Another Maryland Man Red-Flagged to Death by the Cops
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Another Maryland citizen was killed in March by a police SWAT team during a red flag no-knock raid. We missed this story when it originally happened in mid-March (there was a lot going on then), but new developments and totalitarian actions by the authorities since then make this a story that you really need to know about.
First, we have to tell you what originally happened. According to police, they served a no-knock warrant on 21-year-old Duncan Lemp at 4:30 a.m. in Potomac, Maryland – a ritzy Washington, DC suburb. Police say they received an “anonymous tip” that Duncan Lemp was in possession of an assault rifle.
The cops claim that Lemp is on Maryland’s “prohibited persons” list because of a juvenile offense that he committed, so he’s not allowed to own a firearm until he turns 25 (an age the young man will never attain now, thanks to the red flag raid).
Police also say that Duncan Lemp was a right-wing militia nutjob who posted spooky things on militia social media forums. The cops claim that when they executed the peaceful and safe no-knock raid on the Lemp family home at 4:30 in the morning, Lemp refused to comply with their orders and had a rifle in his possession. Officers were forced to shoot Lemp, which resulted in his death.
Except… there were a bunch of other Lemp family members in the house at the time, and they have noted some inconsistencies in the official police story. Duncan Lemp’s brother and parents were all asleep in the house at the same time. As was Duncan Lemp’s girlfriend.
According to the family, the first thing they heard that woke them up was the sound of gunfire from outside the house. Duncan Lemp’s bedroom window faces the street, and the family says that the cops shot him through that window – while Duncan was asleep in bed. They also shot Lemp’s pregnant girlfriend who was asleep next to him, just to be on the safe side. (She and the baby fortunately survived.)
You can never be too careful when dealing with a rightwing militia nutjob. Oh, except… the family says that Duncan was not in a militia, and that he simply liked venting about politics on social media and was fairly libertarian in his politics.
Not to worry! I’m sure the police body cam footage will clear these discrepancies up. Except… the Potomac Chief of Police refuses to release the body cam footage, after more than six weeks of waiting.
The Chief also refuses to meet with Duncan Lemp’s family members who want to know why their son – a 21-year-old software geek who lived at home with his parents – was considered so dangerous that they needed to shoot him from their front lawn while he was asleep.
The family hasn’t received any answers from the police, while the police continue stonewalling and claiming that the murder of Duncan Lemp by cops playing Rambo happened exactly like they say it did.
And now… the story gets even worse.
The Lemp family is obviously furious about all of this and was planning a sidewalk protest outside the Potomac PD. But the county prosecutor sent a warning letter to the Lemp family’s attorneys. The letter stated that the cops have the Lemp family under surveillance and knew that they planned to attend this protest of Duncan’s red flag murder. The prosecutor threatened to arrest any protestor who shows up and slap them with a $5,000 fine for violating Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s social distancing and shutdown orders.
The cops were surveilling Duncan Lemp’s family members.
This is yet another unnecessary tragedy that resulted from Maryland’s unconstitutional red flag orders. Last year we told you about 61-year-old Gary Willis in Fernland, Maryland, who was killed by police who showed up at his door at oh-dark-thirty to strip him of his gun rights. Now another Maryland man – a young man who was about to become a father – has been killed under the color of this “law.”
So, after violating Duncan Lemp’s Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure, and executing a no-knock warrant to violate his Second Amendment rights, and depriving him of his life in the process… the authorities in Maryland have now revoked the Lemp family’s First Amendment right to peacefully protest Duncan Lemp’s murder.
Here’s the last tweet that Duncan Lemp sent on his Twitter account: “The constitution is dead.”
Unfortunately, he was right.
This sordid affair DID get some limited exposure but not nearly enough. And no further info has been forthcoming.
ReplyDeleteEpisodes like this are just awful, and when no one is investigating why this is allowed to happen, and no one goes to jail, then the rule of law is just no more.
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