Allen West’s Blog Ties Obama’s Police Equipment Order To Texas Takeover

FILE- In this July 16, 2014 file photo, a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle sits in front of police headquarters in Watertown, Conn. A Pentagon program that distributes military surplus gear to local law... FILE- In this July 16, 2014 file photo, a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle sits in front of police headquarters in Watertown, Conn. A Pentagon program that distributes military surplus gear to local law enforcement agencies permits even those departments that the Justice Department has censured for civil rights violations to apply for and receive lethal weaponry. That lack of communication between two parts of the federal government adds to questions about a program already facing an Obama administration review in the aftermath of the militarized police response to protesters in Ferguson, Mo. Watertown PD is not under a consent decree. (AP Photo/The Republican-American, Steven Valenti, File) MORE LESS

By Catherine Thompson

May 19, 2015 10:33 a.m.

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It didn’t take long for a conservative blog to connect the U.S. military’s upcoming “Jade Helm 15” training exercise to President Barack Obama’s order Monday that banned certain military-grade equipment from being given to local law enforcement agencies.

Michele Hickford, the editor-in-chief of former Rep. Allen West’s (R-FL) website, noted the timing of the President’s order and the military exercise, which some people believe is a cover for the implementation of martial law, in a blog post published Monday.

“With the upcoming ‘Jade Helm’ military exercises planned throughout the southwest this July in civilian areas, some folks are concerned the federal government has grander plans than simply a practice session,” Hickford wrote. “‘Federalizing the police’ seems to come up in conversation – particularly since the Obama administration has been so uncomfortable with local law enforcement actually doing its job (quelling violent riots, looting and mayhem) in recent months.”

Obama announced Monday that the federal government will no longer provide armored or weaponized vehicles, grenade launchers, or firearms and ammunition of .50-caliber or higher; the transfer of certain other military-style equipment to local law enforcement will also be limited. The move is meant to tackle police militarization in the wake of unrest last summer in Ferguson, Missouri.

The announcement also came after an interagency group found there was a “substantial risk” that local law enforcement agencies would misuse or overuse items like tracked armored vehicles, high-powered firearms and camouflage, thus undermining communities’ trust in police, according to the Associated Press.

Hickford was skeptical of that finding, noting that no “specific incidences were cited, mind you. Just that maybe down the road there COULD be.”

“The way I look at it, if you announce to people with bad intentions that you probably don’t have the full arsenal of equipment to fight back, you are inviting even more bad behavior,” she wrote.

Twitter users seized on the post as evidence that Obama’s order was an effort to ramp up federal control of the police ahead of the planned military exercise:

http://t.co/MnIs0CLV9x Federalizing the police? Odd news right before Jade Helm.. #WakeUpAmerica #COSProject #CCOT pic.twitter.com/SgG4vid4l1

— CountingWHScandals (@Westxgal) May 18, 2015

One step closer to government control. http://t.co/J5m8e9JdRx

— Matt Locke (@mattlockeshow) May 18, 2015

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Catherine Thompson (@kt_thomps) Catherine Thompson is a senior editor for Talking Points Memo in New York City. She came to the site in 2013 and reported on national affairs. Previously, she worked as a research assistant to investigative reporter Wayne Barrett. She can be reached at catherine@talkingpointsmemo.com.

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