William Kevin Innes, an Asheville man arrested last June and charged with trying to pass off a private currency as legal tender, has sent a plea from jail asking community members for help in securing his release before his trial, which is slated to begin next month.
In the undated, handwritten letter, titled "Injustice Comes to Asheville," Innes asserts that his "alleged crime" amounts to no more than "trying to help small businesses by promoting the use of a local-acting, precious-metal currency as the United States Constitution says the whole country should be using."
The federal government, however, sees the case quite differently.
"When groups seek to undermine the U.S. currency system, the government is compelled to act. These coins are not government-produced coinage, yet purchasers were led to believe by those who made and sold them that they should be spent like U.S. Federal Reserve notes," acting U.S. Attorney Edward Ryan declared in announcing the arrest last year. "Such claims are in violation of federal law."
According to the indictment, Liberty Services, the company that distributed the Liberty Dollar, violated the law by designing coins and bills that resemble official U.S. currency (the indictment specifically cites the use of the head of Lady Liberty and a torch) and by encouraging private merchants to make change with Liberty Dollars in $5, $10, $20 and $50 denominations. According to the Liberty Dollar Web site, 74 Asheville area merchants were accepting the currency at the time of the arrests.
After Innes was named in search warrants issued in connection with a 2007 FBI raid on the Liberty Services headquarters in Indiana, he told Xpress he had never represented the currency as legal tender. In the letter, he says he was careful to ask local law-enforcement officials that his actions were legal.
"From the beginning of 2003, I have continuously received assurance from law enforcement, including Sheriff Van Duncan, that no law was being broken," Innes writes. "How is the FBI serving and protecting the country by arresting me?"
Duncan says he did meet with Innes about two-and-a-half years ago, but though he knew the FBI was investigating the Liberty Dollar group, he "really wasn't at liberty to say much to him one way or the other" about the legality of their activities and therefore "really didn't give any information. Innes, says the sheriff, "told me a little bit about what they were doing. I then called the FBI and let them know about the meeting."
Even among federal agencies, the Liberty Dollar's legal status has seemed murky. A 2006 statement by the U.S. Mint said that using Liberty Dollars in place of standard currency would be criminal. But that same year, a Treasury Department official told the media that merchants were free to accept them if they wished.
Private currencies (such as those used by particular towns or resorts) are not unheard of and haven't generally faced legal challenges. What sets the Liberty Dollar apart is its nationwide reach and backing by precious metals.
Since his incarceration in the Caldwell County Jail, Innes' letter asserts, "I am being punished as though guilty before I have had any opportunity to prove my innocence. The lack of sunshine, bad food, hostile guards and the overcrowding makes this dungeon more severe than most prisons."
The other defendants, including Liberty Dollar creator Bernard von NotHaus, are out on bond. However, Innes' status is complicated by his Canadian citizenship. Due to that and his upcoming trial, Innes is considered a risk to abscond and has thus been unable to gain release. In the letter, Innes says he's trying to get his application for U.S. citizenship accepted and to raise the roughly $20,0000 needed to secure his release.
The letter also asks community members to intervene on his behalf by writing affidavits for his immigration lawyer, donating money for his bail, and sharing his letter (which is addressed to a "Friend of Freedom") with other folks who might support his cause.
Innes' wife, Julia Gaunt, sees her husband about twice a month and is leading the effort to secure his release. "I don't think he's being treated fairly by the federal government," she says. "The Liberty Dollar folks have said that they believe they'll be acquitted, that they have a very strong case. The other three were released on signature bonds, but he's been in jail almost six months now."
But while calling conditions in the jail "appalling," she says Innes has "really kept his spirits up. He's maintaining a vegetarian diet, meditation and exercising, all in his cell," she notes. "The only creative outlet he has is pen and paper. I think a lot of the community is in the dark about what happened to him."
Gaunt has invited community members interested in helping Innes to contact her at 582-9115 or write him at the jail.
