10:15 a.m.
SHOTS FIRED!
Deborah Mathews reporting for The Iconoclast.
Camp Casey is becoming very organized, with how-to signs placed about. Ann Wright said, "That's what we are trying to do."
Let me read you the schedule posted on a tree: "9:15 camp meeting; 10 a.m. inter-faith service, 10:30 a.m., "Food-Not-Bombs Breakfast at Peace House," and....
"Wait! Someone is firing a gun. (pause). He fired it into the air about five times. He appears to be a local inside the fence line on private property. Now he has thrown what looks like a shotgun into the front seat of a pickup, and he's stomping off out of sight. I wonder where he went.
"Now he's coming back out. I'm out here standing on the road. He's got a no parking sign in his hand, walking toward his fence. I'm going to go try to talk to him. I've got to hang up."
(three minutes later)
I went over and talked to the man. He is Larry Mattlage, who says he is on his property and just posted a no-parking sign.
"We're going to start doing our war and it's going to be underneath the law," he told me. "Whatever it takes. So y'all go find another place to do whatever you do. 'Cause this is our front yard and back yard."
I asked, "Do you mean the protestors?"
Wait.....now there's some Secret Service and cops. I'm going to get closer to hear what they're saying. People in bullet-proof vests are here now. Two Secret Service agents are now walking up his driveway towards his house, with Mr. Mattlage. A member of the Sheriff's Department has arrived. Mr. Mattlage is waving his arms now. All of them are now walking back this way.
Now they are between the lane and the house. He's at the fence now. Let me record what they are saying. I'll call right back.
2:45 p.m.
The audio tapes of the conversation with landowner Larry Mattlage have now been transcribed and are in text below the photos near the bottom of this page. The recordings are uploaded as mp3 files below.
To download tape of conversation between Deborah Mathews and Larry Mattlage click here. Right click, then save target as, then listen with your player. It is an .mp3 file.
To download tape of conversation between the media at Larry's gate and Larry Mattlage click here. Right click, then save target as, then listen with your player. It is an .mp3 file.
Larry Mattlage speaks to Deborah Mathews, Iconoclast reporter.
It was from behind this vehicle that shots were fired. Note the box of shells on the tailgate of this pickup.
Larry Mattlage, in background, is speaking with officers while members of the news media await his appearance at the gate to make a formal announcement.
— Iconoclast Photos By Deborah Mathews
Sunday, August 14, 11:15 a.m. Camp Casey
At 9:15, campers met for a camp meeting to discuss the schedule for the day and ideas for other ways to, “Build this outside of Crawford,” said a supporter. The discussion centers around how to progress Camp Casey. I listened to people ask questions like, “I will be leaving tomorrow and tell me what I need to do when I get home to carry on Camp Casey?” Coordinators respond with, “Make sure you stay in touch with your local law enforcement-follow any regulations pertaining to your area-and we really appreciate it.”
Some were given instructions like, “On your way home, make a sign with our supplies here and display it in your window for all to see.”
People were asked again to keep the camp clean—even cigarette butts must be picked up. “We want to be respectful of the land and we don’t want anyone to have any complaints with anything out here,” said Ann Wright.
Other supporters asked questions like, “What can we do to get families involved. We want to get kids on site.”
Ann Wright spoke of the parking and location to people. “Be sure to stay off the grass that’s marked park only where designated, Please. We have this ditch here and here,” she said as she pointed to appropriate parking locations. “The ditch is all that we have for this wonderful, tremendous movement.”
One supporter, dressed in an outfit of red, white, and blue said, “I can be patriotic and against the war, too. I can’t imagine Bush’s inhumanity. We have to listen to who is hurting. We have never supported this war and we really need to get our troops home.”
As I walked to my car to call the office with an update, I heard a popping sound. When I turned around, I saw a man with a shotgun aimed upward. He looked over his shoulder and then back and fired more shots. Even though I was only about 20 feet from him, it took seeing him with the gun to realize what I was hearing. He put the gun into the cab of the pickup and walked back to his house without saying anything.
