It's Been Over 7 Years And DOJ Is Still Stiffing The Terry Family

The family of slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has been waiting over seven years for the Department of Justice to release documents related to his death. As this tweet by former Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) makes clear, they will have to keep waiting.

I met with AG Sessions to get the Fast & Furious documents. He said NO and decided to let it continue to play out in court. Frustrating and disappointing to say the least. @realDonaldTrump #FastAndFurious https://t.co/0rRaSAskC8

— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) March 3, 2018

That Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to hide the role of the Department of Justice in the death of Agent Terry is unconscionable. It was what we expected from his predecessors. Frankly, for this and so many more reasons, it is time for Sessions to be sent home to Alabama.

The Terry family was promised back during the presidential campaign by Donald Trump he would get them justice.

#FastAndFurious @realDonaldTrump Sir it's been 7 yrs .my family ask you reopen Obama's gun scandal that cost my brother his life..I talk to you back on the campaign trail here in Michigan and you offered to reopen the books into this senseless scandal .thank you.God bless

— Kent terry (@terry_superman) March 3, 2018

They are still waiting.

If you would like to send a message to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, here is the link.

Project Gunwalker Is Back In the News

Project Gunwalker aka Operation Fast and Furious is back in the news. That is because the suspected killer of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has been apprehended in Mexico on Tuesday.

William Lajeunesse of FoxNews reports:

The suspect, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, was apprehended by a joint U.S.-Mexico law enforcement task force that included the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals and the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC).

A $250,000 reward had been sought for information leading to the arrest of Osorio-Arellanes, who was captured at a ranch on the border of the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua. U.S. authorities have said they will seek his extradition.

Terry was killed on Dec. 14, 2010 in a gunfight between Border Patrol agents and members of a five-man cartel "rip crew," which regularly patrolled the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border looking for drug dealers to rob.

The agent's death exposed Operation Fast and Furious, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operation in which the federal government allowed criminals to buy guns in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them once they made their way into Mexico. But the agency lost track of more than 1,400 of the 2,000 guns they allowed smugglers to buy. Two of those guns were found at the scene of Terry's killing.

Four members of the "rip crew" have been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to prison in the United States. Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga is the only remaining member of the "rip crew" still at large.

In a sane world, the involvement of the Obama Administration and Attorney General Eric Holder in Project Gunwalker should have brought it down. It didn't. Given all the talk about "fake news", this whole sordid episode is a reminder of how the mainstream media did not do its job.

The only two mainstream reporters that worked on the story were Fox's Lajeuness and then-CBS Investigative Report Sharyl Attkisson. If it was not for the efforts of the late Mike Vanderboegh, David Codrea, and Dave Workman, we never would have even known that the Justice Department and the BATFE were involved in allowing firearm to be walked to Mexico in an effort to build support for gun control measures.

While nothing will bring back Brian Terry, I'm happy to see his killer apprehended.

Tweet Of The Day

The tweet of the day comes from BearingArms.com editor Bob Owens. This was in response to a tweet by former Attorney General Eric Holder.

Brian Terry, murdered with guns Holder's DOJ provided to narco-terrorists, could not be reached for comment. https://t.co/iJGXcfR9zz

— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) October 10, 2016

You can see Holder's full tweet below:

Be afraid of any candidate who says he will order DOJ/FBI to act on his command This is dangerous/so is @realDonaldTrump-he's not qualified

— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) October 10, 2016

Lest we forget, Holder was found in Contempt of Congress for withholding documents (among other things) during the hearings into Operation Fast and Furious.

As to "acting on command", one must wonder what current Attorney General Loretta Lynch's marching orders were from President Obama that she passed on to FBI Director James Comey. Hmm?

She Approves Of Dead Mexicans, Gun Running, And Murdered Federal LEOs

Hillary Clinton is one of the most shameless politicians of this era or any era. If an endorsement or ad will get her just one more vote, she'll go for it. It doesn't matter if the person making the endorsement was the most partisan, the most contemptible, the most brutally corrupt Attorney General since the founding of this Republic. A man whose fingerprints were all over an operation to run guns to Mexican cartels so as to build support for gun control. A man who was found in Contempt of Congress. A man who said he supported voting rights but dismissed charges of outright voter intimidation against favored groups. A man who used the Department of Justice as a shakedown machine against corporate America.

Of course, I'm referring to former Attorney General Eric Holder.

