Interview With Prepper: “We Were Held Without Charges” For Survivalist Facebook Posts

It is no longer a conspiracy theory, but a fact that people are being specifically targeted for their participation in what some call “prepping” and others dub survivalism. A couple from California had their home raided and were held without charges for making non-violent posts on Facebook about survival techniques and thought-provoking discussions.

We were able to sit down and chat with Sarah Leach about why the government felt it necessary to raid the home she shared with her husband over what amounted to thought-provoking Facebook posts. Although Leach admitted she wasn’t certain which particular Facebook post lead to the SWAT teams seizing all of their handguns and AR-15s,  she was sure nothing she had posted was violent. Leach said her posts were meant to provoke thought, and hold those accountable who have committed crimes or human rights violations.

They are trying to create “threats” our of posts that are meant to elicit thought and discussion. If I ever posted something that has been perceived as a credible threat of violence, it has been perceived as such erroneously.  I have zero history of violent behavior. I have not threatened anyone, rather I have stated that police must be held accountable, as well as federal agents, for the multitude of crimes committed against citizenry, from massive tragedies like the Waco massacre or small incidents like traffic citations made via racial profiling.  We [Leach and her husband Andy Leach] have called for these individuals to be held accountable, not just by civilians, but by their own government.

Leach was also able to get her story out to The Free Thought Project. The Leaches are the owners of a tactical supply company. Leach and her husband were violently arrested and then detained for hours with no explanation while their home was raided by a SWAT Team and their assets were seized. But it gets worse.

The couple was detained for over 13 hours without charges before they were told the reason for their arrest. The subject that surfaced immediately were some high-capacity pistol magazines the state patrol had seized then returned the year before, but that didn’t seem to be the crux of the incident.

The Free Thought Project detailed the events which led up to the detainment of the Leaches. Leach said the ordeal began when she and her husband were running errands one morning. After they parked at a strip mall and got out of their car, a patrol car from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department pulled up and blocked their path. Two deputies got out and informed the couple that one of the taillights on their car was out.

“We attempted to thank them and proceed, but were blocked from movement,” Sarah Leach said. “It was at that point I noticed a few others sheriff’s vehicles had arrived, including undercover vehicles. I realized this was not a traffic stop when I saw police agents in blue jeans with AR-15s surrounding the area. I began to record on my phone and inquire as to whether I was being charged, detained, or was free to go. They violently cuffed me, threw my phone on the hood of the car, and shoved me in the back of an un-air-conditioned police vehicle for about one hour until their supervisor arrived to begin questioning me about aforementioned magazines.”

Once Leach and her husband actually began to undergo interrogation, she said it was highly disturbing the amount of information already obtained from her social media account. Leach told us specifically:

More disturbing were the stacks of printed pages from my social media accounts, particularly those things which criticize police and government overreach, police violence, my personal ideologies regarding self-governance and the inalienable rights we are afforded as human beings, and even memes and jokes they found, as parts of evidence to request a search warrant, including posts of a very subjective and ironic nature.

What I know is that during the day which we were in police custody, without charges, mind you, we were interrogated about a series of Facebook posts originating from my personal Facebook wall, as well as comments I had made on a friend’s posts.  They also collected all the photographs I had posted of firearms, both images of my personal guns as well as images of firearms which do not even belong to me; simply pictures of interesting guns I’d shared or saved.  They were all together in a stack of police evidence. I was questioned more about Facebook posts and their meanings than I was about any actual firearms.

Leach also says her knowledge about prepping and survival also likely led to the government violating her basic fundamental human rights.

They [investigators/government agents] had infiltrated a survivalist group I was in where we had discussed various hypothetical scenarios, including responding to a federal raid. They used this as evidence against me. 

I do believe that our activity in the survivalist community lends to their suspicions and cause, which is outrageous.  The investigator informed me multiple times that he felt we were “very knowledgeable” and “more sophisticated” than he was regarding firearms. They questioned me about survival gear, posts in prepper groups about federal raids, specifically a discussion about land barrier construction and trench digging. This seemed to alarm them.

When we asked Leach if the government agents had a warrant when they raided their home, she detailed a rather horrifying human rights violation committed by those same government agents.

They did [have a warrant] but we were not shown it. In fact, we were in custody for about an hour until anyone would even give us a statement at all. I asked dozens of times what my charges were and was not answered until early morning the next day, at which time we were transferred to the county jail.

We then asked Leach what charges were levied against her and her husband and her response should terrify anyone:

They charged us after 13 hours with possession of assault weapon, and high capacity magazine (in fact, the same magazines California Highway Patrol gave back to us in 2017.) They seized our personal AR-15s (which were all built by Leach and her husband and all parts used to modify the rifles were purchased legally) and handguns and are trying to place additional charges on  my husband for sales and manufacturing of these weapons, despite the fact that we have countless times made it clear that we sell the items [in order] to complete and modify a firearm; and do not sell completed firearms.

One of the agents involved in the raid was from the National Terrorism Task Force and left a business card after they raided the Leach’s home, but hasn’t made a statement or tried to contact the couple further at the time we had spoken with Mrs. Leach. Secret Service was also involved, which threw up a huge red flag, not just to Leach, but to us as well.

We have been very vocal in criticizing the Trump administration and have not wavered in the belief that politician must be held accountable for their war crimes that even [a] “president” is not a title powerful enough to give a man the right to kill or give the order to kill. That is the only reason I can imagine secret service was involved. It’s truly asinine.

Leach said she would also like to urge us all, now more than ever, to guard ourselves; and she’d like to share a message to fellow survivalists and voluntaryists:

I would urge my friends to guard yourselves more than ever against government spying and interference. It is no longer a conspiracy theory to propose that one can be caged for mere statements made on social media. I would also like to reach out the Survival and Voluntaryism communities and implore them to work even harder now for a life free of the shackles of the intrusive state, true personal liberty, and the rights afforded to us as human beings; and that they may continue to carry the fire for all of us whose pursuits are that of sovereignty and self-governance, based on peaceful principles.

Leach and her husband still have an uphill battle against the government which has a monopoly on violence. They will be fighting to have their morally acquired property returned to them, including their guns and a computer the Leaches used for business.

Should you choose to, please go here to donate to the GoFundMe account set up to help the couple fight against the intrusive government.