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"Let me review the events of the last few weeks so as to help readers familiarize themselves with this historic--and I do mean historic--episode.
"On February 20, 2009, the State of Missouri, via its Department of Public Safety, issued what was called 'MIAC Strategic Report: The Modern Militia Movement.' In this report, people who supported Presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and yours truly were referenced as being connected to potentially dangerous 'militia members.' But the inference did not stop there. People of conservative ideology were also identified in the State Police report as being potentially dangerous. People who held political opinions opposing abortion, illegal immigration, the New World Order, the North American Union, the Income Tax, the U.N., etc., were profiled in the MIAC report.
"Interestingly enough, no left-leaning political ideologies were identified. No Islamic extremists. No environmental extremists. Only people holding 'conservative' or 'right-wing' philosophies were identified in the MIAC report.
"The MIAC report was categorized as 'Unclassified/Law Enforcement Sensitive,' meaning the report was intended for law enforcement personnel only. Fortunately, an unidentified (for obvious reasons) Missouri law enforcement officer, who was extremely disturbed by this report, sent a copy to nationally syndicated radio talk show host Alex Jones. Of course, Jones immediately 'blew the whistle' on the story. This was on March 11.
"On March 14, the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune ran a story on the subject, and on March 17, I wrote my first column about it. From that point, the story went viral.
"Internet sites, radio talk show hosts, and bloggers all over America picked up the story, and thousands of outraged citizens began bombarding the appropriate officials in Missouri with protests. Even Fox News Channel talk show host Glenn Beck ran a feature on the story on Friday, March 20, and again on Monday, March 23. The Constitution Party issued a 'Travel Advisory' for the State of Missouri, warning tourists and residents about the possibility of being profiled by State Police for such things as having bumper stickers with political statements on their vehicles, etc. All of this commotion was not lost on several Missouri State legislators and executive officers, either.
"Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder called on Governor Jay Nixon (who had previously stood by and defended the MIAC report) to place Department of Public Safety Director John Britt on administrative leave pending an investigation into the report. In addition, several Missouri State legislators said they would introduce an amendment to the Department of Public Safety's budget barring the agency from using 'state or federal funds for political profiling.'
"On March 23, DPS Director John Britt sent an apology letter to Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and me stating, 'I have ordered that the offending report be edited so as to excise all reference to Ron Paul, Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin and to any third-party political organizations.'
"While Ron, Bob, and I appreciated the apology and retraction from Mr. Britt, the overriding offense of the report still lingered: namely, the report, with a very broad brush, linked people holding conservative political opinions to dangerous and violence-prone 'militias,' which Missouri law enforcement personnel were instructed to be on guard against. Therefore, public outcry against the MIAC report continued, Mr. Britt's apology notwithstanding.
"Then, on Wednesday, March 25, the head of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Col. James F. Keathley, ordered the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) to 'permanently cease distribution' of this abysmal report. Keathley said that neither he nor Britt had read the report before it was distributed.
"Keathley also noted that the report was filled with numerous spelling and grammatical errors and did not cite any sources for its broad statements about 'right-wing' militias. He further said that his department would now review how the MIAC distributes intelligence reports to police officers. He said the process 'needs improvement.'"