Despite the many challenges, Innes ends his letter on an optimistic note, tying his advocacy of a precious-metals-based currency to a larger struggle for change, declaring that the "whole situation is 'history in the making'! Positive change is finally sprouting within people and through cracks formed because certain structures have become too rigid and have begun to wither and decay. Out of the old, new life and [is] springing up and also a desire for a kinder way to share this beautiful planet. I have jumped into this struggle for positive change with both feet. You can say I'm now in over my head! This [is] my call for you to throw me a lifesaver."
Innes' trial is scheduled to begin March 2 at the Statesville Federal Courthouse.
David Forbes can be reached at dforbes@mountainx.com or at 251-1333, ext. 137.
One of Mr. Innes representatives was the third person to approach me with a local currency proposal. The other two are still at large. I’m terribly concerned about those other two completely destroying the value of our currency while the government expends all of its resources prosecuting Innes. Drone strikes! We’ll call them meteorites and blame them on the Mayan calendar.
We should be expending our resources bombing Syria and Lebanon.
Can you imagine, the Federal Reserve prints trillions (trillions!) to bail out the crooked bankers, doubling the money supply in one year. So we all got poorer. And this guy tries to back local currency with something of value, in his little corner of the world, informing law enforcement and the Treasury, and they put him in a cell. We need to put the bankers in a cell, and let this guy go out and help us get back to gold and silver.
Kevin Innes does not deserve to be in jail.
” . .But that same year, a Treasury Department official told the media that merchants were free to accept them if they wished. . .”
What is the reporter’s source for this?
Media Watcher, why would you think merchants could not accept them even if they wished to? Merchants can take whatever they like as payment.
I have heard Kevin’s pitch and he never declared these coins were legal tender. What he did say, which is true, is that the value of these coins would rise as silver is a precious metal. The dollar on the other hand is only on a steady decline because it is backed by absolutely nothing being just a fiat currency. Years ago our currency could be redeemable in silver or gold. Now the banksters, and here I am speaking particularly of the Federal Reserve, is playing it fast and loose by cranking out more and more dollars making the dollar’s value plunge.
One thing is for certain and that is that they got the wrong guy in jail. Look at Tim Geithner our current Secretary of the Treasury who headed the NY branch of the Federal Reserve. They S T O L E T R I L L I O N S and I anxiously await their incarceration. What the feds don’t like is that folks like Kevin and Bernard von NotHaus’ Liberty Services are educating people about the sham that the Federal (there ain’t nothing “Federal” about this private corporation) Reserve has perpetrated since 1913 when it was foisted upon us. It has never been audited and Ron Paul has worked for years to have this happen. Here is some hope folks………… he is getting close to succeeding!
I just had to convert some 1990’s silver dollars into cash to eat and they brought $17 each. Why is that legal? They were worth more because silver is worth more, period. These Federal blokes want to keep us in servitude when they say they don’t want anything competing with federal reserve notes. Do you know they are taking measures against bartering too? Free Kevin Innes. It is incumbent we educate ourselves about how our monetary system works and why most of us have to work as slaves most of our lives while fewer and fewer live in greater and greater lluxury.
‘why would you think merchants could not accept them even if they wished to? Merchants can take whatever they like as payment.”
Merchants buy stock with US dollars…then they sell that msds. for $$$…it’s called “cash flow”. If they accept some other currency they won’t have the US dollars they need to re-stock.
The issue was not whether or not it was wise for a merchant to accept liberty dollars in payment. The issue was whether or not it was legal for merchants to knowingly accept liberty dollars in payment. While I do think there are many instances where it would be wise, it should be obvious that it is at least legal.
I have yet to read or hear even ONE remotely legitimate reason for this guy being jailed.
I agree with the above poster(s); send Ken Lewis to Prison and free this guy.
Can the reporter please verify his source for this statement:
“But that same year, a Treasury Department official told the media that merchants were free to accept them if they wished.”
Please name the official and the news source which quoted the official.
The reporter’s statement, “a Treasury Department official told the media that merchants were free to accept them if they wished. . .” is very difficult to document. Is he referring to this statement on the Liberty Dollar Web site?