Living in western North Carolina, 3/4's of our broadcast TV comes from the Upstate of South Carolina. I was watching Jeopardy! last night when the ad below came on with Holder's endorsement of Hillary. The two themes pushed were gun control and voting rights. These are themes that play well with black voters and Hillary needs to lock down the black vote to stave off Bernie Sanders.




Who cares if the endorser and his minions were responsible, directly or indirectly, for the murders of two Federal law enforcement officers, the deaths of a minimum of 300 Mexican nationals, and the arming of Mexican drug cartels through smuggled guns?

Hillary doesn't. All she cares about is getting one more vote.

Absurd Ruling In Terry Murder Trial

US District Court Judge David Bury ruled on Friday that no mention of Operation Fast and Furious aka Project Gunwalker could be made in the trial of two men accused of the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

The U.S. asked the judge this summer to keep the details of Fast and Furious out of the murder trial, stating it was irrelevant.

Bury agreed. "I agree with one exception. I can't find any relevance expect if the government should open the door," he said.

If the government brings up the origins of the guns found, Bury ruled that defendants can then bring up Fast and Furious.

Bury ordered the defendants "not to refer to ... or elicit any testimony regarding Operation Fast and Furious. Understood?"

Excuse me?

The defendants, Ivan Soto Barraza and Jesus Leonel Sanchez Meza, used AK-47s to kill Agent Terry that the BATFE had allowed (encouraged) to be walked to Mexico as part of Operation Fast and Furious. Given that the Department of Justice and BATFE were complicit in providing the firearms used to kill Agent Terry, ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata, and 300 or more Mexicans, I'm not surprised that the US Attorney's Office doesn't want it mentioned. However, I am surprised that a judge would deny the defense of the opportunity to use it in defending their clients.

It is obvious that burying the details of Operation Fast and Furious is important to the prosecutors. In addition to the judge's order above, they have a whole series of questions for potential jurors asking about their knowledge of Project Gunwalker.  One does have to wonder if this was a local decision to suppress mention of Operation Fast and Furious or did the order come down from DC.

Project Gunwalker Makes It Into Loretta Lynch's Confirmation Hearing

Project Gunwalker aka Operation Fast and Furious was mentioned today as the confirmation hearings for Loretta Lynch to become the 83rd Attorney General began. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) had this to say in his opening statement:

The Department’s own Inspector General listed as one of its top management challenges: “Restoring Confidence in the Integrity, Fairness, and Accountability of the Department.”

He cited several examples, including the Department falsely denying basic facts in the Fast and Furious controversy. The Inspector General concluded this “resulted in an erosion of trust in the Department.”

In that fiasco, our government knowingly allowed firearms to fall into the hands of international gun traffickers.

And it led to the death of a Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry.

And then, after Congress called on the leadership of the Department to account for this foolish operation, what did they do?

Did they apologize to the family and rush to uncover the truth?

Quite the opposite.

They denied, spun and hid the facts from Congress and the American people.

They bullied and intimidated whistleblowers, members of the press, and anyone who had the audacity to investigate and uncover the truth.

 You can listen to this in the live video of Lynch's hearings at the 25:00 to 26:09 marks.

While it won't bring back the lives of Brian Terry and Jaime Zapata, I'm glad Sen. Grassley at least hasn't forgotten them and what was a proximate cause of their deaths.

A Missing Third Fast And Furious Rifle?

Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News reports that the Department of Justice's Inspector General is looking into the existence of a three firearm found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder.

In a new development in the Fast and Furious gunwalking case, the Justice Department's Inspector General (IG) is making inquiries into the possible existence of a missing third weapon in the 2010 murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, CBS News has learned. According to sources close to the investigation, the IG is questioning the Border Patrol’s evidence collection team this week in Tucson, Ariz.

The Justice Department, which oversees ATF and the FBI - and which is investigating Terry’s murder - has steadfastly denied the existence of a third gun. Court records have previously only mentioned two weapons: Romanian WASR AK-47 type rifles found at Terry’s southern Arizona murder scene on Dec. 14, 2010. Both weapons were sold to suspects who were under ATF's watch in the agency’s controversial gunwalking case. Also, a ballistics report only mentions the two WASR rifles and states that it's inconclusive as to whether either of them fired the bullet that killed Terry.

 The missing third rifle from the Fast and Furious murder scene is thought to be a SKS carbine which also shoots the 7.62x39 cartridge. Secret recordings made of meetings between ATF Agent Hope McAllister and Andre Howard, owner of Lone Wolf Trading Company, referenced such a rifle.

