On this date, February 27, 2012, The Chardon
High School Shooting occurred at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio. I will
post information from Wikipedia before giving me thoughts on the juvenile
shooter.
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A Legacy
of Pride, a Future of Promise
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Location
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Chardon, Ohio, United States
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Coordinates
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Date
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February 27, 2012
7:30 am (EST) |
Target
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Chardon High School
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Attack type
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School shooting,
murder
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Weapon(s)
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Ruger MK III .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun
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Deaths
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3
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Injured (non-fatal)
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3
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Perpetrator
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T. J. Lane
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Motive
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Unknown
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The
Chardon High School shooting occurred on February 27, 2012, at Chardon
High School in Chardon, Ohio, United States. Three male students died within
the two days following the incident. Two other students were hospitalized: one
of whom sustained several serious injuries requiring extensive rehabilitation,
the other with a minor injury. The seriously injured victim has been declared
permanently paralyzed. A sixth student sustained a superficial wound.
While
rumors of a warning of the event having been posted on the Internet circulated,
student witnesses identified the shooter as Thomas "T. J." Lane III.
Although police were initially hesitant to publicly identify the juvenile after
he was apprehended, by the evening of February 28, authorities confirmed that
the suspect was Lane.
The
weapon Lane used in the shooting was a .22 caliber handgun. At an initial court
hearing, the prosecutor revealed that he admitted to shooting 10 rounds of
ammunition from the gun during the shooting, which began in the school
cafeteria at approximately 7:30 a.m., shortly after school began. Although Lane
told police that he did not know the victims and that they were chosen
randomly, witnesses stated that it appeared he targeted a specific student and
the group he was sitting with in the cafeteria.
After
the shooting occurred, Lane reportedly left the building. Witnesses stated he
was chased from the building by a teacher, and was arrested a short time later
in a location outside the school. Lane was ultimately indicted on three counts
of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count
of felonious assault. He was initially detained as a juvenile pending further
court action.
Reaction
to the event prompted a statement from Ohio Governor, John Kasich. Several
prayer vigils were held and a fund for the victims was established. Thousands
of people attended one of the vigils, at which the Governor spoke, the night
after the attack. When the Westboro Baptist Church announced that they would
demonstrate at the funeral of one of the victims, thousands more turned out to
counter-protest. President Barack Obama gave his condolences to the school
principal in a telephone call following the incident. Analysis of the crime and
comparisons to similar attacks began immediately following the shooting.
Lane
received three life sentences on March 19, 2013.
Injuries and Deaths
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1. Daniel
Parmertor, 16 (deceased)
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2. Russell
King, Jr., 17 (deceased)
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3. Demetrius
Hewlin, 16 (deceased)
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4. Nate
Mueller, 16
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5. Nick
Walczak, 17
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6. Joy
Rickers, 18
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Details
The
shooting began at approximately 7:30 a.m. (EST) in the Chardon High School
cafeteria. A student witness said that the shooting began in the cafeteria
before first period while students were eating breakfast. According to reports,
a boy stood up and began shooting, causing chaos.
A
surveillance video showed that Lane shot four male students in the cafeteria
with a .22 caliber handgun. As he fled, Lane shot a female student, and was
then chased out of the school by a teacher, football coach Frank Hall. Lane was
arrested outside the school near his car on Woodin Road.
Initially,
five students were hospitalized, three of whom later died. Two students, Joy
Rickers and Nick Walczak, were taken to local Hillcrest Hospital, while Daniel
Parmertor, Russell King, and Demetrius Hewlin were flown by helicopter to
MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. A sixth student, Nate Mueller, was
superficially injured when a bullet grazed his right ear.
Fatalities
At
noon on February 27, Chardon Police Chief Tim McKenna announced in a news
conference that one of the victims had died. The first deceased student was
identified as Daniel Parmertor, a 16-year-old
high school junior, by a spokeswoman for Cleveland's MetroHealth Medical
Center. His family issued a statement requesting that their privacy be
respected. When Lane opened fire, Parmertor was in the cafeteria waiting for a
bus to the Auburn Career Center vocational school in nearby Concord Township,
where he studied computer science.
