Guest post by Joseph Berger
The Lead-up
On February 2nd of 2020, I protested a “Drag Queen Story Hour” at the Exeter Community Public Library. Along with the Catholic group and a couple of friends who showed up to voice our displeasure with what was seen as an affront to our values.
In case you were wondering where the drag supporters stood, the drag queen’s “stage name” was “Annie Christ.” This was not just leftist performance art but a deliberate affront to the Christian majority who lived there.
Along with the protestors there was a ring of “counter protestors” consisting of antifa in “black bloc” some with their faces covered some not. The small town must have had most of their police officers present in one form or another.
They did their best to keep both sides separated but seemed extra concerned that us right-wingers were going to try and block the driveway into the venue as they would pounce if we so much as set one toe on the pavement.
There was one counter protester who seemed really interested in us. Watching us with his arms folded just a couple of feet away from us. He quizzed us on our political beliefs and beliefs about native Americans.
At one point he asked if we were “Proud Boys.” We mocked him and the event ended but it was not the last that I would see of him.
The Threats
Soon afterward, I received a private message on my Telegram app. The message was a picture taken of me at a rock concert months prior and a cryptic message that “your life is about get a lot more interesting.”
I blocked the account and went about my life until I received another message from a different account linked me to a Twitter thread created by a known antifa member named Christian Exoo, who posts under the screen name “Antifash Gordon.”
The thread included my name and hometown as well as directions on how to find more detailed personal information.
Soon after, I received a letter from Discover warning me that someone had stolen my identity and attempted to open a credit card in my name.
After freezing my credit accounts, I called the non-emergency number for my local police department and made my report to Officer Jared Knauss of the Bethlehem Township Police Department. Little did I know that Officer Knauss may have had an ulterior motive…
The Harassment
On January 26th, 2021, just days after Joe Biden’s inauguration, while I was at work, two police officers rang my family’s doorbell and told my mother that they had received a 911 call and wanted to enter the home.
While my mom tried to explain that there was no 911 call from the house a stream of federal agents pushed their way past her while shouting “FEDERAL SEARCH WARRANT!”
Once the dust cleared, I found out the raid was the result of a search warrant for a solvent trap that had been ordered to the house months ago.
The warrant was approved by a judge that was appointed by Joe Biden in the FIRST WEEK of his presidency! To reiterate, these federal agents executed a warrant to raid a right-wing activist’s home for what amounted to a minor paperwork crime, and they waited until a sympathetic President appointed a sympathetic judge.
To drive home the political nature of this raid, the pretrial discovery that was provided to me included pictures the federal agents took of Trump memorabilia and Christian lecture CDs.
Federal agents also visited other relatives and would ask them what my views on LGBTQ issues were. How this was relevant to a firearm investigation was never explained to me.
After the raid, my family endured a year of harassment in the form of phone calls where someone would leave a message asking, “Is Joseph there?”
Over and over as well as people just breathing hard into the phone. We also captured security footage of individuals wearing all black skulking around the property and photographing the license plates of our vehicles.
On February 7th, 2022, as I parked my car in the workplace’s parking lot and walked toward the entrance a PA State Police SWAT team disembarked from an unmarked Sprinter van, and within seconds, I was staring down the barrel of about half-a-dozen M4s wielded by state troopers in full battle rattle.
After being put on the ground and having my hands zip-tied, two DHS agents emerged and took all my belongings. This was far from the end of my ordeal.
The Defamation
Back in 2019, I accepted a job as a corrections officer at Lehigh County Jail after becoming the first member of my immediate family to graduate college. I saw it as a chance to dip my feet into the criminal justice world and as a steppingstone towards a career as a police officer.
I was still in my probationary period when a lieutenant angrily called my block, demanding that I come to the lieutenant’s office and retrieve the mail for the block. When I got down to the office, I was then angerly asked why I had abandoned my post.
This was the reason listed for my eventual termination. Other oddities that happened to me during my brief employment there included:
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- During training, the lieutenant instructing us on gang activity, lieutenant Donati described the Latin Kings street gang as a “Puerto Rican civil rights organization” and the Furguson, Mo. Riots as a “popular uprising.”
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- Being told by a senior C.O. named Carrion that carrying a rep counter to aid in keeping count of inmates was “carrying contraband” despite seeing other officers doing it both as an officer and as an inmate.
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- Being given, (on purpose in my opinion), incorrect counts by a senior C.O. and being blamed for them.