In the audiotapes, ATF’s lead agent on Fast and Furious, Hope MacAllister, tells Howard that a third weapon recovered at the Terry murder scene is an SKS rifle. It's unclear why a weapon would be absent from the evidence disclosed at the crime scene under FBI jurisdiction. If it’s proven to exist, sources familiar with the investigation say it would imply possible evidence-tampering for unknown reasons.

DOJ denied its existence back in 2011 and neither the DOJ or the Inspector General's Office is willing to answer questions about this possible third murder weapon.

I'm glad to see that Sharyl Attkisson is keeping on the case and not letting it fade away as many in Washington seem willing to do.

Subtle Reminder From Sharyl Attkisson

The lead story on this morning's CBS Sunday Morning was a report by Sharyl Attkisson about bribes and corruption within the US Customs and Border Protection. Narco-terrorists and illegal immigrant smugglers have been targeting CBP agents in an effort to have them turn a blind eye to smuggling of both drugs and humans. Since 2004, there have been 358 convictions of Customs and Border Patrol employees and their associates for this. Of course this is an important story and I'm glad Sharyl is on it.

However, that is not what I want to discuss. Instead it is a rather subtle reminder - intentional or unintentional - that was embedded in the story about Project Gunwalker. Just before a graphic came up showing the DHS Office of Inspector General's report on the corruption convictions, the camera focused for approximately three seconds on the sign below.

Sharyl and her producers could have used any Border Patrol Station between Imperial Beach, California and Brownsville, Texas or any Ports-of-Entry from San Ysidro, California to Brownsville, Texas. Rather they chose the one Border Patrol Station that would remind observant viewers of Operation Fast and Furious. I can't believe this is just a coincidence.

As it is, the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station is a constant reminder that Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in the line of duty with firearms that were allowed to be smuggled to Mexico by the Department of Justice and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is also a reminder that while his killers have pled guilty to his murder, the Obama Administration is still sitting on thousands upon thousands of documents that may well point to complicity in the operation by those at the highest levels of the Justice Department. Finally, it is a reminder that BATFE managers such as former Phoenix FD SAC Bill Newell and his ASAC George Gillett still haven't been fired and/or indicted for their role in this affair.

Thank you Sharyl for this reminder lest we forget.

More On The Unsealed Indictment

ABC News had footage from today's press conference with US Attorney for the Southern District of California Laura Duffy. She is the lead prosecutor in the murder prosecution of the six Mexican nationals charged with Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Given the involvement of the US Attorney's Office for Arizona in Project Gunwalker, outside prosecutors had to be brought in.

While it has been rumored for a long time that the Border Patrol Agents responded with less than lethal ammunition (beanbags), I believe this is the first time the government has confirmed it. To me, this is the equivalent of taking a knife to a gun fight.

David Codrea has a different take on the unsealing of the indictment in his National Gun Rights Examiner column today.

Noting indictments were handed down by a federal grand jury in November, 2011, and the men are still at large, it would seem fair to ask what information Justice has to to be confident they have not automatically condemned the suspects—and that word is key—to violent deaths, whether they are entrenched in Mexico or hiding in the U.S. from ruthless gangs who ignore borders as a matter of course?

If the unsealing somehow forces the suspects in from the cold, the gamble with their lives will have paid off, but that assumes they are still alive and they are guilty. If they are instead caught first by the cartels, the adage “Dead men tell no tales” will certainly fuel further speculation among those who don’t believe the government has been forthcoming about its role in a deadly operation that has already claimed known and untold lives, an unfortunate but logical consequence of earned mistrust.

I think David brings up some very valid questions. I would be surprised if they are ever found, alive or dead.

Indictment In Brian Terry Murder Unsealed

The Justice Department today unsealed the indictment for the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The FBI also announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the four men who were indicted that are not in custody. Two others are already in Federal custody and have been for some time.




When asked about the unsealing of the indictment, Chairman Issa applauded the unsealing of it but questioned the timing of it. He thought the release of it now was an effort to divert attention from the House's contempt citation of Attorney General Eric Holder.

From the Fox News report by William LaJeunesse and Megyn Kelly:

The 11-count indictment, originally handed up by a grand jury in November 2011, implicates five defendants in the killing. A sixth suspect has also been charged in a related incident.

The two men in custody are Manuel Osario Arellanes -- who was wounded in the foot the night of the firefight -- and his brother Rito. Rito, who was arrested two nights before the Terry shooting, allegedly helped provide weapons to the criminal gang used in the shooting. All six men named in the indictment are either related or friends.