At
12:42 a.m. the next day, a second student, Russell King, Jr., 17, was
pronounced brain dead at MetroHealth Medical Center. King, a junior, studied
alternative energy technologies. He was enrolled at both Chardon High School
and at the Auburn Career Center. King's family released a statement thanking
the public for support and offering sympathy to the families of the other
victims. They also said that his organs would be donated as he had wished. A
witness, Nate Mueller, said that King had recently started dating Lane's former
girlfriend. Other student witnesses said that it appeared as if Lane was
specifically aiming for King, indicating that he was the first to be shot. The
students stated that King had previously threatened to beat Lane up. They told
reporters that Lane had taken up weightlifting with the intention of fighting
King.
On
February 28, it was reported that Demetrius Hewlin, the third student who was
transferred to MetroHealth, had died. His family also expressed their sorrow
for their loss in a statement to the press. Friends of Hewlin said that he
liked to work out and wanted to be on the football team. Hewlin's mother,
Phyllis Ferguson, in an interview with ABC News said of her son, "He
wasn't a morning person and he was late for school. But that one day he wasn't
late. We were running a little late, but we weren't late enough. But it's okay.
It's in God's hands. Let His will be done." When questioned about what she
would say to the assailant, she said that she would forgive him, because most
school shooters did not know what they were doing. She explained that her son's
organs would be donated and that one of the recipients was a child who was
within days of death without a transplant.
Other
victims
One
of the two injured students who had been transferred to Hillcrest Hospital,
17-year-old Nick Walczak, was shot several times, and one bullet lodged in his
cheek. He was also shot in the arm, neck and back. As he entered rehabilitation
a week later, in "fair condition", there were questions about whether
he would be able to walk again. His mother said that he was going to require
therapy on his spine to restore the feeling in his legs. Joy Rickers, 18, was
released from Hillcrest Hospital on February 28. Nate Mueller, who was not
hospitalized, was nicked in his right ear by a bullet. Mueller and Walczak,
students of Auburn Career Center, were waiting with Parmertor and King for the
bus that would transfer them to their school on the morning of the shooting.
One of the two injured students who had been transferred to Hillcrest Hospital,
17-year-old Nick Walczak, was shot several times, and one bullet lodged in his
cheek. He was also shot in the arm, neck and back. As he entered rehabilitation
a week later, in "fair condition", there were questions about whether
he would be able to walk again. His mother said that he was going to require
therapy on his spine to restore the feeling in his legs. Joy Rickers, 18, was
released from Hillcrest Hospital on February 28. Nate Mueller, who was not
hospitalized, was nicked in his right ear by a bullet. Mueller and Walczak,
students of Auburn Career Center, were waiting with Parmertor and King for the
bus that would transfer them to their school on the morning of the shooting.
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PHOTO SOURCE: http://thedevinehome.com/home-chardon-school-shooting/
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Teacher
actions
After
the shooting, students referred to two teachers, Frank Hall and Joseph Ricci,
as heroes. The Daily Beast reported that news of the men's
"courageous actions" spread when students expressed thanks on
Twitter; the reports indicated that Hall had charged the shooter despite the
shooter pointing his gun at the coach. A student told reporters that Hall
frequently spoke of how much he cared for the students, a feeling which was
shown by his actions.
Meanwhile,
Joe Ricci had just started his math class when he heard shots and ordered his
students to "lockdown". According to a student witness, when Ricci
heard moaning outside his classroom he put on a bulletproof vest, opened the
door, dragged a wounded student, Nick Walczak, into the classroom and
administered first aid. Walczak's family credits Ricci with saving his life. A
student described the teachers as "two of the greatest leaders in our
school."
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| TJ Lane in November 2012 (Photo courtesy: Geauga County Sheriff's Office) |
Shooter
Identification
Authorities
did not release the suspect's name until late on February 27, but witnesses
recognized him as Thomas "T. J." Lane, 17 (born September 19, 1994).
The authorities were reluctant to release the name of the juvenile suspect, but
CBS News reported that by early afternoon law enforcement officials had
surrounded a house belonging to Thomas Lane. According to Melanie Jones,
writing for International Business Times, reports on the possibility of
Lane's involvement led to great press interest, which the police initially
deflected. Later reporting that covered the court proceedings revealed that his
full name is Thomas M. Lane, III.
The
authorities searched the home of the suspect's paternal grandparents in Chardon
Township. T. J. Lane did not live there but would frequently visit on weekends.
The residence, along with other properties owned by the Lane family, were
searched extensively on the day of the shooting. A nearby forest, which
neighbors said the Lane children used for target practice, was also combed.
