T
The420Guy
Guest
CASSOPOLIS -- A downpour didn't deter friends of Rainbow Farm from
gathering outside the old Cass County courthouse at 5:30 p. m.
Monday on the second anniversary of the Labor Day weekend 2001 deaths
of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm.
"A couple of people laughed, but there's been a positive reaction from
most people," said a young man who identified himself only as Jacob
and said he came from Mesick.
"People around here just seem really scared," he said. "There aren't
a lot of people standing out here from this area. A lot of these
people are from other areas of Michigan."
Rain didn't give him second thoughts about taking part in the
"remembrance vigil," Jacob said.
Its purpose is "to keep it in people's minds and as sort of a symbol
of respect to the people who died. I didn't know them for a long
time, but I stayed with them. We camped at the house for a while
after the whole thing went down in the bust, while they were doing the
court dates. I got to know them a little bit. They were really
cool guys and I feel it's just a shame what happened."
While the "immediate issue" is remembering "Tom and Rollie," the
"greater issue is the whole war on drugs and the war on the
Constitution," said Greg, of Van Buren County." A lot of our rights
as Americans are being taken away from us. We're having to give up a
lot of our rights to protect our rights."
"Rainbow Farm is just one more symptom of what's going wrong in the
country," Greg said. "We're going in the wrong direction."
He went to Rainbow Farm once for a concert, "so I can't say I was
great friends with them. I had met them. I don't think they were
doing anything to harm the community. I don't think our community is
any safer today after they were killed."
"I think they were wrong to take up arms against the government," said
Greg. "I think that was actually wrong, but I don't think they
needed to be shot for it. There were other ways of dealing with
it. They could have been taken peacefully. Those guys were pushed
to the very limit and backed into a corner."
As a school counselor, he's "terrified at being an activist out
here. It's a real thin line I tread, but it's something I really
believe in. We teach our kids citizenship and to be involved in your
government. We are the government. That's what makes America
work. People talk about 'The Government' like it's this entity out
there. We're all the government. I have to be very clear that I'm
not pro-drug. I think drugs are a public health issue -- not a law
enforcement issue. This story needs to be told. It's one more
example of the government trying to force people to comply and behave
a certain way."
On Labor Day weekend 2001, "Tom and Rollie were executed by the forces
of so-called law and order" at the campground near Vandalia. "They
were not killed to protect the public safety, to punish them for
smoking cannabis or because of the plants in their basement,"
according to the Michigan Cannabis Action Network announcement of the
vigil.
"Our friends worked boldly and passionately to change destructive,
unjust laws and to inspire others to do the same; and in the end they
rejected the authority of a court that had amply shown its bias.
They refused to hide. They refused to run. They refused to bow
down. And for that, the Police State ground them up in its gears."
Playboy's October issue features a nine-page article, "Siege at
Rainbow Farm," which Melody Karr of Mesick characterized as "pretty
decent -- as fair as anything else I've seen, more so than many.
Word of warning: it does include graphic photos of Tom's and Rollie's
bodies."
Cass County authorities on Friday of that fateful Labor Day weekend
tried to peacefully resolve a standoff that developed around noon.
Three buildings were set ablaze. There were reports of gunfire,
including a shot that struck a news helicopter.
Law enforcement surrounded the 34-acre compound where they had made
drug-related arrests in a May raid. Black smoke billowed from a
pavilion which burned to the ground. WNDU-TV Channel 16's news
chopper, flying over the facility to check out an initial report of a
fire, landed back in South Bend, Ind., with a bullet hole through
its horizontal stabilizer.
Since firing on an aircraft is a federal offense, authorities cordoned
off the area and evacuated homes near the campground on Pemberton Road
in Newberg Township as a precaution due to the combination of flames
and gunfire.
Grover "Tom" Crosslin, the property's owner since 1993, had failed to
appear for a 1:30 p.m. court date related to civil forfeiture of
the property. Prosecutors had hoped to revoke Crosslin's bond based
on the resumption of drug dealing.
Labor Day weekend at Rainbow Farm in previous years meant the "Roach
Roast" festival attracting thousands of people from across the country.
Cass County Circuit Judge Michael E. Dodge on May 21 had granted a
preliminary injunction to halt plans for a Memorial Day event, Hemp
Fest. Then on June 29 Dodge ordered that Rainbow Farm "may not be
utilized for festival gatherings of a nature which have given rise to
the nuisance conduct demonstrated at the hearing before this court on
May 21."
