"They're going to have to get by me first." Maine Gov. LePage, on FEMA bringing in Russian Troops

[eShirl]

LePage has been having several meetings with a Sovereign Citizens group and soaking up their crazy conspiracy theories. Yes, he is as nutty as he sounds.

holy crap! must read

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/lepage-maine-sovereign-citizen

Why Did Maine's Governor Conspire With 'Sovereign Citizen' Extremists?
Mike Tipping – June 30, 2014, 9:00 AM EDT

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of As Maine Went: Governor Paul LePage and the Tea Party Takeover of Maine, by Mike Tipping.

[eShirl]

1. (kick) The author summarizes this in his column here:

http://thetippingpoint.bangordailynews.com/2014/06/30/state-politics/gov-lepage-met-with-encouraged-sovereign-citizen-extremists/

The central topic of conversation for most of the meetings was the sovereigns’ “remonstrances,” documents they said gave them the authority to arrest and execute Maine House Speaker Mark Eves and Senate President Justin Alfond for treason (listen to minute 19 of the recording below for a specific discussion of this).

LePage indulged and supported the sovereign’s beliefs. He allowed them to present a number of conspiracy theories, told them he agreed with their interpretation of state law, promised to publicize their beliefs, discussed with them the arrest and hanging of Eves and Alfond and brought in Sheriff Randall Liberty to pursue their case, among other actions (for full context of this incident, see the full excerpt).

LePage also publicly endorsed several specific Sovereign Citizen beliefs that they had discussed, including that the federal government was acting like the Nazi state, that wind power is a hoax and that the county sheriff is the highest law enforcement official. He also introduced conspiracy theorist author Michael Coffman at an event at Lake Region High School and sat by as Coffman claimed that local sustainability initiatives were a United Nations plot and that “Barack Obama’s presidency is part of a plan by the Islamic Brotherhood to turn America into an Islamic controlled nation.”

LePage was aware of the threat posed by the men he met with. They showed him training materials from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (which they objected to) clearly identifying their organization as a terrorist threat and mandating that law enforcement officers report contact with Sovereign Citizens to the FBI Regional Office and the Regional Organized Crime Information Center. He also discussed with them their ownership of weapons.