Battlefield America and the growing police state

April 23, 2015

The Glenn Beck Program

There has been a dramatic shift in how police operate in America during the past 15 years. There has been a disturbing trend of increased militarization - just this month a student in Florida was pulled over by an armored vehicle for a traffic violation. More and more the government is training citizens to not only expect, but accept the fact that they will be policed by a battalion of soldiers rather than officers.

John Whitefield, author of Battlefield America, joined Glenn on radio this morning to discuss governement overreach. During his discussion with Glenn, Whitefield mentioned the case of Brandon Raub, a marine veteran who was taken into custody and then committed into a mental health institution from social media posts. Listen to this harrowing tale and hear Glenn's reaction below:

Rough Transcript Below:

JOHN: The government does not view us like they did 30 years ago. Which was, people with some amount of respect. I see most government officials dealing with today slamming veteran's face down, taking them out of their homes because of Facebook posts. We've had cases like that.

GLENN: Explain that one.

JOHN: Well, the case was a fellow named Brandon Raub. 26-year-old marine that served in Iraq, Afghanistan. What he did was, he saved people's lives. Troops lives. He took mines out of the ground. He was a mine diffuser. So he came back. And he was upset with President Obama. He's a 9/11 truther, as well, which will get you in a lot of trouble today. Because Janet Napolitano in a memo said that's an extremist that has to be watched. And so Brandon opposed Obama's executive orders. Bush's executive orders on a Saturday morning. He had just gotten through jogging. He heard a noise outside. Being astute, he walks to the front door without his shirt on. He just got through jogging. There were all these guys rushing towards his house in black outfits and plainclothes. Come to find out, it was the local police, working with the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and the Secret Service.

And he opens the door and says, what's up, guys? They say, we're concerned about some of the things you're saying on Facebook. They asked him to step out. When he did, they handcuffed him behind his back. Brandon is saying, what did I do? What did I do? They take him and slam him against the fence and rip his back open. When he gets to the police station, he asked for a bandage. They put a prison shirt on him, which he said stuck in the cuts and hurt very, very badly. They put a prison cell. A psychiatrist gave him a five-minute interview and said because of his 9/11 views and because he paused -- this is a five-minute view -- he had a mental problem. They put him in a mental hospital for a week. We had to file a lawsuit to get him out. That's a veteran.

JEFFY: Oh, my gosh.

PAT: Wow.

GLENN: There's more to this story, John. At least that you told me if I have the story straight. Unless it's another one. They were about to inject him with drugs.

JOHN: Yeah, he called me on the Thursday. We got him out that Saturday. He said, John, I'm really frightened. And this is a marine. This is a 6-4 marine. He's built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I said, what's got you scared? He said, there's a psychiatrist here who says he'll brainwash me and force medications on me. And the psychiatrist is listening on the phone as he called. And I said, well, you tell that guy that, A, number one, you're violating the law. You can't force medications in most states without a court order. And number two, we're going to sue that guy when this case -- and we have. We filed a lawsuit. We're in in federal court with the case now.

PAT: Wow.

JOHN: By the way, Glenn, there's 1.5 million of these so-called civil commitments that happen each year in America.

GLENN: What does that mean?

JOHN: That means a board of social workers and psychologists, if someone is complaining about Facebook pages or neighbor is complaining about them, they meet and decide whether or not this individual may be a danger. And the police go get him and take him into a hearing.

GLENN: 1.5 million Americans every year?

JOHN: In Virginia alone is where this fellow resided, where I reside, there's over 20,000 a year, civil commitments. What was key here was his mother called us. And I talked to her. She was crying. I actually called the police station and asked what he had done. The police chief said to me, oh, he had done nothing wrong or illegal. But I said, you handcuffed the man behind his back. He goes, we're just concerned about his Facebook post. These are civil commitments decided by social workers and psychologists in Virginia. In other states, it's very similar.

GLENN: So, John, I feel the same way the same way I felt when I talked to you last.

JOHN: An NSA agent of 27 years met with me last year. He likes what we do. My work. And he said, I just want to tell you, we're following the Soviet model. I said, what do you mean by that? He says, well, you'll see more people detained in mental hospitals. That's what the Soviet did. Then he said, the word Homeland Security, by the way, is a Soviet term. I didn't know that until he told me that. And I researched it, and it's true.