He fired the gun from inside his fenceline—well within his property; his name is Larry Mattlage—which is across to the east of Camp Casey. He did not fire anywhere but into the sky, away from the camp.
I walked over to the fenceline to take a shot of the pickup with the Keystone Light box and the American flag in the back and saw him coming back out. He came to the truck again, took out a sign, and walked to the fence where I was standing. As he hung a “No Parking” sign on his fence, he said:
“We’re gonna’ start doing our war, but we’re gonna’ do it underneath the law, or whatever it takes. So you all go find you another place to do whatever you’re gonna’ do, because this is our front yard and back yard.”
I asked him, “When you say you all, do you mean the protestors?”
He answered, “I’m talking this whole damn country is neighbors and friends and this is our country. And if this group says that they are so much in Jesus and neighbors' rights and all that they pretend to be, why don’t they show it. You gotta’ live it. You gotta’ live Jesus Christ. And this is not Jesus Christ . . .
Another reporter walked up and asked, “Are you Mr. Mattlage?”
“I sure as hell am,” he answered. “Well, I want to get on the Letterman Show. I want to get on Jay Leno. This is a joke out here. You done your right and I believe in ??. This ain’t about Democrats and this ain’t about Republicans. This is about my rights and these people’s rights as American citizens who live here. You done your deal. You done your show. Now move on. I’m asking that as an American citizen and a taxpaying citizen, because I pay taxes to the middle of this road, and I mow it, and I keep it clean, and all I got now is trespassers. If that ain’t right, it ain’t right, but I want the whole world to know what they’ve done. They started out doing right and now they are doing wrong. When they first got here, I understood their cause and I appreciate it. I don’t like the war no more than anybody else, but right here we got war . . right on my front yard. Everybody here is sick of it. If everybody will leave now, everybody will go home a winner. Then the president can enjoy his vacation like everybody else and these farmers and ranchers can go check their cattle without having to go through a campsite.”
Deborah: Are any of them prevented from getting to their cattle now?
Mr. Mattlage: Ma’am, who wants to wade through all these people walking around there. What this is a war of porta-potties and the one with the most porta-potties is gonna’ win and you know who that is don’t you. You all got started out going to the bathroom in a five gallon bucket. Now, I see three porta-potties. How many more porta-potties are we going to have to put up with? Now, George Bush has more porta-potties than you all, so if I was a bettin’ man, I’d say he’s gonna win. So let’s don’t make this a little more ridiculous than it is now. Everybody go back a winner. You’ve made your point. I’m proud of you. God bless all of you.
Reporter: Did you fire a shotgun?
Mr. Mattlage: Yes I did! I got a right to fire up in the air. I am getting ready for dove season and you all are messing up my dove huntin’, so if you all could please leave and go somewhere else, this whole community would be behind you.
Reporter: How many acres do you have?
Mr. Mattlage: It don’t make any difference. That don’t have nothing to do with it. I pay taxes to the middle of this road and that person over there (he said as he pointed across the road to the opposite side) pays taxes to the middle of that road.
Reporter: So this is your land right here?
Mr. Mattlage: This is my land right here. We’ve been here for 125 years, okay. And this group ain’t running us out. Our family’s fought in wars, drought—grew up without any water—we’re pretty tough folks. We will survive this. This group is like Frosty the Snowman here. It’s gonna’ melt and they’ll be back another day. We are just waiting for Frosty to melt. We’ve got one group over here that’s not gonna’ give up and we’ve got one group over here won’t give up and we right here in the middle. Do you understand? This ain’t New York and it ain’t California and it ain’t Washington. I’m not political. I’m just a taxpaying citizen that wants my rights. That’s all I got to say. Thank you. And I will be back here all night long and I’ll be shootin’ at doves in the air, so anybody that camps here better get ready for some gunfire. If we don’t hit anything, I want every redneck in Texas to come on my property and this property here and we gonna’ really have a show. Thank You.
