up with more ways to wake the American people.”
What motivates the man
Exactly what was it that led this former ambulance driver and Boy Scout leader to cast off the comforts of an everyday life in order to wage a seemingly unwinnable battle that has cost him his livelihood, years of his life and put his loved ones through tremendous strain?
It wasn’t just one thing, Sivik says. There were several key moments that shaped his thinking and behavior.
There was the time that he joined the U.S. Navy and took the oath to support and defend the Constitution.
There was the time he saw a refugee from Cuba quickly and easily get funding and a place in a gunsmith training program that he and others struggled to enter.
And there were the times he says federal agents threatened his gunsmithing business with fines and fees that would have sunk his business if he didn’t follow rules he believed they were misinterpreting.
These were the incidents that transformed Darrell Sivik. He wasn’t going to be one to sit quietly and accept his lot. Everything he read supported his contention that he was right. He was set on the course that will define his life.
The militia goes dormant
Life in the penitentiary was no fun for Sivik, but it wasn’t a horror story, either. He complains of bad food, unequal treatment of inmates, incidents of overcrowding and struggles to get medical treatment.
However, he believes his public profile may have played a role in the treatment he received. “If it wasn’t for all the media publicity (about his arrest and views), I might not have walked out of there,” he says.
But walk out he did, and now, less than a year after doing so, he is making his presence felt in his home community in some very familiar ways.
Two things that have changed are Sivik’s work on and possession of modern firearms — which he is barred from due to his conviction — and his title as leader of the Braveheart Militia.
The group had no formal structure, Sivik says, but he was recognized as its leader due to his outspokenness. Its members shared like minds regarding the importance and interpretation of the Constitution, firearms and the role of government. Meetings drew anywhere from as many as 20 to as few as five or 10, Sivik says.
“We didn’t advocate overthrow of the government,” he says. The main goals were to root out government corruption, limit government power and influence to the scope literally laid out under the Constitution, and prepare a defense against foreign and domestic enemies. The group was open to all regardless of race, color or creed as long as they shared these beliefs and interests.
The group no longer exists, but Sivik doesn’t rule out its return as his health improves.
However, he is more interested in serving as a speaker than as an organizer.
One thing is certain — Sivik’s not about to sit down and shut up.
“I listened to what my founding fathers did. I read history,” he says. “If they can put all they had on the line to do that (found the nation), then as a citizen I can do no less to preserve it. They were guided by God to set up a Constitution and this form of government.”
BRAVEHEART RADIO IS BACK
Darrell Sivik has operated a low-powered radio station, Braveheart Radio 88.3 FM, from his West Mead Township property for about 13 years. Depending on location, it can be heard in a radius of approximately 20 miles.
It has and does now mainly carry Genesis Communications-produced shows on self-defense, survivalism or that offer critical commentary on the growth of the federal government or “the New World Order.”
During the four years that Sivik served his federal prison sentence, the co-host of the station’s local program, Mike Wagner, kept the station running despite aging, failing equipment and a structure that was springing leaks.
The deterioration took its toll. Eventually the broadcast signal shrank and Wagner found himself with little time to host the local show, which he admitted wasn’t nearly as engaging without Sivik.
Nonetheless, Wagner did what he could to keep the lights on. “I was going to keep the station running until my friend came home,” he said. “I take my friendships very seriously.”
With Sivik back for less than a year, the station has a new building and equipment. Wagner and Sivik have their local show most Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. Sivik co-hosts a show called “Weapons Wednesday” with Mark Koernke, a prominent Michigan-based militia activist.
Because it operates on such low power, the station is not regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. Sivik and Wagner have learned how to repair much of the equipment and they are the station’s primary financial backers. They also receive donations from the community at large.
“We’re just a couple of guys trying to do what’s right by our nation,” said Wagner. “If everybody did it we’d be better off.”
WHAT WOULD SIVIK DO?
If he had the power to reform the federal government, what would Darrell Sivik do? Here are some highlights:
–– Repeal the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which took away appointment of U.S. senators from the states. Ensure that states have the right to replace the senators if they are displeased with their performance.
