fcc, aa8dp, ksmr, militia, usa

Apr 13 09:35 UTC 2001

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CLANDESTINE RADIO WATCH             CUMBRE DX SPECIAL
EXTRA March 15, 2001                337.6

The following report is a collaborative effort between Cumbre DX and
Clandestine Radio Watch.
===============================================

USA: Standoff with KSMR Underway

By Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX
        Nick Grace C., Clandestine Radio Watch - Washington Bureau
        with reports by Chris Lobdell and Martin Schoech.

[Mar 15] A standoff is underway between the U.S. government and the
recently-launched Kentucky State Militia Radio (KSMR) and the
situation is on the verge of reaching critical mass.  With time
ticking both sides are preparing for a showdown that could happen
within days.

Documents just obtained by CDX-CRW indicate that members of the
Kentucky State Militia (KSM) have been under investigation by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for alleged amateur radio
violations since December.  The documents reveal a tense confron-
tation between KSM "Major" Steve Anderson, who engineers and hosts
KSMR, and "Commander" Charlie Puckett against the FCC, which has
culminated in the revocation of Anderson's amateur radio license.

Anderson, who held the Extra-class license AA8DP, received a
"Warning Notice," dated December 8, 2000 that states "Monitoring
information before the Commission indicates that on December 4, 2000
you operated radio-transmitting equipment on 6.890 MHz, a frequency
not licensed to you under your extra Class license."

Puckett, when interviewed independently by CRW and CDX last week,
denied published monitoring reports that the KSM or its members were
involved in the alleged transmissions, which jammed commercial radio
station WWFV.

The FCC, according to the documents, also began an investigation
into Puckett, who holds the Technician-class license KF4ZMG, for
operating on 3860 kHz in December.  Puckett denied the violation in
writing, stating that the transmissions were under the "control" of
Anderson - who is licensed for operation on that frequency.  When
the government requested specific details from Anderson about the
dates, times and the nature of the transmissions' identification, he
returned his license to the FCC.  "At this time," he wrote in
response to the government, "be advised that... the contract with
the agency Federal Communications Commission, an agent of a foreign
corporation, under the auspices of Amateur Radio license AA8DP, is
hereby rescinded.  All authority assumed by the F.C.C. is null and
void."

"I do not reside in any territory or possession of the Federal
Government of the United States of America," he continued, "and am
not subject to any regulation by this fictitious entity."

In what seems to be a major development, Anderson announced during a
broadcast on Friday, March 9, that he received another letter from
the FCC - presumably for his transmissions as KSMR.  "(There is) no
point in citing me," he stated.  "This is not my station.  This is
the Kentucky Militia station... We don't want to hear from you (be-
cause) you don't have anything to say to us.  You don't have any
authority over us.  We are asserting our First Amendment Rights here
and are protecting them with the Second Amendment."  The Second
Amendment refers to the right to bear arms.

-- "Take My Gun from My Cold Dead Hands" --

Anderson launched KSMR on March 3 and has broadcast nightly on 3260
kHz USB between 0300 and 0400 UTC.  The live programs, confirmed by
CRW and CDX to be sponsored by the KSM, begin with a song called
"Take My Gun (From My Cold Dead Hands)" by David VonKleist that
segues into 15 minutes of militia announcements.  Anderson proceeds
into a thirty-minute commentary on such topics as Christianity,
alleged U.S. government cover-ups, and justifications for the
existence of patriot militia movement - which perceives itself to be
defending the country against a corrupted and conspiratorial federal
government.  The program then ends with a 15-minute recitation of
militia contact addresses across the United States.

"We are trying to protect and defend the (U.S.) Constitution and our
sovereign Republic," Anderson told CRW-CDX when reached by
telephone.  "I hope we're giving a positive message."

According to Puckett, the KSM is sponsoring the station to provide
news and information that is not widely available to the public.  In
fact, he alleged, commercial shortwave stations have been censoring
patriot programming.  "They were selectively pulling programs off...
Information that people need!"

Published reports, however, indicate that many programs have been
taken off the air for financial and not ideological reasons.

