Judge Orders Release of Brandon Raub from Hospital

DALLAS, TX – Brandon Raub, a 26-year-old former Marine, pro-liberty activist was ordered released from psychiatric commitment last week by Circuit Judge W. Allan Sharret. The judge ruled that a commitment order granted to federal authorities for arrest and detainment was invalid.

Raub, a Virginia resident, was seized by Secret Service, FBI, and local authorities as the result of Facebook posts the agencies claimed were “terrorist in nature.” Raub was committed after a 15-minute evaluation at John Randolph Hospital by Dr. James A. Correll. As a result of that brief evaluation, Special Justice Walter Douglass Stoke ordered Raub to remain for 30 days at the VA Hospital in Salem, VA.

John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute came to Raub’s defense, filing multiple motions that were later denied, including a plea to prevent Raub’s transfer away from family and legal counsel.

Judge Sharret agreed Raub’s defense that the arrest and detention actions were illegal and thus ordered Raub’s discharge. “The initial order was rubber-stamped,” said Whitehead. “The special justice is very old. He had trouble hearing Brandon. He brought into the courtroom a personal cassette player – we tried to listen to it and you can hardly hear what’s being said. This is the so-called judge – he’s a lawyer, not a real judge – it’s like what you would see in a bad movie.”

Whitehead told Business Insider, “There’s a system here that is corrupt. And this guy is caught in it. I’m friends with the local police; I could call them right now and probably get you committed if you were in Virginia. They can arrive at your door based on somebody’s testimony or your Facebook page and take you away to a mental hospital.”

Many of Raub’s posts were controversial, including forecasts of a revolution against the federal government, pro-conspiracy remarks, and anti-establishment statements. Authorities claimed “concerned citizens” anonymously reported Raub’s statements but Whitehead clarified the statements “terrorist in nature” were out-of-context messages shared privately via a Facebook game Raub played with family that the FBI spied on.

Whitehead told Virginia’s NBC 12, “Quoting some lyrics from a rock group called ‘Swollen Members’ they were joking around. His brother and his sister and that’s it and that’s why he’s in this situation. All he was doing was expressing himself in a Facebook game.”

Libertarian activist and veteran, Tristan Tucker believes Raub’s arrest was an important reminder that the First Amendment is the cornerstone of American freedom: “I think it’s disgusting. This guy posted some conspiracy theory-esque posts and intimidated the Feds. So I think he either was targeted for terror suspicion anyway or he hit close to home with his accusations. Either way, I have been expecting this for some time, since DHS put out that memorandum last year saying that right-wing leaning veterans that vocally dissent should be considered terror suspects.”

“I think I speak for us all when I say that we couldn’t be happier. I hope this decision sticks. I personally plan to stay vigilant about topics like this, so a similar incident doesn’t occur again. Brandon is a true patriot and we are all so very proud of him and glad to hear of his release,” said leaders of the Brandon Raub Truth Investigation group.