Undulating fields of crops and livestock-dotted pastures are the domain of a trigger-happy bully who brags about a political cloak of invincibility keeping him beyond reach of the law in faithfully conservative Linn County [Kansas].
Adversaries say he has woven a liquor-infused tapestry of fear colored by intimidation, abuse and lies. The saga features stalking, death threats, trespassing, drive-by gunfire, massive explosions, cattle theft, loan defaults, hit-and-run driving and marital strife.
Linn County Sheriff’s Department files bulge with complaints about him.
There is trepidation among acquaintances to speak freely, a point accentuated by the number expressing nervousness about reprisal if they were candid. There is genuine fear.
Descriptions of events offered by those willing to speak out converge to reveal a potentially lethal menace. Neighbors allege some in law enforcement responded to cries for help with degrees of indifference or favoritism.
Locals aware of the dynamics shake their head in dismay. In a place where people honor the Second Amendment and revere the self-defense castle doctrine, there is astonishment no one has been gunned down.
Folks in direct path of this prairie hellion pray for an end to what some coined “neighborhood terrorism.”
So far, their nemesis has found no reason to relent.Who is this sociopathic bully and why won't someone put him in his place (e.g., jail)?
Not when your name is Jim Brownback and you are a brother to Sam, the most powerful politician in Kansas.Oh, riiight! So, in other words, you have a family pattern of sociopathic behavior. It's just that big brother Sam likes to abuse the whole State of Kansas, while little brother Jimbo is confined to creating mayhem in little Linn County. Ma and Pa Brownback sure knew how to raise their children right!
The link is to a long, well-researched investigative article in the "Topeka Capital-Journal," and is well worth the read, especially if you're inclined to stranger- than- fiction rural Gothic psychological thrillers, with some small-bore political corruption thrown in. (h/t Balloon Juice)
(Image: Jimbo's mug shot from his 2006 arrest for nonpayment of child support. He seems nice.)
