The U.S. Forest Service's drug sweep at Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico in February was the work of "jack-booted thugs," says the state's former Gov. Gary Johnson. "People here are 100% pissed off."
Agents wearing flak jackets, carrying arms and accompanied by a K-9 detection dog descended on the resort on Feb. 22 after a reports of Ecstasy sales and DWIs on the mountain. Several citations for marijuana and busted windows were issued in the parking lot.
Johnson, who lives in Taos, says he "was on the mountain" at the time of the police action. "I didn’t see any of this or I would have been in their face and I would have gotten arrested.
“What are these guys doing wearing bullet-proof vests? Law enforcement on the Forest Service is separate from Ranger Rick. It’s driven by I don’t know who but let’s find out who. Do we need Homeland Security as another layer of so-called protection? Well, we’re getting it. It’s here. In the name of (preventing) terrorism and drug enforcement, they can do it. Where is the due process? These guys were not in a gray area. This was way, way over the line."
Johnson ran for president as the Libertarian Party candidate in 2012.
