From Staff Reports parascope@aol.com

Mike Kemp, a leader in the Gadsden Minutemen who was instrumental in exposing the racist "Good O' Boys Roundup" law enforcement gathering, was recently sentenced to one year in prison, following his conviction on a second-degree marijuana possession charge on Wednesday, November 6. Kemp was also slapped with a $1000 fine and ordered to pay court costs as well as $25 to a "Victim's Restitution Fund."

"He didn't really wanna lock me up, and I have 42 days to appeal," Kemp said in a November 25 statement posted on the Internet after his sentencing hearing. "It was choreographed, everything set to music. The kicker was that he said he would have granted a continuance if I had sought a licensed attorney. However, a counselor not licensed by the state to practice does not qualify as 'counsel' in hizzoner's opinion."

Kemp was arrested for personal possession of marijuana in September 1995, while the Alabama militia group's investigation of the Good O' Boys Roundup was still ongoing. At the time, the Gadsden Minutemen and the FBI were engaged in a dispute over a videotape of the Roundup which showed racist displays and paraphernalia, including a sign that read "Nigger Check Point. Any Niggers in That Car?" At a press conference following his arrest, Kemp and fellow activist Jeff Randall alleged that he had been targeted in retaliation for exposing the Roundup.

Kemp did not deny the charges at the press conference following his arrest, saying that his pot was of "exceedingly high quality and potency, and lovingly cared for. Betsy Ross' flag was made from hemp. George Washington grew hemp. I grow hemp." Kemp, an insulin-dependant diabetic who suffers epileptic seizures, said he used marijuana for medical reasons.

At the close of his trial, Kemp challenged the jury to nullify the charge. "I have mentioned this before," he said in a statement released the day of his conviction. "We can expect no justice, no legitimacy from the courts, nor any other government institution. To do so is not only foolish, but highly damaging. When we act as though there is justice, we give legitimacy to an illegitimate institution."

"Kemp... was not willing to put the artificial drugs into his system, selecting instead to use the herbs that God almighty put on this earth for our use," said supporter Charli Hopper. "A young man ahead of Mike was given probation for the same offense. The judge said that because Mike was not repentent enough, because he showed no remorse for his actions, he would have to spend one year in the county jail."

"I lived to fight another day, folks, but he told me straight up that unless I groveled I was going to jail -- eventually," Kemp said. "Eventually there will be some judge without enough nerve to uphold such a travesty for fear that the next one will rub his nose in it. I guess they figure that the political mileage of a conviction is enough for them, locally and temporarily."

Kemp's conviction follows the convictions of Bob Starr, Jim McCranie and Troy Spain of the Georgia militia for charges stemming from "bomb conspiracy" evidence planted on Starr's property by BATF informants.