"Texas Wildfire" - Chapter 3

Texas Wildfire

Chapter 3

By Dwayne MacInnes

October 2040

Sheriff Bernie Gracen of Littleton, New Mexico sat in an air-conditioned auditorium. He and around thirty other men and women sat in folding chairs waiting for Fred Wilson, the local leader of the Oath Keepers, to speak. As the presidential race entered its final leg, things were really starting to heat up in the south, especially, in the states that bordered Mexico.

It appeared that Ramirez would easily defeat Newland in the November elections. The prospect of having a Hispanic as their president disturbed many white southerners. Texas was openly threatening to secede if Ramirez won. Although the other Border States were not talking about leaving the United States, they had many citizens who would not mind joining Texas in secession.

Sheriff Gracen removed his cowboy hat and fanned himself as he continued to wait for Wilson to show himself. A quick glance around the room revealed many men and women in camouflage fatigues or western shirts and blue jeans, all were Caucasian. The sheriff knew that most were veterans; there were some members of the National Guard and local law enforcement mixed in to boot. Some of them sat by themselves, like Gracen and others were talking in small groups. There were even a couple of reporters and one local TV news crew with a camera there to report the event.

Finally, a man stepped up to a podium at the end of the auditorium. He held some papers in his hands as he scanned the audience. He blew twice into the tiny microphone positioned in front of him and was greeted with the sound he made that emanated from the speakers on the floor in front of him.

"Gentlemen, will you please take a seat," the man said. "I have a few things to go over tonight."

Gracen replaced his hat upon his head as he sat up straight in his metal chair. This was obviously Fred Wilson at the mike. The assembly quickly came to order before breaking into applause. Wilson smiled and motioned for everyone to quiet down.

"Thank you, please...." Wilson said to the group. "We have a lot to cover tonight."

After a couple of minutes, the sound of clapping hands and whistles finally died down.

"Hello, I am Fred Wilson and I represent the New Mexico branch of the Oath Keepers," Wilson stated only to stop again as the audience again started to applaud him.

"Please, please we have a lot of work tonight," Wilson pleaded with the audience.

"Like stopping a spic from being president!" yelled a voice from the rear of the auditorium.

Wilson took on a stern look before he continued, "I must please ask that everyone be respectful. There are members of the press here."

A few boos broke out before Wilson could regain order. "Now, please let us show our guests some respect."

"That's more than the liberal media will give us," shouted another voice.

"Gentlemen, we will not get far if you keep disrupting my presentation," Wilson smiled.

The audience finally quieted down so that Wilson could give his presentation. In short, he was asking the audience to sign a contract that would state they would not follow orders that they felt violated the Constitution of the United States. They would resist nonviolently and they would consider Ramón Ramirez as a possible enemy of the state.

There were many in the room who believed that Ramirez was born in Mexico and was not eligible to be president. They also believed that if elected president he would return the Border States back to Mexico.

Sometimes the exchanges heated up and Wilson would have to regain control of the situation before he could return to his presentation. However, after two hours the presentation wound itself down. Wilson opened the floor to questions; most of the people gathered just wanted to know when they could sign the documents. However, Wilson took some more serious questions from the news people attending the presentation.

Wilson pointed to a woman in a red blazer with a cameraman accompanying her. "Mr. Wilson," the journalist began. "Is it true that the Oath Keepers organization is nonpartisan?"

Fred Wilson smiled, "Yes, we do not endorse either candidate."

"However, you consider Mr. Ramirez as a possible enemy of the state. Would that not imply you back Mr. Newland?" the woman countered.

"We only follow what is in the Constitution. Ramirez, as a senator, has voted in the past that he will undermine the rights of the people as they are written in the Constitution if he were to win the election.

"To be fair, we would also list Senator Newland as a possible threat if his voting record were the same. But, it is important to remember we are not here to play politics but only to protect and preserve the Constitution of the United States."

"Are you associated with the Sons of the Alamo or the New Texas Tea Party?" the female reporter asked.

"We are not in any way related to SOTA or NTTP. We are our own group here in New Mexico. As for the Texas branch of the Oath Keepers you'll have to ask them."

Wilson pointed to another reporter in the back. A man in a tan suit stood up with a small palm computer with a microphone attached to it in his hand.

"What about the allegations that Ramirez is not a U.S. citizen," the reporter began. "There have been several documents proving that he was born in San Diego to a third generation Latino-American family."

"I am not here to discuss whether the senator from California was born in the U.S. or in Mexico," Wilson answered. "However, I will point out that there are many documents pointing to his birth in Tecate, Mexico or even in Venezuela and that he was brought to a hospital in San Diego later."

"But, those documents have all been proven false," the reporter continued.

"Maybe and maybe not," Wilson replied. "The fact of the matter is that we are not here to stop an election, but to prevent a possible hostile government from treading on the rights of its citizens."

Wilson took a few more questions from the press before he called the meeting adjourned. Sheriff Gracen was impressed with how Wilson was able to maintain his composure and control his audience. The sheriff was standing up to leave when he noticed that Fred Wilson himself was next to him.

"Sheriff Gracen?" Wilson asked with his hand already extended.

"Yes," Gracen said gripping the man's hand. "How can I help you?"

"Well, as you know," Fred Wilson began, "that the local sheriff will be our first line of defense against a hostile government."

Gracen nodded his head in agreement; the sheriff would have to prevent any federal hostility.

"Well, sheriff if you would not mind I would like you to be my second in command," Wilson said with a smile. "That is if your time will permit."

The usually stoic lawman slapped Wilson on the shoulder, "Hell yes! I'd be honored to help you with running things here."