A FASCINATING FAMILY HISTORY -- EIGHT YEARS OF ODD BRUSHES WITH THE LAW

By Lucy Warner
July 4, 2016


These stories all sprang from today’s CBS article below. I dug a little, found new things and dug some more. I’m fascinated with the lack of civic responsibility here. It is obvious that a gun and a “flame thrower” mounted on flying vehicle of any kind is unwise and worse. I am genuinely concerned about such a machine’s usefulness in the hands of anyone who does mean harm to society. It’s also a potential invasion of privacy. The fact that these people have repeatedly sued authorities over very rational decisions also annoys me. Only the well-to-do can afford to do that. I was not able to find a statement of net worth on the Internet, but the father is an accountant at Yale University and his wife is an administrative person. Probably neither would be drawing a really high salary, but they have maintained a lifestyle that suggests more. Their attitude toward law and personal restraints in general does resemble several cases I have read articles about on the so-called “Sovereign Citizens,” who are in my mind basically lawless individuals who violate laws freely. For a really fascinating read, go to the splc.org article below.

See: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/sovereign-citizens-movement on the net.

“SOVEREIGN CITIZENS MOVEMENT

The strange subculture of the sovereign citizens movement, whose adherents hold truly bizarre, complex antigovernment beliefs, has been growing at a fast pace since the late 2000s. Sovereigns believe that they get to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore, and they don't think they should have to pay taxes.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dad-son-fight-faa-gun-firing-flame-throwing-drones/

Dad, son fight FAA over gun-firing, flame-throwing drones
CBS/AP
July 4, 2016, 11:41 AM

Image: A still from a YouTube video purporting to show a gun-firing drone. YOUTUBE USER HOGWIT
Play VIDEO -- FAA investigating drone armed with gun


HARTFORD, Conn. - A Connecticut father and son are headed for a court showdown with the Federal Aviation Administration over whether the agency can force them to disclose information about drones shown in two YouTube videos firing a gun and deploying a flame thrower in their backyard.

Austin Haughwout, 19, of Clinton, and his father, Bret Haughwout, are refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by the U.S. attorney's office on behalf of the FAA, saying the subpoenas violate their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and questioning the agency's authority to regulate recreational drones.

A hearing on whether the Haughwouts have to comply with the subpoenas is set for Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer in New Haven. The case potentially has national significance because it would set a precedent on how much authority the FAA has over recreational drone use, said the Haughwouts' lawyer, Mario Cerame.

Austin Haughwout uploaded the videos to his YouTube channel last year. One video, viewed more than 3.7 million times, shows a flying drone equipped with a handgun firing rounds. Another video, viewed nearly 600,000 times, shows a flying drone with a flamethrower lighting up a spit-roasting Thanksgiving turkey. Both videos were recorded in the family's yard in Clinton.

The father and son have refused to comply with subpoenas issued in November and December seeking their depositions and information about the drone used in the videos.

Federal prosecutors say in court documents that the subpoenas were issued in connection with an investigation being conducted for the legitimate purpose of ensuring the safe operation of "aircraft" and under the FAA's authority to investigate potential violations of its regulations banning people from operating aircraft in a careless or reckless manner.

"Based on media reports, the FAA believes that the respondents have built and/or operated at least two (drones) carrying weapons with the capability of causing serious injury to a person or property," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Larson wrote in a court filing.

The FAA in June proposed its first set of regulations for the commercial use of drones, but not recreational use. The agency says there are some requirements for recreational use, including having to register any unmanned aircraft weighing more than 0.55 pounds and notifying airport operators before flying drones within 5 miles of airports.

Cerame said the FAA is wrong to rely on aircraft regulations to try to subpoena his clients about their recreational use of drones. Win or lose, he believes, the case will affect recreational drone operators nationwide.

"They shouldn't use airplane regulations," he said. "They should go get the authority from Congress. It's about keeping the government in check as to what Congress said they can do.

"This is a kid playing in his backyard," Cerame added.

Officials with the FAA and the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the subpoenas. The Haughwouts didn't return messages seeking comment.

Austin Haughwout claims in a state lawsuit that he was expelled from Central Connecticut State University on bogus threatening allegations by school officials who were really concerned about the drone videos. The lawsuit seeks his reinstatement to the school.