KSMR, Anderson openly revealed, operates at approximately 800 watts,
uses an extended-double zep antenna at 110' (36 meters).  The
antenna, he said, provides for a 3dB gain over a regular dipole
antenna, and plans are in the works to employ a 3kW amplifier he
calls the "rock crusher."  Regardless, the station is already heard
coast-to-coast and has even been monitored in Western Europe.

On Wednesday, March 14, he tested 6880 kHz and claims that the sta-
tion will soon carry live programming from the Genesis and Heritage
radio networks through a satellite feed.  If all goes as planned,
the station will operate full-time from 9 AM (1400 UTC) to 12 AM
midnight (0500 UTC) on 3260, 6880, and 12181 kHz USB.  When asked
for his reasoning to use this set of frequencies, which are all at
least 10 kHz below WWFV, Anderson noted that KSMR will occasionally
move off frequency in order to avoid interference.  But, he said, if
nearby WWFV "I'm easy to find."

"You'd be suprised at how cohesive and unified the patriot community
is," Puckett told CRW-CDX last week during a telephone interview.
"KSMR is truly a national effort."  He said that donations amounting
to US$2800 have already been collected for the station.  And indeed,
Anderson often announces during his broadcasts that new equipment
supplied by other militia groups have been shipped to the station
"garrison."

Although the Internet can be a useful and expedient communications
tool, Puckett explained, the government "can bring it down.  Short-
wave is the only reliable communication medium... Everyone in the
patriot community has got a shortwave radio."

In fact, both Anderson and Puckett claim that KSMR, as the first
unlicensed militia radio station, is not only showing other groups
that it is possible to establish an independent voice on radio but
also inspiring other groups to take to the airwaves.  During a
"major" militia rally in Norm Creek, Kentucky, next month, Anderson
will lead a discussion on communications and antennas to members of
other groups who will attend.

-- Lying in Wait --

The government, needless to say, is taking the KSM's defiance
seriously and, CDX-CRW has learned, is already planning for the
station's closure.

"We know who they are.  We know where they are," Riley Hollingsworth
of the FCC Enforcement Bureau said.  "There will be an enforcement
action... It's still an open case, and with his continuing the pi-
rate station on 3260 kHz he is at risk of a minimum US$7,500 fine as
well as equipment seizure."

KSMR, however, is unmoved by the thought of a confrontation with the
government.  "This is not one guy," Anderson announced during a
recent program.  "There's about 13,000 of us down here... We're not
worried."

When reached by phone, he said "We're not threatening anybody...
Wouldn't KSMR come in handy if there was a national emergency?  We
sure think it would."

Nevertheless, the vow to protect the station under their rights as
enshrined in the Second Amendment - the right to bear arms - has
caused some listeners to worry that the impending physical confron-
tation could lead to violence.  Given KSMR's vow to defend the
station, sources within the FCC have told CDX-CRW that law enforce-
ment personnel will accompany the agents during the closure.  But
according to Larry Clance at the FCC, there has never been a case of
an unlicensed station defending itself with firearms.

Whether KSMR becomes the first remains to be seen.  Clearly, though,
the standoff has already begun.

response 2 of 99:

Apr 13 12:00 UTC 2001

        *hic*

response 4 of 99:

Apr 13 15:19 UTC 2001

What's that mean? The broadcasts are illegal. The law should be enforced.

response 6 of 99:

Apr 13 17:41 UTC 2001

Not at all. i in #3 suggested that #0 contained some threats from
the FCC. It doesn't: the threats all come from Anderson. The FCC
is only stated to have said they will enforce the law. 

response 8 of 99:

Apr 13 19:19 UTC 2001

  "Patriots' Day"?  Who came up with that little bit of nauseatingly
  inappropriate marketing?

response 10 of 99:

Apr 13 22:02 UTC 2001

I wonder which country he thinks he lives in, since he clearly doesn't
think he lives in the same country as the FCC?

response 12 of 99:

Apr 13 22:16 UTC 2001

  re #10:  the letter-writer's refusal to recognize the legitimacy
  of the federal government is similar to the position of members
  of various far-right groups in the "posse comitatus" movement.
  Adherents generally claim not to recognize any government above a
  certain level (usually the county level, sometimes smaller, as with
  the Montana "Freemen" and their "Justus Township") and many proclaim
  themselves "sovereign citizens," claiming the right to issue their
  own idenfication and drivers' licenses, refusing to pay taxes to a
  federal government of a nation they claim not to be citizens of, etc..