GLENN: Okay. John, what does the average person do? How can we help? What do we do?

JOHN: Well, education precedes action. I mean, most Americans will have to study the issues. They'll have to read books by me and others who are talking about these issues. Get educated.

The federal government does not listen to us. There was a recent study by Princeton and Northwestern University that concluded unanimously basically that we live in an oligarchy now. There's a money class that runs the country. And the average voter has little impact on the federal level.

What I urge citizens to do is to get active locally. Get down to that city council that's sitting there. When somebody -- like what happened to this woman in Kansas. The city council should bring those policemen in and instruct them to never do that again unless they do it legally. Form civil liberties oversight committees. I'm telling people, get your neighbors together.

In fact, Brandon Raub's mother, I've talked to her, she has a phone thing she does every Saturday with about 20 people. And they're watching the community now. That's a good thing to do because then you don't have to travel. You can email back and forth. But if you email, I'm just warning people, the government reads all your emails now. They'll know what you're doing. So get active locally. Get your picket signs. You can make a -- a local government can say no to a federal government and say no to a state government. It's called nullification. In fact, Thomas Jefferson said, nullification is basically the basis of freedom. A local government governs.

Antifa isn’t “leaderless” — It’s an organized machine of violence

Jeff J Mitchell / Staff | Getty Images

The mob rises where men of courage fall silent. The lesson from Portland, Chicago, and other blue cities is simple: Appeasing radicals doesn’t buy peace — it only rents humiliation.

Parts of America, like Portland and Chicago, now resemble occupied territory. Progressive city governments have surrendered control to street militias, leaving citizens, journalists, and even federal officers to face violent anarchists without protection.

Take Portland, where Antifa has terrorized the city for more than 100 consecutive nights. Federal officers trying to keep order face nightly assaults while local officials do nothing. Independent journalists, such as Nick Sortor, have even been arrested for documenting the chaos. Sortor and Blaze News reporter Julio Rosas later testified at the White House about Antifa’s violence — testimony that corporate media outlets buried.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened.

Chicago offers the same grim picture. Federal agents have been stalked, ambushed, and denied backup from local police while under siege from mobs. Calls for help went unanswered, putting lives in danger. This is more than disorder; it is open defiance of federal authority and a violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

A history of violence

For years, the legacy media and left-wing think tanks have portrayed Antifa as “decentralized” and “leaderless.” The opposite is true. Antifa is organized, disciplined, and well-funded. Groups like Rose City Antifa in Oregon, the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club in Texas, and Jane’s Revenge operate as coordinated street militias. Legal fronts such as the National Lawyers Guild provide protection, while crowdfunding networks and international supporters funnel money directly to the movement.

The claim that Antifa lacks structure is a convenient myth — one that’s cost Americans dearly.

History reminds us what happens when mobs go unchecked. The French Revolution, Weimar Germany, Mao’s Red Guards — every one began with chaos on the streets. But it wasn’t random. Today’s radicals follow the same playbook: Exploit disorder, intimidate opponents, and seize moral power while the state looks away.

Dismember the dragon

The Trump administration’s decision to designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization was long overdue. The label finally acknowledged what citizens already knew: Antifa functions as a militant enterprise, recruiting and radicalizing youth for coordinated violence nationwide.

But naming the threat isn’t enough. The movement’s financiers, organizers, and enablers must also face justice. Every dollar that funds Antifa’s destruction should be traced, seized, and exposed.

AFP Contributor / Contributor | Getty Images

This fight transcends party lines. It’s not about left versus right; it’s about civilization versus anarchy. When politicians and judges excuse or ignore mob violence, they imperil the republic itself. Americans must reject silence and cowardice while street militias operate with impunity.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened. The violence in Portland and Chicago is deliberate, not spontaneous. If America fails to confront it decisively, the price won’t just be broken cities — it will be the erosion of the republic itself.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Colorado counselor fights back after faith declared “illegal”

Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images

The state is effectively silencing professionals who dare speak truths about gender and sexuality, redefining faith-guided speech as illegal.

