“Hi, my name is Stephen. I was one of the many people at the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington DC on January 6th 2021. I love my country. I love our history. I love what we stand for, (or at least what we used to stand for). I was there because I, like many of us, wanted to make a stand for what we believe in, Freedom. And because we are tired of being bullied and abused, and being ignored and having our voices silenced.
“I was there because I am distressed to see my nation spiraling out of control and seemingly changing for the worse. I am very passionate about the state of affairs of my beloved country. As such I’ve taken part in many events in Washington to peacefully assemble and to be heard. January 6th was no different. But of course the politicized and weaponized DOJ and FBI are targeting freedom lovers that were there on that day and persecuting us as criminals or as the worst of terrorists.
“I must be clear that, I was not at all violent on that day. I was not aggressive. I did not vandalize the capitol building. I did not attack or assault police. I did not make any vocal threats or harass anyone in any way. I did nothing wrong other than just be one of the crowd.
“FBI SWAT came to my small town home in Pennsylvania at 6:00am. They made loud announcements outside calling my name and ordering me out of my house saying that they had a warrant for my arrest. They used two flashbangs and even sent a drone into my house. When I finally got to my door, I was greeted by an overwhelming number of fully armored and armed agents with multiple rifles pointed at me. I was unarmed and fully compliant with all of their orders and yet still had many weapons pointed very unsafely at me.
“They arrested me and said that they had a further warrant to search my house. They took many items such as an American flag, my eyeglasses, my phones, my iPod, a Trump hat and more. They completely wrecked my house damaging some priceless items and tracking dirt everywhere. Throwing things all over the floor and making an absolute mess of my house. This whole event has been very traumatizing.
“They now have me on an ankle bracelet for monitoring which is very inhibiting to be able to perform my job in the oil field. This also totally ruins my personal plans I had for traveling for the rest of this year. It seems that they are going to try and throw the book at me to “teach me a lesson.” For what? For being a patriot? I am very active in my community as far as serving in my local church, helping the homeless and ministering to them however I can. I am a person with a long history of helping others, including my neighbors. I have a big heart for those in need. I was a fireman for a few years and was in Civil Air Patrol in my youth.
“My life has been about trying to live in peace and to serve those around me. But now I am being treated worse than a high-profile criminal. They force me to have to drain my finances in order to defend myself against a DOJ that targets innocent Americans instead of going after real criminals. I don’t have the resources that they have to dump on frivolous lawsuits or legal cases. I don’t have thousands of dollars to defend myself against a government that is now trying to erase me. I need help in any way to fight for my freedom, and to have my liberties and rights restored so that I can move on in peace and enjoy the freedoms that we Americans have in this Great Nation.”
Please keep in mind that in the United States, every citizen charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
- First Name(s): Stephen
- Last Name(s): Ondulich
- Case Number: 1:23-cr-00242
- Judge: Amit Mehta
- Currently Incarcerated: No
- Support Stephen Ondulich: Click here to help cover Stephen's legal and living expenses
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