This is What Happens When the Government Pushes to Hard

This wasn't the federal government, it was local, but still what they did to this guy was obviously unjust and he wouldn't stand for it.

Some label him a hero, some label him a lunatic, he’s probably a little of both, here's Marvin Heemeyer's story.

Marvin Heemeyer of Granby, Colorado was a profoundly frustrated muffler repair man. In the late 1990s–after years of protests, petitions, and town meetings–it became obvious to the 52-year-old that he was entwined in a gross miscarriage of justice. His business was ruined by some shady zoning changes, and Heemeyer contended that mayor and city council were corrupt. Even as he was forced to give up his legal fight and sell his land, he hatched one last plan to secretly retool his muffler shop to serve a single malevolent purpose: to construct a machine that would allow him to exact his revenge upon those who had wronged him. Heemeyer first became enamored with the state of Colorado when he was stationed there in the Air Force. After his service ended, he moved to Grand Lake, Colorado and opened a small chain of muffler shops in the surrounding cities. After a while he began to lease some of the shops out to other operators, but kept one, Mountain View Muffler in Granby, to operate himself. Heemeyer became involved with politics almost immediately upon establishing his home in Colorado. He was generally well-liked among his friends and neighbors, being described as an “enjoyable person,” and as someone who would “bend over backwards for anyone”. There were some, however, who were more familiar with his volatile temperament. He was a strong proponent of legalizing gambling, and he published at least two newsletters to disseminate his views. When a reporter for a local paper interviewed Heemeyer for an editorial opposed to gambling, he reported that Heemeyer was so enraged by the opposition that the interview nearly came to fisticuffs. In one particularly extreme instance, Heemeyer threatened to kill a customer’s husband when she refused to pay for a faulty muffler repair. “If Marv was your friend, he was your best friend,” said one of Heemeyer’s close associates, “but if he decided that he was your enemy, then he was your worst and most dangerous enemy.”

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Fairly impressive ingenuity eh?

In the late 1990s the Docheff family approached Heemeyer to buy his one remaining muffler shop in order to build a concrete batch plant on the land. It was a matter of public record that Heemeyer had bought the land for $42,000. Docheff reported that they agreed to buy the land for $250,000, but the deal fell apart when Heemeyer raised the price to $375,000 and reportedly once even mentioned a million. Having grown weary of Heemeyer’s indecisiveness, the Docheffs went to the Granby City Council and sought to re-zone the land surrounding Heemeyer’s muffler shop. Heemeyer was involved in the re-zoning process from the outset, attending town meetings to ensure that his interests were protected. Nevertheless, in 2001 the town zoning commission and trustees approved the rezoning request. Adding apparent insult to injury, the plan for the concrete plant cut off the only route to his muffler shop. The city also fined Heemeyer $2,500 for “junk cars” on his property, and for failing to have his shop hooked up to the sewer line. Hindered but not yet defeated, Heemeyer set out to remedy the situation using community action, legal maneuvering, and elbow grease. He appealed the zoning commission’s decision, and gathered signatures from the townsfolk to petition against the plant. He attempted to obtain permission to install a sewer line under eight feet of land owned by Mountain Park Concrete, but the new owners refused. He even went so far as to buy a bulldozer to build a new road that would allow customer access to his muffler shop, but the city council declined to approve his plan. Many people suspected there were some shady dealings between the concrete plant and the members of the city council, but no actual evidence of such illegal goings-on has ever been found. Having no recourse, Heemeyer sent the city a $2,500 check to cover the fines, with the word “cowards” written ominously on the memo line. He then sold the muffler shop property to a trash company, and was given six months to vacate.

the music in this video may not be to your taste, you wont miss anything by watching it muted.

Heemeyer set to work on his new project almost immediately. The Komatsu D335A bulldozer that was meant to save his business was instead moved into the muffler shop, and Heemeyer began to make some modifications. He started by adding home-made composite armor–cement sandwiched between thick sheets of steel–to protect the cab, engine, and parts of the tracks. He installed front and rear cameras to feed images to monitors in the cab, and several gun ports were set around the control center. A stockpile of food and water was stored inside, as well as an air tank to help provide air circulation. Throughout the one-and-a-half years of construction, Heemeyer documented his progress though notes and audio tapes. “Because of your anger, because of your malice, because of your hate, you would not work with me,” he stated in his tape recordings. “I am going to sacrifice my life, my miserable future that you gave me, to show you that what you did is wrong.” He received several visitors at his shop while working on his armored vehicle of vengeance, and none of them seemed alarmed at the weaponized armor shell atop his earth-mover. In his notes Heemeyer credited a higher power with “clouding their vision.” On one occasion he wrote, “I was always willing to be reasonable until I had to be unreasonable. Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things.”

