BigVrunga
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This happened in 2004, but I just found out about it. Its kind of an amazing tale of a guy screwed over by a small town government, and going out in a blaze of glory.
From:
Infoshop News - Remembering Marvin Heemeyer and his Killdozer- The Little Guy That Hit Back
Here's a video:
Killdozer - SikVid.com
Wikipedia Entry:
Marvin Heemeyer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remembering Marvin Heemeyer and his Killdozer- The Little Guy That Hit Back
Tuesday, June 13 2006 @ 04:33 AM PDT
Things had not been going well for 52 year old Marvin Heemeyer. His father died in a South Dakota hospital on March 31, 2004. In May he traveled to Castlewood South Dakota, where he grew up, to help clean his father's house to get it ready for an auction scheduled for June 19. He was going to get married, but he caught the woman he was seeing cheating on him and called off the wedding. His muffler shop was put out of business because of an uncaring town government and unfair zoning regulations. Marvin Heemeyer had reached his limit. On Friday June 4, 2004, he went on a rampage, destroying several buildings in Granby Colorado with a custom made tanklike bulldozer.
Two Years and six days ago, one man was pushed past the breaking point by a corrupt small-town government, which wound up on the wrong side of his bulldozer of destruction. This is his story.
WHO WAS MARVIN HEEMEYER?
WHO WAS MARVIN HEEMEYER?
Things had not been going well for 52 year old Marvin Heemeyer. His father died in a South Dakota hospital on March 31, 2004. In May he traveled to Castlewood South Dakota, where he grew up, to help clean his father's house to get it ready for an auction scheduled for June 19. He was going to get married, but he caught the woman he was seeing cheating on him and called off the wedding. His muffler shop was put out of business because of an uncaring town government and unfair zoning regulations. Marvin Heemeyer had reached his limit. On Friday June 4, 2004, he went on a rampage, destroying several buildings in Granby Colorado with a custom made tanklike bulldozer.
Many who were familiar with the situation said the flash point for his bulldozer rampage stretches back nearly four years, when he fought but failed to stop a concrete plant from being built near his shop. He bought a bulldozer two years ago with the intention of using it to build an alternative route to his muffler shop, but city officials rejected his request to build the road. He complained the concrete plant had left dust on, and blocked access to, his business. Over the years, Heemeyer had used the adjacent property as a way to get to his muffler shop. The plan for the cement plant blocked that access. The zoning commission and the town's trustees in 2001 approved the plant. Heemeyer appealed, and got neighbors to sign petitions against the use, and they attended the meetings, the newspaper editor said. But over time, protesters dwindled, and the lawsuit he filed was unsuccessful.
On top of that, Heemeyer was fined $2,500 by the fine Granby government for various violations, including "junk cars on the property and not being hooked up to the sewer line". Heemeyer sought to cross 8 feet of their property (the concrete plant's) to hook up with the sewer line. He wanted to install the sewer line, but because the town let the concrete plant in, and the plant would not allow Heemeyer to cross their land with the pipes, he had no way out. He couldn't function without the sewer line and the cooperation of the town. In April 2002, Judge Richard Doucette dismissed Heemeyer's case. When he paid the fine, he enclosed a note with his check saying "Cowards".
Soon, Heemeyer leased his business to a trash company. Heemeyer ended up selling the property several months ago. Owners of all the buildings that were damaged had some connection to Heemeyer's disputes. One of the first buildings the bulldozer tore into was the concrete plant, Mountain Park Concrete. It then went on to hit the Town Hall, the newspaper office that editorialized against him , and in favor of the cement plant, the home of the former mayor, and a hardware store owned by another man Heemeyer named in a lawsuit, as well as others. Heemeyer was alledgedly armed with a .50-caliber weapon, but he appeared to be DELIBERATELY AVOIDING INJURING ANYONE during the rampage. The dozer's armor plates consisted of two sheets of half-inch steel with a layer of concrete between them. Grand County Commissioner Duane Daley said Heemeyer apparently used a video camera and two monitors found inside to guide the dozer. Authorities speculated Heemeyer may have used a homemade crane found in his garage to lower the armor hull over the dozer and himself. "Once he tipped that lid shut, he knew he wasn't getting out," Daly said. Of course if there was any doubt, the SWAT team would take care of that. Investigators searched the garage where they believe Heemeyer built the vehicle and found cement, armor and steel.