“Claudia Dickens, spokeswoman for the U.S. Treasury Department Bureau of Engraving & Printing, stated that according to the Treasury, The Liberty Dollar is legitimate. . . ‘There’s nothing illegal about this,’ Dickens said after the Treasury Department’s legal team reviewed the currency.”
The Treasury Department is not a law enforcement agency and its legal department would refer questions concerning the legality and/or use of Liberty Dollars or anything similar to the Department of Justice.
The reporter seems to be making assertions – not quoting others – that need to be verified.
The sheriff also disputes Innes’ statement that he, the sheriff, advised Innes his operation was legal.
Is this a news article or an advocacy piece on Innes’ behalf? Perhaps it belongs in Opinion.
i am very happy to see so many positive comments here. innes is actually doing something to fight the recession and help local business with constitutional money, and he gets jailed?! while the federal reserve, the biggest counterfeiter on the planet, sits back between their silk drapes, bails out every bank in sight and watches the economy turn into weimar germany. release him immediately!
“Using our resources to bomb Syria and Lebanon” are you serious? How bout let the people and the businesses in this country keep their hard earned fruits of their labor? Instead of wasting it on bombs and bullets and support of dictators around the world? How about a reliable medium of exchange so people can actually have something when they save?
How about that for Change?
“Using our resources to bomb Syria and Lebanon” are you serious? How bout let the people and the businesses in this country keep their hard earned fruits of their labor? Instead of wasting it on bombs and bullets and support of dictators around the world? How about a reliable medium of exchange so people can actually have something when they save?
How about that for Change?
James, I wasn’t serious. It’s a ridiculous situation.
you gotta say /Clearly, dude.
This is but another chance for Americans to show their roots for freedom and liberty. To remind government they are bound (not the people) by the chains of the constitution. Patriots willing to face incarceration so that you will be reminded of the due diligence needed to secure the blessings of liberty and prosperity given to us by way of our creator and not men or governments of power. More of these chances to advance the cause of our American beliefs of people being able to govern themselves with representatives to ensure these blessings are emerging as the hand of oppression closes tighter. Educate yourselves to notice these chances and for God sake, fight for them. A peaceful but stern revolution is possible now. Don’t wait to long to act for you may not like what tyranny brings.
“God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. … And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
— Thomas Jefferson, November 13, 1787
I hope the prospective members of the jury are reading these comments. Mr. Innes never did anything wrong, never tried to defraud anyone, and was always clear and upfront with his intentions.
He is clearly not a danger to society.
If it were MY tax dollars being used to keep this man in jail I would be furious. What a waste.
In a letter to Dutch diplomat Charles William Frederick Dumas, Jefferson observed, “Happy for us, that when we find our constitutions defective and insufficient to secure the happiness of our people, we can assemble with all the coolness of philosophers and set it to rights, while every other nation on earth must have recourse to arms to amend or to restore their constitutions.”
Those who hold the belief that the Second Amendment gives them an individual right to take violent action against our government should it lapse into “tyranny” have isolated Jefferson’s “tree of liberty” quote in order to justify a radical ideology. The truth is that Jefferson’s views on private rebellion were far more thoughtful and nuanced.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-horwitz/thomas-jefferson-and-the_b_273800.html
Thanks Mountain X press to give a good Asheville man like mr INNEs a chance not to be forgotten into the shadow of our latent indifference .
” Rotting in cell ” forgotten by all of us in not a picture from a hollywood movie that exist on your imaginary screen .( I don’t believe being a vegetarian in jail is a good idea ! The man is already pretty skinny )
Few months ago , this man was alive in Asheville, happy , trying to help our community with a good idea .By keeping money stay in Asheville he was a creative mind . Remember those silver dollars were beautiful, shinning and of value while the green papermoney were synonyms with greed and speculation.
I sure accepted as a business the pleasure to be paid with it by other businesses but those coins were too fast collected for me to see his dream come true .