That ruling came in response to a request by Prosecuting Attorney
Scott Teter, now with Attorney General Mike Cox's office, and Attorney
General Jennifer Granholm, now governor of Michigan, for a preliminary
injunction to prevent any other gatherings while the nuisance
abatement action filed against Rainbow Farm and Crosslin was pending.
Teter said investigation revealed ongoing and widespread use, delivery
and possession of controlled substances, including marijuana, cocaine,
methamphetamine, hashish, LSD, opium and prescription drugs at Rainbow
Farm festivals.
Teen-agers attended the festivals for easy access to controlled
substances. A veteran Calhoun County detective who worked the site
undercover said a "gamut of drugs" were available, from event staff
smoking marijuana to buys he made, including from a vendor.
Wherever there were people, there were people using drugs; drug use
was "rampant," Dan Latta testified. Crosslin "was partaking in it,"
passing a pipe around, the detective testified.
Festivals were promoted through a Web site on the Internet that earned
Cass County national notoriety in High Times magazine.
On April 21, 2001, in Berrien County's Sodus Township, Konrad Joseph
Hornack of Eau Claire, whose vehicle collided with the Eau Claire
girls softball team, died after leaving the "420" festival at Rainbow
Farm.
Michigan Assistant Attorney General David Tanay said he had no problem
with the legalize-marijuana message Rainbow Farm promoted, but that it
did not correlate with what investigation showed to actually be
occurring at the campground.
After a four-day standoff, in which the FBI and Michigan State Police
joined local authorities, Crosslin was shot and killed Sept. 3 by a
federal sharpshooter after reportedly pointing a rifle at him while
hiking to a neighboring home for food.
Rohm died the next day after setting fire to the farmhouse he shared
with Crosslin. Troopers in an armored vehicle moved in to arrest
him, but shot him when he reportedly raised his rifle.
'We will not forget,' vow Rainbow Farm supporters.
Pubdate: Tue, 02 Sep 2003
Source: Dowagiac Daily News (MI)
Copyright: 2003 Dowagiac Daily News
Contact: dailynews@leaderpub.com
Website: https://www.dowagiacnews.com/
gathering outside the old Cass County courthouse at 5:30 p. m.
Monday on the second anniversary of the Labor Day weekend 2001 deaths
of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm.
"A couple of people laughed, but there's been a positive reaction from
most people," said a young man who identified himself only as Jacob
and said he came from Mesick.
"People around here just seem really scared," he said. "There aren't
a lot of people standing out here from this area. A lot of these
people are from other areas of Michigan."
Rain didn't give him second thoughts about taking part in the
"remembrance vigil," Jacob said.
Its purpose is "to keep it in people's minds and as sort of a symbol
of respect to the people who died. I didn't know them for a long
time, but I stayed with them. We camped at the house for a while
after the whole thing went down in the bust, while they were doing the
court dates. I got to know them a little bit. They were really
cool guys and I feel it's just a shame what happened."
While the "immediate issue" is remembering "Tom and Rollie," the
"greater issue is the whole war on drugs and the war on the
Constitution," said Greg, of Van Buren County." A lot of our rights
as Americans are being taken away from us. We're having to give up a
lot of our rights to protect our rights."
"Rainbow Farm is just one more symptom of what's going wrong in the
country," Greg said. "We're going in the wrong direction."
He went to Rainbow Farm once for a concert, "so I can't say I was
great friends with them. I had met them. I don't think they were
doing anything to harm the community. I don't think our community is
any safer today after they were killed."
"I think they were wrong to take up arms against the government," said
Greg. "I think that was actually wrong, but I don't think they
needed to be shot for it. There were other ways of dealing with
it. They could have been taken peacefully. Those guys were pushed
to the very limit and backed into a corner."
As a school counselor, he's "terrified at being an activist out
here. It's a real thin line I tread, but it's something I really
believe in. We teach our kids citizenship and to be involved in your
government. We are the government. That's what makes America
work. People talk about 'The Government' like it's this entity out
there. We're all the government. I have to be very clear that I'm
not pro-drug. I think drugs are a public health issue -- not a law
enforcement issue. This story needs to be told. It's one more
example of the government trying to force people to comply and behave
a certain way."