"He made quite a point with this," said Rick Kramer, a logger who said he knew Heemeyer. "He went after everyone who crossed him." An acquaintance described him as "down-to-earth" and a "regular mechanic." A brother, Ken Heemeyer of Castlewood, S.D., said Marvin would bend over backward to help anyone in need. "All the public needs to know is that Marv was one of the best guys out there," Ken Heemeyer said. " Marvin was God loving and "would fight anything that was wrong," his brother said. Resident Floyd Cautrell said he liked Heemeyer. "I've never seen him out of hand; he was the nicest guy you could ever meet," Cautrell said. "He was a good businessman; he did a fine job and he'd never overcharge you. They ruined his business when they put the concrete plant in," Cautrell said.
Anyway, at the end, Heemeyer's custom made bulldozer ground to a halt in the wreckage of a warehouse. One officer was perched on top, firing shot after shot into the top and once dropping an explosive down the exhaust pipe. "He just kept shooting," witnesses said. He threw what looked like a flash-bang down the exhaust. It didn't do a thing." A flash-bang produces a blinding flash and earsplitting boom designed to stun a suspect. "Gunfire was just ringing out everywhere," said Sandra Tucker, who saw the bulldozer begin the rampage from her office on Main Street, "It sounded to me like an automatic rifle, firing about every second". At least 40 deputies, Colorado State Patrol officers, federal park and forest rangers and a SWAT team from nearby Jefferson County were at the scene. They claim Heemeyer killed himself by firing one bullet into his head.
All of this should make one ask, what really happened in Granby Colorado to make a decent small business owner go to such an extreme? The fact is that the government tried to ruin Marvin Heemeyer, and he fought back to defend his rights. That is the very essence of America and being an American. There were other people that opposed the cement plant, but he was targeted for fighting it as aggressively as he did. He had to. His honest livelihood was being threatened, and then for retaliation, altgether denied him. Unlike our own government, HE DIDN'T KILL ANYONE! But perhaps a few zoning board parasites and politicians are rethinking the unjust rules that they heap on us after this. Just imagine a day when the entire country becomes outraged enough at our bloated plutocracy we call a government. We need more Marvin Heemeyers to take this country back. It will take more people like him to stand up to tyrannical government dictators. These unjust laws and regulations can drive the public insane. He may have gone too far, but the root cause is the unfairness of what he was dealing with. The zoning board, and local politicians were nothing but slobbering corrupt monkies, doing the bidding of selfish and greedy business, with absolutely no consideration for the people they were supposed to represent.
A population that won't stand against the government anymore will get trampled by the tyrants. WELL MAYBE IT'S TIME THEY GOT TRAMPLED BACK! There was a time not so long ago that we fought a war over TAXES ON TEA! Now look at the injustices that happen everyday and yet no one does anything! His business was ruined, and town hall kept dragging him through the ringer. Heemeyer was dealing with an oppressive local government that pushed him over the edge. In his mind, he had NOTHING to lose at all, and in the end, he made a stand against those who represent the greatest threat to all of us.
We must keep a corrupt and tyrannical government at bay, and every patriot such as Marvin Heemeyer who dies for principal, rather than for gain, or because he was told to, is a true HERO! WE ARE NOT FREE IF WE ARE FORCED TO LIVE UNDER UNJUST LAWS! If we break them, we get penalized, but when dealing with a government that daily ignores each and every article in The Bill of Rights, we are to turn our heads. I SAY GET OUT THE WRECKING BALL! We must swear a sacred oath on the green graves of our sires, that WE WILL RECLAIM this country at all costs, reclaim the sacred soil that our forefathers conquered, settled, built, fought and died for. We must proclaim our destiny to move forward, never bow to the tyrants, and retain our freedoms at all costs. Like America's founders, but unlike most of us, Marvin Heemeyer believed that freedom was a cause still worth fighting for.
Scott Johnson's ExtraLife forums! / Two years ago today, a wonderful display of patriotism was witnessed.