The school says one of its professors told the teenager it was a terrible idea when the student described rigging a drone with a handgun. Central Connecticut State University spokesman Mark McLaughlin said the student mentioned to an engineering professor this summer that he was planning to put a weapon on a remote-controlled aircraft, and was told not to.

School officials deny the allegations and say Haughwout was expelled for making threatening statements and gestures toward other people on campus.

Austin Haughwout has been in and out of the news over the past two years. On Thursday, Clinton police announced they charged him with enticing a minor with a computer, attempted sexual assault and possession of child pornography after police say they found child porn on his cellphone.

Last year, Clinton police charged him with assaulting officers. The case remains pending.

In 2014, a woman was charged with assaulting Haughwout because she was upset he was using a drone to film above a state beach in Madison. Haughwout posted a video of the confrontation on YouTube that has been viewed more than 500,000 times.



http://www.newsweek.com/gun-shooting-drone-newsweek-talks-inventors-dad-355723

FATHER OF MAN WHO BUILT GUN-SHOOTING 'DRONE' SAYS DON'T PANIC
BY VICTORIA BEKIEMPIS ON 7/21/15 AT 9:40 AM

Photograph -- A quadcopter is a flying mechanical vehicle. DAVID MCNEW/ RETUERS


Since 18-year-old Austin Haughwout posted a now-viral video on YouTube earlier this month apparently showing a gun-firing drone, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been trying to figure out whether the Connecticut resident broke any laws.

While the FAA wouldn’t comment on whether there are regulations on the books governing gun-toting drones, Haughwout’s father, Bret, was happy to discuss the project on Monday. (He says his son won’t talk.)

“It’s pretty simple. You’ve got a mechanical engineering student that builds different things, and this is just the last thing that he built. That’s all there is to it,” Bret Haughwout says of his son, a sophomore at Central Connecticut State University.

He says his son has long shown strong interest in and precociousness toward machines: He received his boating license at age 10, snowmobile license at 12, scuba diver certification at 13, driver’s license at 16 and motorcycle license at 17. He has also completed a few hours of pilot’s license courses.

Bret Haughwout confirms that the gun mounted on his son’s drone can be fired remotely, and he offers several opinions about why some people are incensed by the video.

“I’d say it’s the liberal mindset,” he says. “Liberals just want to regulate away everything that people do. Anytime someone goes to do something, they want to put restrictions on it.”

Also, a lot of the fear stems from a misunderstanding of this technology, he says. “You know what? Stop using the wrong word. It’s not a drone. It’s a quadcopter, just like an RC boat, or an RC car, or an RC airplane, or an RC helicopter.” [Google says that RC means “radio controlled.”]

Drones are pre-programmed, he says, while this device is manually controlled. “The media is using...inappropriate terminology to try and create fear in the public.”

Bret Haughwout adds that people have been attaching firearms to these aircraft for years, instructing Newsweek to search the Internet for “RC heli wit a real gun.” The search revealed several video clips professing to show RC-mounted automatic firearms.

“There’s a machine gun attached to it,” he says of the video. He then rhetorically asks of his son’s project, “So what’s the big deal here?”

As far as gun laws are concerned, it's not a big deal, either.

Asked about the video, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ATF, says: "ATF has reviewed the video with local law enforcement and other federal agencies. It does not appear that the device violates any existing firearms regulations. ATF will continue to monitor the issue with our local and federal partners."



http://www.oreilly-sucks.com/blogarchives2015/july2015.html

Teen Makes Totally Legal Semi-Auto Hand Gun Shooting Drone
By: Steve - July 29, 2015 - 10:00am

A Connecticut teen has added a handgun to a drone, creating a weapon that can be fired remotely -- and police say it is perfectly legal.

Austin Haughwout, 18, posted a clip online showing the drone firing four shots, which triggered a police investigation.

But police in Haughwout's hometown of Clinton say they can't find anything to charge him with.

"It would seem to the average person, there should be something prohibiting a person from attaching a weapon to a drone," Clinton Police Chief Todd Lawrie said in a statement cited by WTNH, the ABC affiliate in New Haven. "At this point, we can't find anything that's been violated."

At least one law enforcement expert believes reckless conduct charges could apply in this case.