On Labor Day weekend 2001, "Tom and Rollie were executed by the forces
of so-called law and order" at the campground near Vandalia. "They
were not killed to protect the public safety, to punish them for
smoking cannabis or because of the plants in their basement,"
according to the Michigan Cannabis Action Network announcement of the
vigil.
"Our friends worked boldly and passionately to change destructive,
unjust laws and to inspire others to do the same; and in the end they
rejected the authority of a court that had amply shown its bias.
They refused to hide. They refused to run. They refused to bow
down. And for that, the Police State ground them up in its gears."
Playboy's October issue features a nine-page article, "Siege at
Rainbow Farm," which Melody Karr of Mesick characterized as "pretty
decent -- as fair as anything else I've seen, more so than many.
Word of warning: it does include graphic photos of Tom's and Rollie's
bodies."
Cass County authorities on Friday of that fateful Labor Day weekend
tried to peacefully resolve a standoff that developed around noon.
Three buildings were set ablaze. There were reports of gunfire,
including a shot that struck a news helicopter.
Law enforcement surrounded the 34-acre compound where they had made
drug-related arrests in a May raid. Black smoke billowed from a
pavilion which burned to the ground. WNDU-TV Channel 16's news
chopper, flying over the facility to check out an initial report of a
fire, landed back in South Bend, Ind., with a bullet hole through
its horizontal stabilizer.
Since firing on an aircraft is a federal offense, authorities cordoned
off the area and evacuated homes near the campground on Pemberton Road
in Newberg Township as a precaution due to the combination of flames
and gunfire.
Grover "Tom" Crosslin, the property's owner since 1993, had failed to
appear for a 1:30 p.m. court date related to civil forfeiture of
the property. Prosecutors had hoped to revoke Crosslin's bond based
on the resumption of drug dealing.
Labor Day weekend at Rainbow Farm in previous years meant the "Roach
Roast" festival attracting thousands of people from across the country.
Cass County Circuit Judge Michael E. Dodge on May 21 had granted a
preliminary injunction to halt plans for a Memorial Day event, Hemp
Fest. Then on June 29 Dodge ordered that Rainbow Farm "may not be
utilized for festival gatherings of a nature which have given rise to
the nuisance conduct demonstrated at the hearing before this court on
May 21."
That ruling came in response to a request by Prosecuting Attorney
Scott Teter, now with Attorney General Mike Cox's office, and Attorney
General Jennifer Granholm, now governor of Michigan, for a preliminary
injunction to prevent any other gatherings while the nuisance
abatement action filed against Rainbow Farm and Crosslin was pending.
Teter said investigation revealed ongoing and widespread use, delivery
and possession of controlled substances, including marijuana, cocaine,
methamphetamine, hashish, LSD, opium and prescription drugs at Rainbow
Farm festivals.
Teen-agers attended the festivals for easy access to controlled
substances. A veteran Calhoun County detective who worked the site
undercover said a "gamut of drugs" were available, from event staff
smoking marijuana to buys he made, including from a vendor.
Wherever there were people, there were people using drugs; drug use
was "rampant," Dan Latta testified. Crosslin "was partaking in it,"
passing a pipe around, the detective testified.
Festivals were promoted through a Web site on the Internet that earned
Cass County national notoriety in High Times magazine.
On April 21, 2001, in Berrien County's Sodus Township, Konrad Joseph
Hornack of Eau Claire, whose vehicle collided with the Eau Claire
girls softball team, died after leaving the "420" festival at Rainbow
Farm.
Michigan Assistant Attorney General David Tanay said he had no problem
with the legalize-marijuana message Rainbow Farm promoted, but that it
did not correlate with what investigation showed to actually be
occurring at the campground.
After a four-day standoff, in which the FBI and Michigan State Police
joined local authorities, Crosslin was shot and killed Sept. 3 by a
federal sharpshooter after reportedly pointing a rifle at him while
hiking to a neighboring home for food.
Rohm died the next day after setting fire to the farmhouse he shared
with Crosslin. Troopers in an armored vehicle moved in to arrest
him, but shot him when he reportedly raised his rifle.
'We will not forget,' vow Rainbow Farm supporters.
Pubdate: Tue, 02 Sep 2003
Source: Dowagiac Daily News (MI)
Copyright: 2003 Dowagiac Daily News
Contact: dailynews@leaderpub.com
Website: https://www.dowagiacnews.com/