The details are pretty sketchy, and the source pretty partisan, so let’s assume the worst for the sake of argument.  Via Toke Signals, which should give you a clue about the sources perspective:

The home of Idaho marijuana activists Lindsey and Josh Rinehart was raided on Tuesday by Boise Police and Child Protective Services while Lindsey, Josh and their friend Sarah Caldwell, a fellow marijuana activist, were on a small trip to the mountains.

Lindsey and Josh’s two children were taken into “protective custody,” and because Sarah’s two children were also at the residence with the babysitter, they were taken as well.

It’s left unsaid what exactly the arrests might be for, but I would take a wild guess and say it probably has something to do with this:

“This happened yesterday, so now it’s a waiting game for hearings and to see if the state is pressing charges,” Frank said. “When the police raided the house they took several garbage bags full of evidence (Lindsey has MS) so charges are probably being filed as we speak.

Several garbage bags full of evidence can mean a lot of things. Let us assume that the evidence is marijuana, and the “several garbage bags full” means, say, a lot of it. Enough of it to make it a felony punishable by a term of years in prison.

The parents of the children taken are open supporters of marijuana legalization, leaders of the movement to make medical marijuana available in Idaho. 

Lindsey Rinehart is the director, chief petitioner and volunteer coordinator for Compassionate Idaho’s medical marijuana petition. She is also a core member of the Idaho HOPEFest Committee and of Idaho Moms for Marijuana. Josh Rinehart is Lindsey’s husband, director of Idaho NORML, and core member of Idaho HOPEFest and Compassionate Idaho.

Sarah Caldwell is executive director of finance in Moms For Marijuana International. She is also a founding member of Idaho Moms for Marijuana, founding director of Compassionate Idaho, Idaho NORML, and the Idaho HOPEFest.

They shouldn’t have been terribly hard for the police to find if they were inclined to hunt them down as heinous criminals. They’re names and addresses were likely all over the place. It’s one of the risks one takes when deciding to take a stand on an issue like the legalization of marijuana, where enlightenment comes one state at a time, one police department at a time. 

Why the Boise police chose that day to raid the Rhinehart’s home isn’t said, but the fact that they were away makes the timing curious. The fact that the only adult there was a baby sitter with the children too. And the fact that it wasn’t only the Rhinehart’s children, but the children of a fellow activist as well, seems especially interesting. 

In the scheme of grave injustices, one can argue which is worse. Is it the beatings or maimings?  Is it a killing or the humiliation of having an officer insert a hand into a woman’s vagina on the public roadside.  There are no shortage of grave injustices, and while most people believe the one they endured to be the most horrible, there is no real need to argue the hierarchy of which is worse. They are all wrong, and there is no reason to compete.

But this raid stinks of the deliberate intent to seize the Rhinehart’s and Caldwell’s children.  The cops came with Child Protective Services in tow. These activists didn’t hide in the shadows like the anonymous tough guys of the internet, but put their names to their beliefs and made themselves open targets in the War on Drugs.

It’s no stretch to suppose that the police knew the parents were off while the children remained behind.  Not alone. Not without care. But without a parent present to call a neighbor, a relative, someone to take custody of their children if the parents were arrested. 

That the police believe in their holy war against these heinous marijuana activists presents one issue, an issue with which a great many people disagree. But that they seized their children and hold them hostage as part of their battle plan is an outrage.  Forget the benign rhetoric used by the government when it comes to children, like the dubiously named Child Protective Services.  Forget the way politicians appeal to our emotion by tossing about the “do it for the children” argument whenever they want to crush another right or criminalize half the population.

The children of the Rhineharts and Sarah Caldwell were kidnapped by the police as a weapon in the war.  They are a bargaining chip to shut the activists down and put them away.  Had these children been taken by anyone else, there would be a thousand person hunt for their whereabouts. Instead, they will face a grueling battle with a system designed to impose a Puritan’s vision of proper child-rearing.

“They are heartbroken and just want their babies back,” Frank said. “Unfortunately, it’s a long, drawn-out process once CPS has them in custody.

“All three of these dedicated cannabis warriors are physically disabled, and receive very little to no income, and absolutely zero income from any of their volunteer efforts in cannabis reform,” Frank said. “They are all in need of help to retain both family law and criminal law attorneys.

They can fight the battle for marijuana reform. They should have realized that they risked arrest at any moment. This is the price of taking a stand.  But having the state kidnap their children and hold them for ransom wasn’t part of the deal.  Fight with the parents all you want, but leave the children out of it. Do it for the children.

H/T Radley Balko