At
the time of the shooting, Lane was not taking classes at Chardon High School,
but at Lake Academy, an alternative school in nearby Willoughby. The school,
which is also known as the Lake County Educational Service Center, served 55
students in February 2012. They were referred there from public schools in the
region because of academic or behavioral needs. Students who complete their
educations at Lake Academy graduate with their classmates at the sending
schools.
Witnesses
said Lane appeared to be targeting students who were sitting together at one
table, Four of the five victims who were sitting at that table were students at
the Auburn Career Center. The bus Lane took from Chardon to Lake Academy was
the same one the Auburn students took, but his stop was farther on the route.
Lane also knew some of the victims from middle school.
There
were rumors that there had been a warning about the shooting posted on Twitter.
News agencies published excerpts from the Facebook profile of a boy named
"T. J. Lane". The profile did not give a location but several of the
user's friends were listed as being from Chardon.
One entry in particular, dated December 30, 2011, caught attention, especially
the last line, which read: "Die, all of you." According to a comment
posted by Lane on January 20, 2012, he wrote the text in class.
Reactions
of friends
A
friend of T. J. Lane described him as "a very normal, just teenage
boy", she told CNN that she was in "complete shock" from the
incident. She went on to say that Lane often had a sad look in his eyes, but
came across as completely normal. Another friend said that Lane was regularly
teased at school, which made Lane "put a wall around himself" and
refuse to divulge personal information. A third student told reporters that
Lane had come from "a really broken-down home", and was a quiet
person who could be nice to others if he felt comfortable with them.
Students
at Lake Academy denied that he had been bullied. They described him as friendly
and nice, but not very talkative.
The
weapon
After
Lane's arrest, law enforcement determined that the gun used in the shooting was
purchased legally. Authorities said Lane had stolen the .22-caliber handgun
from his uncle. The press reported that it was a Ruger MK III
Target .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun.
However, a neighbor who was close to the family said that it was a target revolver
that belonged to the boy's grandfather. When asked how it was possible to fire
as many as ten or more rounds from a revolver in quick succession, the neighbor
had no explanation and eventually admitted that the revolver theory was
probably not true after all. Reports were that the shooter dropped the gun as
he fled from the scene. It was found inside the school and recovered by police.
Lane also admitted to taking a knife into Chardon High School.
Suspect's violent past
On
February 29, 2012, Tim Grendell, the juvenile court judge presiding over Lane's
case, allowed the release of the suspect's juvenile records to the press.
According to his records, T. J. Lane was arrested twice in December 2009. The
first time, Lane restrained his uncle, while his cousin hit him. The other case
involved Lane hitting another boy in the face. To the second charge, Lane pled
to a count of disorderly conduct.
Although
family court records concerning T. J. Lane had not been released, as of March
12, 2012, the press did expose criminal records of Lane's father, Thomas M.
Lane, Jr. The records showed that in 2002 the elder Lane was charged with
attempted murder, but was found guilty of a lesser charge of assault and
disruption, and served less than one year in prison. In an ordeal lasting nine
hours, he physically and verbally assaulted a woman while three children were
present. In addition, "he has arrests on a wide range of offenses
including drug abuse and possession, violation of probation, public
intoxication and disorderly conduct."
Prosecution
On
February 28, at 3:50 pm (EST), a detention hearing was held for the
suspect at Geauga County
Juvenile Court in Chardon. According to the
LA Times, in the United States teenage suspects are generally treated as
juveniles until prosecutors decide to charge them as adults. Judge Timothy J. Grendell
began the proceeding by asking the media not to take photographs of the
defendant until it was determined whether or not he would be tried as an adult.
He immediately ruled that the defendant would remain in custody. At the
prosecutor's request, the judge directed that the attorneys involved in the
case refrain from speaking to the media regarding the proceeding. He then outlined
conditions under which the media could participate, including not taking any
facial photographs of the defendant or his family. After hearing the
prosecutor's argument for continuing the detention and receiving no objection,
the judge ruled that detention, at the Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention Center
in Ravenna, Ohio, should continue for 15 days. The issues of arraignment and
possible transfer to adult court were put off to future dates. The judge stated
that the prosecution had until March 1, 2012, to file charges.
After
the hearing, prosecutor David Joyce indicated that he would attempt to try Lane
as an adult and file three counts of aggravated murder, among other charges,
for the incident. It was revealed at the hearing that Lane admitted to shooting
10 rounds of ammunition during the incident. He also told the police that he
did not know the victims and that they were selected randomly. However, a
witness who said he knew the shooter indicated that Lane knew several of the
victims.