The other four are believed to be hiding out in Mexico, and the U.S. is now offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to their arrest. They are: Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga; Ivan Soto-Barraza; Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes; and Lionel Portillo-Meza.

The indictment charges Manuel Osario-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Orsorio-Arellanes, and Lionel Portillo-Meza with 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Murder, Robbery, four counts of Assault on a Federal Officer, and Using and Carrying a Firearm during a Crime of Violence.

The indictment names all of the five men above plus Rito Orsorio-Arellanes with Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery. The indictment also charges Manuel Osario-Arellanes with two counts of a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Finally, the indictment seeks forfeiture of the two AKs that have been linked to Operation Fast and Furious plus ammunition. The ammo to be forfeited includes boxes of 7.62x39 as might be expected plus a box of .45 ACP and two boxes of .223. You have to wonder if any of the firearms that used the latter were part of Operation Fast and Furious.

I have embedded the full unsealed indictment below:


USA v. Manuel Osario Arellanes et al

An Alternate Suggestion

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has introduced S.3304 which would rename a number of Federal buildings. Included in the buildings to be renamed is the ATF Headquarters in Washington, DC.


The LA Times reports:

Congressional legislation has been introduced to name the bureau's D.C. headquarters the "Eliot Ness ATF Building’’ after the agent whose battles with bootleggers and mobsters in Prohibition-era Chicago inspired the book, movie and TV series "The Untouchables.’’

The naming really had nothing to do with the Fast and Furious operation, which has become the subject of a congressional investigation. It's included in a broader bill, introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chairs the Senate committee that oversees federal buildings.

It is reported that Acting Director B. Todd Jones is wholly in favor of this move by Sen. Boxer.

ATF spokesman Drew J. Wade called the proposed name "wholly appropriate and fitting."

The agency's acting director, B. Todd Jones, came to the ATF with a "keen understanding of the bureau's rich history and contributions to public safety and federal law enforcement," he said. "As such, Mr. Jones determined to see the ATF headquarters building named after one of its own."

The dissident agents at CleanUpATF.org don't think too much of this aggrandizing move. They come up with an alternative name in honor of another famous (or infamous) ATF employee.

Many of us disagree. It would be far more fitting, proper and descriptive to name ATF Head quarters the "Russell Vander Werf Building" to memorialize ATF management and commemorate Vander Werf's sterling (all night) performance in Metairie, LA, December, 2009. Not "The Untouchables", but "The Touchables".

Mr. Vander Werf was the ATF manager who was arrested for installing a "glory hole" in the door to his motel room. 

I have an alternate suggestion for Sen. Boxer and Acting Director B. Todd Jones as to names. I think the ATF HQ should be named after another Federal law enforcement officer who lost his life in the course of duty - Brian A. Terry. It would be a constant reminder to all ATF Special Agents, managers, and employees of what happens when they seek to influence gun control policy and then f@%k it up by letting guns walk.

A Lack Of Class

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry died serving this country. In recognition of his service to this country, Rep. Darrell Issa sponsored HR 2668 - the Brian A. Terry Memorial Act - which renames the Border Patrol Station in Bisbee, Arizona in his memory. Having passed in the House it was sent to the Senate where last week it passed by a unaminous vote and was sent to the White House for the President's signature.

Rep. Issa said, in part, in a release about this bill's passage:

"All of Washington mourned with the Terry family when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry gave his life in the line of duty in 2010. Today we stand just as unified for the purpose of honoring and preserving his legacy.

"The unanimous support with which the Brian A. Terry Memorial Act passed the United States Senate is a tribute to Agent Terry's career of service to our country and to the Border Patrol's distinguished history of intrepidity and sacrifice for the sake of homeland security.

"We recognize that Agent Terry's untimely passing is a tragedy that never should have happened. And while we continue to pursue answers regarding the circumstances surrounding his death, we resolve that his example of bravery and sacrifice will never be forgotten – especially in the city of Bisbee, AZ where he served."

While Rep. Issa may have thought "all of Washington" mourned, it is becoming apparent that Agent Terry's death at the hands of narco-terrorists was considered by the White House as an inconvenience rather than a tragedy. When it came time to sign the bill, President Obama did it privately as this release from the White House makes clear.

Matthew Boyle of the Daily Caller reports this on the signing:

On Tuesday, when Obama signed the bill into law, he did not hold a public signing ceremony with Terry’s family. The announcement that Obama had signed the memorial act into law was stuffed in the middle of a White House press release packed with other announcements not relevant to Terry.

