(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A family evicted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, left homeless and scrounging for its life in the Idaho wilderness, where they would be hunted down by undercover federal agents.
It sounds like a nightmare about the Great Reset. For Brooks Roberts and his family, it’s reality.
The Roberts family had been living out of travel campers on Idaho federal land since they lost their home in 2020, according to Roberts’ attorneys. During that time, Judy Roberts lost a foot to frostbite in the winter of 2021/22, while Brooks severely injured his leg at his Walmart job and needed a wheelchair since June 2022.
The family was getting assistance from a local non-profit, but the federal government was hounding them throughout that time to leave the public land.
“Rather than work with the Robertses and their social worker and attorneys to help them recover from the hardship the pandemic had wrought on their lives, the Forest Service and BLM collaborated to trick the family,” said the lawyers, who who are seeking $50 million in damages from the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
“The massive force they marshaled to arrest Mr. Roberts for ‘camping for a period longer than allowed’ and ‘occupying a developed recreation site for other than recreation purposes’ was an outrageous and reckless violation of human rights and common sense.”
More than 12 undercover feds were involved, the lawyers said. Footage of the May 19 incident can be seen here:
According to Roberts’ lawyers, the undercover feds lured his brother to them by asking for his help to jumpstart their truck.
“The government knew Mr. Roberts and his family would help a stranger. Exploiting the family’s kindness and charity, the Forest Service sent two plainclothes officers to the Robertses’ door to ask for a jump for their truck,” the lawyers said.
“Not long after Mr. Roberts’ brother came out to help get the truck started, the plainclothes officers forcibly took him to the ground.”
Roberts, hearing his brother’s cries for help, wheeled out in his wheelchair to find what he thought was his brother being carjacked or robbed, his lawyers said. As he approached his brother to save him, officers saw the .22 revolver Roberts was legally carrying, and they opened fire on him.
“Over five long seconds, at least two officers repeatedly shot Mr. Roberts. They shot him in the back when he was defenseless and immobile,” the lawyers said.
“Indeed, even after Mr. Roberts lie prostrate and bleeding into the dirt, his hands empty after he dropped his gun several feet away from him once he realized police were present, law enforcement continued to fire at Mr. Roberts’ broken body.”
Adding insult to injury, Roberts was charged with a handful of misdemeanors for camping longer than allowed on BLM land and leaving trash there.
Roberts struck a plea deal in September, agreeing to plead guilty to improperly disposing garbage on BLM land and illegally occupying a recreation site. He’s set to be sentenced on Jan. 4, and should get time served plus three years of unsupervised probation, as per his deal with the government.
His lawyers have filed their $50 million injury claim directly with the Forest Service. They said they’ll file a lawsuit if the government doesn’t address the claim to their liking.
“Mr. Roberts is still in the hospital, paralyzed from the chest down and with limited use of his right arm. His prognosis is guarded. He likely will never recover the use of his lower body. He cannot control his bowels and requires a diaper. His recovery will be slow and difficult,” the lawyers said.
“He will carry the harm done to him for the rest of his life. The government’s conduct here is unconscionable, and it cannot be excused in a civil society.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