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- Accused of being a coward for calling a “code red” when a fight broke out on my block and waiting for backup to intervene. A now retired lieutenant who interviewed me even incredulously asked, “weren’t you in the military?” A personal insult that took every ounce of my self-control to prevent me from lashing out.
After the raid on my house, my attorney and I went to a proffered meeting with the prosecutor and agents involved in my case. That same lieutenant was sitting in the room wearing a federal agent’s uniform and a big shit-eating grin.
I would let you be the judge if my termination had any political motivations or not. As if that was not humiliating enough, I was then taken to that same jail after my arrest.
I was then put inside a suicide cell for three days and subject to taunts and gawking by my former bosses who referred to Biden as “your president.” After three days I was brought into an office and forced to put on a COVID mask.
I was put in front of a tablet and had a bail hearing. Even though I was in the office by myself, and the hearing was conducted over the internet, I was handcuffed and forced to wear a COVID mask.
I also later found out that the prosecutor, Anthony Carissimi, had asked for a three-day continuance to prepare for my bail hearing, which is why it took three days to get me in front of a magistrate for a bail hearing.
This was done so that I would get fired by my employer and would stack the deck in Mr. Carissimi’s favor at my bail hearing as my lack of a criminal record, lack of violence, drug use or any victim in my case made it a tough sell to deny me bail.
Despite my lack of a criminal record. A record of steady, legitimate employment, my honorable four years of active-duty military service which saw me earn a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and a Good Conduct Medal.
Despite a record of community service stretching back to my childhood and ties to my community. Despite all of this, I was denied bail by judge Pamela Carlos, a Magistrate judge that was just appointed months before and an avowed leftist.
I would also like to point out that inmates are normally allowed to move between areas in the jail if they are in proper uniform and have a valid pass from a C.O.
Anytime I had to move between areas in the jail, I had to be in handcuffs and escorted by two officers and a “white shirt”, (a sergeant or lieutenant). Soon afterwards I was taken to FDC Philadelphia by the U.S. Marshal’s service.
I found out the reason they did this instead of keeping me at Lehigh County Jail was that they were afraid their mistreatment of me when I worked there would cause me to seek revenge against them should I be allowed to stay there.
These same officers who accused me of cowardice for wanting backup for a fight that broke out on my block could not even escort a single handcuffed inmate without a second officer and a supervisor to help them. I was then taken by the U.S. Marshals to FDC Philadelphia.
The Attempted Framing
After my arrest at my workplace, my family retrieved my truck from the parking lot and brought it home. Soon after, federal agents reappeared at my house and demanded access to my car.
They had claimed that a bomb-sniffing dog had alerted on my car and that if my family did not grant them access to my vehicle that they would break the window open and enter it anyway.
My mother had the presence of mind to contact my attorney, Eric Winter, Esq., and ask for advice. He advised my mother to demand a warrant and to film the entire search.
After admitting that they did not have a warrant, they returned about two hours later and produced one. My mother then gave them access to the truck and began filming the search. The agents made multiple attempts to get my mother to stop filming or move to an area where it would be impossible to do so; telling her that she could be at risk of being injured by a potential explosion.
With great courage, she refused to be cowed and kept filming. After multiple searches of my truck that took over 40 minutes, the agents were forced to give up and admit that there were no explosives present.
Along with the bomb squad officers and federal agents, a white helicopter made several close passes, and the entire volunteer fire department and ambulance service were placed on standby at a local drive-in diner.
Soon after they finished, the agents whispered to each other that they did not “find” anything because my mom was filming.
They then met with an unidentified female agent who engaged in hysterical and unintelligible screaming upon learning of the unfruitful outcome of the search.
FDC Philadelphia Persecution
Upon admission to FDC Philadelphia, my history as a C.O. as well as the fact that I had not taken the COVID 19 vaccine was used to put me in the SHU, (Special Housing Unit, basically ‘the hole’).
Many of the officers who worked here had rainbow flag and Black Lives Matter pins attached to their uniform and many had an unprofessional appearance. I was kept in solitary confinement for over a month and was then put in with a cellmate who was also a Trump supporter named Anthony Nero.
He informed me that he was arrested for firing his handgun through the window of a Democratic party headquarters when it was closed, and nobody was present. He acknowledged what he did was incredibly stupid and influenced by alcohol and that he needed to pay a price for what he did but the treatment he had received at the hands of the guards was nonetheless disgusting and unwarranted.
He explained to me that he was originally facing state charges and was granted bail. However, as he and his family were exiting the courtroom, he was approached and handcuffed by federal agents who informed him that his case was being taken over by the feds.