–– Repeal the Federal Reserve Act and put the government in direct control of the currency.
–– Abolish the Internal Revenue Service and fund all government operations with tariffs and import duties.
–– End all unfunded mandates and grants that don’t have to be paid back.
–– Cut welfare programs and combine them with unemployment benefits. This would allow workers to take a lower paying job than the one they lost, with the government paying the difference in salary.
–– Cut off all welfare to people who have children while receiving benefits.
By Pat Bywater
02/08/09 February 07, 2009 11:14 pm
— WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP — In his first mainstream media interview since being released from federal prison, West Mead Township resident Darrell Sivik has revealed that he was, as the government claimed, the leader of an armed militia group and that he knew he was breaking the law when he built unregistered machine guns for himself and others.
Now back at home after nearly four years away from family and friends, the gunsmith is permanently barred from practicing his profession. Far from being chastened by the experience, however, the 60-year-old’s been hard at work rebuilding his most effective weapons against what he sees as a federal government run amok. He has his 13-year-old low-powered FM radio station back up and running with a local program and a full complement of militia and Patriot Movement shows. He’s joined forces with Mark Koernke, a prominent Michigan-based militia activist, to produce a weekly audio Webcast about gun tips called “Weapons Wednesday” that is also carried on a number of radio stations. And
the former organizer of public protests against tax increases and the United Nations is planning to step into the public square yet again with a march through Meadville in the planning for April 18, a day before the annual holiday called Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts that marks the first battles of the Revolutionary War.
The hand of God
It was March 2004 when a group of heavily-armed federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents stopped Sivik as he left his home, took him into custody and raided his home and gunsmith shop. An ATF agent had infiltrated militia groups across the region and Sivik was one of six people eventually arrested who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of violating firearms or explosives laws.
Sivik says he intended to fight the charges, claiming the law was unconstitutional. “The Constitution does not specify what firearms you can or cannot have,” Sivik says. “If it is not forbidden in the Constitution, you have a right to do it.” Does that mean it’s OK to have a nuclear bomb in the garage? A weapon is “OK as long as you don’t transgress on others’ rights,” Sivik says, and as long as it is used for defense or is acquired as part of a collection. In Sivik’s view, the Second Amendment is a call for all citizens to be armed to defend themselves against enemies foreign and domestic, and that means having as powerful of a weapon as possible is “common sense if you are going to take it seriously.”
Sivik never did advance these arguments in court. Shortly after being arrested he began having chest pains that led doctors to conclude he had advanced heart disease. Concerned that a court battle would aggravate the condition, Sivik pleaded guilty. Uncle Sam funded several operations and two pacemakers while Sivik was incarcerated.
Looking back, Sivik sees the hand of God at work.
“I didn’t know I had these problems. This is the way the Lord got me the health care I needed,” he says. The time in prison also “gave me more time to think and come up with more ways to wake the American people.”
What motivates the man
Exactly what was it that led this former ambulance driver and Boy Scout leader to cast off the comforts of an everyday life in order to wage a seemingly unwinnable battle that has cost him his livelihood, years of his life and put his loved ones through tremendous strain?
It wasn’t just one thing, Sivik says. There were several key moments that shaped his thinking and behavior.
There was the time that he joined the U.S. Navy and took the oath to support and defend the Constitution.
There was the time he saw a refugee from Cuba quickly and easily get funding and a place in a gunsmith training program that he and others struggled to enter.
And there were the times he says federal agents threatened his gunsmithing business with fines and fees that would have sunk his business if he didn’t follow rules he believed they were misinterpreting.
These were the incidents that transformed Darrell Sivik. He wasn’t going to be one to sit quietly and accept his lot. Everything he read supported his contention that he was right. He was set on the course that will define his life.
The militia goes dormant
Life in the penitentiary was no fun for Sivik, but it wasn’t a horror story, either. He complains of bad food, unequal treatment of inmates, incidents of overcrowding and struggles to get medical treatment.
However, he believes his public profile may have played a role in the treatment he received. “If it wasn’t for all the media publicity (about his arrest and views), I might not have walked out of there,” he says.