This week, free speech is once again on the line before the U.S. Supreme Court. At stake is whether Americans still have the right to talk about faith, morality, and truth in their private practice without the government’s permission.

The case comes out of Colorado, where lawmakers in 2019 passed a ban on what they call “conversion therapy.” The law prohibits licensed counselors from trying to change a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation, including their behaviors or gender expression. The law specifically targets Christian counselors who serve clients attempting to overcome gender dysphoria and not fall prey to the transgender ideology.

The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The law does include one convenient exception. Counselors are free to “assist” a person who wants to transition genders but not someone who wants to affirm their biological sex. In other words, you can help a child move in one direction — one that is in line with the state’s progressive ideology — but not the other.

Think about that for a moment. The state is saying that a counselor can’t even discuss changing behavior with a client. Isn’t that the whole point of counseling?

One‑sided freedom

Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, has been one of the victims of this blatant attack on the First Amendment. Chiles has dedicated her practice to helping clients dealing with addiction, trauma, sexuality struggles, and gender dysphoria. She’s also a Christian who serves patients seeking guidance rooted in biblical teaching.

Before 2019, she could counsel minors according to her faith. She could talk about biblical morality, identity, and the path to wholeness. When the state outlawed that speech, she stopped. She followed the law — and then she sued.

Her case, Chiles v. Salazar, is now before the Supreme Court. Justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday. The question: Is counseling a form of speech or merely a government‑regulated service?

If the court rules the wrong way, it won’t just silence therapists. It could muzzle pastors, teachers, parents — anyone who believes in truth grounded in something higher than the state.

Censored belief

I believe marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God. I believe that family — mother, father, child — is central to His design for humanity.

I believe that men and women are created in God’s image, with divine purpose and eternal worth. Gender isn’t an accessory; it’s part of who we are.

I believe the command to “be fruitful and multiply” still stands, that the power to create life is sacred, and that it belongs within marriage between a man and a woman.

And I believe that when we abandon these principles — when we treat sex as recreation, when we dissolve families, when we forget our vows — society fractures.

Are those statements controversial now? Maybe. But if this case goes against Chiles, those statements and others could soon be illegal to say aloud in public.

Faith on trial

In Colorado today, a counselor cannot sit down with a 15‑year‑old who’s struggling with gender identity and say, “You were made in God’s image, and He does not make mistakes.” That is now considered hate speech.

That’s the “freedom” the modern left is offering — freedom to affirm, but never to question. Freedom to comply, but never to dissent. The same movement that claims to champion tolerance now demands silence from anyone who disagrees. The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The real test

No matter what happens at the Supreme Court, we cannot stop speaking the truth. These beliefs aren’t political slogans. For me, they are the product of years of wrestling, searching, and learning through pain and grace what actually leads to peace. For us, they are the fundamental principles that lead to a flourishing life. We cannot balk at standing for truth.

Maybe that’s why God allows these moments — moments when believers are pushed to the wall. They force us to ask hard questions: What is true? What is worth standing for? What is worth dying for — and living for?

If we answer those questions honestly, we’ll find not just truth, but freedom.

The state doesn’t grant real freedom — and it certainly isn’t defined by Colorado legislators. Real freedom comes from God. And the day we forget that, the First Amendment will mean nothing at all.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins Megyn Kelly LIVE — One night ONLY in Fort Worth!

Get ready for sparks to fly. For the first time in years, Glenn will come face-to-face with Megyn Kelly — and this time, he’s the one in the hot seat. On October 25, 2025, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Glenn joins Megyn on her “Megyn Kelly Live Tour” for a no-holds-barred conversation that promises laughs, surprises, and maybe even a few uncomfortable questions.

What will happen when two of America’s sharpest voices collide under the spotlight? Will Glenn finally reveal the major announcement he’s been teasing on the radio for weeks? You’ll have to be there to find out.

This promises to be more than just an interview — it’s a live showdown packed with wit, honesty, and the kind of energy you can only feel if you are in the room. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss your chance to see Glenn like you’ve never seen him before.

Get your tickets NOW at www.MegynKelly.com before they’re gone!

What our response to Israel reveals about us

JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor | Getty Images

I have been honored to receive the Defender of Israel Award from Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Jerusalem Post recently named me one of the strongest Christian voices in support of Israel.

