From the November 2000 Idaho Observer:

Chuck Norris comes to help avert another Waco

Hollywood finally sends a “man in white” to help a real American

TRINIDAD, Texas -- TV's “Walker, Texas Ranger” Chuck Norris arrived at Joe and Alicia Gray's 47-acre ranch here October 19, 2000, with his personal attorneys to see what he could do to help end a standoff that has been ongoing since last Labor Day weekend.

On September 4, 2000, four beer-drinking drunks, three in the cab and one armed with a shotgun in the back of a pickup truck, paid the Grays a visit. As they drove past the gate of the Gray's ranch, Milton Sparks, Jr., took a shot at the Gray's oldest son Jonathan, 30. According to witnesses, the truck hit a bump just as Sparks fired a shot that went over Gray's head.

The Gray's son-in-law began shooting back -- with a video camera. He caught the entire event on tape which was turned over to the Henderson County Sheriff's Department. All four men were clearly identifiable.

Had this “drive by” shooting been a simple case of a bunch of rowdy drunks terrorising a family with gunfire, they would all have been thrown in jail and the truck and shotgun confiscated. The drunks would have been indicted on several serious charges, including attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Sparks was jailed and released on $10,000 bond. One of the men in the cab was identified as being a member of the nearby Malakoff city police force.

The three men in the cab were never arrested, but, according to Henderson County Chief Deputy, they were, “under investigation.”

Why are the Grays different?

Joe and Alicia Gray have been married for 31 years and have raised six children who currently range in age from 18 to 30. They are devout, pro-Constitution Christians who have homeschooled their last four children. They believe in the right to travel. The Grays also believe in the right to keep and bear arms.

Certain events have transpired where the Grays are caught in a “Catch-22”: either deny their faith and submit to government authority or obey their conscience and God.

Late last Christmas Eve Curtis Hartin arrived at the Gray ranch and suggested they travel -- armed -- to Palestine, Texas, 45 miles away. Though he was reluctant to do so, Joe carried a sidearm and there were several other guns in the car that belonged to Curtis.

According to Gray, Curtis, who was reportedly more of an aquaintance than a friend, was exceeding the speed limit and driving in a manner that was almost begging to be pulled over by police. Gray says that Hartin asked several times, “What are you going to do if we get stopped?”

Sure enough, they were stopped outside of Palestine by the Texas Highway Patrol. Agitated by the fact that the vehicle occupants were armed, police forced a confrontation in which Gray bit an officer and was then arrested, treated for pepper spray burns to his face and sent to jail.

Since bonding out of jail last January, Gray has been in self-imposed exile at his ranch. The Grays have exhausted their administrative remedies in an attempt to resolve the matter. They have been stymied at every turn though the evidence indicates that several officials have participated in a conspiracy to punish Joe Gray for his beliefs, though he hasn't harmed anyone.

For his trouble, though he has never been served, Gray was charged with disarming a police officer and assault on a police officer. According to Media Bypass magazine reporter Pat Shannon (October, 2000), “Joe Gray says the charges are bogus.”

Local law enforcement has reportedly been given to citing Gray as soon as he is seen driving, even lying in wait for him near his home just to give him a citiation.

The incident arose after local law enforcement finally became irritated enough over the Grays' refusal to get a driver's license. It would appear that certain forces were at work to teach Joe Gray a lesson and, perhaps, get him to exercise his right to keep and bear arms in a confrontation with “authorities.”

The local media, with the exception of The Ellis County Press, has served admirably as an accomplice in the government conspiracy to terrorize an American who simply refuses to get a drivers license by attaching to his name the usual labels of being anti-government Christian fundamentalist with militia ties. The national media has, thus far, ignored the issue.

If justice were to prevail in this matter, a grand jury should be convened to subpeona all of the players and hand down indictments to those who deserve them.

Gray is a finish carpenter who is well known by his neighbors to be a decent man with noble intentions. The Grays have owned their property along the Trinity River for the last 15 years.

Norris was informed of the Grays' plight October 17, 2000, and visited the Grays at their ranch October 19 with his attorneys.

At present, the attorneys have reportedly met with Henderson County Prosecutor Doug Lowe and, “have already made significant progress.”

Hollywood has traditionally been a bastion of liberalism and most of its “stars” parrot the politically correct ideals that are serving to undermine the foundation upon which this nation was founded. Hollywood's stand on gun rights and property rights v. saving allegedly endangered species are recent examples of Hollywood's unamerican biases.

Hopefully Norris' involvement and interest in this case will prompt more “stars” to recognize that “our” government is terrorizing the people of this nation.