Colo. undersheriff warns: State police, Homeland Security to target Christians
According to a letter written by Ron Trowbridge, undersheriff with the Prowers County, Colo., Sheriff’s Office, Christians who believe the Bible is the literal word of God and others who do not agree with the changes taking place in America could find themselves under scrutiny by law enforcement authorities and Homeland Security, Steven H. Ahle wrote at Red Statements Friday.
Trowbridge, a law enforcement officer with many years of experience, told Ahle that he recently attended a training session in La Junta, Colo., where, he says, Colorado State Patrol Trooper Joe Kluczynski gave a 2-hour presentation on the "sovereign citizen" movement.
"Kluczynski spent most of his two hours focusing on how, in his view and apparently the view of Homeland Security, people turn to the sovereign citizen movement," he wrote.
According to the FBI, the "sovereign citizen movement" is made up of "anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or 'sovereign' from the United States."
These people, the FBI says, do not believe they have to answer to any government authority and can cause a number of problems for law enforcement authorities.
But according to Trowbridge's letter, Kluczynski went much further, including "those who believe America was founded on godly principles, Christians who take the Bible literally, and 'fundamentalists'."
"Kluczynski did not explain what he meant by 'fundamentalists' but from the context it was clear he was referring again to those who took the Bible literally or 'too seriously,'” he added.
These people, Kluczynski reportedly said, have a right to their beliefs, but needed to be monitored by law enforcement authorities.
Trowbridge said that according to Kluczynski, these individuals and groups are "dangerous" because they are "angry over the election of a black president."
When an attendee suggested the economy was probably more to blame, Kluczynski "intimated that those who are not going along with the changes in America will need to be controlled by law enforcement," Trowbridge added.
"Kluczynski even later questioned some of the troopers present if they were willing and prepared to confiscate 'illegal' weapons if ordered to," he added.
According to Trowbridge, Kluczynski said he was leaving the CSP to work with Homeland Security.
"I thought he was perfect for the job," Trowbridge wrote.
News of the training comes on the heels of a report at K99.com that says "Colorado is being targeted with an attempt to set up loopholes that will allow the U.S. Secret Service to arrest and remove an elected sheriff for refusing to enforce the law, or anyone breaking the law."
Recently, Colorado passed several sweeping gun control measures and some county sheriffs, like Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, have said they would not enforce mandates that infringe on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Trowbridge's entire letter can be seen here.
Update: Prowers County Sheriff Jim Faull said in a statement Sunday that the training should be suspended until it has been reevaluated and re-written. More here.