— Mr. Mattlage turned and walked back in the direction of his house. Both Secret Service Police and McLennan County Sheriff’s showed up to talk with Mr. Mattlage. The men went into his gate and they spoke together for a few minutes. Mr. Mattlage then turned and walked back in the direction of the media waiting at his gate.
Mr. Mattlage: What we have here is we got the Secret Service here and the Sheriff. The Secret Service has got all the power, but they don’t have any rights to get rid of this stuff. The Sheriff’s department has got the law which means, they said that we have no rights because they can’t stop this. So we’ve got two law enforcement agencies and all these helicopters up here and none of them can do nothing and will do nothing.
Reporter: Larry, why did you shoot the gun?
Mr. Mattlage: Well, I’m getting ready for dove season and you all are still gonna’ be here, I’m practicin’.
Reporter: Was there another message involved in the gunshot?
Mr. Mattlage: You figure it out for yourself.
Reporter: Are there any laws . . .
Mr. Mattlage: No, in Texas, you can shoot . . I ain’t threating nobody. I ain’t pointing a gun at nobody. This is Texas.
Reporter: What do you want them to do Larry?
Mr. Mattlage: Well these people don’t know what to do (pointing at the sheriff and the Secret Service)
Reporter: What do you want them to do?
Mr. Mattlage: When they first came out here, I was sympathetic to their cause, right. They as American citizens have a right to march to protest. It is like this—it’s like having company, if you have your brother-in-law at your house for five days, wouldn’t it start stinking after a while. You are ready for him to go home, aren’t you? Five weeks of this is too much. We live here. It’s our community. Apparently we have no respect over here and we have no respect over here. Somebody has got to get together and clear it out. It’s a damn shame. The news media has got to solve this dilemma. But we got a dilemma here. We got a battle of the porta-potties. You all got started out going to the bathroom in a five gallon bucket. Then they moved one porta-pottie in here. No we got two porta-potties. And now we have three and if this keeps up, it will be all the way down the road. And they’ve got more porta-potties over there (pointing at the Bush ranch). The only one winning here is the one cleaning the porta-potties.
Reporter: Now, what are they doing that you don’t like?
Mr. Mattlage: Sir, this community is a tight-knit community. This is a German community of farmers and ranchers who settled this land 145 years ago. We have fought a lot of battles with drought and everything else. This is a tough group of people and they want to just mind their own business. There is nobody said nothing here right now, because they’re not that away.
Reporter: How has your life changed since your new neighbors . .
Mr. Mattlage: Well you can answer that question yourself man. You’re standing right there watching it. That’s changing my life. Where are you from? Do you want somebody to put this in your back yard? Huh? Or your front yard. This is our yard right here. We just happen in Texas to have a bigger yard than they do in Maryland.
Reporter: They said that they would leave in the president came and spoke with Cindy, do you support . . .
Mr. Mattlage: Sir, I’ve lived here for six years since the president have moved here, okay. I don’t even know him and he’s my neighbor. I love him as a neighbor. I don’t care what he does, that ain’t my business. I ain’t a politician. All I know is that when he gets done with the presidency, he is our neighbor and all of you all and all of this protest is out of here. The Good Book says you love your neighbor so I love George Bush. He will be our neighbor as long as we’re here then he becomes a part of our community.
Reporter: What do you say to the fact that these people are just temporary neighbors? Would you love them just the same?
Mr. Mattlage: I loved them for a week. I mean, would you want somebody invading your house for a long time and blocking your view and blocking the road? I wake up every morning to this stuff. I go to bed every night and got a campground down here on a public road that I’m taxed to the middle of this road. The sheriff’s people down there says that I don’t have no rights, but I am paying taxes. The man over there is paying taxes to here. This is how it is in Texas. So, actually, I can’t prosecute nobody for trespassing and the sheriff knows it so he’s allowed them to park on my property—my own damn sheriff—allowing them to park on my property.
