What’s happening in Hardin, Montana?
Tons of readers are asking about the American Police Force jail contract in Hardin, Montana.
Neil Katz at CBS News reported:
This is the strange story of how American Police Force, a little known company which claims to specialize in training military and security forces overseas, has seemingly taken control of a $27 million, never-used jail, and a rural Montana town’s nonexistent police force.
After arriving in this tiny city with three Mercedes SUVs marked with the logo of a police department that has never existed, representatives of the obscure California security company said preparations were under way to take over Hardin’s jail, which has no prisoners.
Significant obstacles remain – including a lack of any contracts to acquire prisoners from other jails or other states.
And on Friday came the revelation the company’s operating agreement for the facility has yet to be validated – two weeks after city leaders first unveiled what they said was a signed agreement.
Still, some Hardin leaders said the deal to turn over the 464-bed jail remained on track.
The agreement with American Police Force has been heavily promoted by members of the city’s economic development branch, the Two Rivers Authority. Authority Vice President Albert Peterson on Friday repeated his claim to be “100 percent” confident in the company.
The lead public figure for American Police Force, Michael Hilton, said more than 200 employees would be sought for the jail and a proposed military and law enforcement training center.
The secrecy has led to speculation that the deal is tied to President Obama’s search for Gitmo detainee housing alternatives in the U.S. Hardin jail officials expressed interest in accepting released Gitmo enemy combatants last spring.
There’s not enough info to determine what exactly is going on — so Montana legislators are doing their jobs and trying to get to the bottom of it:
Montana Rep. Bob Ebinger said more rumors were likely until Hardin and the company provide more details.
“Always when things are secretive, you end up getting everybody—on both the right and the left—making suppositions about what’s going on,” said Ebinger, a Democrat from Livingston.
Ebinger and other members of the Legislature’s Law and Justice Committee said they would ask Hardin officials to provide more information about the company.
In addition to taking over the 464-bed, $27 million jail, the company has said it will sink $17 million into a military training center and is seeking 5,000 acres or more for a live-fire training ground.
Company spokeswoman Becky Shay said there were no plans to reveal the project’s financial backers.
They are not going to be able to sustain that position for long.
See what others have said
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» Bishop Jenky, Nicki Minaj, and the "98%"JustOneMinute
» We Hear From The Department Of Good Ideas And False Choices
Why in the WORLD would they want to move them from Gitmo?? It’s the perfect place for them!
This is SO stupid! Keep them in Cuba!
Been all over this since 0 DARK 30 last night! What in the “heck” is going on out there?
I want to know who the backers are and where the prisoners are coming from. I guess that makes me bi-curious.
The live-fire range has some possibilities, though.
Gitmo North and Gitmo South, makes perfect sense if you like to migrate like the birds.
Who, or what, authority would validate the agreement with the company? Especially, since the city leaders say they have an agreement? Who owns the jail and who paid for it to be built? State, County, or Federal?
Yep, more questions than answers.
I know a better place to house those prisoners. Buy an old, unused off-shore oil drilling platform and put them there. Or buy an old ship, disable the engine, and anchor it a few miles off shore.
Don’t bring them right in the heart of the place they want to strike.
I have a really bad feeling about this. My sense is whatever the official story, your most baseless speculations are far more likely to be closer to the truth.
Since this firm is California based, one could speculate this has to do with moving convicts from California to relieve crowding. It might even be cheaper.
Because they probably include Tony Rezko, Charlie Rangel and/or others tied to Obummer.
Mmmm… Mmmm…. Montana…
The perfect place to lock up Obama…
They might also be there to clear up a lot of outstanding parking violations or educate the local citizenry on how environmentally friendly Mercedes SUVs are. Sorry but their website gives me the crawls. Yes, I am in full black helicopter paranoia — and proud of it.
This whole thing makes me itch.
Anyone else get a bad feeling that WE are the financial backers?
That could be it. But with only 400+ beds, that won’t relieve much.
On the other hand, moving 400+ jihadis from Gitmo to Montana is just what The B.O. would love. It would put them in a U.S. prison so the ACLU will now have more ammunition (so to speak) for their lawsuits demanding access to the courts for the jihadis.
