Sunday, March 30, 2014

PELTIER: SLINGING TWO MESSAGES: And, where's Mr. X?


Dear Supporters:

Peltier rambles on about magazine articles he’s read in the prison TV room equating his confinement and condition to that of the environment, a world order against indigenous peoples and messages of making one’s life count for something. (Footnote #1). Peltier has to do this because he’s offering propaganda to two different audiences. On the one hand those who have little knowledge of who or what Peltier really is but that must be convinced, as he has convinced himself, that all the folklore, bolstered by years of myths and lies are true. He offers himself as the sacrificial lamb for those persecuted minorities that the uninformed are compelled to amend for all the wrongs of the past. You know, Peltier the victim.

Then there’s the other message for those who actually believe Peltier made some meaningful contribution during his otherwise wasted life. This is where he makes again a real-time confession for those who would follow him, no matter what, and over any cliff.

“I want to tell you sincerely this is not an easy place to be. It is a terrible place to be, but when I chose to answer the call along with other Native People, many of us took a vow to stand up even unto death if necessary. Some were shot and killed and their lives were taken immediately. My life has been taken one day at a time. But if I had to do it all over again I would still choose to stand up for my people and your people and our future generations to protect our freedoms and our mother Earth, and in doing that I am honored that you remember me.

Genuinely honest and truthful people never have to say they are being “sincere,” but let’s take him at face value, again, as he plays the role for that other group of dwindling supporters; Peltier the warrior. 

The message here is not subtle and we’ve seen it before. Previously it would appear to have been a slip of the forked tongue but his message is unmistakable (Footnote #2). Peltier took a “vow” and of critical import to all those who see the charlatan for what he really is, that he would “do it all over again.” Let’s ask Anna Mae’s Aquash’s daughters if Peltier was being the “warrior” when he stuck a gun in their mother’s mouth forcing her to admit she was an informant (history has proven she was not). Was that part of the “vow” that Peltier clings to? Or that day at Jumping Bull? He knew he was a fugitive but also that FBI Agents Coler and Williams were looking for someone else, Jimmy Eagle, but that did not stop him and some of the “many of us” from brutally attacking and severely wounding the agents. That Agent Williams tried to surrender made no difference (Footnote #3). That Peltier admitted during his escape, (to the same Anna Mae who was later a victim of AIM paranoia; shot in the head and left in a ditch), that “the … … begged for his life but I shot him anyway.” Brave? Heroic? A warrior? Peltier’s next action, with the others, was to stand over the dead agents, steal their weapons and see the smile from Joe Stuntz when he stole Agent Coler’s FBI jacket from the trunk of the Bureau vehicle. Peltier’s next brave response; “We gotta get out of here.” Peltier and the rest of the cowards of Jumping Bull fled. But, of course, this is all tilted against the string of phony alibis, beginning with the infamous Mr. X and red pickup truck.

Peltier endeavors to address two audiences:

The globally uninformed, mostly European anti-America types (Peltier never sees how much he has been used by many of these groups for their own purposes), those progressive bands who literally don’t have a dog in this fight because they are being misled and disabused that in some perverse fashion Peltier represents all those indigenous cultures. They are incapable of seeing him for what he is, a cold-blooded murderer.

The other faction, the diehards, the sycophants, the wannabes, the users and abusers of the latest cultural fad hang on enjoying some vicarious thrill at inmate #89637-132’s expense. One inescapable reality is that the older generation Native America understands the damage Peltier and AIM did to their collective recent history.

Postscript: Mr. X, the movie: Incident at Oglala, what happened?

The NPPA has beaten this topic like a cheap drum for many years. Peltier’s first and longest standing phony alibi was that someone they knew (Mr. X) killed the agents and drove off in the infamous red pickup. We would point to the many years of airing the cameo appearance of the hooded killer in Redford’s mythumentary “Incident at Oglala” where Robideau, in great detail, describes what happened and in the next scene Peltier preens “This story is true but I can’t and will not say anything about it” (Footnote #4). Yet they (the LPDC, LPDOC, etc.) played the film ad nauseam like it really portrayed Peltier’s innocence.

Yet, under another new leadership, Redford’s masterpiece is gone. Vanished in a cloud of…oops, what happened here? A Google search for “Leonard Peltier” lists many references. The first is Wikipedia (largely inaccurate and slanted and not worth the effort to correct), then freeleonard.org (dated now, but courtesy of former Peltier supporter, Attorney Michael Kuzma, who was able to put the final nail in the Mr. X. coffin (Footnote #5), then third, The NoParolePeltierAssociation.com  website, and then fourth, according to a footnote on leonardpeltier.info “There is only one official website for Leonard Peltier and his freedom campaign, and this is it, join the fight.”

