If you're new to my tweets about this case, you might want to read the earlier threads before commenting.
(2) At the end of the previous thread I wrote:
You can't outlaw religion. You can't outlaw thought crimes such as fundamentalist beliefs. You can outlaw delusional adults being around small children.
Sane adults had multiple opportunities to rescue these children in 2017-18.
(3) People on both the political left & right are so caught up in identity politics that they have lost sight of the central issues in this case.
A medically vulnerable child was abducted by people who told others they oppose modern medicine. LEOs had opportunities to save him.
(4) And before you jump in: Yes, I too am concerned about any cases of extremism and terrorism affecting the public, regardless of the political beliefs involved.
Plenty of people are writing about those aspects of the case.
(5) The two individuals IMO most responsible for Abdul-Ghani's (AGW) death have now been charged in that matter. That's Siraj Wahhaj Jr and Jany Leveille (JL).
JL is one of at least two "wives" of Wahhaj Jr. The other gave birth to AGW & reported his abduction to LEOs in GA.
(6) All five remain in custody. The state of GA has effectively cancelled its extradition request for Wahhaj Jr. I will add info about it's reason(s) when I have it.
JL, a Haitian national unlawfully in the US, will likely remain in federal custody. I'm not worried about her.
(7) I'm not worried about her being released, that is.
The other four can only be released IF they can demonstrate compliance with all 13 release conditions, incl. appropriate housing. This will be very hard to achieve, but I will let you know if they manage it.
(8) Let's catch up on the supplementary information filed on Friday 8/24/18 by the prosecuting DA in the matter of pre-trial detention of the 5 suspects.
(9) IMO the first 8 pages of the 13 page document are an attempt to argue with the Judge about the rules of evidence. It would take a whole day of reading for me to grapple with that at the standard I require of myself.
The last 5 pages are more important to me at this point.
(10) The firearms aspect of the legal argument is of interest, though. It's a case of "be careful what you wish for."
The DA essentially argues for inferring dangerousness by from the number of legal firearms in proximity to children.
The Judge had rightly said: no way.
(11) As I said in Thread #1, gun rights advocates should praise Judge Backus for rejecting the argument that firearm possession ALONE suggests dangerousness that requires pre-trial detention in every case.
Pretty sure we fight against such inferences every day.
(12) In her order of 8/13/18 Judge Backus invited the DA to submit additional evidence, and now they have.
The first exhibit is a handwritten document that will alarm the terrorism narrative believers among the public and be dismissed by the other side.
(13) In terrorism cases brought by the DOJ I've never seen a document like this succeeding on its own as evidence of planning of attacks. The FBI looks for more than hypothetical information. It is very early in this investigation. I expect better evidence to be revealed later.
(14) Hopefully this testimony from some of the children was recorded in the proper way, enabling a jury to assess what weight to give it. I'm not saying I don't believe the children. We need the JURY to believe them.
Also note the mention of JL's hatred of the hospital.
(15) JL's reported hatred of the hospital is a clue towards her history of delusional opposition to modern medicine. People who later break the law because, in part, they bear a grudge toward a health provider, come from every possible background. Not only the religious.
(16) The veracity of this doc will be tested in the eventual trial. Assuming it is real, it begs the question: Would a sane person document their criminal intent & behavior in such a thorough way? Of course not.
Please note: I'm not arguing for an insanity plea. Not at all.
(17) I don't care if JL is found guilty - or not guilty by reason of insanity - the outcome is the same: She will (hopefully) never be released in the US & probably never deported to Haiti, either. The public must be protected. I know this administration will do that.
(18) JL presents a classic case of a delusional disorder, and seems to have persuaded those around her to adopt her beliefs. Reading about the child abuse and neglect is harrowing... I remind you that such crimes occur among people from almost every religious or cultural group.
(19) If JL believed that AGW was "born dead" then that may be her interpretation of the primary medical condition he had: hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Good info about HIE here: hopeforhie.org/whatishie
Some babies tragically suffer oxygen deprivation during birth.
(20) Here's the excerpt about JL's belief that AGW was "born dead." A baby with HIE (see above tweet) may be not breathing & require resuscitation. Hypoxia effects range from no effects to severe disability to death.
AGW needed anti-seizure meds to survive & lead a normal life.
(21) This is an informative article covering the abduction of AGW and the journey taken by the group from GA to NM. It's dated 8/16/18 so the reporters didn't have the benefit of later info.
(22) If these events occurred as described, then they show some of the opportunities that LEOs had to save AGW and the other children.
LEOs can only act on info they are given or obtain. That said, failure to act on a seemingly minor crime can have much larger consequences.
(23) If a jury makes a finding that this journal is legitimate, then we now have info that AGW likely had his anti-seizure (& other?) meds stopped on 12/1/17 & he died weeks later on 12/24/17.
I do not believe the ritual was a necessary part of why he died.
