Elian Gonzales Illegal Use of Force Trial Underway

Thirteen people who suffered various "injuries" during the illegal raid on a house in Florida that saw federal agents under then-Attorney Janet Reno’s orders capture Elian Gonzales have begun a lawsuit against the government.

Reno sent the agents in after being told by a federal judge that his American relatives could keep the kid until the appeals were finished. This was in April 2000.

But Reno decided she didn’t want to wait any further and ordered the agents to storm the house, break down the doors, wave guns around and use tear gas on anyone who got in the way. And they did.

The father should have eventually gotten custody of his child, but the legal system should have been allowed to sort this out without the use of violence or illegal orders from the Justice Department.

The Reno Justice Department chose to break the very law it was supposed to be upholding by taking the action it did. What happened was inevitable, but the way it happened was unconscionable.

Let the courts sort out the trauma cases.

The people who ordered those agents into that house need to take responsibility for their decisions; something that hasn't happened yet. In other words, Reno ought to be on the stand too so this flagrant government violation of due process can finally be answered and an ugly chapter in the history of the U.S. Justice Department can finally be closed.