He then explained that when he was first brought to FDC Philadelphia he was put inside a ‘suicide cell.’ As people who have been jailed the first time are considered a suicide risk and it was my first time being incarcerated, I know firsthand just how uncomfortable the ‘suicide cell’ is.
Your ‘bed’ is just a solid concrete block with a very thin matting on top and no pillow.
You have no bed sheets or blanket and many find it more comfortable to sleep on the floor. It is an uncomfortable and humiliating experience. After two weeks and a psychological evaluation, you are supposed to be taken to a regular cell with real bedding, sheets, and a blanket.
Mr. Nero was kept in the suicide cell for that time and requested to get transferred to a regular cell. The guards on duty told him to hold on a minute and went to retrieve a Black, immigrant C.O. and had him stand in front of Mr. Nero’s cell.
They then told Mr. Nero that they would only let him leave the suicide cell if he said the words “Black lives matter” to this Black C.O. Because of his desperation to escape the suicide cell he acquiesced and said the phrase.
When I asked him why he was in the SHU, he told me the story. On a regular block in FDC Philadelphia, each cell has its own toilet. Whenever someone wants to use the bathroom, they typically drape a towel or some other covering over the cell window to get some privacy.
The C.O.’s typically understand this and will politely ask if someone is ok without opening the door when doing their rounds. One day the guard, a sassy Black woman who was known for not liking White Trump supporters, yanked open his door and shined a flashlight in Mr. Nero’s face while he was using the bathroom.
When he asked if he could get some privacy she snapped back “no” and then pulled the cover from his window, crumpled it up and threw it on the floor.
When it came time for medication distribution this C.O. then stood at the head of the line and taunted Mr. Nero when he got to the head of the line. Mr. Nero then lost his temper and screamed obscenities and threats.
Soon after he was sent to the SHU for this incident, the guards opened his cell door to allow a cellmate to move in with him. This inmate instead walked into the shower and stood still facing the wall.
The guard then sprayed Mr. Nero in the face with copious amounts of O.C. spray and shouted, “STOP FIGHTING”! The guard then commanded him to “cuff up;” meaning that he should place his hands behind his back and put them through the “pass through slot” so that the guards could place handcuffs on him.
Despite complying with these commands, the guards continued to spray him until he was completely doused with O.C. spray. After putting him on the ground and handcuffing him, one of the guards whispered into his ear, “that’s what you get for threatening my coworker.”
After spending another month in the SHU, I went down to a conventional block so that I could stay in touch with my family more consistently. For much of the time, I was treated with dignity and respect, but two incidents stuck with me.
At one time there was a sign-up sheet for a presentation by the group “Disabled Veterans of America” to explain what benefits were available for incarcerated veterans. I signed up and attended only to find out that the person giving this presentation was the lead agent on my case!
During this presentation, he tried to get everyone to sign a form allowing them access to our service records. The second event was where a Black inmate in a leg cast, and crutches invited me into his cell and demanded to know my political and racial beliefs.
After a brief conversation where I noticed that he kept a log book of events that happened on the block, a common practice of prison snitches to demonstrate credibility he then went around to all the other Black inmates and lied, claiming I said that “the only thing Blacks are good for is doing my work” and trying to get these inmates to physically attack me.
Thanks to the ‘jailhouse lawyer’ work I had previously done for many of these inmates and the good rapport I had developed with them kept them from taking the bait. I would later learn that the suspected snitch was in a leg cast because inmates at another prison had beat him up for snitching.
Bail Hearing
Three Months after being taken to FDC Philadelphia, I had gotten another bail hearing in front of my district judge. Judge Edward Smith was not only a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves but the Commanding Officer of their Judge Advocates General school.
Though he was an Obama appointee, I believed that he would see through the lies and political nature of my detention, I thought wrong. After the standard back and forth between the prosecutor and my attorney as well as some testimony from my mother about her need for me to be home as the only able-bodied person in my immediate family.
I raised my hand and tried to explain some of the issues I saw with my arrest and prosecution. I also informed him of my intention to write to the office of the inspector general about these issues.
Judge Smith them made a spectacle of it; waving his hands and arrogantly bobbing his head back and forth as he dismissed my concerns and claimed that because I did not think the charges against me were legitimate that he could not trust me to abide by my bail conditions.
He would also incredibly agree with the prosecution that my military experience made me a threat to the community I swore to defend! The transcript really does not do it justice, the only thing I could compare his behavior to is former FBI agent Peter Strzok’s testimony before congress.