"What if the drone gets beyond the distance of the radio control?" Tom Fuentes, a former assistant director of the FBI said. "Do we want drones out of control that could land who knows here? We could have a child pick up the drone, pick up the gun, and accidentally kill themselves or someone else."

Brett Haughwout, who is the teen's father, told WFSB, the CBS station in Hartford, that his son made the drone-weapon with help from his professor at Central Connecticut State University.

But the professor at the university disputed that, telling the Hartford Courant that it was a "terrible idea."

"I discouraged him," Edward Moore, an assistant professor who teaches a class called Manufacturing Engineering Processes, told the paper. "I tried to give him the same advice I would give my kids."

Haughwout's father told NBC Connecticut that the gun belongs to him and said his son did "extensive research" to ensure it didn't break any laws.

"Homemade multirotor with a semi-automatic handgun mounted on it," the description on YouTube reads. "Note: The length from the muzzle to the rear of the frame is over 26."

The reference to the length may be an attempt to comply with federal law governing overall length of rifles, should the gun as modified be considered as such.

While local police say there may not be a law against the drone-gun, Haughwout may not be in the clear just yet. CNET reports that the FAA is also investigating.

"The FAA will investigate the operation of an unmanned aircraft system in a Connecticut park to determine if any Federal Aviation Regulations were violated," the agency told the website. "The FAA will also work with its law enforcement partners to determine if there were any violations of criminal statutes."

That comes as welcome news to at least one drone advocate.

"Drones should be used for good, not for evil," Peter Sachs, who is an attorney, told ABC News. "There are countless ways that drones can be useful. Using one as a remote-controlled weapon is not one of them, and I question the judgment of anyone who would attempt to do so."

Haughwout made headlines last year when he was allegedly assaulted by a woman who claimed he was using a drone to photograph her.

However, video showed that Haughwout was just taking aerial shots of the beach. Andrea Mears, then 23, was charged with third-degree assault and breach of peace. However, the charges will be dropped if she completes two years of probation.



http://articles.courant.com/2008-05-22/news/clidad0522.art_1_weapon-on-school-grounds-clinton-police-christian

Court Records Explain Arrest
Clinton Police Identify Firearms And Fireworks They Say They Found At Bret Haughwout's Home.
May 22, 2008|By ALAINE GRIFFIN; Courant Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — Among the go-karts, minibikes, remote-controlled planes, jet skis and children's toys in Bret Haughwout's garage at his Clinton home, police said they found firearms - including a banned assault weapon - and illegal fireworks, according to court records released Wednesday.

The discovery led to the arrest this week of Haughwout, 43, whose 14-year-old son, Christian, was charged by police last month with taking to school a doctored disposable camera that emitted electrical shocks. Haughwout's lawyer, Norman A. Pattis, argued that the latest arrest is retaliation for lawsuits the family recently filed over Christian's arrest and his suspension from The Morgan School.

But police and prosecutors see it differently.

"All of the weapons and ammunition were being stored in an unsecured area," police wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit released after Haughwout's arraignment Wednesday in Superior Court. "The firearms were in an unlocked trunk, along with ammunition to the firearms. In the same area with the firearms, we located the unsecured fireworks. These items would be easily accessible to anyone in the garage, including the 11-year-old and the 14-year-old juveniles who reside at the residence."

Clinton police said those items included a Ruger Mini-14 gun and "Roman-candle type" and "mortar-shell type" fireworks.

It was the "14-year-old" mentioned in the affidavit who led police to the Haughwout home on Egypt Lane on April 9. A week earlier, Christian, an honor student and self-described science geek, had taken the doctored camera to school, where several of his classmates volunteered to be shocked. A teacher called the device "cool."

The school suspended Christian for 10 days; he was also arrested on charges of possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds, attempted assault and breach of peace. His arrest sparked widespread debate about whether police and school officials overreacted or responded appropriately in light of zero-tolerance policies created in the wake of school violence around the nation.

Christian's parents sued school officials in federal court, where a deal was reached allowing Christian to return to school and eventually have his record wiped clean if the lawsuit was dropped. His mother, Carolyn Vangemert, also filed a federal lawsuit against the Clinton police officer who arrested her son.

With Vangemert at his side, Christian attended his father's arraignment hearing on Wednesday. Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford agreed to release Bret Haughwout, an accountant, on a promise to appear in court June 4. He faces misdemeanor charges of possession of an illegal assault rifle and fireworks and a felony charge of risk of injury to a minor.

