cannabisnews.com: Farm Drew Police Long Before Standoff Farm Drew Police Long Before Standoff Posted by FoM on September 05, 2001 at 08:51:26 PT By Knight Ridder Newspapers Source: South Bend Tribune Long before two men who ran Rainbow Farm Campground died by law enforcement bullets, their parties had drawn the eye of the government. Law enforcement affidavits on file in Cass County say that children attending annual pot fests witnessed drug use, took drugs themselves, and sometimes saw nudity and sex. Friends and family said Tuesday that Grover T. "Tom" Crosslin and Rolland Rohm tried to evoke change, pushing for the legalization of marijuana. But their parties sometimes ran afoul of the law. Family and friends of Rohm and Crosslin wondered Tuesday whether the men were so fervent in their beliefs that they would sacrifice themselves.A standoff began Friday when Crosslin skipped a court date related to drug and weapons charges.Federal officials suspect that he shot and hit a news helicopter and fired at a state police airplane and a small private plane over the weekend. A federal warrant was issued Monday for Crosslin.On Monday police tried to coax Crosslin from his farmhouse. He came out about 5:45 p.m. EDT and was shot by an FBI agent.Family Independence Agency officials had taken Rohm's 13-year-old son from him in May and put him in foster care. Rohm and Crosslin, who lived together on the farm, were said to be outraged.Cass County Probate Court Judge Susan Dobrich would not release the juvenile court records of Rohm's son Tuesday, citing confidentiality. However, a neglect-and-abuse petition was on file in court.Underwood said the boy was taken from the home after investigators discovered marijuana was being grown inside.He said the violent ending seemed to be a combination of the custody battle and other court matters. Rohm and Crosslin both were facing charges of manufacturing marijuana, maintaining a drug house and felony firearms, the result of a two-year undercover investigation, which included alleged details of their parties.In a court affidavit filed to stop the festivals, State Police Lt. Michael Brown of the Southwest Enforcement Team said informants and undercover officers saw minors consuming drugs and witnessing drug use.Tribune staff contributed to this report.Source: South Bend Tribune (IN)Published: September 05, 2001Copyright: 2001 South Bend TribuneContact: vop sbtinfo.comWebsite: http://www.southbendtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Rainbow Farm Campgroundhttp://www.rainbowfarmcamp.com/ Son's Standoff Status Shockinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10824.shtmlFatal Endings Leave Supporters Wonderinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10823.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Crosslinhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=Crosslin Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by Rock-N-Roller on September 05, 2001 at 14:15:52 PT Get up, Stand up, Stand up for your right. In order to bring more media attention to this tragedy we need to make a lot of noise. We need the likes of Gary Johnson, Jessie Ventura, and Normal to attend the funerals and deliver the eulogies. We need to have thousands of, even more people, attend the services, so many people it overcomes the place, just like the police and firemen do. If this could happen the media cannot completley ignore this. If we get more media attention it can possibly help to educate the ones who need it. E-Mail Gary Johnson's office, and Normal, lets try to get them there. I will make several posts of this comment. Do not be angry or surprised if you see this again. I will post it in other places to get more attention. Get up, Stand up, Stand up for your right. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Uncle Saltee on September 05, 2001 at 11:34:01 PT: Sex and drugs are a cASS county way of life. As a local citizen of cASS County Michigan, I can say that this whole thing at rainbow farms has been going on for years. I sincerely doubt if Tom thought it would come down to this. But With our scurvy little weasel of a Prosecuter collecting Brownie Points on his way to running for State Office, we all saw the end was near for the farm. Tom should have been more cautious. Read the local newspaper article attached, and this one too.I think that unfortunately Tom was a bit too outspoken and stubborn. But that should not justify shooting him down like a rabid dog. I too came up from Elkhart,IN, Like Tom, because of the laxity of cASS County. But like the 60's those carefree pre-Teter days of the 80's are over. Warnings came early on! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by sam adams on September 05, 2001 at 10:50:25 PT but wait Dan B.... you're forgetting that this is an Indiana paper - in them parts, having sex or being nekid IS grounds for death! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by jackl on September 05, 2001 at 09:45:34 PT Amen, brother! Couldn't have said it better myself...thanks for posting... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dan B on September 05, 2001 at 09:24:38 PT: The Demonization to "Justify" the Killings Notice that suddenly there are a bunch of articles whose sole purpose is to demonize those who were murdered by the FBI and the Michigan state police. This is typical government propaganda speak. First they cover up their siege on Rainbow Farm, they they kill two of the owner/occupants, then they seek to justify the killings by demonizing the owner/occupants. But when it comes down to it, even if you accept all that the government officials say, the main reason why they created conditions that would be favorable for a government-style lynching was because these guys believed marijuana should be legal. The fact that it was in use at the property at one time or another--or even the possibility that it was grown there--is not reason enough to have killed people. The fact that people may or may not have been naked or (gasp!) having sex on the property is not a reason for killing people, even if kids did see this happening (and all of this rhetoric makes one wonder exactly how they are defining "child" in this case. Anyone 18 or under is considered a child in the eyes of the law, but most 18-year-olds have long since lost their virginity--so what's the problem?).Consider this: Even if a twelve-year-old witnessed two adults going at it like jackrabbits while simultaneously smoking from a giant ceramic hookah made to look like Satan himself, that action would not justify the outright murder of two people who happened to own the property where that action took place. Nor would it justify the government's seizure of the property upon which it took place. Nor would it justify removing the property owner's child from his family.By all accounts from those who knew them, Rolland Rohm and Tom Croslin were generous, loving people who reached out to their community and did right by their neighbors. If the best excuse the government can come up with for murdering these two was that they promoted the use of a relatively benign herb and occasionally let people have sex at their campground (gee, I'll bet that's never happened on federal forest land!!!), and if that is the story they want the public to swallow as a supposedly "good" excuse for these murders, then God help this country if there is no great uprising against the government for this heinous action it has taken against humanity and against freedom.Rest in peace, lovers of freedom.Dan B [ Post Comment ] Post Comment