(24) These were crimes:
>Abducting AGW
>Withdrawing his meds
>Failing to report his death & giving authorities custody of his remains
>Abusing the other children in relation this, & risking their health.
A ritual in itself isn't a crime. In this case, it's a red herring.
(25) Further evidence of JL's delusions, if verified in due course. Her brother, Von-Chelet, needs to be investigated. We won't necessarily hear more about that until the trial. The FBI will be handling that side of the case.
(26) The final paragraph summarizes the information the DA has submitted in this document. Overall, my impression of this document is that it's better than the previous one at making the case that the 5 defendants should not be released. Keen to see what the Court decides now.
(27) This man's "quiet protest" against the Judge's decision is at least non-violent, but I still disagree with him. Of course, he's free to exercise his 1A and other rights.
(28) This response to the above story makes some sound arguments IMO. I disagree with some of it, & we may never know if it was part of an astroturfing operation but at least it's civil. Isn't that what we so often ask the left to do? Engage with arguments iso name-calling?
(29) The writer of the above comment was wrong on a few facts: Siraj Wahhaj Jr is in custody but it is apparently not now because of the GA request. The 5 defendants have not been released at this time. Accessory to severe child abuse is more serious than made out, too.
(30) I've taken a professional & personal interest in child abuse & "child medical neglect" law for many years. Here is some reading about the issues:
(32) CNN obtained dashcam video & lapel audio from a local sheriff's deputy, presumably under FOIA laws. IMO such evidence should be withheld until after the trial, but anyway...
When reading this info please remember the deputy could have been mistaken on some of the details.
(33) The FBI agent is right; it would be absolutely inappropriate to comment at this time. That does NOT mean I am taking a position one way or another on what went on at the compound & with the various investigations. We will find out at the trial & through other means, later.
(34) IDK what to make of this Sheriff atm. He shouldn't have done the interview. Should have offered to answer written questions only, referring anything FBI-related to the FBI.
Conspiracy fantasists & politicians don't need any encouragement to make hay out of this tragedy.
(35) Clearly, the FBI is unwilling to file charges atm for a number of reasons, but I believe they are right across this case, with the authority to intervene appropriately if required. I am more suspicious of the local Sheriff's & DA's offices, & others, until I learn more.
(36) Based on what I've learned about the elected Democrat DA in Taos County, this comes as no surprise to me.
(Please read the article & my 3 threads (link at start of this thread) before complaining to me about it.)
(38) The two people facing the most serious charges remain in jail. The other three have been released (and two of those have conditions eg must stay in Taos County pending trial on trespassing charges.) I am certain they're all being watched by the feds. kob.com/new-mexico-new…
(39) Here's something all NM GOP candidates should get behind. Ask the GOP Governor to send the Democrat state AG to fix up the Sheriff/DA created #TaosCompound proceedings mess before it's too late.
(2) Brett M. Kavanaugh will soon be the 102nd Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the USA. He has earned this highest honor throughout his life, inspired by his trailblazing mother, Judge Martha Kavanaugh.
His title for these few hours is Associate Justice Designate.
(3) This statement from the Supreme Court explains the two ceremonies:
(2) This WaPo reporter is incorrect about the vote being "scheduled for" Saturday. The earliest time a vote COULD be held is Saturday pm. There's no reason not to hold it on Sun/Mon IF we need Daines. I think we won't. Read my 5 tweets about him here:
(1) A directory of my Kavanaugh threads since July 9, 2018.
I never planned more than a couple of threads about him this year but, I shoulda known the Dems would try to destroy whoever was the nominee this time.
(2) Like Democrats, I'd already decided how I felt about him before his nomination was announced. I live-tweeted the announcement, which was a great event in itself.
(3) I followed Kavanaugh's progress over the summer and on September 22nd, I finally wrote a thread about the preparations for the all-important hearing on September 27th. It covers the hearing before the next thread started the day after.
(2) Mitch laughing to himself about how absurd it is that he has to push his way through the crowd of reporters on 9/25/18.
(3) Sen Grassley is 85 years old. (Democrats have senators around that age, too.)
Today he had to hold onto a Capitol Police officer to reduce the risk of a reporter knocking him over. This has to stop. Senators must return to being able to walk around freely at work.
(2) First Lady Melania Trump is a natural in this important role.
She's one of those women whose face lights up whenever she is around children. God Bless our great First Lady.
👠🇺🇸
(3) FLOTUS left Joint Base Andrews in her trademark high heels and arrived in Ghana wearing practical flats. She still looks sensational, whatever she happens to wear!
(2) Cloture in the Senate is a procedural step that you can learn more about at the link below. The senate.gov website is the best resource for learning about Senate procedure and a lot more. Same for house.gov.
(3) Watching live Senate floor proceedings is boring as hell, as they pass bills for naming Post Offices, & so on. But every now & then, they confirm a SCOTUS judge. And this time, they will affirm our great #BillOfRights#DueProcess & the hard-won #RuleOfLaw. Seriously. 🇺🇸🦅