The battle on US soil after World War 2 few have heard of.

Yes this is a battle few of us have heard of, The Battle of Athens took place in Athens Tennessee in August 1st 1946.

It is a riveting story about WW2 coming home and the realization that the county officials were corrupt and stealing/rigging elections.

https://libcom.org/article/battle-athens-when-wwii-veterans-took-arms-against-corrupt-local-government-tennessee

In 1946 a non-partisan political option made of WWII veterans applied to the local elections in McMinn County, Tennessee. When they realized that the elections were being rigged, they took up arms and decided to defend their rights without relying on the State.

In 1946, a small town of Athens, Tennessee, became a true battleground, as a siege was laid on the town jail by crowd mostly consisted of WWII veterans who decided to take justice into their own hands, as the local politics were plagued by corruption, police brutality and electoral fraud.

In response to Hairrell's protest, he was arrested and the voting process was halted on that polling place. The ballot box, together with the handcuffed GI was taken to the county jail in the town of Athens.

After hearing this, Bill White ordered his men to break into the National Guard Armory to steal weapons. After they looted the armory, White's fighting bunch was prepared for combat. They had 60 Enfield rifles, two Thompson sub-machine guns and enough ammo to start a minor war in the McMinn County.
When the polls closed, all ballot boxes were transported to the same jail. Allegedly, White responded to the given situation by saying:

https://www.americanheritage.com/battle-athens

Since the Civil War, political offices in McMinn County had gone to the Republicans, but in the 1930s Tennessee began to fall under the control of Democratic bosses. To the west, in Shelby County, E.H. Crump, the Memphis mayor who had been ousted during his term for failing to enforce Prohibition, fathered what would become the state’s most powerful political machine. Crump eventually controlled most of Tennessee along with the governor’s office and a United States senator. In eastern Tennessee local and regional machines developed, which, lacking the sophistication and power of a Crump, relied on intimidation and violence to control their constituents.

Hmmm Democrats, corruption, machine politics, intimidation and violence. Nothing has changed with that party. They are doing the same today.

Encouraged by his initial success, Cantrell began what would become a tenyear reign as the king of McMinn politics. In subsequent elections, ballot boxes were collected from the precincts and the results tabulated in secret at McMinn County Jail in Athens. Opposition poll watchers were labeled as troublemakers and ejected from precinct houses.

and they used the same playbook in the 2020 election keeping observers out, collecting boxes and stashing them.

The BIG difference between then and now? Their were men willing to tackle this corruption head on, today we say oh well it is what it is and move on. Corruption has to be challenged at every instance and strongly. It has to be pointed out, shouted from the roof tops. We are going to see this again in 2 weeks because NOTHING was done to the perps in 2020. That’s the thing with corrupt people, moving on just results in more corruption and authoritarianism.

The question for 2024 is will Democrats once again justify their cheating and keeping observers out and will the rest of us say oh well it is what it is? Why do rank and file Democrats think this is proper in a “democracy” as they call it? AS I have said in past substacks, that party has been corrupt and has a human ownership/authoritarian mindset. What are the rank and file Democrats thinking? Why are they supporting the destruction of rule of law?

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/battle-of-athens.html

In the post-war summer of 1946, the small town of Athens, Tennessee became the epicenter of an event that went down in history as the Battle of Athens. This wasn’t merely a physical confrontation, but a fight against entrenched corruption, and it was a battle that symbolized the broader struggle against tyranny and injustice in post-war America.

The protagonists of this historic grandstand were none other than returning World War II veterans, who, after fighting overseas, found themselves facing a new kind of enemy on home soil. The corruption in Athens had been brewing for over a decade under Sheriff Paul Cantrell and his associates, who’d manipulated the political landscape. These veterans, witnessing the disintegration of democracy and fairness in their town, decided the time had come to take action.

Their training, coupled with a deep-seated belief in justice, prepared them for the confrontation that unfolded.

https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/the-battle-of-athens-tennessee/

This link is particularly detailed in the goings on in Athens and McMinn County.

