Legal Preparedness 1

I’ve mentioned before that knowing your state’s self-defense and citizen’s arrest laws can help, and I meant it.  I don’t think we’re all intending to run out and start arresting people, but you need to know what authority you have if someone assaults you or steals your property, or attacks a third party.

Recent statements by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel have opened up another entire line of law that applies to preparedness that you need to be aware of, research in your own state, and then take steps to mitigate your risk under them.

Make no mistake, if the state wants to arrest you, you’re getting arrested.  I’m talking about have a defense prepared ahead of time, like you do for everything else.

The context is that with President Joe Biden taking office, there has a been a “declaration of war” on domestic terror and extremism.  None of us here are extremists, but I want to show you how you could be painted that way, using the SPECIFIC laws that AG Nessel said clearly that she was going to use to target “groups”.

Before we get into it, let me give you the perspective on following over-zealous government agents from the Ultimate Tactical Handbook:

But Peter & the Apostles answered,

“We must obey God rather than men.”

Acts 5:29

I’m not advocating breaking the law; I’m saying that God wants you to survive and you need to train, so we’ll discuss some legal ways to do so, without running afoul of Ms Nessel.

Here’s a screenshot of her Tweet:

Michigan Complied Laws 750.402 deals with “Societies Parading Under Arms”.  Nessel implied that any armed group marching could be targeted using the law.  Interestingly, the last group I saw “parading” armed & in formation in Lansing happened to be ANTIFA.

The law states that armed societies may indeed parade under arms and in uniform, but that during an “emergency” the government can ban them from doing so, and a violation is a misdemeanor.

It’s worth noting that governments all over this country fell in love with the emergency declaration in 2020 and it’s a very low bar to pass.

However, where Nessel will run into enforcement issues is that this law states that it only applies to “societies” that only admit members of a single race.  I’ve never encountered a militia or armed group that was only a single race or where race was a requirement. I know she’s implying that militias are White Supremacists, but I’ve never met one in my life.

Based upon a reading of the law, it only applies if the society has a stated racial entry requirement.

The easiest way around this is to not give your preparedness group a name or insignia, nor have any eligibility requirements, especially stupid racial ones (I need The Rooftop Mexican and The High Yellow Rambo – You know who you are).  These are required elements for them to prove a violation.

Michigan Compiled Laws 750.528A is in reference to “Assembling for the Purpose of Training in Firearms & Explosives”.  It makes it sound as though any firearms class is illegal, doesn’t it?  That’s what she wants you to think.

To be a violation, you must know or should have reason to know that the training is for the purpose of the skills being used in a civil disorder.  Any violation is a felony.  I know several ANTIFA people who then are guilty of a felony, but I’m not holding my breath.

Keep this in mind when conducting any group firearms training.  Training for the purpose of SELF DEFENSE or the DEFENSE OF YOUR PROPERTY is inherently lawful and does not violate this law.  Training to assist in the defense of your nation is also inherently lawful.

Training in group firearms tactics is also lawful, as long as it’s purpose is not for use during a CIVIL DISORDER.  

A reminder:  If a state agent shows up while you are training and asks you the purpose of the training, you are NOT required to answer their questions.

I frequently point out that “groups” that focus entirely on firearms skills and offensive combat, like room clearing and seizing buildings, are setting themselves up for enforcement action.  Don’t be that group.

Michigan Compiled Laws 750.401 makes “Unauthorized Wearing of Uniforms” a misdemeanor.  It states that wearing “any part” of a uniform of the US Army, US Navy, or US National Guard is unlawful.

This law is the most problematic, because it’s completely broad.  I’m sure that the intent was to ban the unauthorized wearing of dress uniforms, but under this law, technically wearing a camouflage patrol cap is ILLEGAL.  Wearing of combat boots would technically be ILLEGAL.

I’m sure that these cases would be thrown out, but you would be subject to arrest.

The best advice I can offer in this would be to remove ALL INSIGNIA from the camouflage gear and it is therefore no longer a US Army/Navy/NG uniform.  Before you get excited and say USMC uniforms aren’t mentioned….A Marine uniform is a NAVAL UNIFORM.

Personally, I’ve selected camouflage patterns that are NOT US in nature.  I have British DPM (Woodland) uniforms, I have British MTP uniforms (very similar to US Army Scorpion OCP/MultiCam), and I use some commercial camouflage like ATACS.  For the British one, I removed the UK flag from them all, to avoid a claim of “wearing the uniform of a foreign power”.

The last one she mentioned, MCL 750.215 is “Representation of Duties of a Police Officer”, which is a misdemeanor.  This requires someone to actually claim that they are a law enforcement officer to compel someone to do something or during the commission of a crime, or to actually perform the duties of a police officer.

I actually agree with the this one, and I’ve used the principle myself.  During a confrontation with ANTIFA, one of them raised a baton at me & shouted at me to “Step Back!”.  Since I was wearing a body camera, I clearly asked him “Are you a police officer?”.  He said he wasn’t so I told him I wouldn’t be going anywhere.  That also would have made my subsequent self-defense action and citizen’s arrest for felony assault 100% legal.  The smart lad chose to put the baton away and retire to mommy’s basement. Had he said he was while trying to compel me to move, he would have been in violation of this law.

The easiest way to avoid this one is to not talk about arresting people or arresting the Governor.

When the Righteous increase, the people rejoice,

But when the Wicked rule, the people groan.

Proverbs 29:2

Now, I’m not calling the Michigan Attorney General wicked, but using obscure laws outside of their intent to target those who hold a different opinion than you is indeed wicked.

I encourage everyone who reads this and is interested in preparedness, to learn your local, state, and federal laws.

As an example, the Defense Production Act, a federal law, allows the federal government to seize your stash of food or supplies in an emergency, if they determine that you are “hoarding”.  It’s already been used once during the pandemic to seize masks from a man who was price gouging.  Gouging is wrong, but just stealing his property is just as bad.  Doing so under the color of law makes it worse.

Avoiding this is simple….stop telling people about your preps.  Prep and stack that food to the rafters, but STOP TELLING PEOPLE.

There are steps you can take to avoid the coming crackdown on free speech and free assembly, but you need to do your local research first.

Be safe, be smart, stay free, and train hard.