URGENT NEWS ADVISORY
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Contact: Stu Chaifetz 856-428-2635[1] This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / Steve Hindi 630-640-1889[2] This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DRAMATIC VIDEO of DRONE DOWNING MADE PUBLIC
Analysis Reveals Someone in Sen. Jim Inhofe's Pigeon Shoot Fundraiser
Fired Rifle to Shoot Down Drone Aircraft Recording Animal Abuse
OKLAHOMA – An observation drone – nicknamed "Angel" – shot down while monitoring a pigeon-killing fundraiser for Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) late last Friday near Altus in rural Oklahoma was definitely the victim of a purposeful attack, according to the results of an examination of the aircraft by an animal protection watchdog group. Sen. Inhofe was participating in the pigeon shoot when the drone was shot.
**Exclusive footage of the hidden kill zone, the shoot down, and dramatic crash landing near US Sen. Inhofe's pigeon shoot fundraiser, can be found here: https://youtu.be/kLYmfx6h0SQ[3] The video shows extensive damage to one of Angel's motors, where the electronics were visibly blown away.
"Let's be clear. This was no accident. Our analysis of the damage to Angel reveals a rifle was used to bring it down. Shotguns were used for the pigeon shoot. The Angel flew above and well beyond shotgun range. The shoot down is a premeditated criminal act that would not have occurred without Inhofe’s full knowledge and consent," said Steve Hindi, the aircraft pilot and president of SHARK, an Illinois-based animal protection organization.
SHARK will hand deliver a bill to Sen. Inhofe's DC office and file an amendment to SHARK’s ethics complaint against Sen. Inhofe for the illegal and dangerous discharge of a firearm with his knowledge and potential consent. The complaint will be delivered to the offices of all the members of the Senate Ethics Committee.
"We emailed Oklahoma Public Safety Commissioner Michael Thompson after the shoot down to demand an investigation, including interviewing Sen. Inhofe and his donors to find out who committed the crime and what culpability the Senator has for allowing it to happen at his event. Earlier, we asked Thompson to provide state police for the event because we couldn't trust local law enforcement," said Hindi.
An undercover SHARK investigator filmed Sen. Inhofe's 2014 fundraiser where 1,000 pigeons were killed, and based on that, SHARK last week filed(Inhofecruelty.com) state and federal ethics, tax evasion and other complaints. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDbN36abT0k[4][5]
Friday, SHARK sent a team to legally film the shoot using a remote controlled drone. On its third flight recording the shoot, someone from the Inhofe party used a high powered rifle and shot the drone. The pilot was able to bring the damaged, failing drone close to the launch point before it crashed. The drone was recovered.
After the attack Friday, SHARK called 911 to the Greer County Sheriff’s department to report the crime. SHARK was told that by the 911 operator that it was legal to shoot a drone. The department refused to come out to the crime scene or even acknowledge an email SHARK sent the following day asking to meet with them.
Said Hindi: "The sheriff either doesn't know the law, or he is corrupt and deliberately lying to protect a U.S. senator. Either way, a crime was committed where thousands of dollars of damage was done to personal property, and local law enforcement is ignoring it. Is that justice in Oklahoma? Is that the best the state can do? If any of us shot at another person's personal property, we’d be in jail right now.
"Sen. Jim Inhofe, however, is more like an ancient Roman Senator, where law enforcement is his personal Praetorian guard and public land and resources are there for his private use. Whether it is not paying proper sales tax on the birds used for his shoot, or using federal property to hold a political fundraiser and federally funded employees as servants to serve his donors, Inhofe believes that he is not bound by the same rules as the rest of us.
"We also cannot ignore that he held a political fundraiser on 9/11 that involved mass shooting of living beings for fun. It was disgraceful and disrespectful. We openly question the morality of Inhofe and his donors who gave not a second thought to this. Inhofe personifies the misconduct that has caused the American public to hold elected officials and our political system in such low esteem. We will continue to hope is that some agency or officer will be brave enough to stand up for our values and hold this man of privilege responsible for his wrongdoings."
-end-
References
- ^ 856-428-2635 (www.sharkonline.org)
- ^ 630-640-1889 (www.sharkonline.org)
- ^ https://youtu.be/kLYmfx6h0SQ (youtu.be)
- ^ Inhofecruelty.com (inhofecruelty.com)
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDbN36abT0k (www.youtube.com)
