Linda Thompson (attorney)
Encyclopedia
Linda Thompson is an American
attorney
, filmmaker, and the founder of the American Justice Federation. In 1993, she quit her job as a lawyer in Indianapolis
, Indiana
to start the American Justice Federation, according to Snopes.com. The AJF was a non-profit group that promoted pro-gun and pro-Constitution causes through a shortwave radio program, a computer bulletin board, and sales of its newsletter and videos.
presidency, and supported conspiracy theories surrounding Vince Foster
and other theories in the Clinton Chronicles
. In 1994, in a letter to congressional leaders, former Rep. William Dannemeyer listed 24 people with some connection to Clinton who had died "under other than natural circumstances" and called for hearings on the matter. This list was mostly compiled by Linda Thompson.
entitled Waco: The Big Lie, which contained footage of the siege of the Branch Davidian
church in Waco, Texas
and a history of the community. The videotape was distributed widely and for a short period after its release she was a regular guest on talk radio
shows, especially those of Art Bell
and Chuck Harder
. The film challenged the mainstream news reports of the Branch Davidian siege and created a small sensation, alleging a government coverup of the events surrounding the siege. Thompson pointed out many inconsistencies in the official story and the government reports, and the hypocrisy of using deadly weapons to "rescue" children from their parents.
Thompson also claimed that three BATF agents whom she alleges were killed by friendly fire
during the siege were all former bodyguards of then-President Bill Clinton and the friendly fire was actually an assassination
ordered by Clinton.
Linda followed up her first film with another, Waco II: The Big Lie Continues, in which she offered rebuttals to those who were critical of her first film, and continued to stand by the most controversial allegations in Waco: The Big Lie.
which she asserted were the black helicopters
alleged by some New World Order conspiracy
believers. She also claimed in this film that color coded stickers that had begun appearing on the back of highway traffic sign
s were intended to guide military vehicles in the event of a military occupation of the United States. This video also showed alleged evidence that the Federal Emergency Management Agency
was establishing concentration camps. The supposed FEMA Camp was in reality a Big Four Railroad(now Amtrak
) repair facility in Beech Grove, Indiana
.
for producing bootleg copies of her videos. Also in 1994, Thompson declared herself "Acting Adjutant General" of the "Unorganized Militia of the United States" and announced plans for an armed march on Washington, D.C.
which was to be held on September 19 of that year, in which an ultimatum demanding the repeal of such laws as the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) and the Brady Bill would be delivered to members of the United States Congress
, and those members refusing to comply with the ultimatum would be arrested and tried for treason
. The proposed march was almost universally denounced by groups on the right wing, from the John Birch Society
to the militia
organizations. Thompson canceled the march, claiming publicly that the announcement was never anything more than a publicity stunt and the march was never intended to actually happen, while claiming to her supporters that operatives in the Federal government had plans to detonate a small nuclear device in D.C. and blame her organization for the act. Publicity stunt or not it effectively spelled the end of her time in the limelight. She continued to be active on her AEN computer BBS network into the late 1990s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, filmmaker, and the founder of the American Justice Federation. In 1993, she quit her job as a lawyer in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
to start the American Justice Federation, according to Snopes.com. The AJF was a non-profit group that promoted pro-gun and pro-Constitution causes through a shortwave radio program, a computer bulletin board, and sales of its newsletter and videos.
Clinton conspiracy
Thompson was opposed to the Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
presidency, and supported conspiracy theories surrounding Vince Foster
Vince Foster
Vincent Walker Foster, Jr. was a Deputy White House Counsel during the first few months of President Bill Clinton's administration, and also a law partner and friend of Hillary Rodham Clinton...
and other theories in the Clinton Chronicles
Clinton Chronicles
The Clinton Chronicles: An Investigation into the Alleged Criminal Activities of Bill Clinton is a 1994 film created by Patrick Matrisciana. This video explored the deaths of Vincent Foster and an alleged cocaine-smuggling operation purportedly involving BCCI, Dan Lasater and then Governor of...