[edit on 8/4/2009 by Alaskan Man]

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2004 was a tough year for Heemeyer. His father passed away in March, and he broke off his engagement when he caught his betrothed with another man. The morning of Friday, the 4th of June was gray and drizzly. Heemeyer mailed his audio tapes to his brother, went to his shop, and climbed into his bulldozer with a handwritten list of targets. He used the winch controls to lower the concrete and steel shell onto the top of his vehicle. Nothing short of a crane would be able to lift the thirty-ton armor shell off the vehicle once it was in place. With that fateful metal clap, Heemeyer was sealed in a concrete and steel box that he could never escape. At just after 3:00 PM, the makeshift tank tore through the side of his shed, and smashed into the Mountain Park Concrete plant. Shortly thereafter, the phones at the 911 response center began ringing incessantly. A man named Cody Docheff witnessed the destruction-in-progress and attempted to use a front-end loader to intercept the rampaging bulldozer, but withdrew when he was fired upon from the gun ports of this “Killdozer.” Within minutes two buildings and multiple vehicles were eviscerated, and the Killdozer rumbled towards the highway into town. The slow-moving bulldozer picked up a parade of emergency vehicle escorts as it approached the city limits. One police SUV was crushed when it strayed too near. Undersheriff Glen Trainor managed to climb atop the moving bulldozer, and used 37 rounds from his service pistol to try and shoot his way in. “I think the thing that drove me,” he later reported, “is that I knew that killing him behind the wheel was the only way we were going to be able to stop this thing.” When Heemeyer and his Killdozer arrived in town, the Granby police were waiting for him. Against the armored behemoth, however, the lawmen were powerless. When it became clear that the armor was impervious to bullets the police tried explosives, but they too were without effect. Lawmen kept to the sides and tried to vacate anyone from the Killdozer’s path, and the local police utilized the reverse 911 system to call residents and warn them of the approaching danger. News helicopters filmed the unfolding violence from above. The overencumbered vehicle was obviously difficult to control, and swerved widely through the streets, but Heemeyer was still able to seek out and and hit his specific targets. The bulldozer effortlessly demolished cars and buildings, including the home of a former mayor, the office of a newspaper that had sided against him in an editorial, the businesses of a former city councilman,and the city hall. Despite the destruction of property, no people had been injured or killed. TheGranby Police requisitioned an industrial scraper to pit heavy equipment against heavy equipment, but the Killdozer merely shoved the lighter adversary aside. In about an hour of mayhem, the bulldozer had demolished thirteen structures and was en route to its next target: Gamble’s Hardware. The damage from small arms and the extra weight of the armor were taking a toll on the vehicle, however. The radiator had sprung a leak, and the Killdozer was losing horsepower. As the fatigued machine crashed through the wall of the hardware store the floor beneath the beast broke, and the front end of the bulldozer fell into a shallow basement. The engine struggled, but it could not power itself out of the pit. As SWAT teams surrounded the wounded Killdozer, one of the members reported hearing a single, muffled gunshot from within the cab. The vehicle didn’t move again, ending a rampage that had lasted 2 hours 7 minutes, and caused about $7 million in damage. Explosives were employed to try to open the tank, but in the end it took twelve hours with an oxyacetylene torch and a crane to crack the armored top. Inside Heemeyer was found dead, having shot himself with a .357 handgun. He was the lone casualty of the destruction spree.

So whats your opinion on this guy, nut jub? public danger? true patriot?

Full Story Here

My opinion is exactly the title of this thread.

It's what happens when the government pushes you too far.

Hopefully TPTB can read this thread too. S & F.

CX.

That is an amazing story. First time I heard about him. At times while reading I thought he was nuts and then I started to see his frustration and empathize with it. Just wow. Pushing back knowing its a losing battle, but doing it anyway shows a lot of guts. The way he did it shows a lot of determination, patience, courage and hopelessness.