Time to help our fellow idealists . wake up Asheville for a group effort to get him out of the hole !Thank you .
Private currencies (such as those used by particular towns or resorts) are not unheard of and haven’t generally faced legal challenges. What sets the Liberty Dollar apart is its nationwide reach and backing by precious metals.
Jeffersonian: The second amendment was created to uphold the first, should it come under restraint. No one can deny that many of our liberties have come under attack throughout the years. Whether from an overactive parental government or an apathetic dependent democracy. In my comment above I have stated that we need to have a revolution requiring both an educated populace and representation with stern debate for a peaceful resolution (at this time). Perhaps that should have been made more clear on my part. I respect and invite your pacifism as I would not like to see this republic end badly, or at all. When Samuel Adams said “It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority setting brush fires in people’s minds.” He was referring to people educating others that had half a brain. Today, I’m afraid most Americans brain would fit snugly in the scull of a T-Rex, with the attention span of 30 second commercials. Adams and The Sons Of Liberty also knew the persuasion of active patriotism, which in today’s toothless “civil society” is falsely construed as terrorism, to advance government agendas without fear of reprisal. How many times must the American people stand-up and sternly denounce the undertakings by our government officials and be belittled by their faulty logic in matters of founding principals? For every peaceful quote of resolve to our growing problems. I can find the “not so peaceful” in it’s respect.(In the end we did not win our independence with a declaration or an olive branch.) How many olive branches must we offer today’s government before their is another shot heard around the world? How many people must wind up like Mr. Innes, Mr. Brown, Mr. Schiff Mr. Weaver and countless others that stood up to the force of tyranny with only a bullhorn? More importantly, will I hear your receiver slam and your safety click, as I stand next to you, when all debate is exhausted?
“I will not love big brother or his ministries.”
About time that someone spoke up for all the 5,000+ people who had their $4,000,000+ in Gold, Silver, Copper, medallions, Silver Certificates and Bullion “confiscated” by the FBI on Nov. 14, 2007. Most of this “property” was owned by investors of those items. Put yourself in the same position…say for instance that you put money in a bank, then the FBI comes and closes the bank and takes all the assets to some warehouse because they “say” that the bank president is a crook. That is theft because the money in said bank belonged to the investors/people and was just being stored there while the bank president did not own any or very little of the money or property. How would you feel if that happened to you. I can assure you that those 5,000+ investors are left out in the cold at this time. I know of many people who had their life savings purchased the gold, silver, etc. and/or had their purchases stored at the Sunshine Mint in Idaho and who held either silver certificates and/or had an e-account to secure their property. Also, I and most of the 5,000+ people who requested their property back did not even get a response from the prosecuting attorney’s office nor from the magistrate of the court where the trial will be scheduled to happen. Now I ask WHY has no one mentioned or even considered those peoples property rights? Would love comments on this along with getting the word out to others so as they can help demand the return of their property. Thanks to all! :)
Ok sheep, back to sleep. Go back to watching your NFL, American Idol, Jersey Shore, Reality TV, and Other nonsense. Keep on doing EVERYTHING to make yourselves dumber and dumber. Please do not wake up and see that every single second of the day you are getting RAPED by financial institutions. Please go back to sleep, drink your budweiser, celebrate dead soldier holidays by grilling out, and please please please whatever you do, DO NOT WAKE UP!!!
Sincerely,
Federal Reserve, Wall Street, and the US Government.
PS……. Keep on being P*SSIES and sit on your arse. You will NEVER stand and fight and by the time you do, you will have lost so many civil liberties you will have to grab the garden hoe lol
i am thankful that more and more Americans are waking up to the evils of the Federal Reserve, fractional banking, and all sorts of other Constitutional infringements this government we STILL call “American” continues to violate.