There were no “elections” in McMinn County through the war years. The ballot boxes were in Democratic offices, and Cantrell’s deputies served as the election officers, some of whom were brutal killers with the blood of innocent civilians on their hands. Other local thugs and felons were on hand to further inculcate the climate of fear, including a man who murdered his own father and, five months after the election, murdered his sister-in-law, an expectant mother, and an infant child. There were about two gunmen for each voter; DeRose further illuminates the chicanery, noting that some voters were temporarily imprisoned to prevent them from voting, while others had their poll tax receipts and eligibility certificates invalidated, “in some cases by the very official who had issued them.” Word was put out among elderly voters that their pensions would be held up unless they voted “the right way.” When the Republican election judge, a disabled veteran of the First World War, attempted to view the ballot count, he was dragged into the corridor and beaten, leaving him paralyzed. Another man who attempted to observe the ballot count was pistol-whipped, and one gunman fired at a poll worker who tried to leave the courthouse.

Several Athenians petitioned the Department of Justice for relief, knowing that local and State officials would not take any action against the machine. A hardware store owner wrote Attorney General Francis Biddle, imploring, “The good people of this county are sacrificing for the cause of America’s freedom but have lost their freedom at home. Both parties have lost the freedom of the ballot box, a dictatorship has been set up, the county treasury is being raided at the expense of the taxpayers, and the good people of this county would like to sell their property and move away. Your department is our last line of defense. Please, for God’s sake come to the rescue of a helpless people.” A minister wrote to Biddle of “a ruthless exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous men who sacrifice public liberties for the sake of private gain . . . nothing has been considered too low if it will enable them to perpetuate themselves in office. Decent citizens feared to bring their wives to the polls, and often felt it unwise to cast their own ballots…It is not possible for a letter to contain information concerning all the subversive and unscrupulous activities that have taken place in this county.”

The Department of Justice compiled a report, observing that “the alleged violations in McMinn County were the worst ever brought to the attention of the Department of Justice.” Despite overwhelming evidence and continuing petitions, the Feds took no action. A separate ouster lawsuit against McMinn election commissioners was finally tried by the Assistant Attorney General, largely due to the fact that the U.S. Attorney and the two U.S. Senators who had recommended him were believed to be associated with the machine, but this case was held before a judge who was also rumored to be a part of the organization. The judge dismissed most of the charges and fined the men one penny for the charges that stuck. Meanwhile, the machine hummed along. Cantrell was elected to the Tennessee Senate, and his man Pat Mansfield replaced him as Sheriff. A common refrain among the townsfolk became, “Just wait ‘til the boys come home.” As the veterans trickled back to Athens, they found a town that they longer recognized.

Wow, these WW2 after fighting against the Nazi’s in WW2 come home to corruption and authoritarianism in their own home county and country. The decision to take matters into their own hands is the stuff hero’s are made of. Yes I said it, this rebellion against corruption was and is a light as to how when government is corrupt sometimes we have to confront it no matter what the cost. These men are made of the same steal that Jefferson, Madison, Washington and the revolutionary soldiers were made of. Brave, not willing to live in fear, not willing to let corruption rule over them.

This is also the very reason the founders wrote the 2nd Amendment - so we could stop corruption. The 2nd is not about bird hunting, deer, elk, clay or target shooting or any other kind of sport or hunting. It is about being a brick wall to protect ourselves from corrupt politicians that think they own us. It is rather odd that Democrats support gun control, confiscation, except when you look at it under this light. Looking at it from this light it is blatantly obvious why Democrats want gun control - they learned an important lesson in the Battle of Athens.

I cut and pasted a few tidbits, they are italicized, I encourage all to click on the links and read the story of these American Hero’s and what they did and why. From confronting the corrupt officials to breaking into a National Gu ard Arm ory for arms.

Thank you to those men and women for their bravery in fighting corruption. We sorrily need such brave people today. Today most of us are afraid to even speak out, during covid people went along with their imprisonment, Many called for the arrest - house arrest, jail or like Jimmy Kimmel, Coward Stern ( yes Coward Stern as he hung out in his house for 2 years blovaiting his hate ) wished death upon those of us questioning their owners and refusing to accept the obvious lies we were being fed.

The Battle of Athens was a true story of American citizens bravery and will to fight against tyranny, will we again find our back bone and not accept corruption? We have a now long history of accepting corruption and giving corrupt politicians a pass. The last one not given a pass was Nixon.

It time to restore the America made of the men and women of Athens Tennessee.