Outside
defense attorneys observing the hearing questioned if Lane's attorney was
protecting his client's rights. First, a concern was raised that Lane's
attorney agreed with the judge that the gag order would not go into effect
until after the press conference that prosecutor Joyce held following the
hearing. One lawyer explained that this exception to the order gave the
prosecution the opportunity to announce the defendant's confession publicly,
thus influencing the jury pool. A second concern regarded Joyce's statement at
the conference that Lane "is someone who's not well." Ian Friedman, a
criminal attorney and past president of the Ohio Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers said that such things are generally said by defense attorneys.
Another attorney said that in this case, he would file a motion which would
ensure that the juvenile's mental health would be evaluated before the case was
brought to the adult court. As of March 1, 2012, Lane's defense had filed no
motions.
On
March 1, prosecutors formally charged Lane with three counts of aggravated
murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder, and one count of felonious
assault. Lane did not enter a plea when he was arraigned on March 6. Two
additional defense attorneys were assigned to the case in March, and the judge
postponed the decision to try Lane as an adult until after a competency
evaluation was completed. On April 9, Lane again appeared before Judge Grendell
who set the date for a competency hearing for May 2. He also scheduled a
hearing for May 12 to determine if the defendant be tried as an adult.
The
competency evaluation might have been requested by either the prosecution or
the defense. It was speculated by one observing attorney that the judge might
have made the decision himself. According to Ohio law, "a child may be
found competent only if able to grasp the seriousness of the charges, if able
to understand the court proceedings, if able to aid in the defense and if able
to understand potential consequences. The law says a child with a mental
illness or an intellectual or developmental disability may not be found
competent."
In
June 2012, it was determined that Lane would be tried as an adult. He was
indicted on the six charges that were filed earlier in March: three counts of
aggravated murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of felonious
assault. On June 8, he pled not-guilty to those charges. His bail was set at $1
million, and he was scheduled to be transferred from the juvenile detention
center to county jail on June 18. However, on June 20, a motion was filed with
the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas stating that if someone were to pay a
$120 fee, he could remain in the Portage-Geauga County Juvenile Detention
Center.
On
February 26, 2013, Lane pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder,
two counts of attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault.
Sentencing
On
March 19, 2013, Lane was sentenced to three life sentences in prison without
parole. After entering the courtroom, he took off his dress shirt to reveal a
white T-shirt underneath which had the word "Killer" handwritten
across the front. He smiled and smirked during the hearing. After being
sentenced, Lane said to the victims' families and the courtroom, "This
hand that pulled the trigger that killed your sons now masturbates to the
memory. Fuck all of you", while giving the middle finger.
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AN American teenage gunman has mocked the grieving
families of three students he killed in a school shooting, at a court hearing
that saw him sentenced to life in prison. TJ Lane showed only
contempt as he fidgeted in his seat wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word
"killer" that he had smuggled in under a dress shirt, a courtroom
video feed showed. The 18-year-old then taunted the grieving family members
with a vulgar description of how much he still enjoys the memory of killing
their sons and ended his brief statement by waving his middle finger at the
court. (SOURCE: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/teen-gunman-tj-lane-mocks-victims-families-in-sentence-hearing/story-e6frg6so-1226601200479)
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Community
reaction
On
the morning of the shooting, Ohio Governor John Kasich issued a statement in
which he praised the Chardon Police and Geauga County Sheriff's office for
their handling of the incident and pledged support to the community. The
following day, Kasich ordered that the flag at the Ohio Statehouse, as well as
all flags in Geauga County, be flown at half-staff.
In
the wake of the event, officials closed all Chardon schools on February 28. The
School Department provided counseling and scheduled a gradual return to school
for the students, teachers and staff, with school resuming in full on Friday,
March 2, 2012. On the night of February 27, there were several vigils held
including one at Assembly of God Church. After it was suggested on Facebook,
tens of thousands agreed to wear red, one of Chardon High School's school
colors, on February 28 in support of the school. The United Way set up The Chardon
Healing Fund to help those traumatized by the shooting. The fund had already
acquired $150,000 by the time its creation was announced on February 28.
