Welcome Home Todd Engel!
by Shari Dovale
After four and a half years of wrongful incarceration, Todd Engel is finally free and back home in Idaho. When his conviction was vacated by the Ninth Circuit, and Judge Navarro signed off on the dismissal of charges, he became a regular citizen again, with no stigma or criminal record attached to his name. Bunkerville Protest, April 2014. (Photo used with permission, courtesy of Shannon Bushman)
There were a lot of very good people that were mistreated by the government during the fiascoes known as the Bunkerville trials. These tied into the Malheur trials in Portland, not just because they involved many of the same people, but because the government designed it to be that way.
The government had a plan to punish Cliven Bundy and anyone that supported him. They had intended to charge the elderly rancher under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), and label Bundy as the Head of an Organized Crime Family.
When this did not come to pass, as the malfeasance of the government actors came to light, the prosecution attempted to take out their frustrations on anyone left available to them. This meant Todd Engel was in their sights.
Living in the same area in Idaho, I had seen Todd at a couple of different events, but never had a full conversation with him until I visited him in prison in Pahrump, Nevada. It was there I learned that Engel was a very genuine and honest man, and he deserved to be heard.
What struck me during my talks with him at the prison, and continuing through today, was Engel’s positive attitude. His smile will light up a room, and he seems to hold no particular outrage or anger towards any of the people involved in taking these years away from him.
On the contrary, he says the experience has strengthened his Faith in God. He was not happy in Lompoc, but he credits the time he spent there with helping at least 10 others to be saved through God’s Grace. He put these into the “Win” column.
After his return to Idaho, Engel gathered with friends and willingly talked about the different aspects of everything he endured for all of those years.
“Like most law-abiding citizens, we all felt (before this experience) that there was a semblance of justice in the Justice Department. As it started to unfold, it became apparent that there was no justice to be had.” ~Todd Engel
He spoke of the harassment the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) put him through before his arrest. From threatening his friends to sending in women to seduce him (Todd describes it like a Conga Line) the FBI kept the pressure up and tried to get Engel to incriminate himself.
What the FBI did not seem to understand is that Engel is not a criminal, and he believes in the rule of law. He knew that he never broke the law during the Bunkerville Protest, and he was not about to break the law after it was over. Engel with Rep. Heather Scott (photo: Redoubt News)
From the day the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) arrested him in Idaho, through what he endured during the trial in Nevada, to the day the prison sent him outside to wait hours for his ride at Lompoc Prison in California, Todd is ready to tell his story.
He tells us that each segment is really its own story and is willing to tell Redoubt News all about them in a series of articles. He will tell us about his arrest and incarceration and some of the people that made a profound impression on him during this time. He will give insights into how the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) view Congress, and the differences between the BOP and the private prison system. And, he will tell us of the failures the prisoners must endure, such as the Healthcare system.
Engel is willing to bring this all out for you to get a better understanding of what he, and others like him, have been put through within “the system”.
Stay tuned for more from this Patriot, Todd Engel.
Todd returned to Idaho with nothing left to his name. Everything had been taken from him and he is currently trying to rebuild his life. If you would like to help Todd, you can donate through https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/Freedom4Todd
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