Ben Swann – by Annabelle Bamforth
El Paso, TX- Tony Stiles, a radio personality and popular figure in the liberty movement, has spoken exclusively with Benswann.com about his encounter with the Department Of Homeland Security in Texas. Stiles and two members of his tour team were arrested and detained for over seven hours on Thursday after he was stopped by DHS. Stiles was able to capture a portion of the incident on video.
Stiles is currently on a national “Truth, Liberty, & Solutions” speaking tour. On Thursday, he was in California preparing for his next speaking arrangement in Tampa, Florida. Stiles and his accompanying team members, Eric Goodrich and Nathan Styles, had checked out of their hotel. Goodrich and Styles headed to Tampa in Stile’s vehicle, a GMC Yukon, while Stiles stayed behind.
Stiles soon learned that Goodrich and Styles had been pulled over by police in El Paso, Texas. According to Goodrich and Styles, the police told them that Stiles’ vehicle had been reported stolen. Stiles had not reported his car stolen, but the vehicle was impounded anyway and Goodrich and Styles were detained. Stiles immediately left California and drove a rental car to meet Goodrich and Styles in El Paso to straighten out the situation. Stiles’ vehicle was eventually released and the three resumed their trip to Florida.
Outside of El Paso, Stiles, Goodrich and Styles were pulled over again, this time by DHS. The men were told by the agents that it was a “routine stop” but their K-9 unit smelled something, even though Stiles stated the dog was nowhere near his car. Between 6 and 10 agents surrounded the vehicle with their hands on their sidearms and ordered Stiles, Goodrich and Styles to get out. They all refused. Stiles told Benswann.com that the agents informed him that if they did not get out of the vehicle they would be removed. Stiles, Goodrich and Styles got out of the car after the agents opened the doors.
One of the agents attempted to take Stiles’ phone from him. The agent claimed that he was unsure if it was a weapon, but Stiles refused to surrender it. Stiles was able to take video of their forced exit from the vehicle and the following search.
After exiting the vehicle, the three men watched as the DHS agents began searching the vehicle without consent. Stiles said the video shows one of the agents taking his hand out of his pocket suspiciously while a red bag was being searched. After the search, the agents told the men that marijuana had been found in the vehicle. Stiles affirmed to Benswann.com that neither he, Goodrich or Styles had any marijuana in their possession. The three were arrested and brought to the Sierra Blanca holding facility, where they were held in separate cells for over seven hours.
The men were released after Goodrich eventually took the marijuana possession charge. While the men maintain their innocence, Stiles told Benswann.com that if none of them took the charge they would have all been held for days while waiting for a judge. The decision was made after gathering legal advice from multiple sources.
The men were taken aback by Thursday’s events and Stiles is puzzled as to why his team was stopped twice. He is concerned that there’s an underlying motive behind what looks to him to be a concentrated effort to put him in jail. He’s unconvinced that another incident similar to this one will not occur again.
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pulled over by DHS??? where was the Border patrol? how are you pulled over by DHS? just wondering…
This is political warfare 101. Dirty tricks of the trade. The cops will all swear as to what they found. You go to jail and it will cost you thousands to defend yourself and you may well loose you your credibility, good reputation, your credit, friends, and maybe even your job.
That it is why it is crucial, if you are in the public eye, traveling individually or with companions, and in the liberty movement to carry on your person a concealed tape recorder, activating it immediately and voicing aloud as to what is going on, or activating your cell phone video and began taping events immediately as they occur. Be ready to loose your cell phone as a throwaway.
This means you might face a possible beating, seizure of your property, and maybe going to jail on a trumped up charge. But the cops may overlook the concealed recorder. If with companions, your fellows may be able to tape events for a moment as the cops will be distracted in confronting you.
Safeguard your recordings and get them into the hands of a public civil rights organization and an attorney, and then SHUT UP if the cops want to question you about anything.
By all means, if you are arrested and jailed, take names, record details and time lines and shut up! You are not obligated to talk to police. If you talk or lie to them you may well dig your own grave. SHUT UP.
On your release, get legal help and be prepared to file complaints against the police, file false arrest or assault charges, or civil rights charges at the state and federal level, and to sue them…all of them. This includes the officers, their supervisors, the chief and includes the mayor, city commissioners or the sheriff and county commissioners.
If subsequently, threats of harm are made against you, go PUBLIC…tell the whole world. That is the best life insurance you can have.
If traveling in groups, you may want to travel in separate vehicles and by different routes with a designated vehicle serving to record unobtrusively any untoward events, should the police choose to confront you for any reason. In these cases, the tape recorder and camera are your best weapons.
I am interested to know what DHS agents were involved in this. What agency?