Have to assume then that all the other supporting websites and references are persona non grata, a glaring example of how many over the years have come, and gone, as most realized they attached their good will and fortune to a fraudulent falling star (and let’s not even revisit the “charitable donations” scams).

In any case, on leaonardpeltier.info, a search for “Incident” turned up windows that when clicked on presented the viewer, not with the film, but with this tidbit:

“This video contains content from Lionsgate and Miramax, one or more of whom have blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.”

“Your country?” The United States of America? This is a big deal.

For years they (Peltier’s morphing inner circle) have been playing and touting the film (warts, flaws and all) like it was the Peltier Bible come to the silver screen.  

This has to be a terrible blow to Peltier and the entourage to be dissed by the Hollywood crowd, no doubt accompanied with attorney letters calling for them to “cease and desist.” Not to worry though, the DVD is still available on Amazon (only one left at last check) and illegally in various corners of the Internet. (Maybe more letters to Lionsgate and Miramax are in order so they can further protect their copyright.)

The point is the film stands as a conspicuous illustration of the lies surrounding Peltier and his discredited alibi. No one can or will ever remove the Mr. X segments from the film, nor will Matthiessen (who had his own strong doubts about Robideau and this story), remove it from “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,” and certainly future filmmaking efforts will leave the Mr. X/red pickup out completely, not coincidentally like Peltier did in his own book, “Prison Writings.”

As Peltier said in this latest Spring Statement, “I am honored that you remember me.”

But don’t flatter yourself to be honored Leonard because there are many more who will and do remember…

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods

Footnotes:
5) See NPPA Blog 12/5/12

Friday, February 21, 2014

PELTIER: WHAT HE'S REALLY TRYING TO SAY...


Dear Supporters:

As he often does, Peltier repeats the expression, “I guess what I’m trying to say is.” The February 6th public statement is no exception.

(February 6th being the anniversary of his arrest by the RCMP in Canada and the beginning of his incarceration, interrupted only by his armed escape from Lompoc penitentiary in July 1979.  Although, while he usually does mention the February 6th date, oddly, this time he didn’t, which further supports the premise described below.)

Quite often these public statements are passably written, others not so, and it’s apparent when an LPDOC ghostwriter is at work or when one was actually written by Peltier. This one’s Peltier’s.

Peltier wanders aimlessly through random matters putting voice to his somewhat limited knowledge and views of technology, corporations, world strife and religious conflicts while deliberately avoiding issues like global terrorism. Instead he offers, “I guess what I’m trying to say...that the average person here in America has no reason to quarrel with any person in another land for religious reasons.” Avoiding, of course, the obvious, that a fairly large number of those people have vowed to destroy America and its democratic allies (and at times their own people as well) with suicide bombings killing innocent civilians all in the name of a God, and a Fatwa against the Infidels to find glory and virgins in the afterlife. It’s a sick reality of life we all have to deal with.

Peltier offers deliberate distractions, so far removed from reality it’s as if he believes that we can’t remember a collapse of his support network that occurred only a matter of weeks ago, or certainly, the events of June 26, 1975, including all the lies and fabrications that followed.

“The people I have gathered around me are people I know and trust. They are my voice, and I want that to be respected.”  The reality though is they don’t stick around all that long—it doesn’t take much for the believers to be disheartened that their cause célèbre is a bona fide fraud, an overbearing, egocentric dolt and that the myth and folklore have all the permanence of breath on a mirror. They never last because once the curtain is pulled back the wizard’s  charade is laid bare. And the rationale is evident through  his very own words, “and I want that to be respected.” Understand that directive; “I want”? What he’s saying is—do it my way or I’ll find others who won’t ask the tough questions and will follow my demands.

