Martial Law Story a Hoax?
As I posted previously, KSLA in Shreveport, LA reported on the government's use of clergy response teams to serve in various capacities should "martial law" or some other state of emergency be declared. In the original story, KSLA reporter Jeff Ferrell covered the state of emergency declared in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in which the government engaged in gun confiscation.This story received a great deal of coverage due to the fact that a good portion of Americans have long been concerned about increasing police state measures in America since 9/11--word spread quickly. As I mentioned, I first heard about the clergy response teams over a year ago by an anonymous pastor on a nationally syndicated radio program. Jeff Ferrell's story was the first time this story was given more direct attention by a news affiliate.
However, soon a host of detractors were crying "hoax!" Hoax? What hoax? There was gun confiscation during New Orleans:
I contacted KSLA's Jeff Ferrell regarding the accusation of hoax, and he wrote me back the following:
"Sadly, this is a case where local officials were caught completely off-guard by all the attention from around the country and apparently were not supposed to really talk about this at all. The local Homeland Security official is even complaining to the station."The other issue related to this is the alleged use of "Romans 13" by clergy to help quell civil fears or unrest. As the original news story showed, Dr. Durell Tuberville admitted "the government's established by the Lord, you know. And, that's what we believe in the Christian faith. That's what's stated in the Scripture." Tuberville's consent to government control is demonstrated in his statement: "the primary thing that we say to anybody is, 'let's cooperate and get this thing over with and then we'll settle the differences once the crisis is over.'"
A colleague contacted me and requested that I pull the brief mention I made of the KSLA story stating that this was a hoax. He said that he had spoken to Sandy Davis, director of the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, who was mentioned in the original story, and that Davis claims his comments were misconstrued. I don't see how. Here's all that was said by Davis:
"In a lot of cases, these clergy would already be known in the neighborhoods in which they're helping to diffuse that situation."As Ferrell stated, the local homeland security official--probably Davis--has complained to KSLA because this matter was not to be widely publicized. Too late, Mr. Davis.
During martial law the government and police will confiscate guns. To Americans used to the idea of the "right to bear arms," this will certainly spark public unrest. Obviously, clergy and other community leaders will be called upon to help ease public concerns about the government crackdown. The issue now is that clergymen are actually being prepared for such crises. However, the response by clergy will involve a great deal of activities, not simply calling on parishioners to turn in their guns. In fact, Ferrell never made that specific accusation.
So, I stand behind the original story, and I continue to remain deeply concerned about the increasing tyranny creeping all around us. This is what must be understood: the surveillance, Real ID measures, and increased use of the military on U.S. citizens will not subside. A still greater concern is to see Christian leaders show a lack of discernment in these matters. And, as Ferrell stated, "Such clergy response teams would walk a tight-rope during martial law between the demands of the government on the one side, versus the wishes of the public on the other." A tight-rope indeed.
Jeff Ferrell has continued his coverage of the growing police state in two new stories on "Martial Law: President to Seize State Militias (national guard)"; and "Local support to Use Spy Satellites on Americans." Here are the videos:
