POW :Protest the violent war on drugs and support Matthew David Stewart

On May 1, 2012 · Leave a Comment

In Ogden, Utah on January 4th, 2012 the Weber Morgan Narcotics Strike Force violently raided the home of Matthew David Stewart. Matthew is a decorated former soldier of the United States Army Airborne and an avid outdoors-man under the alleged authority of a search warrant that he was growing marijuana. It is said that the police found 16 marijuana plants in the home in which Matthew was using to self-medicate for anxiety. Matthew believed he was being robbed and felt threatened by the violent invasion. After a fire fight resumed one officer was tragically killed, while five others were injured. Matthew was also badly injured and is now a prisoner of a modern and unjust war that is ‘The War on Drugs’.

We are KEEP THE PEACE a group committed to ending the violent procedures that endanger our officers, families, and neighborhoods. One man who is instrumental in keeping our community safe is our district attorney, Dee Smith, the man who oversees police action in our streets. A main focus for our event is to continually show our support to Matthew David Stewart, to voice our displeasure in the increasing amount of violence amongst our officers by serving a ‘search warrant’ to Dee Smith to publicly acknowledge how many police involved shootings he has deemed justified and also, to gain knowledge of how frequently these invasions happen, to whom and in what areas.

Join us and let your voices be heard!
Please wear black when attending :) and remember our focus is to ‘Keep the Peace’

May 18th, 2012 @ 12:00 pm (noon)

Weber County Building 2380 Washington Blvd Ogden Utah, 84401

Click here to RSVP to the event on Facebook.

Matthew’s face book page has more information so please feel free to check it out :)

 

Stewart supporters gather to support a non-violent drug policy

On April 11, 2012 · 2 Comments

Ogden–Family and friends of Matthew David Stewart will gather Thursday to organize political resistance to the War on Drugs. Stewart is facing the death penalty for an incident in which officers from the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force violently invaded his home, allegedly to investigate marijuana.

“The outpouring of support for Matthew in Utah and across the country has been a welcome reaction to this terrible incident,” says Stewart’s father, Michael Stewart, also of Ogden. “Our goal with this meeting is to thank those supporters, but also organize their passions to raise awareness of Matthew’s case and fight for a sensible and non-violent drug policy.”

The meeting, titled “Keep the Peace,” will be at the Weber County Main library at 24th and Jefferson in Ogden, in the auditorium downstairs, at 7:30 p.m., Thursday April 12.

The group’s political initiatives, as well as a direct support strategy to help Matthew’s defense team, will be unveiled at the meeting, followed by a time for the news media to ask questions.

After the unveiling and question period, Andrew McCullough, a candidate for Utah Attorney General and longtime advocate for a non-violent drug policy, will speak at the event. David Goddridge, a former Los Angles narcotics officer and member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, will also speak.

Matthew David Stewart, a decorated former soldier of the United States Army Airborne and an avid outdoorsman, is facing aggravated murder charges and several other felonies for the January 4 incident.  Police invaded Stewart’s home under the alleged authority of a search warrant.  Matthew says he believed he was being robbed and felt his life was threatened by the invasion. One officer was killed, while five others were injured–friendly fire is suspected by many to account for some if not all the injuries. No one knows exactly what happened inside the home as traumatized memories of the event are understandably incomplete.

“We feel terrible for the death of Officer Jared Francom, the injuries and trauma of the other officers, as well as the injuries to Matthew,” says Liz Martinez Hoffman, a family friend. “But it’s clear to any thinking person that the violent War on Drugs caused this terrible situation, not Matthew himself. He is also a victim of this situation.”

Prosecutors have slowly provided discovery evidence to the defense and have cut corners in the process of trying to seize Matthew’s home.

“We will not let this happen to our son, brother, cousin, friend, our fellow in humanity without strongly resisting this oppression,” says Erna Stewart, Matthew David Stewart’s sister-in-law.  ”Not only will we educate the public on the violent failures of the War on Drugs, we intend to bust the pillars in our community that uphold these unjust policies that took Officer Francom’s life and put Matthew in this hell.”
 

Prosecution selectively releases search warrant, others remain sealed

On March 17, 2012 · 2 Comments

Due to resent allegations we feel it is incredibly important that we speak out on Matthew’s behalf since he can not currently be heard.

Child Pornography? No way.

It is a fact that a detective thought he had found images “consistent with child pornography”. It is only natural that the detective felt that he needed to get the proper approval to look into the matter further. That is, of course, what a search warrant provides. It is important that we remind the public, and Matthew’s supporters alike, that if anything abnormal and unnatural was found, he would be facing additional charges. Clearly child pornography was not found.

Bomb Making Materials? Not even close.

Investigators claim to have found evidence that Matthew purchased materials that could be used in “bomb making”. In fact, the Potassium Chlorate mixture that Matthew had in his linen closet was being used in the manufacturing of smoke signal flares. As mentioned before Matthew is a lover of the outdoors and nature, and he enjoyed trekking deep into the wilderness. At one time, he thought he would want to try living off the land to test his knowledge of survival skills. Matthew wanted to do this safely and had planned on adding the smoke signal flares to his survival kit.

Ogden IRS Building Map? He worked there.

The detective had mentioned in the search warrant that there was a map found of the 12th street facility with certain entrances and exits highlighted. Matthew was an armed security guard for several IRS buildings. Possession of this map by anyone is not exactly cause for concern, but even more than that, Matthew had a legitimate reason to have a map of this type. It was his job.

Trying this Case in the Media

The prosecution continues their attempts to discredit Matthew. They pick and choose which warrants to leave sealed, and which to expose to the media. When Matthew speaks out with the truth, they request a gag order. When Matthew’s most active lawyer is vocal about their miscarriage of the judicial process, they call a press conference to lambaste the defense. They continue to disseminate misinformation to the media in an effort to sway potential jurors. It is clear that Matthew cannot get a fair trial without a change of venue.

Prosecutors selectively released this search warrant, but the probable cause affidavits and other documents supporting the original search warrant continue to remain out of public view. They remain under the prosecution’s lock and key.