FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            October 4, 1996


                  The Freedom Center Petitions
                a 3-Judge Federal District Court
                       under Article III


BILLINGS, MONTANA.   The  Freedom Center  filed a  Petition today
with the  District Court of the United States for a 3-judge panel
to authorize  the removal  of an  overlooked state case seeking a
restraining order against the FBI during the Freeman Standoff. At
the height of the standoff in Jordan, Montana, Freemen supporters
scouting the highways reported a convoy of ambulances in route to
Jordan.   These  reports  were  fed  into  the  Internet,  and  a
Counselor at  Law in  Arizona, Paul  Andrew Mitchell, decided the
FBI had  gone far  enough.   In a  court case  which has received
absolutely no press coverage, Mitchell filed a petition on behalf
of the  People of  the United  States of America, to restrain the
federal government  from using  lethal force,  and to enjoin them
from depriving  the  People  in  Garfield  county  of  any  life,
liberty, or property without due process of law.

     The Clerk of the county court in Jordan was gracious enough
to waive  the $95  filing fee  for this  case, titled  People  v.
United  States   et  al.,  because  of  the  emergency  that  was
developing.  The Clerk was surprised to hear that ambulances were
headed for Jordan, because she also serves on the local ambulance
crew, and  her crew  had not  been dispatched.  ,  Paul  Mitchell
reasoned that the ambulances moving towards Jordan must have been
dispatched by  the federal  government, without  informing  local
authorities.  The electronic mail Mitchell was receiving, in near
real-time, convinced him that bloodshed was imminent.

     Kenneth Wilson,  the county  judge  assigned  to  the  case,
immediately overruled  the Clerk  and required  the Plaintiffs to
pay the  filing fee,  or face immediate dismissal.  Wilson issued
an order  that the  filing fee  must be paid in U.S. dollars, and
not with  Freeman checks or other like tender.  Mitchell paid the
fee under  protest, using ninety-five Susan B. Anthony one-dollar
coins, and  then requested Judge Wilson to clarify the meaning of
"U.S.  dollars",  "Freeman  checks",  and  "other  like  tender."
Conspicuous for  its absence was any mention in Wilson's order of
Federal Reserve Notes.

     Mitchell wanted  to know  into what  category  Judge  Wilson
would place  Federal Reserve Notes.  Wilson also ordered Mitchell
to appear  in his courtroom to explain why the county court would
have any  legal jurisdiction  over the  federal government within
Garfield county.   In  response, Mitchell petitioned Judge Wilson
for leave  to appear  in writing,  since Mitchell  was living  in
Arizona at  the time,  and traveling  to Montana  for every court
appearance would  become prohibitively  expensive.   Judge Wilson
never ruled on this request.

     Mitchell immediately  filed a  Freedom  of  Information  Act
("FOIA") request  to  the  United  States  Attorney  General  for
certified copies  of the official credentials, if any, of all 633
federal agents  who reportedly  rotated in and out of the Freeman
Standoff in  Jordan.   Under  the  FOIA,  Congress  has  made  it
relatively simple  for Citizens  to obtain  government documents.
After the  first request,  written on  plain  stationery  without
legalese, a  simple one-page  appeal is  all that is necessary to
exhaust administrative  remedies, and  then to  place the  matter
before the  proper federal  court, to  compel production  of  the
requested documents under court order.


             The Freedom Center -- Press Release #2:
                          Page 1 of 2


     It was  at this point that Mitchell, and several other legal
investigators  around   the  nation,   made  a   remarkable,  and
fundamental discovery.   The  court of original jurisdiction over
FOIA enforcement  is the district court of the United States, not
the United  States District  Court.   In its infinite wisdom, our
vaulted Congress  has played  some tricky  word games  with court
names, in order to confuse all Americans into thinking that there
is only class of federal district court.

     However, the  U.S. Supreme  Court has  already explained, in
clear and  unmistakable language,  that there  are two classes of
federal courts,  just as there are two classes of citizenship, in
America.   One class  of federal  courts is authorized by Article
III  in   the  U.S.   Constitution.     These  courts   are  true
constitutional forums,  with judicial  power to  hear all matters
arising under  the Constitution,  the laws  of the United States,
and treaties.  The other class of federal courts is authorized by
Article IV  in the  Constitution.  These are strictly territorial
courts, with  absolutely  no  criminal  jurisdiction  whatsoever.
LeRoy Schweitzer  and his  colleagues are  now  being  criminally
prosecuted in the Article IV territorial court, also known as the
United States District Court.

     Mitchell then  followed up with another FOIA request for the
Federal Register regulations, if any, which implement the statute
granting criminal  jurisdiction to  any federal courts.  In Title
18 of  the United  States Codes,  section  3231  grants  criminal
jurisdiction to the district courts of the United States, but not
to the  United States  District  Courts.    Furthermore,  without
regulations published  in the  Federal Register, this statute can
only be applied to federal officers, agents, and employees of the
United States.   In  response to  Mitchell's  FOIA  request,  the
Attorney General's  office has,  once again,  failed  to  produce
certified copies of these regulations, because they do not exist.
Litigation under FOIA is the best, if not only way to prove, as a
matter of fact and law, that these regulations do not exist.

     Since numerous  federal questions have already arisen in the
Freeman Standoff  case --  such as FOIA enforcement, the presence
of federal  agents within  Montana state,  and  federal  criminal
jurisdiction -- it was only natural to remove the Garfield county
case into  federal court, in order to litigate these questions in
the proper  forum.    Mitchell,  at  the  suggestion  of  Randall
Parsons, Executive  Director of The Freedom Center, persuaded the
Center staff  to convene  a 3-judge  district court of the United
States at  the federal  courthouse in  Billings,  Montana  state.
Parsons reasoned  that a 3-judge panel is rooted in biblical law,
and proper  when injunctions are sought against the United States
(federal government).   This  case has  now been officially filed
with docket number CV-96-163-BLG.

     For more  information, contact  The Freedom Center at email:
liberty@mcn.net; telephone  (406) 652-7412;  fax: (406) 652-1813.
Copies of  previous press releases, and of all the filings in the
Garfield county  case, are  distributed electronically  to people
who subscribe to the FREEMAIL private electronic email list.  The
FREEMAIL list  was recently  announced by The Freedom Center, and
the response was immediate.


             The Freedom Center -- Press Release #2:
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People v. United States et al.