In
the evening of the day following the attack, thousands of people attended a
vigil at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Chardon, where a funeral mass was
scheduled for victim Daniel Parmertor, to take place the following weekend. As
on February 28, people in attendance wore red. Chardon High School Principal
Andy Fetchik spoke to rally the student body and encourage them to help each
other during the healing process, while Kasich encouraged Chardon residents to
support those who had lost loved ones. The following day, President Barack
Obama telephoned Fetchik and expressed his condolences for the death of the
students, saying that both he and First Lady Michelle Obama were praying for
the high school community.
Students
return to school
On
March 2, 2012, the students entering the building received a warm welcoming. A
student from West Geauga High School, her mother, and neighbor organized the
"Line Up At Chardon" event via Facebook. They welcomed the students
of Chardon high school back into the school building with a giant sign that
says "I'll Stand By You" referencing the song by The Pretenders. More
than 100 kids from the surrounding school districts, including West Geauga,
came to show support. Also, the students of Chardon High School and their
parents attended a "walk through" of the school. The senior class
officers organized a procession from Chardon Square to the school that morning.
The organizers invited participation in the three-quarter-mile walk on
Facebook; the day before the activity, over 225 students had shown interest in
participating.
Classes
resumed the next day. The cafeteria, where the shooting took place, was
repainted and reorganized. The table where most of the victims were sitting at
the time of the attack remained in place, however, as "a counterpoint to
the way the other tables are arranged". The table was covered with flowers
and stuffed animals.
Funerals
and protest
On
March 2, 2012, channel 5 in Cleveland reported that Fred Phelps, Jr., whose
father founded the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), had posted on Twitter that
the WBC was planning to "street-preach" about the Ohio shooting
"regarding God's hand, judgments and vengeance in this affair.” Another
Twitter post from a member of the church said the group would protest Daniel
Parmertor's funeral. In response, Chardon resident Alex Pavlick sent out a
request on Facebook for people to join him in forming a barricade around St.
Mary's Church, where the funeral was to be held on March 3, if the WBC showed
up to protest. He wrote that he wanted to ensure the funeral was not ruined by
"a group of extremists.” By the time the story was posted on the
television station's web site, 1600 people had agreed to join Alex in his
counter-protest. The day of the funeral, the television station reported that a
human barricade consisting of thousands had readied, but the WBC protestors did
not come.
Three
days after Parmertor's funeral, Demetrius Hewlin's funeral was held, also at
St. Mary's. Members of four motorcycle clubs, including the Patriot Guard
Riders participated as part of the honor guard. The Patriot Guard was formed
specifically to counter-demonstrate at funerals which are protested by the
Westboro Baptist Church.
Media
comparison
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
called the Chardon shooting "the deadliest high-school shooting in the
U.S. since 2005". In that year, seven people were killed at Red Lake Senior High School in Minnesota. The
Christian Science Monitor published an article that compared the attack at
Chardon with other similar events such as the Columbine
High School massacre. The article said that since the incident at
Columbine, the occurrences of "student-initiated shootings" were in
decline, pointing out that in the 2009–10 school year there were 33
school-related violent deaths. This was the lowest number of such deaths since
the 2002–03 school year, the highest being the 2006–07 school year, in which
there were 66 deaths from school violence. Suggesting that Columbine was a
catalyst for attention to school shootings, the article's author wrote that
heightened awareness of the problem may be responsible for the decline.
The
Monitor article included information from Kenneth Trump, the president
of a school safety consulting firm. Trump noted that recent school shootings
often involved "a lone shooter who may not have given many indicators of
what he is planning, undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues," and
were more difficult to detect due to "ballooning social media"
masking the warning signs. He went on to explain that often indicators of these
attacks appear on Twitter and Facebook. He added that there were several
factors which could lead to an increase in school shootings, such as too much
emphasis on bullying [as a cause], untreated mental illnesses, lower funding
for school safety programs and training, and a possible complacency in students
and administrators.
PLEASE
SEE THIS VIDEO (WARNING: IMAGES ARE DISTURBING) TO SEE T J LANE’S ANTICS:
MY
THOUGHTS:
As
Lane was still a juvenile when he committed the school shooting, he will not be
put to death. Even if he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, I
am concern whether the sentence will be what it is, as LWOP had been declared unconstitutional for juveniles by the SCOTUS on June 25, 2012.
His
antics in court, not only reviewed to the public that he was unremorseful for
his crimes but also tells that he is still a real danger to society. Be warned!
He might be a violent lifer in prison where he might murder behind bars. I
suggest showing this criminal profile to any ACLU demon and they will remain silent.