Even Peltier should be troubled at how far his fortunes have tumbled now that the “new International” Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Lake Mary, Florida is housed in Suite 160; a rent-by-the-hour conference room (Footnote #1). But more so with the default setting that selected Henry David Hill as the titular Director who has more AIM history and baggage than Samsonite. But worse yet, the jury is still very much out whether HDH was working both sides of the AIM Tepee, being at once a staunch appearing diehard Aimster (a believer) and an agent provocateur (as they like to label those who don’t tow the party line or may have crossed over to the other side.) (Fn #2 ) 

“…defending freedom and justice must be done in every generation.” Really? Is that what it was? Let’s ask the families of Anna Mae Aquash, Jack Coler, Ron Williams and Perry Ray Robinson whether they were victims of freedom and justice. The vast majority of the older generation of Native America has no difficulty understanding the turmoil and bloodshed left behind in AIM’s wake and that collectively—Peltier counted among the most prominent—contributed nothing to their culture or collective existence.

Peltier tries to offer a fact or two but then adulterates it in typical fashion (not unlike his twenty-year fable that Mr. X killed the agents), stating, “America has more people in prison than all the rest of the world put together.” Not really. Violent crime has steadily decreased over the past twenty years. (Perhaps attesting to the fact that felons like Peltier remain incarcerated.) Although, per capita, America’s incarceration rate is high, it is not more “than all the rest of the world put together,” but actually a quarter of that. But look at some of those with low rates. There are too many countries where there is no due process at all. If there is a trial, it’s short and sweet and the accused taken out back and shot or beheaded, or sent to gulags or labor camps where there is no accounting at all. Or, they simply disappear.  Criminality in many corners of the world results in death, not incarceration.  There are far too many factors; social, legal, cultural, geographical, statutory requirements, sentencing guidelines, etc., for Peltier to make such a sweeping statement as if it were accurate, but in Peltier’s case, receiving consecutive life sentences for murder and seven additional years for armed escape remains appropriate for both sentencing and incarceration.

What Peltier is really saying is, “Look-over-here,” then, “Hey, look-over-there,” fostering a deliberate distraction from the real reason he sends out these rambling messages to ignore and forget the past and why he actually sits in a cell in Coleman, Florida. He doesn’t want to equate modern-day terrorism with that perpetrated by himself and other AIM cowards at Jumping Bull that June day. It’s a common thread and tactic of coAIMintelpro to attempt to keep everyone’s eye off the ball (Fn #3).

“I sincerely hope at this time next year I can be at one of these meetings with you and we can have a good time together and until then…give one another a good hug for me.”

Hugs? From Peltier? Best keep your women and children in a safe place. According to Peltier confidant, comrade and co-conspirator, the late Bob Robideau, there is more than just hugging going on in Peltier’s world.

No one is buying the brave warrior fighting for his people, protecting women and children scam anymore. The myth and folklore have spoiled and rotted from long exposure to sunlight and truth. Everyone from the President on down can see through the lies, false alibis and fabrications that are a hallmark of Peltier’s attempt to legitimize himself as he pollutes a proud native history by pretending to be something he never was, and never will be, a brave warrior (Fn #4). Clemency and forgiveness are not elements that balance cowardly and multiple murderous acts. A free Peltier will heal no historical wounds or promote reconciliation, but only legitimize AIM’s lawless  enterprise and Peltier’s criminality.

Perhaps one day Peltier may have the opportunity to be on the outside again, but it won’t be anytime soon nor will there be any guarantees on how he gets there.

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods

Footnotes:

2: For more information regarding HDH see:
and “the Smoking Gun.”
3:  The basics of “coAIMintelpro”
4: Dear President Obama:
A concise history of guilt.
Self defense:
Origins of the myth:
Peltier and “contributions”
Peltier Inc.
(blog dated December 12, 2013)

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

NPPA Pin Available


 
Dear Supporters:
 
 
The NPPA Pin is available again.
ALL proceeds from the sale of the NPPA pins will be equally donated to the Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Foundation http://www.socxfbi.org/ and the Red Cloud Indian School, Pine Ridge, South Dakota http://www.redcloudschool.org/