Three years ago, a man had about all he could take from his small town government. He set about on a mission that would culminate a year later in an orgy of awesome destruction that shows just what a man pushed to the edge could do. This man, was Marvin Heemeyer.
The instrument of his wrath... The Killdozer!
On June fourth, 2004 a legend was born. In the days of our ancestors, before modern communication, the tale of Marvin and his Killdozer would have been whisperedover pints in hushed pubs, with shadows from the crackling fireplaces painting pictures on the walls. It would have been passed between travelers on the road and eventually it would have grown into something like the stories of Paul Bunyan, John Henry or Davy Crockett. A folk tale, something to inspire people to be more than are, give them hope when things got dark and hope seemed gone. This is what Marvin did with his Killdozer.
But what exactly was that? The Granby city government changed the zoning regulations around Marvin's muffler shop in order to allow a concrete plant to be constructed, bringing more revenue into the city. While this is no crime in and of itself, the actions of Granby following the construction of this factory were.
Wikipedia posted:
He had purchased the bulldozer to construct an alternate route to his muffler shop. This was because the concrete plant blocked the original road to his shop. However, city officials refused to grant him permission.
Other factors were also hindering his business.
The concrete plant often left large quantities of dust on Marvin's property, and cut him off from the city sewer line. When Heemeyer requested to extend a sewer line across eight feet of the plant's property, he was denied. Not being connected to the city sewer line resulted in a $2500 fine that Marvin had to pay.
As a last measure, Marvin petitioned the city with his neighbors and friends, but to no avail.
Faced with the failure of his business in spite of his efforts, Heemeyer was forced to sell the property. He was given six months to leave, and it was during this time that he constructed the Killdozer
Marvin was a man pushed to his limits. We see reports of these men in the news often enough, though. Usually they grab a gun and start killing people. Those are not heroes. Those are people reduced to nothing but rage, lashing out indiscriminately. What made Marvin different was the Killdozer.
Built from a komatsu D335A bulldozer, Marvin used his expert welding skills to cover the vehicle in armor plating. He didn't stop there though. He reinforced that plating with inches of concrete, over this, more armor plating. Reports have stated that this makeshift composite armor was a foot deep in some places. Outside he had mounted cameras connected to internal monitors ( Slideshow of the Killdozer's interior post incident), there was a rifle port and even a compressed air hose to keep dust from obscuring his cameras. Once inside, he welded the hatch shut and began his attack.
Marvin destroyed the concrete factory, the city hall, the town newspaper (which had mocked his letters telling people of the injustice), the mayor's house and other buildings related to the troubles which caused the birth of Killdozer. The police were powerless against him. At first they simply used bullets, but Killdozer, like Superman, is bulletproof. They tried explosives. The Killdozer does not explode. They even recruited other construction machinery to fight Killdozer, but like a wolf against a dog, Killdozer easily prevailed. He was unstoppable. The police were impotent against the might and power of Killdozer!
But all good things must end, and that end, for Killdozer, was when it's radiator gave out. Still, suffering from this mortal wound, Killdozer limped proudly into one last building, bringing it down before it's death throes.
Now, I've said that people who hit the bottom and kill aren't heroes and I stand by it. The total loss of life in the Killdozer Rampage? 1. Marvin Heemeyer from a self inflicted gunshot wound. Even though he could have trampled the police or pedestrians, Marvin reigned in his Killdozer, letting the flee. He had no need to kill them, they were just people doing a job, not his enemies. Marvin, his decades old business lost to him due to small town corruption, his pleas for assistance ignored, a man who had been dealt a **** hand by fate... did not kill or injure a single person. In his battle verses the construction machinery sent against him, Killdozer had gained the upper hand and had the other mechanical monster on the verge of tipping over. Instead of going for the kill and flipping the machine, undoubtedly injuring the man piloting it, he backed off, allowing it to settle back onto it's treads. The machine quickly beat a retreat. Marvin repeatedly allowed the police to get out of the way, never shooting at them or trying to run them over. Had he killed someone, I wouldn't be posting this thread again this year. He'd just be some crazy guy who went on a rampage.
Instead, Marvin Heemeyer is the father of the Killdozer, and though he may be gone his memory lives on in us! Raise a drink and wear your commemorative T-shirts.