  Some of the semantic shenanigans they engage in are fascinating,
  resulting in bizarrely contorted interpretations of the law and
  startling "conclusions" about the nature of the government and legal
  systems (such as the belief that courts which feature a fringe on
  the U.S. flag are actually courts operating under "admiralty law" and
  their decisions therefore null and void upon citizens not subject to
  said law..)  A lot of them use their bizarre (and discredited) legal
  reasoning to harass opponents and critics by doing things like filing
  liens against the critics' property, etc..  In some ways they're like
  a fundamentalist religious cult with a unique interpretation of 
  scripture, except that the "scriptures" they're interpreting are
  legal and historical documents.

response 14 of 99:

Apr 13 23:02 UTC 2001

There are a lot of pirate radio stations, and very few are associated with
gun nut cults.  I'm a bit of a fan of pirate radio, myself.

response 16 of 99:

Apr 14 01:25 UTC 2001

I've been wondering how much of a martyr Timothy McVeigh will be to
these people.  It strikes me as a peculiarly stupid decision of the
federal gov't to execute McVeigh - the sort of thing only a politician
would want to do.

response 18 of 99:

Apr 14 03:55 UTC 2001

Re: #4/5/6
I wasn't assuming much truth value in #0; just that there was a conflict
with the Feds and that said Feds were handling it in their usual way.

(I'd be surprised if the Feds were not somewhat selectively enforcing the
pirate radio laws against anti-government types - which might be illegal
*for the Feds*, and is certainly poor tactics.) 

Straight-forward law enforcement in this case seems about as likely to
inspire compliance with the law as shooting at groups of rock-throwing
Palestinians is to bring quick peace in the Middle East.  Is the law to
be enforced for its own sake, or is the actual goal compliance? 

response 20 of 99:

Apr 14 06:20 UTC 2001

What I hear about FCC enforcement of the law, at least in ham bands (such
as the 3860 they used), is that it is mostly pretty ordinary quacks, often
being obnoxious, using profane language, interfering with other hams, etc.
I think this is much more common than "pirate radio". It is interesing
that they moved off the ham bands - perhaps not to get the hams down on
them (in addition to the FCC)? The hams might conduct a midnight raid of
their own if they are stamped on... 

response 22 of 99:

Apr 14 18:44 UTC 2001

re #4 Rane it doesn't seem that cut and dried to me, what about the 1st
amendment right under the constitution of free speech?  According to a
long history of supreme court decisions the speech that should be given
the highest level of protection is unpopular political speech. I think
this station qualifies to the t under that criteria. 

While I may find many of the militias positions distasteful such as their
ties to "identity" racist Christian sects, and their anti environmental
positions, it is nonetheless the protection of their right of free speech
that also protects the right of free speech of alternative pirate radio
stations who I agree with such as "Radio Free Cascadia" in Eugene Oregon,
near where I live, that was recently shut down by the F.C.C.  It seems to
me that the answer to bad speech is more speech, not the government
censorship of shutting stations with unpopular opinions. 

Micro power stations should of course be prevented from interfering with
the broadcasts of other radio stations but I suspect that would come about
easily once licenses for micro power stations are made cheaply and easily
available.  I believe that at that point enforcement of F.C.C. laws would
be appropriate, however, at this point I think the F.C.C. laws are mainly
being used hassle micro power radio stations with unpopular opinions.  In
this case the first amendment right to free speech trumps any F.C.C.
regulations that are being used to suppress free speech. 

For more information on the struggles of micro power broadcasters see:
See Stephen Dunifers excellent site http://www.freeradio.org/
 

response 24 of 99:

Apr 14 19:28 UTC 2001

"'Identity' racist Christian sects?" what are those?

Radio and television broadcasts have long been held to different standards
than most speech.  There is nothing new there.