FBI, "Local" Police Barricade Entire Town

William Norman Grigg
Aug. 01, 2014

Police and FBI agents investigating the disappearance and death of 14-year-old April Millsap haven’t solved the case, but they did manage to stage an unrelated marijuana raid (priorities, you know) and impose a blockade around the entire town of Armada, Michigan.

According to WXYZ-TV, “The FBI and Armada Police are stopping every vehicle attempting to enter or leave the Village of Armada. Agents and officers are marking an X on the hands of everyone they have spoken to.”

This is the second time in recent years that police have imposed what amounts to an mass investigative detention as part of a crime investigation.

Following a June 2012 bank robbery in Aurora, Colorado, police conducted a similar operation, during which scores of people — including children –were detained for more than four hours. Officer Frank Fania explained that drivers and passengers in the vicinity of the Wells Fargo Bank that was robbed “were handcuffed, then were told what was going on and were asked for permission to search the car.”

Not surprisingly, given that the innocent victims had been shackled and were being held at gunpoint,”they all granted permission, and once nothing was found in their cars, they were un-handcuffed.”

Fania didn’t explain what would happen to detainees who exercised their right to withhold permission for a search. He dismissed concerns over the garrison state methods employed in the investigation by describing it as a “unique” situation. Given what happened today in Armada, Michigan, that description no longer applies, if it ever did.