Also, when (not if) they are released, the B.O. will make sure they are right in the heart of the country they want to strike. The B.O. will save us from attack by showing us how tolerant Islam is; convert or die.
…and not in a good way.
Training facilities and a rifle range sounds like xe/blackwater, or whatever they call themselves these days, or some competing group.
Now what would make you think that?
I doubt this has anything to do with Gitmo. It’s more likely the beginning of an interstate prisoner outsourcing industry for states like CA that have high prison populations and over-crowding. It costs close to $80k per year per prisoner in CA but much less in states like Montana. Alabama, for instance, only costs $18k per year.
I don’t know the details of this particular situation but if it’s about outsourcing prisons, I’m all for it. Better than letting these guys loose which the CA courts keep ordering.
Puts on tin foil hat:
Its the first prison for political dissenters.
Takes off tin foil hat…
BTW whats up with the serbian symbol???
It depends on who owns/runs this place weather it is a good or bad thing. It could go either way as long as we don’t have anymore info than this.
Serbian crest. Look familiar?
Outsourcing is a good idea. The US should offer Mexico the opportunity to imprison their citizens who commit crimes here. Pay them the 18k per year for each prisoner,but if any of these guys end up back in the country the deal is off. Bet Mexico would jump at that chance, since they probably only spend 1 or 2k per year on theirs. It would lessen up the Cali prison population by at least 25 to 30%.
Also on the website they are wearing serbian uniforms. American police my left a$$ cheek.
http://www.billingsgazette.com – where you can do a search for ‘hardin prison’ and all they’ve seen fit to print should bring the articles up.
The city of Hardin does not have a city police force, but is patrolled by the county sheriff’s dept..this outfit is being closely scrutinized and Helena should get to the bottom of it. Of interest is the spokeswoman for this outfit from CA. Seems she was just hired away from the Gazette. Just down the road from Hardin is the Crow Reservation – I90 goes right through it, and they have their own tribal police force plus the MT highway patrol is very visible too.
I don’t know, this could be a good thing. Moving the jihadis from the sunny, warm climes of that tropical paradise to the (very) cold, snowy environment of Montana in the middle of the night during winter might just make some talk more. Methinks yard time will be cut waaaay back!
Wait, is that torture?
Basicaly they are Serbian mercenaries.
Replacement for Gitmo? Nope. Training facility for Citizen Army? Yep. If Obama wants a Civilian Army that rivals the actual military in strength they have to be trained. A prison is the perfect place to do so. Lots of room, heavily fortified, built to accommodate lots of bodies and so on. Why would you need a live fire training ground for a prison, even one holding terrorists? Wouldn’t a local gun range be enough to keep correction officers up to standard. Especially since firearms wouldn’t be their primary means of force in a prison. Remember, the article states they specialize in training. Not owning and running prisons. And not in training prison guards – but military forces. One must then ask who are they training and why? We have Obama on tape stating he wants a Citizen Army. I don’t think he means apathetic Americorps college kids. Funnel in criminals, black militants, radical leftist terrorists and train them to fight, follow orders, tactics of urban warfare, and whatever else is needed. If Obama plans on overstaying his welcome or declaring martial law he’ll need a large armed force to pacify and control the populace. And nobody who only talks to the military commander in charge of Afghanistan once is going to trust the military to turn their weapons on civilians. This is how Obama’s SA becomes the SS.
From the looks of things, this appears to be a heavy duty outfit, so why run a jail in the middle of no where?
I have no problem with allowing Serbian mercenaries to guard the gitmo scumbags. That have alot of practice, ahem, “guarding” muslims.
But I do have a problem with an armed compound of Serbian nationalist mercinaries setting up camp in America.
I think chicagojedi is on to something. Whatever the purpose, my intuition says it can be nothing good for American and/or the conservative constituency.
The “secrecy” aspect to this is really curious. They have a “virtual” office in DC near the White House, an official web site, no contracts, little money but they are already strutting around like they own Hardin Montana.
Here’s an interesting blog entry on this.
Looks to me like it could just be a bunch of foolish investors who jumped the gun with visions of easy riches in tapping into the fast growing security business. They might already be over their heads since they can’t even issue a coherent public statement despite having a local newspaper reporter as their “press liaison”.