The press release contained no quote from Obama or from White House press secretary Jay Carney about Terry.

Not only was this bill a non-event for the White House but US Customs and Border Protection did not even see fit to release a statement on the naming of the Border Patrol Station after one of their own who was killed in the line of duty.

Both the actions of the White House and Customs and Border Protection are reprehensible. It smacks of the former Soviet Union where inconvenient people - like evidently the late Brian Terry is to the Obama Administration - would become non-people or invisible. The Soviets did this to the dissidents, the Jews, and anyone who deviated from the party line.

To see this same treatment accorded to the late Brian Terry and his family is beyond the pale. It is disgusting and classless and contemptible.

Brian A. Terry Memorial Act Passes Senate By Unanimous Consent

Despite not being able to pass a budget in three years, some stuff still does get done in the US Senate. Yesterday, the Senate passed by unanimous consent and without any amendments HR 2668 - the Brian A. Terry Memorial Act. This act will rename the Border Patrol station in Bisbee, AZ, the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station, in memory of the fallen Border Patrol agent.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) who had this to say on the Senate's action:

"All of Washington mourned with the Terry family when Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry gave his life in the line of duty in 2010. Today we stand just as unified for the purpose of honoring and preserving his legacy.

"The unanimous support with which the Brian A. Terry Memorial Act passed the United States Senate is a tribute to Agent Terry's career of service to our country and to the Border Patrol's distinguished history of intrepidity and sacrifice for the sake of homeland security.

"We recognize that Agent Terry's untimely passing is a tragedy that never should have happened. And while we continue to pursue answers regarding the circumstances surrounding his death, we resolve that his example of bravery and sacrifice will never be forgotten – especially in the city of Bisbee, AZ where he served."

In his Gun Rights Examiner column today, David Codrea speculates that the bill's passage may create a political dilemma for President Obama.

“When the bill reaches Obama's desk, I expect him to invite Brian Terry's family to the signing,” Katie Pavlich of Townhall.com writes.

That creates an interesting dilemma for the President, particularly because of Terry's mother calling his Attorney General Eric Holder a "coward" and a "joke," and especially since the slain agent’s parents filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department and ATF that “seeks $25 million dollars in compensation for Terry's death.”

David wonders among other things if the White House indeed will invite the Terry family to the signing ceremony or will the lawsuit be used as a reason to just quietly sign the bill without press or family there.

Then I Guess They Won't Mind Paying The Terry Family $25 Million

The National Law Journal is reporting today that the Federal government paid out more than $3 billion to settle lawsuits against it. This includes court judgments and settlements made by the Federal government.

Lawyers for Uncle Sam shelled out more than $3 billion in taxpayer funds last year to resolve lawsuits against the federal government — more than twice as much as in 2010, and the most in at least five years, an analysis of government records shows.

This ranges from the Department of Energy who had to pay out $1.3 billion to the Department of Labor which only had to pay out $350,000 in settlements and judgments.

If you will remember, the family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has filed notice that they will be suing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for $25 million for negligence in letting guns walk in Operation Fast and Furious. The government has six months to respond and could, if they were really stupid and tone deaf, withhold the family the permission to sue them. As a sovereign government, the Federal government could claim immunity but usually doesn't in cases of personal injury or property damage. These case are handled under the Federal Torts Claims Act.

Good For The Terry Family

The family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry is suing the ATF for $25 million in Arizona state court for their role in his death. They are also suing Lone Wolf Trading Company in a second suit.

From FoxNews:

According to the claim, agent Terry was patrolling near Rio Rico on the night of Dec. 14, 2010 when he was shot and killed by criminals yielding assault rifles. Those rifles were traced to a straw purchaser for Mexican drug cartels in Arizona who the ATF knew about and allowed to deliver the weapons to the cartels.

“The murder of agent Terry and other acts of violent crimes were the natural consequence of ATF's decision to let dangerous weapons designed to kill human beings 'walk' into the hands of violent drug-trafficking gangs,” the complaint reads.

The claim also contends that the circumstances that led to Terry’s murder were not isolated events, but rather there were thousands of guns purchased under occasional ATF surveillance with no way of tracking all the weapons from straw purchases.

The suit against Lone Wolf Trading Company is asking for unspecified damages. It says the company should have recognized just how risky these sales were but ignored it. Moreover, it says they knew that the ATF was letting the guns walk and should refused to participate in future straw purchases.