NORFED (the Liberty Dollar folks) made it clear that their intent was to circulate an alternative currency which is based on REAL silver and gold, as opposed to the fiat currency based on nothing but debt… debt that continues to destroy the American economy. regardless of how some may agree or disagree with their strategy and methods, i applaud them for striving to fight against the tyrannical banking system embraced by this and other governments.
i have been saddened for some time that Kevin’s non-American citizenship became such a stumbling block for him, that he has already had to spend over 6 months in jail. i sincerely hope that this trial will finally come to pass soon, as i believe everyone has an unalienable right to a speedy trial and that no one should be considered guilty until proven innocent.
and certainly, as “Freedom Lover” said, i hope the folks who were literally ROBBED by the FBI when NORFED was raided, will eventually be repaid or directly given their property back. such corruption is sickening. every official involved in this THEFT of personal property should be on trial! let them sit in a jail for 6 months and think about their actions against decent Americans who were merely investing their own savings!
the writing is on the wall for “America”: the nation is bankrupt and corruption is rampant through government at all levels. we are surely reaping what We the People have sown for quite a long time.
i long for real justice to come upon the real criminals holding offices of power at all levels who should all be held accountable for their violations against unalienable individual liberties — something they all took oaths of office to defend.
Dear Liberty Dollar Supporters!
Here is information about another “private property” supporter who has forsaken the Federal Reserve thieves and started his own “private currency” so people can slow down or prevent their hard-earned money from being “devalued” by the non-stop printing presses of the Federal Reserve “banksters” who have stolen over 97% of the dollars value since 1913. Only 3% more to steal and we are all broke. Support your private currency brokers who back their currency with real silver instead of phony “notes” (Federal Reserve Notes i.e.: FRN’s) which are backed by absolutely nothing. What follows is information for your edification:
1. Debut of Cabool’s Community Dollar
Local merchants reject the house of cards built on the US dollar
Deep in the Missouri Ozarks, a new community currency has appeared to meet the needs of the people. Joshua Deatherage, a local contractor who wears a half-dozen hats to feed his family of four children in Cabool, Missouri, is responsible for creating the new silver based Community Dollar. And it’s neither a Jed and Boys nor a Liberty Dollar venture.
As Deatherage explains, “I started thinking about a local silver currency the day after the Liberty Dollar was raided by the FBI.” He was concerned that the first value based currency might not survive so his new Community Dollar is only intended to circulate in central Missouri.
After three-and-a-half years, the young monetary entrepreneur who wanted to encourage local trade and commerce in his community, reports that over 60 merchants around Cabool and Mountain Grove are now using his Silver Community Dollar.
Recently, when Deatherage stopped by the local tire shop for repairs, the owner told him that he had received $100 in Community Dollars towards a set of tires from the local bar owner. That man told him he usually went out of town to Wal-Mart, but decided to spend his local currency closer to home. The tire shop owner then used the $100 at a Cabool clothing store that he sheepishly confessed he had never visited before. This is how a local community currency grows in small town America – one transaction at a time.
So who uses the $80,000 in Community Dollars that now circulate around the central Ozark area? “Just regular folks.” Deatherage says, “People use the money for a wide variety of goods and services. Around here, you can get clothing and food. And the bar and restaurants accept it, too. You can get almost anything you want or need with the silver Community Dollars.”
Deatherage’s new Community Dollar is available in four convenient denominations in pure .999 fine silver and a $2 copper denomination. The silver issue consists of a $50 piece that weights one Troy ounce, the $20 weighs two-fifths of an ounce, the $10 weighs one-fifth of an ounce and the $5 weighs one-tenth of an ounce. They all feature an oak tree with “Faith – Family – Freedom” on the obverse.
So who’s making all the money – on the new money? It’s not Deatherage, who is still scrambling with all his businesses, still gets up at 4 AM every morning and often works well into the night as an on-call plumber.
Deatherage explains that he is dedicated to the currency because it’s good for the community. And like the local bank, he too wants to make some money. But it hasn’t happened yet. In the beginning, he had to cover all the startup costs for the artwork, dies and, of course, the silver to get the venture off the ground. And now, the merchants make most of the money, since they get the Community Dollars at a discount off the face value and profit when they use it. Like a watchful father, Deatherage is still happy to see his currency grow, as it meets an expanding need – while the US dollar constantly loses its purchasing power.
