Prisoner of State

Would anyone believe that a “coup d’tat” has already taken place here in the United States? Yes, indeed, such an event did happen during the War Between the States as described by Dennis A. Mahony, Editor of the Dubuque Herald in Iowa, in his book called Prisoner of State which was originally published in 1863, and reprinted by the Crownrights Book Co whereby the Lincoln regime used arbitrary powers to falsely arrest innocent citizens for just voicing an opinion against Lincoln’s policies.

“Military necessity” was the pretext utilized by Lincoln and his gang to exercise certain powers and to arrest those citizens, who dared to disagree by verbal and/or written communication with Lincoln’s manifestation of hostilities and usurpation of the Constitution of the United States. Those, who continued to have an allegiance to the Constitutional government and expressed such, were falsely arrested without ever knowing the nature and cause of their arrest. When asked for proof regarding committing any crimes against the United States, none was given for the most part, and when they were eventually discharged months or even years later, it was still unknown to them what crime they had committed.

It was Mr. Mahony’s contention that the abolitionists, who were Republicans, sought to change the system of constitutional government in the United States. The Constitution was established as a compact between the States and the people whereby a newly formed government would be given enumerated powers, and the seat of government would be situated in the District of Columbia. Lincoln’s use of arbitrary powers was a blatant violation of the Constitution of the United States, and since his presidential position is derived by this constitution, then he must abide by those certain powers as given in Article 1, Section 8.

Since the Lincoln administration seized forbidden powers and exercised such powers, then what kind of government existed during the War Between the States? Those, who resisted the unlawful acquisition of powers by the Lincoln regime, were unduly arrested for such expressions.

In the Bill of Rights, Amendment I, it says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS; or the right of the people peaceably TO ASSEMBLE, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Mr. Mahony, Editor of the Dubuque Herald in Iowa, simply pointed out the Executive branch usurpation of the Constitution in his newspaper, and he was subsequently arrested on August 14, 1862 because it was construed by the administration that he was “disloyal” to the government. Whatever happened to “freedom of speech and freedom of the press”?

It was between 3 and 4 a.m. that Mrs. Mahony heard a rapping on the door, and a Mr. Gregory announced that he needed to speak to Mr. Mahony at his place of business. She told the gentlemen that her husband was asleep, but this did not satisfy Mr. Gregory. By this time, Mr. Mahony had awakened by the loud noises, and went to the window to see who was at the door. He made similar inquiries as his wife, and finally informed Mr. Gregory that he could not assist him at this hour, and as a matter of fact, he should conduct business with his clerk. When Mr. Gregory persisted in his demands, Mr. Mahony began to get suspicious, since he had received several death threats prior to this invasion. He simply told Mr. Gregory that he would not leave his home at this hour. With this response, Mr. Gregory sent a signal to his men by whistling, and, in turn, Mr. Mahony shouted “murder” in order to draw attention to his dilemma. The soldiers threatened to shoot him, if he did not quiet down, and as soon as he saw the Marshal and his deputy, he felt relieved of his problem because he knew both of these men.

When asked by what authority his home was invaded, the Marshal replied by the order of the Secretary of War. Mr. Mahony then asked the Marshal for a “pledge of honor” to take him to see Governor Kirkwood, since he was a personal friend, even though he was a political adversary. He further stated that he would surrender to the Marshal, if this desire was fulfilled, only to learn later that this arrangement would never happen. Over the course of a few days, he finally arrived at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.

As above-mentioned in the Bill of Rights, Amendment I, Congress cannot make a law suppressing freedom of speech and of the press, and most certainly the Executive branch of government cannot do so either. There is no such authority in the Constitution for the president of the United States and his subordinates to falsely arrest someone on the basis of an opinion.

The powers granted to Congress are listed in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States, and according to Mr. Mahony, he listed the “grasp of powers” by the Executive branch during the War Between the States, and mentioned such in his newspaper in order to inform the people. He stated that the president (1) suspended commerce between the North and the South and blockaded certain Ports of Entry where commerce was involved (no ports of any States shall have preference over another), (2) abolished certain post offices and roads, (3) punished crimes of piracy and felonies, (4) declared war against the South, (5) raised an army and for longer periods of time beyond the two year limit, (6) ordered ships to be built for war purposes, (7) suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus of which Chief Justice Taney informed him that only Congress has this power during times of rebellion or war but Lincoln simply ignored him, (8) has drawn money from the Treasury of the United States of which appropriations were not made by law (only Congress, the legislative branch, makes law for the United States), (9) created a huge debt to support this unlawful war, etc., and whereby only Congress has such powers as above-mentioned.

Furthermore, Mr. Mahony also states that the Lincoln administration usurped the fourth amendment which basically says that the people shall not be deprived of their security of “persons, papers, and effects against any unreasonable searches and seizures," and this was blatantly violated by the numerous false arrests of innocent citizens including their private papers and more which were confiscated by the Marshals and his deputies. Mr. Mahony was a victim of such vehement usurpation of powers by Lincoln and his subordinates, and he was considered the “enemy” of the administration.

This administration also violated the fifth amendment whereby a person cannot be made to answer an infamous crime unless presented by an indictment by the grand jury, and for the most part, the arrests that took place in the respective States were accomplished by surprise visits by the Marshal and his deputies in the middle of the night or the very early morning hours, and no presentments were given. This is a clear indication of despotism by government officials. The prisoners were simply deprived of their liberties, due process of law, and all of this was executed without any authority whatsoever in the Constitution of the United States.

The sixth amendment speaks of the right of each individual to a speedy and public trial to be confronted by witnesses against him and to also obtain witnesses in his favor, have a trial by an impartial jury in the State in which the crime was committed, to be informed of the nature and cause of the crime, and to have assistance of counsel. In most of the cases involved in false arrests and in Mr. Mahony’s case, he was deprived of all of the above. He was kidnapped from his home and his State of Iowa, and transported miles upon miles away to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. without ever knowing what crime he had supposedly committed.

Some prisoners were brought in front of a military tribunal which was conducted by Judge Advocate J.C. Turner, and which is unlawful regarding a private citizen. These tribunals are specifically designed to find the prisoners guilty as charged, and the winner in these military tribunals is the national government with no exceptions.

If prisoners were released over time for the most part, it was because they were asked to sign a document which implied “disloyalty” towards the new regime, sought allegiance to the present government, and they would be forbidden to bring any charges against those who unlawfully arrested and confined them. Those confined, who refused to sign such documents, were returned to prison.

After attempting on several occasions to obtain his release by writing numerous letters to the administration and having several prominent people advocate for his freedom, he was finally discharged on November 11, 1862 only after agreeing to sign a document stating that he would form an allegiance to the United States, and would not bring any charges against those who had arrested and confined him. He and several others signed the documents which included Judge Mulkey of Cairo, Illinois, Judge Andrew D. Duff of Benton, Illinois, & David Sheward of Fairfield, Iowa.

All in all, under martial law in the United States during the War Between the States, no one was immune to arrest as people from all walks of life were falsely arrested and confined for only stating an opinion and objecting to Lincoln’s regime in his usurpation of powers. Even Dr. Ellis from New York, who was the Medical Director in the Federal Army, was arrested because of certain jealousies from particular army officials. Dr. Ellis was appalled at the lack of treatment of the wounded soldiers so he made arrangements to have their needs accommodated, and this, of course, got him into a heap of trouble. As you can see, no one was safe. If you took the risk of objecting to the overthrow of the Constitution of the United States, then there were dire consequences for such actions.

July 2, 2004