The vicious attacks on Dvorak, Schwilk and I began. Other than having something against Minutemen, the attacks on Schwilk were ridiculous, he simply "tipped" me to the story. He was not the one with the sources.
The attacks on Dvorak and me called us every name in the book. From liars and hoaxers to saying that we should be brought up on charges and thrown in jail. All of this for reporting a true story!
One egregious example of the vicious attacks, this one from the right, came from Bob Owens of Big Government and Confederate Yankee blog. Owens contacted me several times asking if I stood by the story. I reiterated that I stand by the story and more information should be forthcoming. Instead of being honest, he decided to dub us "Laredo Truthers" on his Confederate Yankee story as if we were some conspiracy theorists who had pulled this kind of stunt before and were prone to reporting false information.
On Big Government he tried to turn it into a joke by opening his story there with this "wit" (http://biggovernment.com/bowens/2010/07/25/whats-wrong-with-laredo-part-i/):
"Tell Chuck Norris to stand down. Invasion USA never happened."
He points to the Laredo Morning Times story (where it wasn't denied by the police … as noted previously) and states the story is a fake because he called the Laredo Police Department and the Webb County Sheriff and claims that they flat out denied it (his original story was published 4:40PM July 24). I find this hard to believe because others that called the offices during that same time period said the response was that they simply would not confirm it, but they did not deny it either. Owens is challenging our credibility, but I'd like you to read this and then consider his credibility. Owens continues his "joke line" by throwing out additional "proof" and attacking those of us who reported the story attempting to make us look like wackos.
Pro 8 News, the NBC affiliate, didn’t think enough of the absurdity to even comment on it… they found the installation of a new traffic light more newsworthy.
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Absurdly, the same trio of sites that cried wolf are still sticking by their story, utter lack of credible evidence aside.
The lack of news coverage simply shows incompetence in the local media, not that the incident didn't happen. Remember the Falcon Dam story that wasn't reported until weeks after it occurred? His statement above is a clear attack on us personally by using "absurdly", "cried wolf" and "utter" in his statements. It is one thing to question the incident; it is another to attack people simply because they won't hand over their sources.
Owens clearly stated in his piece what he wanted. He wanted us to reveal our sources to him otherwise he would continue to slander us. "I invite Digger and Kimberly Dvorak to provide me with the names and contact information of their anonymous police sources," Owens states.
Note that this "invitation" is made less than 24 hours after I pushed the story out.
He is in essence saying that all three who reported the story conspired to do so.
Owens' story continues on to attack and claim there are no facts, then makes false claims to prove his version of the story.
Digger’s Realm and Kimberly Dvorak are standing by their militiamen and anonymous police sources.
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The Digger’s Realm story? Two anonymous Laredo police sources and a San Diego California Minuteman named Jeff Schwilk who claims he got his information from… an anonymous Laredo PD officer.
There was no claim made at any time that "militiamen" were the sources. There was no claim made at any time that Jeff Schwilk had sources inside the Laredo PD. Who has the credibility problems here? I think you would agree that it is Owens.
Owens also claims in his Confederate Yankee post that the Laredo PD spokesman said that "while they would not be involved in any law enforcement response outside of their jurisdiction, they work closely with the county sheriff's office and would know if such an event is occurring." So he claims that the Laredo PD would know if there was an incident, but then goes on in his Big Government piece that because the sources are in the Laredo PD, they could not possibly know about the incident.
Every bit of of (sic) this claim … can be traced back to two anonymous police department sources of a police department that does not even have jurisdiction where the alleged invasion is taking place.
He continues on to put into question whether we are "competent journalists" (after his false claims above and his demands to know our sources immediately - something a competent journalist would not reveal on simple demand) and calls us "a handful of conspiracy theorists" and concludes with:
Barack Obama, Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder have failed us. This invasion may have been a hoax, but at the same time, it serves as a very real reflection of their incompetence.
Bob Owens is a hack. For him it's not just about getting to the truth, it's about attacking and trying to discredit those who don't bend to their demands by lying and making derogatory statements.
He wasn't alone though. Thanks to Bob Owens, he helped spread the disinformation the left was pushing to not only shut down the story, but to attempt to discredit the authors permanently.
The left pounced with Media Matters, which spread Owens' attacks.
http://mediamatters.org/research/201007260051
Bloggers Amato, Dvorak invent story that Mexican gangs have "taken over" two ranches near Laredo, TX.
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Conservative blogger Owens debunks story. In a July 24 post on Breitbart's Big Government blog headlined "No, Texas Hasn't Been Invaded,"
So the left forced the right to retract the story within 24 hours of it being reported. And not only to retract it, but to attack those who were still working on getting more information.
The Southern Poverty Law Center - someone who has been gunning for me for years for wanting immigration enforcement - saw the opening it was given and went on the attack of the authors. They took the tack that this was about immigration and not national security even putting it under "anti-immigration" as their category. They also name the authors and claim the lie that "Amato’s source was Jeff Schwilk". They also state "the Amato-Schwilk-Dvorak troika appears to be trafficking in pure fiction." and tried to make me into a hateful vulture by saying that "Amato wrote from his perch some 1,800 miles away." I'm sure they often refer to mainstream media in the same manner as they report stories from the West Coast from their "perch" in New York or Atlanta
Some of the SPLC report seems to be in reference to the Bob Owens' story. Thanks Bob!
Continue on to the next part: Who Is Behind The Cover-up And Why?