An autopsy on Marvin revealed that he had an abnormally large heart.
BV
From:
Infoshop News - Remembering Marvin Heemeyer and his Killdozer- The Little Guy That Hit Back
Here's a video:
Killdozer - SikVid.com
Wikipedia Entry:
Marvin Heemeyer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remembering Marvin Heemeyer and his Killdozer- The Little Guy That Hit Back
Tuesday, June 13 2006 @ 04:33 AM PDT
Things had not been going well for 52 year old Marvin Heemeyer. His father died in a South Dakota hospital on March 31, 2004. In May he traveled to Castlewood South Dakota, where he grew up, to help clean his father's house to get it ready for an auction scheduled for June 19. He was going to get married, but he caught the woman he was seeing cheating on him and called off the wedding. His muffler shop was put out of business because of an uncaring town government and unfair zoning regulations. Marvin Heemeyer had reached his limit. On Friday June 4, 2004, he went on a rampage, destroying several buildings in Granby Colorado with a custom made tanklike bulldozer.
Two Years and six days ago, one man was pushed past the breaking point by a corrupt small-town government, which wound up on the wrong side of his bulldozer of destruction. This is his story.
WHO WAS MARVIN HEEMEYER?
WHO WAS MARVIN HEEMEYER?
Things had not been going well for 52 year old Marvin Heemeyer. His father died in a South Dakota hospital on March 31, 2004. In May he traveled to Castlewood South Dakota, where he grew up, to help clean his father's house to get it ready for an auction scheduled for June 19. He was going to get married, but he caught the woman he was seeing cheating on him and called off the wedding. His muffler shop was put out of business because of an uncaring town government and unfair zoning regulations. Marvin Heemeyer had reached his limit. On Friday June 4, 2004, he went on a rampage, destroying several buildings in Granby Colorado with a custom made tanklike bulldozer.
Many who were familiar with the situation said the flash point for his bulldozer rampage stretches back nearly four years, when he fought but failed to stop a concrete plant from being built near his shop. He bought a bulldozer two years ago with the intention of using it to build an alternative route to his muffler shop, but city officials rejected his request to build the road. He complained the concrete plant had left dust on, and blocked access to, his business. Over the years, Heemeyer had used the adjacent property as a way to get to his muffler shop. The plan for the cement plant blocked that access. The zoning commission and the town's trustees in 2001 approved the plant. Heemeyer appealed, and got neighbors to sign petitions against the use, and they attended the meetings, the newspaper editor said. But over time, protesters dwindled, and the lawsuit he filed was unsuccessful.
On top of that, Heemeyer was fined $2,500 by the fine Granby government for various violations, including "junk cars on the property and not being hooked up to the sewer line". Heemeyer sought to cross 8 feet of their property (the concrete plant's) to hook up with the sewer line. He wanted to install the sewer line, but because the town let the concrete plant in, and the plant would not allow Heemeyer to cross their land with the pipes, he had no way out. He couldn't function without the sewer line and the cooperation of the town. In April 2002, Judge Richard Doucette dismissed Heemeyer's case. When he paid the fine, he enclosed a note with his check saying "Cowards".
Soon, Heemeyer leased his business to a trash company. Heemeyer ended up selling the property several months ago. Owners of all the buildings that were damaged had some connection to Heemeyer's disputes. One of the first buildings the bulldozer tore into was the concrete plant, Mountain Park Concrete. It then went on to hit the Town Hall, the newspaper office that editorialized against him , and in favor of the cement plant, the home of the former mayor, and a hardware store owned by another man Heemeyer named in a lawsuit, as well as others. Heemeyer was alledgedly armed with a .50-caliber weapon, but he appeared to be DELIBERATELY AVOIDING INJURING ANYONE during the rampage. The dozer's armor plates consisted of two sheets of half-inch steel with a layer of concrete between them. Grand County Commissioner Duane Daley said Heemeyer apparently used a video camera and two monitors found inside to guide the dozer. Authorities speculated Heemeyer may have used a homemade crane found in his garage to lower the armor hull over the dozer and himself. "Once he tipped that lid shut, he knew he wasn't getting out," Daly said. Of course if there was any doubt, the SWAT team would take care of that. Investigators searched the garage where they believe Heemeyer built the vehicle and found cement, armor and steel.