. In 1994, in a letter to congressional leaders, former Rep. William Dannemeyer listed 24 people with some connection to Clinton who had died "under other than natural circumstances" and called for hearings on the matter. This list was mostly compiled by Linda Thompson.
Waco conspiracy
In about June 1993, she produced a videotapeVideotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
entitled Waco: The Big Lie, which contained footage of the siege of the Branch Davidian
Branch Davidian
The Branch Davidians are a Protestant sect that originated in 1955 from a schism in the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists , a reform movement that began within the Seventh-day Adventist Church around 1930...
church in Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
and a history of the community. The videotape was distributed widely and for a short period after its release she was a regular guest on talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
shows, especially those of Art Bell
Art Bell
Arthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...
and Chuck Harder
Chuck Harder
Chuck Harder was a former radio disk jockey turned talk show host in White Springs, Florida, USA. He is originally from Elgin, Illinois. He is no longer on the air.-Early radio career:...
. The film challenged the mainstream news reports of the Branch Davidian siege and created a small sensation, alleging a government coverup of the events surrounding the siege. Thompson pointed out many inconsistencies in the official story and the government reports, and the hypocrisy of using deadly weapons to "rescue" children from their parents.
Thompson also claimed that three BATF agents whom she alleges were killed by friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
during the siege were all former bodyguards of then-President Bill Clinton and the friendly fire was actually an assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
ordered by Clinton.
Linda followed up her first film with another, Waco II: The Big Lie Continues, in which she offered rebuttals to those who were critical of her first film, and continued to stand by the most controversial allegations in Waco: The Big Lie.
Black helicopters and FEMA camp allegations
She made a third film in 1994, America Under Siege. This film showed footage of helicopters at U.S. military bases such as Fort Campbell, KentuckyFort Campbell, Kentucky
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...
which she asserted were the black helicopters
Black helicopters
Black helicopters is a term which became popular in the United States militia movement and its associated political circles in the 1990s as a symbol and warning sign of an alleged conspiratorial military takeover of the United States, though it has also been associated with men in black and similar...
alleged by some New World Order conspiracy
New World Order (conspiracy)
In conspiracy theory, the term New World Order or NWO refers to the emergence of a totalitarian one-world government.The common theme in conspiracy theories about a New World Order is that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an...
believers. She also claimed in this film that color coded stickers that had begun appearing on the back of highway traffic sign
Traffic sign
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of roads to provide information to road users. With traffic volumes increasing over the last eight decades, many countries have adopted pictorial signs or otherwise simplified and standardized their signs to facilitate international travel...
s were intended to guide military vehicles in the event of a military occupation of the United States. This video also showed alleged evidence that the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
was establishing concentration camps. The supposed FEMA Camp was in reality a Big Four Railroad(now Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
) repair facility in Beech Grove, Indiana
Beech Grove, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,880 people, 6,085 households, and 3,839 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,462.5 people per square mile . There were 6,506 housing units at an average density of 1,513.9 per square mile...
.
Proposed march on Washington
In 1994 she filed suit against Liberty LobbyLiberty Lobby
Liberty Lobby was an American political advocacy organization founded in 1958 that went bankrupt in 2001. It was founded by Willis Carto. In their own words,-Antisemitic world-view:...
for producing bootleg copies of her videos. Also in 1994, Thompson declared herself "Acting Adjutant General" of the "Unorganized Militia of the United States" and announced plans for an armed march on Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
which was to be held on September 19 of that year, in which an ultimatum demanding the repeal of such laws as the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA) and the Brady Bill would be delivered to members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, and those members refusing to comply with the ultimatum would be arrested and tried for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
. The proposed march was almost universally denounced by groups on the right wing, from the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
to the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
organizations. Thompson canceled the march, claiming publicly that the announcement was never anything more than a publicity stunt and the march was never intended to actually happen, while claiming to her supporters that operatives in the Federal government had plans to detonate a small nuclear device in D.C. and blame her organization for the act. Publicity stunt or not it effectively spelled the end of her time in the limelight. She continued to be active on her AEN computer BBS network into the late 1990s.