January 29, 2004

To whom it may concern:
Ohio Highway Patrol
Ashland Lt. Dick Miller and forces
Lyndeborough police and Chief Jim Basinas
Various organizations involved
Most of all, any and all Americans concerned with freedom.

I am Mary Jordan - mother of Jeff L. Jordan. I hope to answer several questions raised by the reports I've read.

No I don't condone his speeding and he's been told that, but then we all speed up there sometimes.

Jeff has been living on his own since he graduated from high school. He makes two trips a year back to Kansas, as we are a close family. Besides his parents he has 2 brothers and a sister, their spouses and families, various grandparents and aunts and uncles. We get together for the Christmas holidays and usually the 4th of July when possible. As we live in rural Kansas, we own and enjoy hunting guns and our 4 children were raised with them and taught the safe use of guns, thus Jeff's pleasure in his guns. He's single and has worked for the same company for 22 years. He spends his money on his hobby (guns) and his nieces and nephew and family. He always brought some of his guns and ammunition on his visits, and sometimes ammunition he reloaded for his dad, brother or sister and spouse. That's the reason for the lock box in his vehicle. If the weather is nice, we often enjoy an afternoon shooting at targets on our place. Jeff has permits for all his guns and is licensed in several different states to carry. He usually has all of them under lock and key.

As for the search of his vehicle, let's cover some of the items. He's a bachelor and his truck is a mess. I sometimes think he lives out of it. Usually we take time to empty it and vacuum it out, but as time was short for him this trip we didn't get that done. He also usually gets a haircut and trim from his favorite barber, but again time was short the last trip. I don't know the sequence of the search but I do know the answers to questions raised by several of the items and the allegations about them.

1. The handguns - he carries and has a license to do so, not just in New Hampshire, but several states. It was an oversight on his part not having them locked away. His mind was on other things. I'm sure he had no intention of stopping in Ohio and was intent on reaching his destination.

2. As for the knives - one was an old timer I think he carried for sentimental reasons. It belonged to his granddad who passed away several years ago. One was a food knife, one to cut string, one with a pair of folding scissors, a machete for clearing brush or trash, and a Lord of The Rings knife.

3. The swords, bought most for decoration, had been brought home to show to his nieces and nephew. Most of them were from the Lord Of The Rings collection and most would not cut hot butter, so to speak.

As for the mace, it's an item that can be bought and carried by a lot of people. I carry one that he gave me because sometimes I am out late at night alone.

4. Handcuffs can be bought at any surplus store and they usually come with a key. So what does it prove if they found a handcuff key? I suspect I have one in a pile of keys I have that I don't know what they belong to.

We raised 4 children and never had any problems with drugs or the law. All four have some college education, 3 graduated with degrees. All have clean records, a fact the police had to have seen when they checked him out. All, including Jeff, are average Americans who respect the law and try to live by it. It's a real shame the family has to go through this nightmare.

Did the police or media bother to discover that he has an award from the National Republican Congressional
Committee for being the 2002 New Hampshire Republican Activist of the year? No, they just saw a chance to harass a person who was different from them.

I wonder if you (state police) happened to check some of the other items in the truck. The gifts such as old boots, sheriff's badge, old hat and new clothes to make sure they weren't being used for some sinister purpose. Did you search out the pictures you found of the small fry? You know that they will grow up to become our next generation of Americans. I hope they show more common sense than this current generation. Be sure to check the camera with the film record of the fun we had at Christmas with all the little ones and remaining grandparents. I'm sure you found something sinister in those also.

As to the state of Ohio. Be sure that none of Jeff's family will ever bother to come there after this incident.

In closing, let me assure you that anyone who knows Jeff will tell you he's a good guy. He has never hurt anyone in his life and is as loyal an American as you will find. I thought that this was America, where you were innocent until proven guilty, but in Ohio I guess you're just guilty. This is something that happens only on TV, not in real life. Wake up America and Ohio. What happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? What happened to "the good guy always comes out on top"?

Jeff stands to lose his job, his home and his good name thanks to an over zealous cop. His name, finances and integrity have been ruined and I, for one, will never again trust any cop to be an honest, upstanding person.

Sincerely
Mary Jordan