I’m in favor of moving the Gitmo detainees to mainland U.S.
In order of preference:
1.) Chicago
2.) Aberdeen Proving Grounds
3.) Nevada Test Site
4.) Yuma Proving Ground
5.) China Lake
6.) Vieques Island Bomb Range
7.) Midway
chicagojedi, if you are right, and that was my first instinct as well, remember that the first rule of warefare is to fix your enemy (locate). It would be nice to have them all holed up in one place. Fish in a barrel anyone?
Yes, I know Midway isn’t on the mainland, but it makes sense.
Hangfire, please leave Yuma, AZ off your list- unless part of the deal is to raffle off licenses as well. Bag ‘em and tag ‘em boys.
I was thinking the Antartica. Put them up in a base and airdrop supplies. You leave, you die. Cheap, easy, effective.
a security company from california operating in montana, has to be checked out. anything originating in california should be scrutinized. the pestilence known as liberalism runs that state.
8.) Berkeley, Ca.
I doubt they would use a prison in Montana for political prisoners sonofdy. I’d look for a prison being built in as harsh and remote an environment as possible. Someplace where inmates will die almost as quickly as they are forgotten. As vast as Montana is do you really think some Serb mercs could hold back a million armed conservatives if they were detaining say, Rush Limbaugh? In our day in age if Obama went the way of Wilson I’d look to ships at see. Giant cargo ships full of political opponents constantly on the move, heavily manned, and armed. Not to mention in international waters anything goes and the President can plausibly deny any involvement or knowledge.
Sounds good, except the airdrop supplies bit. They should have Victory Gardens.
chicagojedi: No they couldn’t hold off 1 million, but they could do alot of damage. I saw what they did in Bosnia.
Maybe they can put the jail directly behind the live firing range targets. Put some excitement into those GITMO transfers. I heard they like being in war zones and seeing people die. GITMO must be really boring for them.
Maybe its just me, but the serbian symbol bugs me. Could be the mass graves I assoicate with it. Or the rape and death camps. Silly I know…
Oh I agree speakeasy but conservatives by their nature aren’t going to take up arms and start blood shed without serious provocation. Simply having a Civilian Army training facility will cause huge uproar, but not violence. Can’t you see Obama, Pelosi and the State Media talking about how this is just about good honest service to the nation, helping people with tuition, and anyone who disagrees is a crazy Nazi racist. I doubt the right will ever make war unless war is already upon us. And if this is something that heinous the minute it is exposed the left will simply move it to another location, give the company a new name and start up again. Sort of like ACORN.
As soon as they set foot on US mainland soil, they’re free men under the Obama justice department.
OK we can outsource guarding prisoners to a evil corporation but our healthcare must be government controlled. I guess this is the change part and hope is what we are supposed to do, that nothing goes wrong.
The Obama transparency comes to Montana.
I had been thinking for a long time the place to house the jihadis would be the former navy base on Adak Island in the Aleutians. Should the prisoners act up, the garrison could always lower the heat.
Hey, with all the Global Warming, Antarctica will look like Saudi Arabia in just a few years anyway.
I personally called the Lt Governor’s office & Hardin Sheriff’s office. Unfortunately this article is not accurate. The prison has been empty for 2 yrs and it is a private facility built by private contractors (which is common in our country for prisons). It will be being used for low to medium prisoners from other states overflow for low to medium prisoners. The state’s constitution has NOT been suspended and a city council doesn’t have the power to do so only the state government can suspend it’s own constitution. The sheriff’s dept has not been taken out of power & is operting as usual.
Internment camp for patriots.
Is it too late to re-arm Native Americans?
But without the hot women…
That is what I was told and not only prisoners from CA. Other low to medium prisoners. The prion in MT has been empty for 2 years. And we have many private companies that build our prisons.
Then why do they need a giant live fire training ground for low to medium security prisoners xler8bmy? Why Serbian mercenaries? As you say there are plenty of American companies that buy and run prisons. And why all the secrecy?
