From: Michael Strickland [mailto:stricklandlegalfund@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 4:43 PM
Subject: Michael Strickland Gun Case FILED IN SUPREME COURT
Michael Strickland here.
Four years ago today Judge Thomas Ryan declared me guilty of 10
felonies and 11 misdemeanors in a Multnomah County courtroom. This
involved the incident where I drew my firearm in response to a gang of
thugs coming after me. I didn’t even fire a round, as simply drawing
was enough force to get the mob to back away and leave me alone. I
didn’t harm so much as a fly. I was the one targeted, attacked, tried
to get away to avoid further altercation, and ultimately acted to
defend myself against what I considered unlawful force and imminent
unlawful force being used against me by a gang of masked thugs.
With the council of attorney Robert Barnes, my case has now officially
been filed with the Supreme Court of the United States. The central
question asked is “Did the Oregon courts err in holding that there is
no Constitutional right of self-defense except for when someone like
the judge would have behaved the same way under a purely “objective”
“reasonable person” standard, thus excluding all evidence of
defendant’s prior experiences, defendant’s state of mind at the time,
and defendant’s intent in general?“
I never thought I would ever be presenting a case to SCOTUS. At the
start of this, I was just a guy standing there holding a camera,
recording a public event, doing my job as a video journalist. As the
attack on me commenced, every move I made was in reaction to what
other people were doing to me. That continues today.
Before, during, and after the trial there have been multiple
Constitutional rights violations committed against me.
Deputy DA Kate Molina propagated false information about me through
the media involving a completely separate matter in which she never
pursued, making claims that I was threatening and harassing a black
person whom I don’t even know, claiming I drove by his house with my
hand in the shape of a gun pointing toward him, and saying I have ties
to white supremacist groups. Kate Molina swore things thing in front
of a judge with several TV cameras and other reporters recording it.
Of course none of it is true, and there wasn’t an ounce of evidence to
support her wild accusations, but it was used to not only throw me in
jail on a $250,000 bond, but also influence and taint prospective
jurors. Before the trial I filed a motion for change of venue, based
off of Molina’s own false claims said about me to media. Judge Ryan
denied the motion. I was essentially denied my right to a fair trial.
Multiple pieces of exculpatory evidence were ruled to be inadmissible,
including an incident where far left “documentary” filmmaker, Skye
Fitzgerald, violently body slammed me to the pavement while stealing
two video cameras from me, shattering my arm and leaving me partially
disabled. Judge Ryan, believing he is a mind reader, claimed that is
irrelevant with regards to the incident a year later, where I had 10+
people threatening me and accosting me. Judge Ryan thinks the prior
incident did not play into my mindset, and must have also believed
that it does not impact my ability to go one-on-ten fisticuffs.
Judge Ryan also ruled that my statements to the detective were
inadmissible. While I was in custody I had explained to the detective
how the mob came after me, how I tried to get away, how I was in fear,
and how I eventually acted in what I believed to be self defense. I
had also explained to the detective how I had been receiving random
and anonymous death threats. None of that was admissible during my
trial.
Basically all evidence relating to my mindset, my own personal belief,
and my assessment of the situation were inadmissible. This removed the
subjectivity from the notion of self defense, and created a purely
objective standard. This is contrary to the standards that the courts,
including Oregon’s higher courts, have used for years. Higher courts
across the nation have agreed that self defense is based off the
defendant’s own personal belief of what is unlawful force being used
against the person, and how a person in the defendant’s shoes, with
the defendant’s experiences and knowledge, would react in any given
self defense situation.
Judge Ryan specifically said this is not about what other people were
doing to me, but about what I did. He essentially refused to consider
self defense as a concept, since self defense is entirely predicated
on the actions of other people.
During the trial multiple individuals admitted to premeditating and
executing this physical attack on me, and they admitted to engaging in
what even the state’s ambush expert witness conceded was “assaultive”
behavior toward me. The state’s star witness, multi-time federal felon
Benjamin Kerensa, admitted he conspired with several others to
confront me. Kerensa weighs 400 pounds. He is literally twice my size.