"He made quite a point with this," said Rick Kramer, a logger who said he knew Heemeyer. "He went after everyone who crossed him." An acquaintance described him as "down-to-earth" and a "regular mechanic." A brother, Ken Heemeyer of Castlewood, S.D., said Marvin would bend over backward to help anyone in need. "All the public needs to know is that Marv was one of the best guys out there," Ken Heemeyer said. " Marvin was God loving and "would fight anything that was wrong," his brother said. Resident Floyd Cautrell said he liked Heemeyer. "I've never seen him out of hand; he was the nicest guy you could ever meet," Cautrell said. "He was a good businessman; he did a fine job and he'd never overcharge you. They ruined his business when they put the concrete plant in," Cautrell said.
Anyway, at the end, Heemeyer's custom made bulldozer ground to a halt in the wreckage of a warehouse. One officer was perched on top, firing shot after shot into the top and once dropping an explosive down the exhaust pipe. "He just kept shooting," witnesses said. He threw what looked like a flash-bang down the exhaust. It didn't do a thing." A flash-bang produces a blinding flash and earsplitting boom designed to stun a suspect. "Gunfire was just ringing out everywhere," said Sandra Tucker, who saw the bulldozer begin the rampage from her office on Main Street, "It sounded to me like an automatic rifle, firing about every second". At least 40 deputies, Colorado State Patrol officers, federal park and forest rangers and a SWAT team from nearby Jefferson County were at the scene. They claim Heemeyer killed himself by firing one bullet into his head.
All of this should make one ask, what really happened in Granby Colorado to make a decent small business owner go to such an extreme? The fact is that the government tried to ruin Marvin Heemeyer, and he fought back to defend his rights. That is the very essence of America and being an American. There were other people that opposed the cement plant, but he was targeted for fighting it as aggressively as he did. He had to. His honest livelihood was being threatened, and then for retaliation, altgether denied him. Unlike our own government, HE DIDN'T KILL ANYONE! But perhaps a few zoning board parasites and politicians are rethinking the unjust rules that they heap on us after this. Just imagine a day when the entire country becomes outraged enough at our bloated plutocracy we call a government. We need more Marvin Heemeyers to take this country back. It will take more people like him to stand up to tyrannical government dictators. These unjust laws and regulations can drive the public insane. He may have gone too far, but the root cause is the unfairness of what he was dealing with. The zoning board, and local politicians were nothing but slobbering corrupt monkies, doing the bidding of selfish and greedy business, with absolutely no consideration for the people they were supposed to represent.
A population that won't stand against the government anymore will get trampled by the tyrants. WELL MAYBE IT'S TIME THEY GOT TRAMPLED BACK! There was a time not so long ago that we fought a war over TAXES ON TEA! Now look at the injustices that happen everyday and yet no one does anything! His business was ruined, and town hall kept dragging him through the ringer. Heemeyer was dealing with an oppressive local government that pushed him over the edge. In his mind, he had NOTHING to lose at all, and in the end, he made a stand against those who represent the greatest threat to all of us.
We must keep a corrupt and tyrannical government at bay, and every patriot such as Marvin Heemeyer who dies for principal, rather than for gain, or because he was told to, is a true HERO! WE ARE NOT FREE IF WE ARE FORCED TO LIVE UNDER UNJUST LAWS! If we break them, we get penalized, but when dealing with a government that daily ignores each and every article in The Bill of Rights, we are to turn our heads. I SAY GET OUT THE WRECKING BALL! We must swear a sacred oath on the green graves of our sires, that WE WILL RECLAIM this country at all costs, reclaim the sacred soil that our forefathers conquered, settled, built, fought and died for. We must proclaim our destiny to move forward, never bow to the tyrants, and retain our freedoms at all costs. Like America's founders, but unlike most of us, Marvin Heemeyer believed that freedom was a cause still worth fighting for.
Scott Johnson's ExtraLife forums! / Two years ago today, a wonderful display of patriotism was witnessed.
Three years ago, a man had about all he could take from his small town government. He set about on a mission that would culminate a year later in an orgy of awesome destruction that shows just what a man pushed to the edge could do. This man, was Marvin Heemeyer.