The prison wasn’t built to house maximum security prisoners. The City of Hardin has already defaulted on their payments, so it is hard to understand how they could possibly bring the prison up to standards to house Gitmo detainees. I live In Billings, MT and this whole thing doesn’t pass the sniff test. The head of APF was in Hardin this weekend and when he opened his mouth he has a thick accent of some kind. The new spokeswoman moved quickly to stop him from saying anything else. I hope more info comes out on this outfit and soon!
Is Glenn Beck guest posting?
Yeah!
Take the tin foil hat OFF! As I said I spoke directly to the sheriff and Lt govenor. They also, use our retired military for their operations as well. Here’s a news flash prion guards and swat teams they have to control the prison population have to be trained in firearms.
464 beds huh? That’s MORE than enough room to lock up EVERYONE in Nancy Pelosi’s House of Representative, along WITH those 9 SCOTUS justices.
My collie says:
Them? How about Gitmo?
I’ll never bad-mouth the chicks on Guam again. Promise!
I’ll speculate even further that it’s what Obama called the “the Civilian defense force” firebase 1. Where the Thugs get training on how to be a civilian defense force. Anything coming out of Cali has to be suspect.
I would think that moving terrorist from Gitmo to Montana would be cruel and unusual punishment.
My questions also. No matter what the sheriff and Lt. Governor says, this still doesn’t pass the smell test. And, have we ever known govmt. officials to lie? Hmmmm? I would say that they lie most of the time. So I wouldn’t just blindly believe them this time either. The attempt at secrecy alone should raise all kinds of red flags.
You girly-man! Ahm from Austrio-KaliFOHNya and dares nuting wrong wit me!
And I should take your word xler8bmw that you talked to the Lt. Gov and Sheriff because? And I should take their word because? It isn’t paranoia if you’re right. I’d love to be wrong, but lately Obama and his leftist allies have been taking actions far more sinister than anything I could concoct. And thanks for attacking the messenger. Yes all of us who distrust Obama are just crazy tin foil hat loons. We should just shut up and drink the kool aid right xler8bmw? And I ask again because you failed to see the inherent fly in the soup: Why do you need so many SWAT teams and armed guards that require a giant live fire training center and mercenaries to train them when all you claim the prison will hold are low to medium security prisoners. Are the tax evaders and dope smokers going to lay siege?
As should the Serbian crest. Does anyone remember that little genocide?
xler8bmw is honest chicagojedi. If he says he talked to them, he did.
Dumpster diving at Newsmax and Stormfront for stories, I see.
Or isn’t source checking, and lots of it, important anymore?
That’s fine sonofdy but it doesn’t mean the people he talked to are telling the truth. He’s asking us to believe the government when they say that the government isn’t doing anything wrong. The secrecy and mounting contrary evidence doesn’t help their case.
Just a Conservative Resettlement Camp is all. It’s only for their continued safety that we concentrate them…
No one is saying drink the kool aid and Ishare your sentiments about Obami but, until there is solid facts to speculate is illogical! There is so much nutty stuff that it is a H1N1 camp for civilians or martial law. Also, for the amount of guns in MT I would screw with them if I were Obami. I think people’s imaginations are running away with them.
Also, I don’t know if you have been to a firing range used by police and military but, it is common on the grounds to have that kind of training on those ranges. I was just at the firing range in my area that police and some military personel use and the public isn’t allowed to use but, it’s there.
I also, believe the sheriff was being completely honest with me. I called him after the Lt. Gov because I didn’t feel they were being forthwith on their information.
Wouldn’t have to dumpster dive if the MSM did it’s job.
Can’t disagree with that.
Six degrees, You don’t need a mercenary force to run a prison.
You also don’t need 5,000 acres to practice live fire shooting. Thats bigger than some of our military bases.
This story is strange.
Maybe they need the acreage for The Hunt? Wouldn’t that look good over the mantle?!
Hmmm. An American Gulag? Is this where they will send us if we don’t sign up and pay for health insurance?
His civilian defense army always made me nervous. As I’ve posted before, check out “Night of the Long Knives”.
Any private company carrying the name American Police Force is either incredibly stupid about the amount of negative connotations attached to it…. or incredibly confident about there connections to power protecting them.
Ooops…..”their” Lol. I hate when i do that.
This is a strange story with odd intersecting and diverging plot lines. PasadenaPhil’s link did provide some pertinent info. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. The Serbian connection is intrigueing and disturbing to say the least.