Please note: These are not tax-deductible donations but will be contributed equally to the Society Foundation and Red Cloud; no charitable donations will be claimed by the NPPA or any other individual: Unlike, Leonard Peltier, and the Leonard Peltier Defense-Offense Committee, who illegally launders their “donations” through a third-party shill. The NPPA has posted its finances and defies Peltier to do the same. No one knows how much money Peltier and the LPDOC (and formerly the LPDC) have scammed from supporters who are only buying into the myth.
Heraldry of the NPPA Lapel Pin
The colors, deep black contrasting with bright and shining gold represents the divergence of views of those on each side of the Peltier issue. A circular pin with two circles representing the narrow and continuous path followed by those in the law enforcement profession to balance personal interests in favor of the common good and protecting the life and liberty of citizens. A simple "In Memory" to honor all those who have given their lives in the line of duty. The shield, often the only thing standing between the law enforcement officer and those who would do him or her harm. A banner, reaching out to touch both sides of the inner circle representing the camaraderie of those who walk in a close circle and have chosen a special profession. And the date of death in the line of duty of two young men who were wounded, murdered, and left on a muddy road in an isolated field in South Dakota. Click here to learn more.
The NPPA pin is now available and was created to honor the sacrifice of FBI Agents' Jack Coler and Ron Williams and to continue the awareness of the guilt of Leonard Peltier.
Ordering: NPPA pins are $6.50 including postage: Check or Money Order payable to the No Parole Peltier Association and send to No Parole Peltier Association, PO Box 54667, Cincinnati, Ohio 45254-0667. Limit of five (5) pins per order. Thank you.
"In the Spirit of Coler and Williams"
Ed Woods
http://noparolepeltier.com/nppapin.html

Monday, January 27, 2014

U.N. Rapporteur & Peltier

              No Parole Peltier Association
                        P.O. Box 54667
                Cincinnati, Ohio 45245-0667
                         January 27, 2014

Professor James Anaya
U.N. Special Rapporteur
University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law
1201 E. Speedway Blvd., PO Box 210176
Tucson, AZ  85721
 
 Re: Leonard Peltier
        “Political prisoner”

 
Dear Professor Anaya:
 
Please allow me to respond to your recent contact with Leonard Peltier and the press release describing your visit.

The press release stated, “Every piece of evidence to convict Mr. Peltier has been since proven false.” This statement is fatally flawed.
 
As you no doubt understand, the Peltier matter has been examined—under the proverbial microscope—for nearly four decades and has withstood every legal test. There have been no Constitutional violations, otherwise there would be no discussion regarding Leonard Peltier today.

As a Harvard educated attorney, and given your commendable accomplishments in support of Indigenous peoples, the facts and details of Peltier’s conviction and appeals should be a critical priority. Going beyond the myth and folklore that has surrounded Peltier, fabrications that have adulterated what really happened that June day, is crucial to understanding his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The facts are clear and convincing for those who care to examine the essential details of his conviction.

Beyond his conviction, Peltier himself has reinforced his actual guilt beyond a moral certainty. An innocent man would not have offered many false alibis; for instance, the two-decade-long pretext that a phantom Mr. X killed the agents, a claim disavowed by one of those personally involved and as late as last year by one of his own attorneys.

The overwhelming majority of Native Americans, especially the older generation, recognize that AIM’s activities during the seventies and beyond contributed nothing to the betterment of the Native American experience.

AIM’s sordid history of greed, destruction and manipulation is self-evident and common knowledge. This includes those AIM members and Leonard Peltier’s criminal actions at Jumping Bull that infamous day.

Many erroneously consider Peltier a political prisoner. If that were so then the events of June 26, 1975 would have, by necessity, assumed an entirely different meaning. Agents’ Coler and Williams were attacked, gravely wounded and then murdered.  Or, as if some suggest this was an act of Political defiance by Peltier and other AIM members, then instead it would have been a deliberate ambush and an assassination. The facts do not support that premise. It was solely the act of cowardly criminals.

As someone with your experience, how do we reconcile Peltier as a political prisoner and allegedly innocent of the crimes that put him in Coleman, when he had this to say about what happened at Jumping Bull:

 “I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile,” Leonard remembers. “I didn’t think nothing of it at the time; all I could think of was, we got to get out of here.” (Spirit of Crazy Horse, P.552).

So picture this if you will, Joe Stuntz takes Agent Coler’s FBI jacket from the trunk of his Bureau vehicle, puts it on, and gives Peltier a smile. Meanwhile, at their feet are too dead human beings who were first attacked and mortally wounded and lay there with their faces destroyed as Peltier and the others ransacked the vehicles and stole the agents’ weapons.

Peltier needs not be remorseful about his crimes but he has gone much further.  Not taking his statement out of context, he said, “I never thought my commitment would mean sacrificing like this, but I was willing to do so nonetheless. And Really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again because it was the right thing to do. (Public statement February 6, 2010.) And there is much more.
 
Peltier, and those who support him, have succeeded in creating the myth of a brave warrior fighting for his people when the exact opposite is true. He has hijacked and diminished an otherwise proud Native history and culture for his own personal aggrandizement and self-interest.