I could not help but think to myself “oh my God, this man was selected by a President of the United States and confirmed by a Senate.” Judge Smith would die a brief time later from undiagnosed cancer and another Obama appointee, Judge Joseph Leeson would take over my case; but that interaction would leave a bad taste in my mouth for the remainder of the proceedings.
January 6th Persecution
During my incarceration at both FDC Philadelphia and FCI Loretto I have had the privilege of meeting many January 6th defendants that have had similar experiences to me.
One of these was Chris Quaglin who is currently serving 12 years for his involvement. Admittedly he had some harsh words for his Trump appointed judge at his sentencing elocution, calling him “Trump’s biggest mistake.”
He remembered that his judge had had an envelope handed to him at his sentencing and even expressed shock at how harsh the sentence was; suggesting that it was federal agents and not the judge deciding what sentence he received. He was also denied a medically necessary diet for months and was forced to eat meals that aggravated his celiac disease.
Another J6’er that I encountered was Mitchell Todd Gardner II, who told me a story of how the guards had accused him of drinking alcohol in prison. They had given him a breathalyzer test and he had passed.
The guard then went to retrieve a “more recently calibrated” device and readministered the test which he, of course, failed. While he eventually got the write up overturned, it was still illustrative of how political prisoners are singled out for more targeted enforcement than actual criminals.
Another story I had heard was that of Rodney Milstreed a man whom I was cellmates with who relayed to me that while he was incarcerated at the D.C. jail was not properly given post-cycle therapy for the testosterone treatments that he was receiving in the outside world.
As a result, he had gained a lot of weight and was developing breast tissue. He had also told me that he was not the only inmate experiencing these problems and that other January 6th defendants had experienced similar problems.
Many J6’ers who were military veterans also reported that prosecutors were using honorable military service to portray them as dangerous time bombs ready to explode at any moment.
Finally, I had been having political literature sent to me and I had emailed my friends and family that I intended to share such literature with January 6th defendants.
Soon after, I was called into the office of the prison’s Special Investigative Service, (SIS). I was asked about these emails and was told that sharing political books could be considered “gang activity.”
As a former C.O., I knew that literature can only be denied if it either facilitates escape or creates a security threat to the institution. After I informed them of this, they then implied that other people might have a problem with my beliefs and that bad things could happen to me as a result.
I asked them to clarify if they meant other BOP employees or inmates and they replied “both.” I interpreted this as a threat to my personal safety, especially after the incident with the suspected informant at FDC Philadelphia. Thankfully, this happened just a month before I was released on good behavior.
Conclusion
I don’t think I have to tell any Trump supporter that the DOJ and DHS have been completely weaponized against any right-wing, Christian activist who is too publicly opposed to the anti-White, anti-Christ policies of the Biden/Harris regime and their Antifa proxies.
I hope my story serves as a warning and a wakeup call to all Trump supporters out there. I especially wish to appeal to all the currently serving members of the U.S. military and veterans.
I have had my military service insulted and then used against me in court. My right to keep and bear arms, right of free speech and freedom of religion were violated. Every federal building and prison I went to have a rainbow flag hoisted up the flagpole.
The current regime is in the process of trying to convince us that our enemies are Russian, Chinese, and Iranian. Ask yourselves, was it Russians, Chinese or Iranians who did the things I have described in this article?
Did a Russian ever tell you to “check your White privilege”? Did a Chinese person try to convince your child that they were a “girl trapped in a boy’s body” and get them to take female hormones and mutilate their genitals?
Were Iranians the ones who started banning Christian prayer in schools and getting DHS to designate you as terrorists? No, they did not. With tensions between the U.S. and those countries increase they will need military men like us since the vast majority of the next generation are utterly unsuited for military service. I say we tell the American regime no.
Not just say no but yell no! A thousand times no! We will not risk life and limb to help this corrupt and degenerate regime hoist a rainbow flag over Moscow. We will not engage in the grueling struggle of warfare to bring the “joys” of child drag shows to Shanghai.
We will not leave our families and miss their milestones to bring gay “marriage” to Tehran. Let the ugly and broken squeeze their fat butts into uniforms and get PTSD and fight for their disgusting “values.”
From now on, we will only fight for our own interests. For a grateful nation that doesn’t just see us as resources to be used up and thrown away. It’s what my World War two grandfathers would have done, and it is what I will do. Our society’s future depends on it.
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