Johnny Sutton Victim Gary Brugman Tells His Story

FOR my exclusive interview, click the player:

I recently found out about a fourth Johnny Sutton victim -- former border patrol agent Gary Brugman. Gary came up against the wrath of Sutton and the prosecutorial arm of the federal government after a very minor confrontation with an illegal alien in January 2001. This led to an 18-month investigation which concluded in Brugman serving 24 months in federal prison for violating the civil rights of an illegal alien.

Houston, we have a pattern!
Gary agreed to an interview with me to share his story. It sounds awfully familiar to anyone who has followed the cases of Ramos, Compean and Hernandez. On January 14, 2001, a border patrol agent responded to a sensor alert. About a dozen illegals were stopped. Brugman told me he was the second agent to arrive and as he approached two of the illegals, in his opinion, attempted to get away. At that point Brugman used his foot to corral the two illegals. The case documents say Brugman "struck" the illegal "with his foot pushing him to the ground." The illegals were taken to the processing center where the illegal who got kicked "saw a sign encouraging individuals to report abuse by Border Patrol agents." (I bet the sign was in Spanish; good thing we empower illegals in such a way!) The illegal filed a complaint and Johnny Sutton's team got wind of it.

An 18-month investigation was launched. Gary told me that throughout much of the investigation, he thought the investigation was about another incident in which he had been assaulted by an illegal and during that confrontation, the illegal's nose got broke. That illegal went to jail and no charges were filed against Gary, who was shocked to learn the investigation and the charges were about this very forgettable kickiing incident.

What injury? What crime?
In order to have a case, Sutton had to establish "bodily injury" to the illegal. Again, according to case documents, the illegal " testified that he felt physical pain when the defendant kicked and struck him. He also testified that he experienced residual pain for about three days following the assault." Give me a break. Three days of "residual pain"? Sure sounds like a case of an over-aggressive prosecutor looking for an excuse to keep border agents on the defensive.

Gary spent two years in prison for his "crime" of violating the "civil rights" of an illegal. As you'll hear in the interview, Gary constantly faced the possibily of getting attacked by Mexican nationals in jail. He developed his own system to protect himself. He spent time in the same prison as Ramos and says it's a dangerous place. And he's now stepping forward only to help Ramos, Compean and other border agents who have suffered the wrath of the Bush-Gonzalez-Sutton regime.

Gary posted a more detailed account of what happened on American Freedom Riders. I hope you'll sign the FireSociety petition calling for the removal of Johnny Sutton. And leave some comments on this posting to encourage Gary, who has lost two years of his life and literally hundreds of thousands of dollars.