Bob Owens suggests that pulling Lone Wolf into the equation was a smart move.

By pulling Lone Wolf into the equation, the family’s attorney’s are creating a situation where Lone Wolf is going to be forced to give up what they know and pressure the ATF into providing documents for their defense as well.

I think he may be on to something there.

More Court Documents Released In Agent Terry's Murder

Lori Jean Gliha of ABC15 in Phoenix has been one of the best local sources for information on Project Gunwalker. Her station and five others sued to get more court documents released in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. We finally have a name and a charge for the person who pulled the trigger: Manuel Osorio Arellanes is charged with second degree murder in Terry's death.




Those documents can be found here. The firearm that Manuel Osorio Arellanes or the other redacted defendant was accused of possessing, a Romanian WASR-10/63 AK-47, serial number 1971CZ3775, was one of two Operation Fast and Furious firearms traced to the murder scene. (See p.46 of the Oversight Report) I may be mistaken as I'm going from memory here but I don't think either of these weapons had been tied conclusively to Agent Terry's murder before now. It has always been said they were at the scene but never used in his murder. If the court documents are accurate - and there is no reason to believe that they aren't - then the government is now saying a gunwalked AK was used to kill Agent Terry.

This is political dynamite! No wonder the Democrats are working so hard to blame the locals and exonerate Eric Holder.

UPDATE: In an article published last night, Dennis Wagner of the Arizona Republic says the second person indicted for the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry is Rito Osorio-Arellanes.

The U.S. District Court documents name Rito Osorio-Arellanes, 41, who is believed to be a brother of the only previously named defendant, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes.

Wagner notes in his article that there is a third suspect who remains at large and who has not been identified.

One Year And Counting

1970-2010

 Today marks the first anniversary of the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. He was killed in a gun fight with armed bandits near Rio Rico, Arizona. Four suspects were arrested at the time and a fifth escaped.




A lot has happened since Agent Terry was murdered.

It was quickly discovered that two (and maybe a third) weapons found at the scene of his murder were directly linked to an ATF operation called Fast and Furious. Congressional hearings into the program and into Agent Terry's murder have been held and more are to come.

The acting head of the ATF Kenneth Melson was reassigned and the U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke resigned under pressure. A number of ATF managers have been given either lateral transfers or promotions despite their involvement in this operation while the courageous ATF whistle-blowers who exposed much of what we know about Fast and Furious have been hung out to dry.

There is a bill before Congress to rename the Border Patrol office in Bisbee, AZ after Agent Terry. The House of Representatives held debate on HR 2668 - the Brian A. Terry Memorial Act - on Monday but a vote was postponed on a point of order by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Recently released e-mails seem to indicate that one of the major purposes for Operation Fast and Furious was not to stop the so-called Iron River of Guns to Mexico but to promote more gun control.

And the list could go on and on and on. However, none of that will bring Brian Terry back to his family nor ICE Agent Jaime Zapata back to his. In the end, it is about the people who have died in both the U.S. and Mexico as the result of this ill-conceived, ill-advised, and, more than likely, illegal program whose real purpose was to provide the Obama Administration the rationale for more gun control measures. That they died for this is immoral.

UPDATE: The Terry family released a statement today on the first anniversary of Brian's death. The statement expresses their dismay that no one at ATF or the Department of Justice has taken responsibility for their son's death. Moreover, they express their sincere condolences to those in Mexico who have been impacted by the gun walked in Operation Fast and Furious.

"I Think They Are Leaving My Son Behind" - Josephine Terry

That is the opinion of Brian Terry's mother, Josephine Terry. It was said in reference to her son's service as a Marine and the ethos that fallen Marine is ever left behind.

Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News interviewed slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's parents yesterday in the wake of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Attorney General Eric Holder. They still have not been given answers and are planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Federal government.

This episode that aired on this morning's The Early Show is very powerful as was Ms. Attkisson's interview with the parents of slain ICE Agent Jaime Zapata.

Regrets But No Apology

When Attorney General Eric Holder was asked by Sen. John Coryn (R-TX) if he apologized to the family of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, he looks like he is stunned that someone had the nerve to ask him that question. And then he answers no and again no when asked if he had even spoken with the family. Given the chance to apologize for his department's actions when given the chance, he changes the conversation.

Typical behavior for someone of his ilk.

A Tribute To Brian Terry

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) recently posted this YouTube tribute to slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Issa is sponsoring a bill to name the Border Patrol Station in Bisbee, Arizona in honor of Agent Terry.