And yet, my support is not blind loyalty. It’s not a rubber stamp for any government or policy. I support Israel because I believe it is my duty — first as a Christian, but even if I weren’t a believer, I would still support her as a man of reason, morality, and common sense.

Because faith isn’t required to understand this: Israel’s existence is not just about one nation’s survival — it is about the survival of Western civilization itself.

It is a lone beacon of shared values in the Middle East. It is a bulwark standing against radical Islam — the same evil that seeks to dismantle our own nation from within.

And my support is not rooted in politics. It is rooted in something simpler and older than politics: a people’s moral and historical right to their homeland, and their right to live in peace.

Israel has that right — and the right to defend herself against those who openly, repeatedly vow her destruction.

Let’s make it personal: if someone told me again and again that they wanted to kill me and my entire family — and then acted on that threat — would I not defend myself? Wouldn’t you? If Hamas were Canada, and we were Israel, and they did to us what Hamas has done to them, there wouldn’t be a single building left standing north of our border. That’s not a question of morality.

That’s just the truth. All people — every people — have a God-given right to protect themselves. And Israel is doing exactly that.

My support for Israel’s right to finish the fight against Hamas comes after eighty years of rejected peace offers and failed two-state solutions. Hamas has never hidden its mission — the eradication of Israel. That’s not a political disagreement.

That’s not a land dispute. That is an annihilationist ideology. And while I do not believe this is America’s war to fight, I do believe — with every fiber of my being — that it is Israel’s right, and moral duty, to defend her people.

Criticism of military tactics is fair. That’s not antisemitism. But denying Israel’s right to exist, or excusing — even celebrating — the barbarity of Hamas? That’s something far darker.

We saw it on October 7th — the face of evil itself. Women and children slaughtered. Babies burned alive. Innocent people raped and dragged through the streets. And now, to see our own fellow citizens march in defense of that evil… that is nothing short of a moral collapse.

If the chants in our streets were, “Hamas, return the hostages — Israel, stop the bombing,” we could have a conversation.

But that’s not what we hear.

What we hear is open sympathy for genocidal hatred. And that is a chasm — not just from decency, but from humanity itself. And here lies the danger: that same hatred is taking root here — in Dearborn, in London, in Paris — not as horror, but as heroism. If we are not vigilant, the enemy Israel faces today will be the enemy the free world faces tomorrow.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about truth. It’s about the courage to call evil by its name and to say “Never again” — and mean it.

And you don’t have to open a Bible to understand this. But if you do — if you are a believer — then this issue cuts even deeper. Because the question becomes: what did God promise, and does He keep His word?

He told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” He promised to make Abraham the father of many nations and to give him “the whole land of Canaan.” And though Abraham had other sons, God reaffirmed that promise through Isaac. And then again through Isaac’s son, Jacob — Israel — saying: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I give to you and to your descendants after you.”

That’s an everlasting promise.

And from those descendants came a child — born in Bethlehem — who claimed to be the Savior of the world. Jesus never rejected His title as “son of David,” the great King of Israel.

He said plainly that He came “for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And when He returns, Scripture says He will return as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” And where do you think He will go? Back to His homeland — Israel.

Tamir Kalifa / Stringer | Getty Images

And what will He find when He gets there? His brothers — or his brothers’ enemies? Will the roads where He once walked be preserved? Or will they lie in rubble, as Gaza does today? If what He finds looks like the aftermath of October 7th, then tell me — what will be my defense as a Christian?

Some Christians argue that God’s promises to Israel have been transferred exclusively to the Church. I don’t believe that. But even if you do, then ask yourself this: if we’ve inherited the promises, do we not also inherit the land? Can we claim the birthright and then, like Esau, treat it as worthless when the world tries to steal it?

So, when terrorists come to slaughter Israelis simply for living in the land promised to Abraham, will we stand by? Or will we step forward — into the line of fire — and say,

“Take me instead”?

Because this is not just about Israel’s right to exist.

It’s about whether we still know the difference between good and evil.

It’s about whether we still have the courage to stand where God stands.

And if we cannot — if we will not — then maybe the question isn’t whether Israel will survive. Maybe the question is whether we will.

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