From the April 2001 Idaho Observer:

Spokane rally proves UNITED STATES power play

In the absence of evidence, feds willing to imprison, prosecute innocence

SPOKANE, Wash. -- On the cold, clear and windy morning of March 26, 2001, 25 people assembled from all over the Northwest to support Oroville, Wash., microbroadcaster Mark Alan (Rabenold), 43, who has been held without bond in Spokane County Jail since February 9, 2001 per order of Federal Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno (The Idaho Observer, pages 11-14, March, 2001).

Mark Alan is being held in connection with an alleged assault on a plainclothes deputy federal marshal whose hand hit Mark Alan's windshield while he was attempting to serve court documents in a civil matter February 8, 2001. Mark Alan is a trusted and respected member of his community who has resisted Federal Communications Commission (FCC) attempts to force his compliance with a civil judgment to license his low-powered radio station.

Mark Alan, who's on-air editorial policy is decidedly pro-American, believes that FCC regulations and case law prove that the FCC has no authority to license his 4-watt station that serves the remote north Washington towns of Oroville and Tonasket.

The hand of Deputy Marshal Carey Perkins was not even bruised in the incident. Deputy U.S. Attorney Tom Hopkins seeks a sentence of 10 years, $250,000 fine and two years' supervised probation for the crime of not injuring a plainclothes federal marshal whom Mark Alan and witnesses claim did not identify himself.

On Friday, March 30, the Spokesman-Review reported that Brian D. Sheldon, 27, turned himself in for armed robbery March 27, 2001. The FBI suspects that Sheldon is responsible for six of the eight armed robberies in the Spokane area so far this year. Hopkins seeks a sentence of life without parole for Sheldon and told the court that the habitual criminal is a candidate for the "three-strikes-and-you're-out" sentencing guidelines. Judge Imbrogno released Sheldon on $25,000 bond Wednesday, March 28.

It is reported that Imbrogno granted bond to Sheldon within 24 hours because he is the sole provider for his wife and two children. Mark Alan, who has never been in trouble with the law, is the sole provider for a wife, six children and a 101-year-old grandmother, is expected to be denied bail and will be expected to stand trial April 30 after spending 80 uninterrupted days in jail.

Since being arrested for what evidence and witnesses suggest are trumped up charges, perhaps dozens of violent criminals have been caught and released from Spokane County Jail.

It would appear that Mark Alan is being imprisoned for having the audacity to challenge the authority of the U.S. Government through valid legal arguments. The crime of this century is not violent crimes against persons or property; it is intelligent and learned challenges to federal authority. See related stories page 15.

***

(Note: After over 60 days in jail for not injuring a plainclothes federal marshal who failed to identify himself, Mark Alan was released April 11. Mark Alan agreed to plead guilty to state charges of third degree assault and the feds agreed to drop the federal charges of assault. In other words, Mark Alan was forced to lie or be held prisoner indefinitely).