As always, follow the money.
Thxs son, I did because it is creepy and suspicious and under this guy you never know what crisis is happening or being created!
I don’t get the crown over their logo. Does that mean Canada is involved? Britain? I don’t care if it is completely innocent, what company would call themselves the American Police Force and use symbols like those. Bogtrotter, I totally agree with your assessment.
frontierguy: its the crown of the Serbian kingdom.
http://www.americanpolicegroup.com/
I bet the first rooms are reserved for:
Malkin
Limbaugh
Levin
Coulter, and
Beck
Obama’s “civilian security force” is NOW taking reservations for “special guests of the state.”
Good grief! This outfit sounds more like mercenaries than jail guards!
I thought it was illegal to recruit and train mercenaries in the USA?
What gives?
I think the American in “American Police Force” is the same as the American in “American Civil Liberties Union.”
Just for that, they should not be trusted.
I don;t believe they’re any different than Blackwater or Haliburton and the people they employ. They use retired US military as well.
xler8bmw I completely agree that wild speculation isn’t very helpful, but since this all being done under a veil of secrecy that is all we have left. And that’s the tactic: if all we on the right can do is speculate we all look like crazy nuts. But if all we can do is guess I say guess. Let’s wargame it. Come up with logical conclusions to the scant evidence we have. Expect nothing, be ready for anything. We shouldn’t take it all as concrete truth but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be wary and shouldn’t think about these possible future actions. What’s really terrible isn’t that we’re speculating or the things we’re speculating, but that no matter how outlandish we may be it is still possible under this President. Obama has spent his whole life idolizing those that enslave and oppress. Now that he has that sort of power why wouldn’t he use it? Another point: live fire facilities are used by SWAT teams to practice for upcoming actions so they can become familiar with the building they are entering. Why is it necessary when they already are familiar with the layout of the prison? Second a facility of that size sounds more like the urban battle centers used to train our military. Add in the fact that they’re using mercenaries to train and this isn’t being used to train our military who are they training and why?
It IS the coat of arms for Serbia.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Serbia.svg
Maybe they found work for Slobodan Milošević and by Željko Ražnatović?
We have to get Michelle into an undisclosed location NOW!!!
I think I hear black stealth helicopters overhead!
Look out your window now! You can see the invisible black Chevy Suburbans! We are surrounded by invisible “Men in Black” and we are being bombarded by inaudible sound waves.
The fact that you can’t hear or see them proves they are invisible and inaudible!
We are doomed! Chappy has triumphed!!!
After you told me it was the crown of the Serbian Kingdom, I looked it up and found the two headed eagle crest. Has anyone looked at the application for employment?
All I have now is WTF?
Yeah, I’m with you, chicagojedi…anything involving this administration, this group of incompetent politicians, and this group of Czars raises all kinds of red flags for me. Hope I’m wrong in my assumptions.
One other crazy theory: On the American Security Force website one of the links is for weapon sales (international only). I may be wrong but wasn’t George Soros either accused of being an arms dealer or having ties to one a while back? Too lazy to Google. Is this a another Soros-funded organization getting government funds?
Isn’t Soros Hungarian? Close enough for hand-grenades.
For your edification and laff-o-the day, I have just done some comparative reading at DU after searching APF at that site. On just one of Their comments associate it with “Riech” Wing up to “dirty tricks”, local authorities only, Serbian mercenaries, and even (who’da thunk it) Glenn Beck (as sarcastic humor). They were very very careful to make no connection between this, APF, and the current administration, with the exception of one person who had a rather long comment connecting the APF sharing a ip address with 4 other defense dept. contractors. Since his comment near the end of a long, 102, list, I am going to have check later and see how many DUmmies condemn him as a right wing troll and recommend tombstoning. LOL.
This will be Gitmo North and cost ten times as much – and to what end?
#1 It will certainly allow those prisoners access to the US legal system – by design. #2 It is potentially a real first step towards training Obama’s “Civilian” Defense Force. #3 Who will be the future prisoners of this facility? American citizens accused of armed rebellion? #4 Who has ultimate authority over APF and others like them in the future? Certainly not some Montana city council members.
As others have already said: THIS IS NUTS!