2016-03-10 S. Dakota: Rudy Stanko vs American Legion

[Rev.Cambeul]

Note: Mr STANKO is not a member of the Church of Creativity, nor does he represent Creativity.

STANKO, Applegarth tangle with Legion

Kerri Rempp | Chadron Journal (USA) | 10 March 2016

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/communities/chadron/stanko-applegarth-tangle-with-legion/article_a9004ac2-e6da-11e5-a861-37f803b32304.html

Two individuals have filed a lawsuit against the Chadron American Legion Bill Dowling Post 12 and its Commander Darrell Marshall.

Rudy Butch STANKO and Joseph Applegarth filed the suit March 2, asking the court to order the Chadron American Legion Post to reverse its decisions to ban Applegarth from its property and to not hire his business in the future. They are also seeking $1 million in punitive damages.

Court documents filed by the pair allege that the American Legion is discriminating against STANKO and Applegarth for exercising their free speech rights, claiming civil rights violations. They charge that the American Legion and Marshall in his capacity as commander are violating their civil rights by banning them for exercising their First Amendment rights, by "firing" Applegarth for the same, for violating the federal "Section 1983" law, for violating their Fifth and 14th Constitutional Amendment rights without due process of law and for contacting the Chadron Police Department to notify them of the ban and the Legion's intent to press trespassing charges against them.

The incident, the documents say, has caused "great humiliation, embarrassment, and mental suffering, pain, distress and anguish."

The two men are seeking a jury trial to determine damages for each civil rights violation and asking for reimbursement for their cost and time dedicated to defending themselves from "actions unlawfully provoked by the defendants."

STANKO and Applegarth say the Legion and Marshall acted "shamefully" and with a "reckless disregard" for contractual agreements and civil rights.

"The awarding of relief is in the public interest to inform the citizens of Dawes County that the members of the American Legion still support preserving the Constitutional right of free speech," the court papers read.

The lawsuit stems from a letter Marshall sent to Applegarth Feb. 19 after the latter wrote a piece in Feb. 17 issue of The Stampede, an online newspaper published by STANKO, who lives in Sheridan County. Applegarth's piece was in response to an article STANKO wrote in a January issue of his newspaper.

STANKO said in his piece that he is "sick and tired of glorifying veterans for being on the dole for fighting for an alleged freedom." He called the American flag a "flag of tyranny" and went on to say that veterans are not the "brightest light bulbs."

"I want anyone to tell me one freedom that these veteran cripples have preserved for our posterity," he wrote.

Applegarth, in his piece, lauded the article, calling the military a cult of "mind-controlled dupes" who joined the military for selfish reasons. He alleged that every female veteran he's spoken to has been raped by a fellow soldier, and that every male veteran he's talked to frequented houses of prostitution.

"Men who volunteer to fight for such ignoble causes are to be questioned about their lack of intelligence and principles," Applegarth wrote.

A publisher's note by STANKO at the end of Applegarth's piece said STANKO has no condolences for women who join the military and took their lives into their own hands and that he understands soldiers' visits to "houses of ill repute." "Being segregated from society and needing a pass to socialize or Fornicate Under Command of the King, where else would their instincts lead them to get a little entertainment."

After Applegarth's piece was published, Marshall wrote him a letter disagreeing with his opinion, saying the arguments in the paper were "vague and not based in fact."

He went on to dispute some of Applegarth's contentions, and said, "There are generations upon generations that feel honor to wear the uniform for this great nation and our allies, and yes, even you." Marshall concluded the letter by informing Applegarth that the Legion is no longer interested in using his services and that he is no longer welcome on American Legion property.

Applegarth turned the letter over to STANKO, who published it on his website, along with Applegarth's response to Marshall, which threatened the lawsuit if the "vindictive and unjustifiable ban" wasn't reversed.

Though Marshall's letter was addressed only to Applegarth, the lawsuit said the letter implies that STANKO is also banned from the American Legion property.

The lawsuit against the Chadron American Legion will not be the first time in court for either STANKO or Applegarth.

According to the Casper Star Tribune, STANKO unsuccessfully sought more than $180,000 from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in 2004 as payment for 198 cattle he said were killed by grizzlies. In 1984, STANKO's Cattle King Meat Packing Company, based in Colorado, was caught in a scheme to sell meat rejected by inspectors, much of it slated for the National School Lunch Program. STANKO served six years in federal prison for the incident, during which time he wrote an anti-Semitic book claiming a Zionist conspiracy to destroy his business. In 2006, he was convicted of being a felon in possession of weapons; he was sentenced on the charges in 2012 and ordered back to prison for 13 months.

STANKO also successfully challenged Montana's speed limit law that only required driving in a "careful and prudent manner." However, he lost cases in Montana challenging the need for a state livestock dealer's license and in arguing that as an ordained minister for the Church of the Creator he should have been allowed to preach to inmates. The Church of the Creator is a white supremacist church.

Applegarth was sued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality for not obtaining the proper permit to operate his septic pumping business. Court documents show that Applegarth at one time had the proper certification but failed to renew it when it expired in 2005. The NDEQ issued a notice of violation in 2008 when concerned citizens brought the matter to the agency's attention. Applegarth refused to comply, however, and continued to pump septic tanks and dump waste at the City of Chadron's wastewater lagoon. He represented himself at trial, and in 2012 was ordered to comply with the NDEQ's license requirements.