I would welcome the opportunity to further discuss the Peltier matter with you.
 
There are many deserving of leniency and consideration; Leonard Peltier is not one of them.
 
Sincerely,
 
Edw. Woods
Edward Woods

Saturday, January 11, 2014

SA Jack R. Coler; January 12, 1947...Rest In Peace


Dear Supporters:

There is no way of knowing with absolute certainty how Jack’s life would have turned out.

We do, however, know that what he was in life is an indication of what that future would have been. Jack was a devoted husband, father and family man, a professional in uniform with the LAPD and a consummate, professional agent. There would have been many good things and wonderful times in his future, retirement, perhaps a post-retirement career and now enjoying grandchildren. But instead, at Sun Valley last summer we honored his Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity, and sacrifice in the line of duty. He can rest in peace knowing that there are many who will never forget.

Peltier’s dwindling network, as described previously, has crumbled again. http://wwwnoparolepeltiercom-justice.blogspot.com/. However, this latest event may be an omen that his days are indeed numbered. Not even the most intransigent supporters who have bought into the fabrications, myth and folklore, (a charitable way of reminding everyone of Peltier’s incessant torrent of lies and fabrications) remain for long, as he forces those away with his persistently corrupt and bullying demeanor. His website remains dormant as he tries to grasp onto every excuse imaginable to divert attention from the truth. Peltier’s cell is shrinking as his hallucinations of clemency, or any leniency for his unconscionable crimes, evaporate.

Peltier sought to transcend and redeem an otherwise meaningless life. One day he’s an alienated and insignificant AIM hanger-on, gofer and thug enforcer, the next, June 26, 1975 he joined the annals of infamy with all that witnesses the darker side of humanity. He thus became a cowardly attacker and broker of cold-blooded murder worthy of nothing more than disdain while his very existence defiles an otherwise proud Native heritage.

Peltier can pass each day contemplating his ignorance, arrogance and misdeeds, and ponder with what little time he has left, to consider whether his actions that June day should have been different and avoiding four decades behind bars and a completely wasted life.

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods 

Sunday, January 5, 2014

MEET JACK & RON...


Dear Supporters:

Since April 30, 2000, and throughout the process of exposing and demystifying the folklore surrounding Peltier for nearly four decades, the memory and sacrifice of Jack Coler and Ron Williams has largely related to them as they were that June day at Jumping Bull, FBI Special Agents who were doing their job and were attacked and brutally murdered in the line of duty.

We now have an opportunity to meet them beyond that day, as genuinely decent men who made their own meaningful contributions, were loved and respected by their peers, friends and deeply committed to their families.

The following video, prepared by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI allows us now to know them as real people, as honorable human beings that left a void well beyond those who knew and loved them.

A special thanks to those who created this memorable work.

Please see the video here:  https://vimeo.com/74140239 *

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods

*The video can also be accessed from the NPPA homepage at the “Meet Jack and Ron” button. If the Vimeo video hesitates or stops, try selecting the pause and start buttons.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

PELTIER UPDATE: BREAKING CAMP, MANDELA & PROOF OF LIES


Dear Supporters:

Breaking camp: Once again the LPDOC is facing internal strife and the latest leader to abandon ship, Dorothy Ninham, and Peltier himself provide some telling details.  In each statement it is important to focus on those key words and connect the dots to understand what’s really happening and why every two or three years there’s a turnover in the Peltier camp. For a brief review of how ugly it became at times, please see (Footnote #1).

Ninham states “From a business standpoint, it is good policy to replace managers every three years just to keep ideas fresh and so it is that David Hill will guide the new freedom campaign.”  This in effect removes the money-laundering scheme perpetuated by Wind Chases the Sun, Inc, in DePere, Wisconsin. We’ll have to see if David Hill, who has a trunk-full of his own AIM history and baggage tries to wrap it in some other way that the IRS will accept. Remembering, after all, Peltier is not a charity case. Never was, never will be.

So there it is; Peltier, Inc.

It’s a business packaged with folklore and falsehoods that the unsuspecting buy into (no pun intended) without shining some direct light on the facts. Has anyone ever seen where all those allegedly tax deductible donations have gone? No, they haven’t and never will. It remains Peltier’s dirty little secret and no amount of dares have forced him to come clean to his dwindling supporters (Fn #2).