He admitted to grabbing me to physically throw me out of the crowd. He
admitted that this was unprovoked and that he hadn’t seen me doing
anything to incite him or others leading up to this.
Judge Ryan also allowed for the aforementioned ambush witness, who was
allowed to testify after both sides had rested, and whose name was not
on any previously disclosed witness list. This ambush witness, Gresham
police’s firearms and use of force trainer, Ryan Rasmussen, testified
that just about everything I did was wrong and not reasonable. Except
he could only testify as to what a police officer was trained to do in
the situation I was in, not what a civilian with a Concealed Handgun
License is trained to do or reasonably expected to do, as Rasmussen
has no training, qualifications, or experience with civilian CHL’s.
Despite this, even he agreed that I had properly assessed at least
some of the thugs as threats, and that I was justified in drawing my
firearm on at least some of them.
The state claims there are ten “victims” of mine, yet only two of
these people were ever identified, ever came forward, and ever
testified. I was denied my right to face my accusers, because they
hadn’t accused me of anything. We have no idea who these other people
are. I was found guilty of crimes against anonymous John Does who
never testified. The only two who came forward were Kerensa, the big
guy who started the entire altercation, and Malcolm Chaddock, whom I
had personally seen at prior events causing trouble and committing
crimes. Chaddock served as the distraction so Kerensa could run up
along my blind side.
At various different times throughout this ordeal I have been banned
by the courts from talking to media, posting on Twitter, posting
videos, blogging, going to political events, filming political events,
and filming anything at the local colleges. They essentially banned me
from working. Those bans were lifted after nearly four years. My own
first-person video which shows the initial attack by the mob was
ordered sealed by the judge and the public couldn’t see it until four
months after the trial.
This case basically declared that it is not unlawful force when a gang
of thugs attacks someone on the streets. Since my arrest we’ve seen
rampant violence and crime at protests and other political events. The
gangs learned that they can attack whomever they want and not only
face no consequences, but the person they attack is the one who gets
arrested and throw in jail for fighting back. Mob violence is now
rewarded and incentivized.
If they can do all of these things to me, they can do it to anyone.
Are you next?
The entire notion of self defense with a firearm rests in this case.
If the Heller case established the right to own a gun for self
defense, then the Strickland case will determine if you have the right
to even level the gun at aggressive assailants, even without
discharging a round.
People ask what they can do to help. I am mostly caught up in the
legal bills, but it’s always nice to have a little bit on hand in
reserve, and you can donate at paypal.me/StricklandLegalFund .
You can also donate through Oregon Firearms Federation at
https://www.oregonfirearms.org/join-support-off (leave a note on the
donation form that it’s for the Strickland fund).
I’ll be doing another live stream Q&A for the donors in the coming weeks.
Oregon Firearms Federation has been there every step of the way
helping out. I highly recommend supporting them.
Perhaps more important than funds is spreading awareness about what
had happened. The Gateway Pundit graciously allowed me to publish a
piece a few months back where I explain more about the case, the
trial, and all of the shady tactics used by various different actors.
I also included several videos, including video of the incident
itself, and several videos using the audio from court proceedings to
catch these actors in their lies.
is a good link to share around.
You can also check out the podcast series by Victoria Taft, where she
goes in-depth with exclusive interviews of some of the witnesses and
explores other aspects of the case. https://www.victoriataft.com/ is
her website.
My attorney, Robert Barnes, has been a regular guest on the Viva Frei
YouTube show, and he goes into some detail as well.
https://www.youtube.com/c/VivaFrei/search?query=Strickland for those
links.
You can also encourage other organizations, such as the NRA, to file
amicus curiae to the court in support of my petition. Amicus briefs
allow for interested third parties to submit arguments and information
to the courts in support of, or against, the people involved in the
case to help the judges better understand the situation.
I am available for interviews, media appearances, and speaking engagements.
Thank you all for your support and I am confident that I will emerge
from all of this victorious.