But walk out he did, and now, less than a year after doing so, he is making his presence felt in his home community in some very familiar ways.
Two things that have changed are Sivik’s work on and possession of modern firearms — which he is barred from due to his conviction — and his title as leader of the Braveheart Militia.
The group had no formal structure, Sivik says, but he was recognized as its leader due to his outspokenness. Its members shared like minds regarding the importance and interpretation of the Constitution, firearms and the role of government. Meetings drew anywhere from as many as 20 to as few as five or 10, Sivik says.
“We didn’t advocate overthrow of the government,” he says. The main goals were to root out government corruption, limit government power and influence to the scope literally laid out under the Constitution, and prepare a defense against foreign and domestic enemies. The group was open to all regardless of race, color or creed as long as they shared these beliefs and interests.
The group no longer exists, but Sivik doesn’t rule out its return as his health improves.
However, he is more interested in serving as a speaker than as an organizer.
One thing is certain — Sivik’s not about to sit down and shut up.
“I listened to what my founding fathers did. I read history,” he says. “If they can put all they had on the line to do that (found the nation), then as a citizen I can do no less to preserve it. They were guided by God to set up a Constitution and this form of government.”
BRAVEHEART RADIO IS BACK
Darrell Sivik has operated a low-powered radio station, Braveheart Radio 88.3 FM, from his West Mead Township property for about 13 years. Depending on location, it can be heard in a radius of approximately 20 miles.
It has and does now mainly carry Genesis Communications-produced shows on self-defense, survivalism or that offer critical commentary on the growth of the federal government or “the New World Order.”
During the four years that Sivik served his federal prison sentence, the co-host of the station’s local program, Mike Wagner, kept the station running despite aging, failing equipment and a structure that was springing leaks.
The deterioration took its toll. Eventually the broadcast signal shrank and Wagner found himself with little time to host the local show, which he admitted wasn’t nearly as engaging without Sivik.
Nonetheless, Wagner did what he could to keep the lights on. “I was going to keep the station running until my friend came home,” he said. “I take my friendships very seriously.”
With Sivik back for less than a year, the station has a new building and equipment. Wagner and Sivik have their local show most Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. Sivik co-hosts a show called “Weapons Wednesday” with Mark Koernke, a prominent Michigan-based militia activist.
Because it operates on such low power, the station is not regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. Sivik and Wagner have learned how to repair much of the equipment and they are the station’s primary financial backers. They also receive donations from the community at large.
“We’re just a couple of guys trying to do what’s right by our nation,” said Wagner. “If everybody did it we’d be better off.”
WHAT WOULD SIVIK DO?
If he had the power to reform the federal government, what would Darrell Sivik do? Here are some highlights:
–– Repeal the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which took away appointment of U.S. senators from the states. Ensure that states have the right to replace the senators if they are displeased with their performance.
–– Repeal the Federal Reserve Act and put the government in direct control of the currency.
–– Abolish the Internal Revenue Service and fund all government operations with tariffs and import duties.
–– End all unfunded mandates and grants that don’t have to be paid back.
–– Cut welfare programs and combine them with unemployment benefits. This would allow workers to take a lower paying job than the one they lost, with the government paying the difference in salary.
–– Cut off all welfare to people who have children while receiving benefits.
Demo.
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Burzmali
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Re: Darrell Sivik gets out of the pokey
Has anyone told him that Ron Paul stole his platform?Demosthenes wrote:WHAT WOULD SIVIK DO?
If he had the power to reform the federal government, what would Darrell Sivik do? Here are some highlights:
–– Repeal the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which took away appointment of U.S. senators from the states. Ensure that states have the right to replace the senators if they are displeased with their performance.
–– Repeal the Federal Reserve Act and put the government in direct control of the currency.
–– Abolish the Internal Revenue Service and fund all government operations with tariffs and import duties.
–– End all unfunded mandates and grants that don’t have to be paid back.
–– Cut welfare programs and combine them with unemployment benefits. This would allow workers to take a lower paying job than the one they lost, with the government paying the difference in salary.
–– Cut off all welfare to people who have children while receiving benefits.