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A ugust 18, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com
ocal attorney Michael Arnold was the guest speaker at the monthly 9-12 Project
Lane County meeting discussing constitutional law Aug. 9.
Arnold is known for his high-profile cases such as defending mixed martial artist
Gerald Strebendt in his murder trial and briefly becoming Ammon Bundy’s attorney
after traveling to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during its occupation earlier
this year.
9-12 is a conservative chapter of a national group founded by Glenn Beck in 2009. The
9-12 Project is a Tea Party group that focuses on “building and uniting our communities
back to the place we were on 9/12/2001, united as Americans, standing together to protect
the greatest nation ever created.” The local chapters still meets regularly on the second
Tuesday of the month at Izzy’s Pizza & Buffet in Eugene.
The meeting of about 20 people began with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance while
a projector played a slideshow alternating between anti-liberal cartoons and quotes from
historical figures such as Karl Marx and Andrew Jackson mostly speaking about national
security.
After the prayer and pledge, members were encouraged to stand up and share their
thoughts about the past month. Most of the two dozen people in the room who spoke talked
about the Democratic National Convention, questioning why “illegal aliens are allowed to
speak at a national convention” and “inviting the mothers of criminals to speak.”
Once everyone had spoken, Arnold talked for nearly two hours about constitutional
law. He focused on the Bundy’s occupation of the refuge near Burns. Arnold’s talk mainly
educated 9-12 members about constitutional law and answered questions about the
government’s rights and motives.
According to an email sent out notifying 9-12 members of the talk, “Michael is a
supporter of the U.S. Constitutional in it’s [sic] original intent.”
The Malheur protest’s long-term goal was to transfer federal lands to private ownership
or local government control. The U.S. government owns 47 percent of all land in the West
and a majority of the land in Oregon, according to The New York Times.
Arnold spoke about the enclave clause of the Constitution that states, “All Places
purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the
Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings.”
The Bundys argued that the federal government’s ownership of the Malheur refuge
is a violation of the Constitution. The 26 defendants in the case are set to face trial in
September. One of the ringleaders, Jon Ritzheimer, pled guilty to conspiring with Ammon
Bundy and others to prevent Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
As Arnold spoke, 9-12 members asked questions on topics ranging from 2nd
Amendment rights to border security. When one member asked why logging rights are
being prohibited, Arnold outlined the difference between the laws in National Forests and
those on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management.
Arnold discussed the constitutional rights of each situation posed by the members and
laid out the reasons why the federal government does or doesn’t have authority in certain
situations.
He usually came to the conclusion that the federal government is overstepping its
bounds.
“You don’t have to bow down to our government slavemasters,” Arnold said.