Farmerâs Annual July 4th Fireworks Leads To Terrorism Charge
For the last 65 years, the Hanson family of Daleville, Alabama has celebrated Americaâs independence and entertained their small farming community with an elaborate fireworks display. This year did not go as planned. Jebediah Hanson was arrested on terrorism charges after police found his annual two-ton load of explosives and, under President Obamaâs extensions to the Patriot Act, declared them weapons of mass destruction. At 4:20 p.m., Hanson was preparing his yearly firework show when Alabama S.W.A.T. units raced onto his private farmland. They brandished assault rifles and riot gear, and immediately subdued the 83-year-old cotton farmer. Alabama State Trooper Herb Bush told the Daleville Sun-Courier, âHe had the proper permit to be running his 4th of July fireworks show, but we prefer to err on the side of caution. Thatâs when we had to call in the FBI.â Hanson was charged by federal agents with three counts of conspiracy to engage in terrorist activities and one count of possession of weapons of mass destruction. F.B.I. Agent Dirk Diggler told the local newspaper, âWhile we donât have what you might call proof of terrorist ties, on a holiday like this, itâs better to be safe than sorry. âHow do we know what his intent was for those explosives? Sure, heâs been holding a firework show for six decades, but how do we really know how was going to have another one? With that in mind, Mister Hanson is currently en-route to Guantanamo Bay where heâll be question properly. Prevention is the key to the war on terror.â Townsfolk arriving for Jeb Hansonâs yearly firework spectacle were shocked to hear of his arrest. Dorothy Hanson, Jebediahâs wife, told the Sun-Courier, âAll we wanted to do was celebrate Americaâs independence like we do every year. For as long as I can remember, weâve been putting on the fireworks display. The kids love it. And with this being a small town and with the economy, weâre the only ones holding a fireworks show this year. I even baked my famous Bourbon apple pie. âI just need him home. He needs to take his medication at seven and no one will listen to me. They wonât even let him near his lawyer. That agent Diggler says lawyers only slow things down. And he says Jeb will just be gone longer if I start some ruckus.â Susan Little, who first attended Hansonâs firework show in 1974, says, âAll of a sudden, I see a dozen black armored vehicles with these huge guns and a bunch of helicopters, with missiles on them. âThen they start asking all these questions. What was planned for today, all that. And we told them, fireworks for Independence Day. We got detained overnight. It was scary. Even the little kids, without their parents there were asking them questions. I donât understand why youâd point a big gun at a little kid. âWhen one little girl, Annabelle, started crying, this soldier threatens to charge her with obstruction of justice and obstructing a police investigation, and tells her none of her friends like her.â A local recently honorably discharged soldier, requesting to remain anonymous, told the Sun-Courier, âIt looked like Iraq. It was the same equipment we used in the battlefield. Â I have no idea why that type of equipment would be used in rural Alabama, and especially against Americans. âWhile I didnât get to see any fireworks, it was sure a hell of a lot better than being in Fallujah. That place sucks.â