The instrument of his wrath... The Killdozer!
On June fourth, 2004 a legend was born. In the days of our ancestors, before modern communication, the tale of Marvin and his Killdozer would have been whisperedover pints in hushed pubs, with shadows from the crackling fireplaces painting pictures on the walls. It would have been passed between travelers on the road and eventually it would have grown into something like the stories of Paul Bunyan, John Henry or Davy Crockett. A folk tale, something to inspire people to be more than are, give them hope when things got dark and hope seemed gone. This is what Marvin did with his Killdozer.
But what exactly was that? The Granby city government changed the zoning regulations around Marvin's muffler shop in order to allow a concrete plant to be constructed, bringing more revenue into the city. While this is no crime in and of itself, the actions of Granby following the construction of this factory were.
Wikipedia posted:
He had purchased the bulldozer to construct an alternate route to his muffler shop. This was because the concrete plant blocked the original road to his shop. However, city officials refused to grant him permission.
Other factors were also hindering his business.
The concrete plant often left large quantities of dust on Marvin's property, and cut him off from the city sewer line. When Heemeyer requested to extend a sewer line across eight feet of the plant's property, he was denied. Not being connected to the city sewer line resulted in a $2500 fine that Marvin had to pay.
As a last measure, Marvin petitioned the city with his neighbors and friends, but to no avail.
Faced with the failure of his business in spite of his efforts, Heemeyer was forced to sell the property. He was given six months to leave, and it was during this time that he constructed the Killdozer
Marvin was a man pushed to his limits. We see reports of these men in the news often enough, though. Usually they grab a gun and start killing people. Those are not heroes. Those are people reduced to nothing but rage, lashing out indiscriminately. What made Marvin different was the Killdozer.
Built from a komatsu D335A bulldozer, Marvin used his expert welding skills to cover the vehicle in armor plating. He didn't stop there though. He reinforced that plating with inches of concrete, over this, more armor plating. Reports have stated that this makeshift composite armor was a foot deep in some places. Outside he had mounted cameras connected to internal monitors ( Slideshow of the Killdozer's interior post incident), there was a rifle port and even a compressed air hose to keep dust from obscuring his cameras. Once inside, he welded the hatch shut and began his attack.
Marvin destroyed the concrete factory, the city hall, the town newspaper (which had mocked his letters telling people of the injustice), the mayor's house and other buildings related to the troubles which caused the birth of Killdozer. The police were powerless against him. At first they simply used bullets, but Killdozer, like Superman, is bulletproof. They tried explosives. The Killdozer does not explode. They even recruited other construction machinery to fight Killdozer, but like a wolf against a dog, Killdozer easily prevailed. He was unstoppable. The police were impotent against the might and power of Killdozer!
But all good things must end, and that end, for Killdozer, was when it's radiator gave out. Still, suffering from this mortal wound, Killdozer limped proudly into one last building, bringing it down before it's death throes.
Now, I've said that people who hit the bottom and kill aren't heroes and I stand by it. The total loss of life in the Killdozer Rampage? 1. Marvin Heemeyer from a self inflicted gunshot wound. Even though he could have trampled the police or pedestrians, Marvin reigned in his Killdozer, letting the flee. He had no need to kill them, they were just people doing a job, not his enemies. Marvin, his decades old business lost to him due to small town corruption, his pleas for assistance ignored, a man who had been dealt a **** hand by fate... did not kill or injure a single person. In his battle verses the construction machinery sent against him, Killdozer had gained the upper hand and had the other mechanical monster on the verge of tipping over. Instead of going for the kill and flipping the machine, undoubtedly injuring the man piloting it, he backed off, allowing it to settle back onto it's treads. The machine quickly beat a retreat. Marvin repeatedly allowed the police to get out of the way, never shooting at them or trying to run them over. Had he killed someone, I wouldn't be posting this thread again this year. He'd just be some crazy guy who went on a rampage.
Instead, Marvin Heemeyer is the father of the Killdozer, and though he may be gone his memory lives on in us! Raise a drink and wear your commemorative T-shirts.
An autopsy on Marvin revealed that he had an abnormally large heart.
BV