He was offered $250,000 but he got greedy and tried for $375,000. In the end he got nothing and made a lot of enemies.

He planned his ultimate revenge and laboured through over a year to bring it to fruition. So, not a momentary madness.

Sounds to me as if Heemeyer's Achilles heel was a sense of injustice. This could have stemmed from his early life. Then, later in life, he decided to impose what he felt to be 'justice'. He just couldn't see, apparently, that in this instance, he more than anyone else, had made himself into a victim. If he'd just taken the $250, he could have moved on .. built another muffler shop elsewhere, perhaps. Instead, he dug in his heels.

I can see that having his business rendered inaccessible thus worthless, might make someone feel emasculated, neutered and as if the other guys had won and laughed in his face. Someone else would have adopted a different attitude.

So in the end, neither hero nor villain, imo. Just tragic

Originally posted by St Vaast
So in the end, neither hero nor villain, imo. Just tragic

I agree with that sentiment...tragic.

Just so you all know, he isn't the only one willing to go to such lengths in order to make an example of the evil corrupt people in high places.

The day is fast approaching when you will see more and more of this from more and more people.
There is something I teach my students (Martial Arts) and it bears repeating here as well.

"Never F*** with someone who has nothing to lose".

Avoid that person at all costs. No good can possibly come of it. When someone has released their stranglehold on this illusion we call life and is fully prepared and ready to exit stage left.....Turn around and RUN as fast as you can. You cannot beat someone who has already lost the game of life.

I can empathize with this man entirely. Let this be a lesson to ALL of us. Not just greedy politicians. Don't push people. Don't screw guys oveer in a divorce don't screw your neighbor over oout of the $10 you borrowed from him, don't screw your employee out of the 4 weeks of vacation that you owe him after firing him.

It never ceases to amaze me how people make decisions as if they are going to ive forever. People make decisions as if no one will call them out on it.

Watch your back cuz' I'll be coming for you if you "F" me over the way this guy was "F"ed over.

Originally posted by Alaskan Man
some label him a lunatic

I don't think he's a lunatic at all. I think he was delivering justice in the best way he knew how to people who took advantage of their power for their own interests.

He didn't hurt or kill anyone. All he did was show the city council the consequences of their actions. It's tragic that the taxpayers ultimately have to pay the damages done, but the message was a strong and justified one.

reply to post by St Vaast


It was his property, his business, his livelihood. Who are you to say that he was being greedy?

What is BS is that he TRIED to do what was required of him, but was stonewalled by the city council and the cement company.

Why would they not allow him to have a way for customers to get to his shop?

Why would the cement company not allow him to build his 8 foot sewer line?

This thread needs a bump. TPTB and everyone else here needs to have the opportunity to be reminded that when you F with someone enough they WILL WILL WILL WILL!!!!! release their stranglehold on this illusion we call life and they WILL make you realease yours as well!!!!!!!

Live every moment as if everyone around you will snap at any minute and treat them as such. Tread lightly grasshopper.

My opinion is that this guy first tried to be greedy....when that backfired on him, he became bitter. It does sound like the city council and the concrete company were in on it together though. I believe that when they did not get their way, they pushed him to the edge. After that it was all downhill. He decided to take matters into his own hands. I don't believe that he is a hero, but I do believe that he was driven over the edge by a corrupt local government. Maybe next time they will think twice before they do something like that to a private individual again.....who knows.

Judge him however you guys want. The fact is though a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do.

A common human trait is too make a big deal out of nothing. All thats gonna happen is that he'll reincarnate back on earth but at least he taught a few people a lesson.

I do not simpathize with losses of "property," "money," or anything we think is "mine." What I DO
Sypathize with is loss of life or loss of livelihood (which, in this materialistic world, can be considered one's life by some). The man did what he had to, and to put it simply, was totally f'in sweet. He didn't hurt anybody, and all the local gov't had to do was allow him to bring his building up to code. He paid his fine and after that they technically paid theirs.
Jesus once said "do unto others as you would have them do to you." Karma, anyone? I think so.
Although it could just be some sweet ownage and nothing more.
In any case, this guy friggin ruled. Sad to hear he's dead.

why did that Marine - steal that Tank in San Diego, Ca. ?
I dont recall.
lets watch it together...
www.youtube.com...

hum, they didnt say did they... ? wonder why he did it...?