The curious case of Doug Darrell shows the immense amount of power that is possessed by We the People, when we have the courage to use it.
Doug Darrell is a resident of New Hampshire who cultivated marijuana for religious and medical purposes. After a National Guard helicopter spotted his plants, he was arrested and charged with felonies. If convicted, he would have likely faced many years in prison. He was guilty by the letter of the law, but the jury decided to acquit him anyway. Jurors followed their conscience. This was a heroic act of jury nullification that preserved the freedom of one man.
And this principle can preserve freedom for many more if used on a grander scale.
While the Tenth Amendment Center does not specialize in promoting jury nullification, we certainly recognize its importance and support it in practice. Nullification can work in many different ways. With the proper ideological ground, there are a plethora of ways for you to non-violently push back against unlawful federal power.
When the people rush to the stores to buy guns and ammo after opportunistic Washington D.C. politicians use a tragedy to impugn the 2nd Amendment, that is a form of nullification. When the people trade in their rapidly depreciating Federal Reserve notes for honest money or crypto-currency, that is a form of nullification. When a parent opts their children out of the public school system and homeschools them instead, that is a form of nullification.
Millions of individuals making decisions like these on a day-to-day basis chip away at the legitimacy and authority of the federal government.
There are many ideas floating around that can be effective in combating federal tyranny, and they all share a common principle: non-compliance with unconstitutional or unjust federal mandates.
Once you fully understand this principle and how it serves as the key to restoring freedom in our society, doorways begin to open up. You can apply it to everyday life and make a difference whenever the opportunity arises.
Whether it is in the city council, county commission, state legislature, a jury box or anywhere else, non-compliance and civil disobedience can be used to promote freedom and subvert unlawful federal power. Contrary to what you may have learned in a government-funded school, the feds are not monolithic. They are not untouchable. They are not supreme. They are a paper tiger that depends upon your active support, consent and participation to function.
Don’t give the feds what they need to sustain their assault on your freedoms. Thinking in a defiant manner is the first step toward breaking this chain of servitude and helplessness that the feds rely upon. Once you have done that, the sky is the limit. From there, we can give you a plan that can decentralize government and restore freedom in your community.
