FC: Internet's most reviled Holocaust revisionist arrested in U.S.

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Here's Ernst Zundel a few years ago:
http://www.mccullagh.org/image/5/ernst-zundel-1.html
http://www.mccullagh.org/image/5/ernst-zundel-2.html

Nizkor's archive on Ernst Zundel:
http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/z/zundel-ernst/

Politech archive on Ernst Zundel:
http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=zundel

-Declan

---

"B'Nai Brith Canada Asks Minister to Bar Zundel Return"
http://www.newswire.ca/releases/February2003/10/c8751.html

"Zundel arrested in U.S. on immigration charge"
http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=%7B95206598-3DA1-4D12-A967-044345A7F0B9%7D

---

http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/120913

Reknowned Neo-Nazi activist held in Blount County jail

   2003-02-08
   by Anna C. Irwin
   of The Daily Times Staff

   A German national known for his claim there was no mass extermination
   of Jews before and during World War II is being held at the Blount
   County Jail. [...]

   Zundel is being held for the Immigration and Naturalization Service
   pending action regarding an alleged immigration violation. He was
   taken in custody Wednesday at his home in Wear's Valley.

   [...]

---

http://www.zundelsite.org/zundel_persecuted/zundel_arrested.html

   Ernst Zundel Arrested!

   Today, I have sad news to report. Ernst Zundel was arrested yesterday,
   allegedly on an immigration violations matter. In a nutshell, he was
   told that he had missed showing up at a scheduled immigration hearing
   in May of 2001. Things are still very sketchy, but I will tell you
   what I know and, in essence, documented for Ernst's immigration
   attorney:
   [START]
   February 5, 2003
   This is what I remember about Ernst's arrest by the officers of INS:
   It is now 1:10 pm.
   Shortly after 11 a. m. the door bell rang. I was in my office. I
   remember the time because I am on a diet and I knew I could have a
   snack at 11 a.m. Ernst and John, a local man who helps out with odd
   jobs, were working on Ernst's painting, framing some of them.
   Two minutes or so later, Ernst came into my office and said, as I
   remember it. "Guess what. The INS guys are here because I am supposed
   to have missed a hearing."
   I went outside with him, and there were a total of 5 men, one of them
   in uniform. (John later told me that the man in uniform was the local
   deputy sheriff.) Ernst stood by the hood of John's car with one of the
   officers handing him a pad with a one-page text that he was
   trying to get Ernst to sign.
   Ernst asked if he could call his lawyer. He was told that he could
   not.
   I asked if I could call a lawyer, and I was told that I could not.
   The demeanor of the men, I felt, was threatening. Ernst said he wanted
   to read the document he was to sign, and was told the men did not have
   all day. Nonetheless, he read it very carefully, then told them that
   he never received a request for a hearing. I reiterated
   that as well. I also said that we had received a notification that
   said a hearing might take "up to 36 months". (Ernst had applied for
   permanent residency status in the US in the summer of 2000) The
   officer just shrugged. Ernst was again urged to sign the paper, and
   I suggested that he put a note at the bottom stating that he had never
   received a hearing date. Ernst then said, as I remember it: "What
   happens if I don't sign it?" and he was told by the man who stood to
   his left: "Then we'll have to arrest you." "And if I sign it?" At
   that, the man said: "Either way. We are here to arrest you."
   Thereupon Ernst signed the paper, I believe. Maybe he just wrote his
   objection. I never saw what was written there, nor was I given a copy.
   Ernst then asked me to get him a jacket and his passport. I went
   upstairs and one of the agents followed me. He was very snoopy and
   looked around in several rooms but did not touch anything. He only
   said: "You have a nice house. You have a lot of books. Your husband
   likes to read?" I said: "We both like to read."
   I found the jacket and passport, and when I came down, Ernst had
   emptied his pockets of his bills and money. It lay on the hood of
   John's car. He said to me: "Remember what I told you? That's what they
   were going to do. Use a bureaucratic excuse to get me." (That
   was the meaning of his words. I don't remember them exactly.)
   I had the presence of mind to ask the names of the officers. They are:
   John Barnes, Gary Slaybough (apparently the boss), Scott Pitman, Sat
   D. (?) Lee, and County Sheriff Steve Watson.
   Ernst then said to the officers: "I am on medication. Can I take my
   medication along?" He was told that he could. He asked me to get it,
   and I went upstairs to get it. Again, one of the agents followed me. I
   was shaking by that time, but I got his medication in a plastic
   grocery bag and took it down. I saw that he was being put in
   handcuffs. I said, thinking of his sore wrist: "Is that necessary?
   There's five of you. He isn't going to run away." One of the officers
   said: "We do that to all of them, not to show favoritism." Then Ernst
   was led away.
   I did not see in which car he was put, or if he waved goodbye. It all
   happened very fast.
   Our helper, John, was there the whole time because he had worked with
   Ernst on his painting frames in the garage, and he witnessed
   everything. I went upstairs, found our immigration lawyer's number,
   and called him. I told John to stay with me and listen so I would have
   a witness.
   The immigration lawyer said he knew nothing of a hearing; he had not
   been informed either. He also said that people didn't get arrested for
   missing a hearing. He said he would call around and find out what was
   going on. I told him that one of the officers had told me that Ernst
   was being taken to Knoxville, and that I would be called and informed
   what would happen to him. (So far, I have not yet been called by any
   of the agents.) The lawyer repeated that he would call around to find
   out what was going on and he would call me back.
   I then called another attorney who is a family friend who had been
   with us when we first met the immigration lawyer. This attorney
   thought that the arrest probably had to do with "war fever" - that
   immigration was rounding up people and Ernst's enemies took advantage
   of the situation and put on pressure in the right places. He also
   thought there might come the question of bail, and that bail for a
   federal arrest was very high. I said that we would not be able to pay
   it.
   Our friend then offered to have his in-laws come and stay with me for
   a few days. I told them I had trusted friends in the area and would be
   all right.
   I then talked briefly with John and asked for his recollection. John
   told me that he was asked for ID and some nosy questions, and he also
   said he perceived the agents as threatening.
   I told him that chances were he would be interrogated, and to make
   sure to tell the truth. I told him that I was sure he knew that  Ernst
   had a high profile, but that he also knew we were decent people who
   had nothing to hide. I told him it was very important to tell the
   truth is he knew it.
   Our lawyer friend then called me back and said that he had had a very
   good conversation with the immigration lawyer who thought that a judge
   had not ordered the arrest, that the arrest came from the Immigration
   Commissioner - that is, from the top.

   John is upstairs writing down what he saw and experienced.
   Ingrid Zündel
   [END]
   I only want to add that I have since talked to Ernst twice, last night
   and this morning. He is being held in a neighboring county jail and
   expects to be sent "elsewhere". He also said to look in the drawer of
   his night stand for my Valentine's present.
   How do I feel? I feel like I felt as a child when my father was taken
   away by Soviet goons, under a similar flimsy pretense and without any
   prior notification. My readers know that I never saw my father again.
   I expect to see Ernst again - make no mistake about that!
   That is all I know and want to say at this time.
   I would like to keep my phone line open in case I need to communicate
   with either Ernst, his attorneys or government officials. Please do
   not call. E-mail me or use our fax. Our number is 865-774-7758.





-------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/
Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?qÞclan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------