So in addition to the government’s questionable raid on the Liberty Dollar spurring interest, the depreciating US dollar is driving more people to seek protection with a value based monetary system that’s in their own self-interest. Deatherage scratches his head as he wonders how the country’s monetary structure could be so screwed up.
With silver on the rise – and a flyer called the “Community Dollar Newspaper” that features articles, a free listing of all the merchants who use the local currency, plus advertising – driving more merchants to Deatherage, he doesn’t have much time to wonder. He’s beset with more requests for more silver money. Even Quire’s, an old fashioned, fifth generation general store over 70 miles from Cabool, is one of Deatherage’s most devoted merchants. Many people drive 50 miles just to shop there and take home some community currency that they use in their own communities.
Deatherage always emphasizes the advantages of a local value based currency. But folks have a wide variety of reasons for using his new silver currency, beyond the facts that it’s attractive and the silver retains its purchasing power. But it’s the merchants that drive the local use of the currency as they get it at a discount and encourage other local businesses to protect their customer base. All this activity draws more customers, as their business becomes better known in the community. For Deatherage the benefits are simple, “The more people that use the local community currency – the better off the local economy is.” And adds, “The better the money, the better off the community will be.”
As Deatherage explains, “With only 20 or 30 merchants in a community, the merchants are the economy. Especially since most businesses are family owned and operated. So when a merchant goes out of business, the community declines. People then have to work and spend their money outside the community. This problem is often compounded by a loss of taxes and funding from state and federal programs for the once thriving community.
Still, the people in the Ozarks have their own down-home reasons for using the silver community currency. They are not concerned about the bailouts or the national debt. Their problems are much more personal as they strive to maintain in a down economy. They simply see the intrinsic value of silver as an appreciating currency. They cling to it as long as possible, until they have to spend it.
There is no doubt that everybody is concerned about the economy and especially the folks in and around Cabool. Even the police seem to understand the problems in the local economy and have not voiced any concerns about the merchants who have banded together and use their own silver money – that circulates outside the bank that is all but closed.
Deatherage is quick to acknowledge that there is no quick fix and that the Community Dollar is not a quick fix for the local community. But he says, “The Community Dollar is helping everybody in the community even if they don’t use the new money. Whatever helps the merchants, helps the community, as most businesses are family enterprises.”
Quick fix or not, Joshua Deatherage and his Community Dollar exemplify the can-do American spirit at work in the central Missouri Ozarks. Certainly, gold and silver based currencies have a long history of providing a safe harbor in times of trouble. And with silver up nearly 50% in the last year, it seems that Deatherage is not the only one who is aware of the rewards for venturing beyond the house of cards built on the US dollar.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Cabool Community Dollar is not intended to be used as United States currency and any representation as such is strictly prohibited by law.
For additional information on the Cabool Community Dollar please contact Joshua Deatherage: 417.948.1222 or joshuadeatherage@yahoo.com
Please circulate this article and post it at will.
Hopefully the Jury in Kevin’s trial (and in ALL “trials by jury” know their abilities and rights. The “Jury” is the most powerful entity in the USA. The “Juror” is the most powerful person (out of 12) in the USA. He MUST know his rights and duties. ALL potential jurors should know their rights and duties…not the so-called rights and duties given by the judge, but rather their “TRUE” rights and duties. For more information, go to: http://www.FIJA.ORG (fija.org)
All Americans need this information. Please pass it on so that we don’t become “controlled” by the “powers-that-be”. :)
If you are interested in helping Kevin, please email me. I am the Investigator assigned to the defense team. I am looking for people who have had direct contact with Kevin and know how he presented the Liberty Dollar.
Uh…anyone heard of the North Carolina Plenty Note??????
Ithaca Hours???
Berk Shares????
The fake monopoly money of the filthy Fed is not the only game in town, they just have the most leverage to put good men like Kevin in prison.
The 2nd American Revolution needs to hasten so the peeps can see some TRUTH.