Pattis said the family was "in shock" over the latest arrest.

"It's been one thing after another for this family," Pattis said. He said police did not have probable cause to search the Haughwout home, and he said the search was illegal.

"We plan to attack the warrant and win this case," Pattis said.

Contact Alaine Griffin at agriffin@courant.com.


Personal Data:

http://provost.yale.edu/who-we-are/carolyn-van-gemert
Carolyn Van Gemert
Administrative Associate

http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Bret-Haughwout/1625139924

Bret Haughwout
Buyer
Yale University
Email: b***@***.edu

Law suit:
Bret Haughwout – Notice of Additional Authority re1 MOTION to Compel filed by Austin Haughwout, Bret Haughwout.(Cerame, Mario)
Att: 1 Exhibit B - Huerta v. Skypan - Order and Briefing,
Att: 2 Exhibit C - Exemption Number 12602,
Att: 3 Exhibit D - Final Rule for the Operation and Certification of Small UAS,
Att: 4 Exhibit E - FAA Fact Sheet

AFFIDAVIT of Service for Order to Show Cause (Abode Service) served on Austin Haughwout and Bret Haughwout on 2/24/2016, filed by Michael Huerta. (Larson, John) -- Tuesday, March 15, 2016
10 order Order Appointing Pro Bono Counsel ~Util - Add and Terminate Attorneys Tue 3:37 PM
Order Appointing Pro Bono Counsel Mario Cerame for Austin Haughwout pursuant to D. Conn L. Civ. R 83.10. Counsel is directed to contact their client and file an appearance as soon as possible. Signed by Clerk on 3/15/16.(Bauer, J.)

Friday, March 11, 2016
9 misc Financial Affidavit Tue 2:32 PM
FINANCIAL AFFIDAVIT by Austin Haughwout. (Gutierrez, Y.)
8 misc Financial Affidavit Tue 2:27 PM
FINANCIAL AFFIDAVIT by Bret Haughwout. (Gutierrez, Y.)



Excerpt, CBS – “Austin Haughwout claims in a state lawsuit that he was expelled from Central Connecticut State University on bogus threatening allegations by school officials who were really concerned about the drone videos. The lawsuit seeks his reinstatement to the school. The school says one of its professors told the teenager it was a terrible idea when the student described rigging a drone with a handgun. Central Connecticut State University spokesman Mark McLaughlin said the student mentioned to an engineering professor this summer that he was planning to put a weapon on a remote-controlled aircraft, and was told not to. School officials deny the allegations and say Haughwout was expelled for making threatening statements and gestures toward other people on campus.”


Excerpt, oreilly -- "It would seem to the average person, there should be something prohibiting a person from attaching a weapon to a drone," Clinton Police Chief Todd Lawrie said in a statement cited by WTNH, the ABC affiliate in New Haven. "At this point, we can't find anything that's been violated." At least one law enforcement expert believes reckless conduct charges could apply in this case. "What if the drone gets beyond the distance of the radio control?" Tom Fuentes, a former assistant director of the FBI said. "Do we want drones out of control that could land who knows here? We could have a child pick up the drone, pick up the gun, and accidentally kill themselves or someone else." …. But the professor at the university disputed that, telling the Hartford Courant that it was a "terrible idea." "I discouraged him," Edward Moore, an assistant professor who teaches a class called Manufacturing Engineering Processes, told the paper. "I tried to give him the same advice I would give my kids." Haughwout's father told NBC Connecticut that the gun belongs to him and said his son did "extensive research" to ensure it didn't break any laws. …. "Drones should be used for good, not for evil," Peter Sachs, who is an attorney, told ABC News. "There are countless ways that drones can be useful. Using one as a remote-controlled weapon is not one of them, and I question the judgment of anyone who would attempt to do so."


Excerpt, .courant.com -- In the same area with the firearms, we located the unsecured fireworks. These items would be easily accessible to anyone in the garage, including the 11-year-old and the 14-year-old juveniles who reside at the residence." Clinton police said those items included a Ruger Mini-14 gun and "Roman-candle type" and "mortar-shell type" fireworks. …. His arrest sparked widespread debate about whether police and school officials overreacted or responded appropriately in light of zero-tolerance policies created in the wake of school violence around the nation. Christian's parents sued school officials in federal court, where a deal was reached allowing Christian to return to school and eventually have his record wiped clean if the lawsuit was dropped. His mother, Carolyn Vangemert, also filed a federal lawsuit against the Clinton police officer who arrested her son. With Vangemert at his side, Christian attended his father's arraignment hearing on Wednesday. Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford agreed to release Bret Haughwout, an accountant, on a promise to appear in court June 4. He faces misdemeanor charges of possession of an illegal assault rifle and fireworks and a felony charge of risk of injury to a minor.



This whole family is more litigious than most, and their sons have gotten into more trouble than most. Like so many Middle Class and even more affluent people they protect their kids to the hilt. They don’t seem to prevent their activities when they verge into the unwise and even illegal areas. “Boy will be boys,” etc. Some good home advice would be more to their eventual benefit in my opinion than these lawsuits to have police charges expunged, etc.

Not only do I see the classic “helicopter parents,” here, but the more recently coined “Affluenza Defense.” I say that because bringing a “dangerous device” to school would have caused a poor black child to go before a judge without having the charges wiped clean, and he would be in the “school to prison pipeline.” It is also clear to me that both boys are being brought up with the same lack of parental restraint. I am sorry to see this, no matter what happens about the deadly drone toy.

As for these extended searches for existing law against such a mobile weapon flying freely around American skies, the police should drop that and work toward making some laws that will effective apply to drones and other similar devices. The whole thing is dangerous, and potentially hostile. The idea of a Militia group or other anti-democracy group using a flying gun against people on the ground or in their upper story apartments is not as remote as I would like.

This boy, while clearly intelligent, is not mentally stable and I don’t believe his father is either, or the mother. He was expelled from college for “making threatening statements and gestures,” and after being told not to do so continued with his plan of arming the RC helicopter with a genuine loaded firearm. I am fascinated that the ATF has not prohibited the plan. Have they lost their minds, too?

“I’d say it’s the liberal mindset,” he says. “Liberals just want to regulate away everything that people do. Anytime someone goes to do something, they want to put restrictions on it.” That is Bret Haughwout’s reason for why the idea of a flying vehicle of any kind (whether it’s really a drone or not) should not be armed with a gun or in the other more shocking variety, a flamethrower, has caused public alarm. It was even characterized as “a kid playing in his back yard….” Yeah, but with a loaded gun.

The lawyer continues, "They shouldn't use airplane regulations," he said. "They should go get the authority from Congress. It's about keeping the government in check as to what Congress said they can do.” It’s the same old “tyrannical big government” argument. “Cerame said the FAA is wrong to rely on aircraft regulations to try to subpoena his clients about their recreational use of drones. Win or lose, he believes, the case will affect recreational drone operators nationwide.”

As for that, drones are clearly causing problems in several ways -- privacy, interference with full-sized aircraft, but also the potential for physical endangerment of those on the ground. As for whether or not the “boy” (18 years old) meant to do harm, that doesn’t mean that everybody and their brother putting one of these potentially threatening “toys” up in the air doesn’t need to be regulated. People en masse simply cannot be trusted to obey good common sense, or the law either. As for Congress making laws that apply to them, in my humble opinion, it’s time for some updating of the law as our technology is continually being upgraded. I believe in progress, but I also believe in sensible regulation.

So who are these people anyway? Are they rightwing nut jobs? Arming for a Militia war against liberals, blacks and Islamic people by arming what passes for a toy with deadly weapons? Sovereign Citizens? Other anti-government “conservatives?” Why does anyone think that the right should exist to fly flame throwers or firearms around in the sky, or take aerial photographs of ladies on a beach with impunity?

SEE: Lawsuits and other information below. One of the lawsuits is indeed being brought by a woman who was sunbathing in a public area when the younger Haughwout photographed the beach (not her, personally, he said.) (I assume this name is NOT pronounced “Hogwart.”)

Bret Haughwout is a presumably well reimbursed financial employee of Yale University. Nonetheless, the son has received permission for pro bono representation, presumably on this case. How did that come about? The father is definitely rightwing, however, whether or not he can properly be called a “nut job,” because he is quoted as complaining against the “liberals” who are always trying to "regulate everything." Right.