Reporter: Well, what do you want him to do?
Mr. Mattlage: It’s all about respect. Where has common courtesy gone in America? Somewhere, you supposed to respect people. I respect them and I respect George Bush. I can’t do nothing about the world situation, okay. Somebody has got to settle. And that’s what I’m saying to you people, so the whole world understands my position. I’m not a negotiator.
Reporter: Those folks down there, they’re not used to being out here, understand. This is not their neighborhood, and then you shoot a shotgun in the air and scare them. Did you take that into consideration?
Mr. Mattlage: I was shooting a bird. You missed it a while ago.
Reporter: Understood, but can you see where they might get scared that you’re shooting a gun in the air?
Mr. Mattlage: Sir, what I’m afraid of is if this thing don’t get settled—these neighbors out here are upset—I don’t want nobody getting hurt. I just want ‘em to pack their damn tents and go back to where they came from. Their plea is over with. What distures me in thinking about all of this is George Bush really want this going on because that’s probably helping his effort in the war. I don’t know strategy, okay. Maybe it is. I know one thing, they made their point and everybody understands it. How many times do you have to tell people? I feel for that young lady. She hurting. I know she’s hurting. But there are people hurting in this whole community. All of you are hurting because you’re leaving your family, coming out here filming this mess. Everybody got a problem. Everybody got a problem and I got one right now. How we resolve it, I don’t know. If I could get George Bush over here, I’d get him in a minute. If I could get her and if everybody would go home—but I don’t think they will solve the problem. The president can’t go talk to everybody that’s got a problem, okay. He got other work to do and I understand that. Let me ask you, what are you all going to do about it (he was asking the press)? ‘cause you all are part of the problem, too. You all come out here in a car, which you are blocking the road, which if this lady up here that’s 85 years old, if she has to go to the hospital, the damn ambulance can’t even carry her to the hospital. Now, is that any respect? You tell me? That’s all I got to say about that.
Reporter: Larry how do you spell your name?
Mr. Mattlage: It’s on the mailbox.
Mr. Mattlage turned and walked back into the direction of his house, still inside his fenceline. He spoke with the law enforcement there a moment more and they moved to come out to where the press waited as he went inside his barn.
Afterward...
The McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch came outside Mr. Mattlage’s gate and spoke to the reporters, saying:
. . . (stay) on the right of way and don’t impede any traffic while these folks are trying to take care of their business out here. There’s nothing we can do."
Reporters: What about shooting a gun?
Sheriff: He’s on his own property. He’s getting ready for dove season.
Reporters: What would have made that a violation?
Sheriff: If he had aimed over there. He can’t shoot across the road like that. He’s on his property, so he’s fine
Reporters: Did you visit with him about using some restraint or . . .
Sheriff: Of course I did. Everybody needs to use restraint in this situation out here. This is a situation that’s taken all these folks by storm and it’s impacted the way a lot of business run out here. So far, everybody has complied and that’s what we’re here for. The deputies are here, to make sure that this continues on in a peaceful manner. The folks have got to comply with all the rules and regulations and laws of the state of Texas and McLennan County and that’s what we’re here to tend to this morning.
Reporters: How long can these people camp out?
Sheriff: There’s no rule on that. There will be some issues brought up at the Commissioners' Court next week.
Reporter: How about shooting a gun so close to the president’s property, anything there?
Sheriff: No.
Reporter: The people said that they’re worried, they got scared, they called and said that they didn’t get a response . . . .
Sheriff: We responded.
Reporter: You did respond.
Sheriff: Look around you son. Look around you and see that we responded. Don’t say that we didn’t respond. That upsets me.
Reporter: I’m sorry. That’s what they told me
Sheriff: Well, check your facts. Just look around you. Whenever there is a violation of the law or a potential violation of the law, this department and everybody else around here is going to respond. Don’t say we don’t respond.
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