Shane Hazel fights the Crime of Civil Asset Forfeiture
Shane Hazel earned his place in the spotlight when he forced a runoff during the 2021 U.S. Senate race in Georgia after he “split the vote.” He’s since shifted his focus and is now running for Governor of Georgia; an election that will take place in 2022.
While he focuses on his campaign, he’s also focusing on making changes in some critical areas that he feels are detrimental to freedom. One of those areas is civil asset forfeiture.
What is Civil Asset Forfeiture?
The National Conference of State Legislatures has this to say about civil asset forfeiture, “All states and the federal government allow law enforcement to seize and forfeit cash, property and other materials they believe are associated with illegal activity...In civil asset forfeiture, once property has been seized, prosecutors can file civil actions in order to forfeit, or keep, the property of someone suspected of being involved in an illegal activity. The action is against the property—not the person—and can be seized even if the person is not charged or convicted of a crime.”
What’s Shane Hazel’s Position on Civil Asset Forfeiture?
According to Shane Hazel, civil asset forfeiture is nothing more than strong-armed robbery by the state and the feds.
He says, “Without any regard for the fourth amendment or the fifth amendment, the government takes from people who have never been convicted of a crime. Most times people are left to either leave the system or fight the system, and depending on how much they took, sometimes it’s not worth fighting.”
Shane launched the Helios Initiative in 2021, and he expounds on several of the problems he believes are plaguing the very ideas of freedom and liberty in the United States:
In his Proclamation against civil asset forfeiture, Shane cites the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments, and includes the fact that the “Constitution of the United States can only be changed by an Article 5 Amendment, to which no amendment has ever been ratified with regard to the bill of rights.”
He makes several other points according to the Constitution and ends the Proclamation with, “Now, Therefore: I, John Doe, Mayor of Freedomville, proclaim that the practice of Civil Asset Forfeiture null, void, notwithstanding and absolutely forbidden within the jurisdiction of Freedomville, and any government official practicing civil asset forfeiture henceforth by its name or other imagined usurpation of the people’s rights will be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law.”
In short, civil asset forfeiture is a crime that should be punished. Period.
What Led to That Position?
While Shane has never personally been impacted by civil asset forfeiture, he knows people who have. He’s seen how it has destroyed people. They don’t have the money to fight against it and it’s something that has affected the poor and middle class, who might not have the means to defend themselves against such tyranny and get their property back.
“As a guy who’s become a Constitutional expert over the years, on its face, it’s a usurpation of the Constitution. I’ve really derived that from Article 6 and Article 5. Those rights are obviously inalienable by nature. Even if ‘they’ said you can’t have them, they’re still rights.”
Change Starts at the Local Level
The Helios Initiative was founded on the idea that people can push back on a local level and begin to decentralize through the cities and counties.
Shane says, “When we did that, it was very well-received by the Mayor in Holly Springs, Georgia. They enacted it through their City Council with a proclamation that I wrote. They basically said, ‘We’re not going to enact civil asset forfeiture and we’re not going to benefit from civil asset forfeiture funds from state and federal agencies.’”
But Shane isn’t stopping at Holly Springs. His goal is to bring his Proclamation to other cities in Cherokee County, which is something he’s working on now.
What’s Next for Civil Asset Forfeiture in Georgia and Beyond?
While Shane is doing his best to help people and local governments to understand the evils of civil asset forfeiture, he recognizes that he’s just one man. Ultimately, he wants this to become a movement that spreads across the U.S. like wildfire.
“This is one of those legal avenues I think you can get people behind. Articles 5 and 6 can be applied to so many things at the city and county levels. When you present it to mayors, police chiefs, and sheriffs in local communities and help them understand that it benefits them too as a way to keep their people safe, it can make a huge difference.”
Shane says that making this simple change in the way law enforcement upholds the Constitution can bring about more unity within cities and counties.
“It’s a pretty easy sell at the end of the day.”
When asked if there was one thing Shane wanted people to know, he said, “I want to tell people that you, particularly, can make a difference. If you will take action, you can make a difference at the city and county levels. All you have to do is take what I’ve posted under the Helios tab on my website, copy and paste it, and present it. At the end of the day, you’re a person, they’re a person. Practice, practice, practice, and take a lot of people with you.”