Ninham and those before her have had enough of the Coleman inmates’ bullying  do-it-my-way-or-else fractured ego. Peltier was an AIM thug before he became an AIM assassin and nothing has changed. She gracefully sugarcoats it with, “This is Leonard’s wish and we respect his right to choose the people who will be surrounding him.”  Which is the polite way of saying she’s had enough of Peltier.

Peltier’s explanation revealed more with a predictable understatement  “…those of you who are familiar with the organization, there have been changes every two or three years…,” but as he segues back and forth with coAIMintelpro style
(Fn #3) diversions, trying to convince that “This isn’t all about me,” clarifies that it really is; “We don’t have enough money to always fund the most needed lawyers (…who serve pro bono by the way…) and legal workers or secretaries or web managers or whatever.” The word, “whatever,” should raise some eyebrows because that slip of the tongue, (which has happened before and is actual proof—unlike  many LPDOC cyberspace launched missives—really did come from Peltier himself), pulls back the curtain just a bit and hints that those “tax-deductible” dollars have some other hidden and probably illicit purpose.

But Peltier finally gets to the point of this latest dustup in Peltierland. “So I would like to sincerely encourage you to try and mend your differences…(followed by yet another diversion). Ninham implied nothing of the sort but now Peltier is admitting that there was trouble in paradise. Why else would he ask for some reconciliation amongst his loyal network leaders?

But then Peltier does come down to the a final admission, “…but the future of my involvement is very important to me and when you get to be 69 years old, one day could be a lifetime.” And, then more diversions to keep the eyes of those watching off the proverbial ball. It’s all about him, pure and simple. The pretense of care for his people is part of the scam, an element of the pretense that all he really needs is for you to write a check.

Nelson Mandela: Peltier rambled about the passing of Nelson Mandela, but in a few recent news clips of interviews a couple of key quotes are worth noting; Mandela said he “reflected on (his) mistakes,” and that he engaged in “authentic acts of humility.”  There is one difference with absolute certainty, Peltier is no Mandela and any effort to equate the two is folly.

Proof of lies: Anyone interested in the Peltier experience need not travel far to run headlong into a hedge grove of lies. One can start with the link on the NPPA’s home page that takes them to Peltier’s website, where, among other things are two flagrant examples of Peltier’s penchant to lie and the LPDOC’s inability to recognize that they are helping make the case for Peltier’s guilt even stronger.

Mr. X, anyone? This two decade long lie and one of Peltier’s early and many alibis has been proven to be false in 1995  by one who was at Jumping Bull that fateful day, Dino Butler. And, along with other additional proof, most recently by Peltier’s own attorney just this year. (Fn #4)

Yet here we have the film “Incident at Oglala” played, annoyingly without prompting, and the dated and slanted 1991 Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes interview. In both a masked and graveled voiced Mr. X claims credit for driving the red pickup and first engaging and then killing the agents. This isn’t new news to anyone, either for or against Peltier and common knowledge that Peltierites desperately try to bury.

In “Incident” Robideau goes into great detail about what he saw and Peltier himself follows with, “This story is true.”  Well, it wasn’t.

With Kroft, Peltier admits “Yes, I fired at them,” but in his autobiography, Prison Writings (1999) claims “I fired off a few shots above their heads, not trying to hit anything or anyone (p.125)” Ooops…must have forgotten what he told Kroft while he also failed to mention anything about Mr. X or the infamous red pickup in the book. Wonder why that happened?

The reason these two pieces are on the Peltier homepage is obvious, self-perpetuating propaganda because there is criticism of the FBI and Peltier’s conviction. They both, however, in an awkward sort of way, portray and augment the myth and folklore Peltier has succeeded in wrapping himself in as he tries to transform the murderer into a warrior and the Native into a perpetual victim. He plays both cards from the bottom of several marked decks.

Actually, they lay bare the blatant hypocrisy of Peltier’s fabrications (i.e., deliberate lies), but only those looking closely can see the trees and the forest.

There it is, in living color on Peltier’s home page, one of the key people in the entire legal process of his last nearly four decades behind bars, as Kroft asks Federal, Court of Appeals Judge, Heaney, the sixty-four dollar question.  (It is my personal opinion that this live interview was not scripted and based on the bias of the entire 60 Minutes program—taken wholly from the then Peltier playbook—that Kroft was taken aback by Judge Heaney’s response, like the lawyer questioning a witness who should never ask a question unless he already knows the answer.)

Kroft: “Do you believe he got a fair trial?”
Judge Heaney: “I believe he got a fair trial.”

Case closed.

“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods

Footnotes: