The foundational principles of the American legal system are the principles of being innocent unless proven guilty and the equal treatment of all before the law. This is why the statue of Lady Justice is blindfolded. It is an unfortunate reality, but it is evident to me that people need to be reminded of these facts because I have now experienced firsthand that in our soundbite culture people are very quick to assume you are guilty unless proven innocent. I am writing this because, as many of you likely have read or heard, my husband is facing multiple charges relating to alleged crimes on January 6th. My husband has often quoted the following to me (attributed to Thomas Jefferson): “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” Do not make the mistake of assuming that whatever a newspaper prints is gospel. Whatever the allegations, whatever people say, and certainly regardless of whatever the paper prints, I am proud of my husband. Jeremy and I have had our challenges as everyone who is, or has been, married understands. Despite the challenges we have faced together I am proud of Jeremy because he loves his country, his community, and his family. Just as Jeremy and I have faced every challenge before, we will face this challenge together and with the Lord’s help, we will emerge on the other side stronger than ever.
I shouldn’t have to remind people of the following facts about Jeremy, but I will. I will because it is shocking to me how quickly people, many of whom identified themselves as friends of ours, who know these facts about Jeremy decided to throw Jeremy under the bus. After all, it was personally or politically convenient for them to do so. I wish to state for the record that Jeremy has devoted much of his life to his two loves other than me. His love of history and his love of the American political process. Jeremy has spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of his time as a historical reenactor, reenacting the Revolutionary War. He loves our nation’s history and constitution and is passionate about educating others about it. Jeremy has worked long hours on multiple political campaigns, not because he agreed with the candidates on every single issue, but because he understands the importance of the best people for the job winning. Jeremy also spent nearly two years serving members of our community and our state as a legislative aide to former State Senator Jim Stamas. In that role, he helped hundreds of constituents resolve their issues with the State of Michigan whether it was with the Treasury, DHHS, or the Unemployment Insurance Agency. Jeremy has always tried to be friendly even with those who happen to fall on the other side of the political aisle. I know that Jeremy attended the campaign kickoff event for a local Democrat candidate not because he agreed with that candidate, but because they had been friends and Jeremy wanted to encourage them because it was their first time running for elected office. Jeremy believes in the importance of young people stepping up to the plate and running for office even if Jeremy does not see eye to eye with them on every issue. Jeremy has also volunteered for most of our local elected officials at one time or another and has been extensively involved in the local party. He was even elected to be a national delegate with the highest number of votes of any candidate in the old 4th congressional district. Jeremy also ran for Midland city council twice and served on the planning commission for two years. One fact that not many people know is that, in college, Jeremy also attempted to join the Army National Guard but was unable to do so because of some medical issues. I know Jeremy, and all Jeremy has ever done is attempt to find ways to serve his country, his state, and his community to the best of his ability. So, shame on you if you decided to abandon Jeremy because it was politically expedient or personally convenient for you to do so. He has always freely given to those who have asked for his help.
What is most shocking to me, and what should shock you, is how the very country that Jeremy loves and has sought to serve has treated him and his family. In December of last year, Jeremy was approached by two FBI agents at his office. They told him they wanted to ask him some questions. Jeremy informed them that he respected the fact that they had a job to do but was not comfortable answering any questions without his attorney present. The two FBI agents requested that Jeremy have his attorney contact them as soon as possible. Because Jeremy is a law-abiding citizen he complied with this request. The very same day that they visited Jeremy, Jeremy’s attorney called them and left a message indicating a willingness to cooperate. The FBI did not return the attorney’s call. A few days later, Jeremy’s attorney also emailed the FBI because Jeremy wanted to make sure that they knew he followed through with their request. Still, the FBI did not respond. At 6 am on June 29th, more than six months after Jeremy attempted to contact the FBI per their request, I was woken out of a dead sleep as the FBI carried out a no-knock warrant and smashed in our front door as if we were terrorists. Jeremy was not home as he was working with his father at the time in Florida. The FBI then escorted me and my two- and three-year-old sons in our pajamas out of our own house at gunpoint. One of the FBI agents at the raid told me they had been watching our house but also told me that they did not know that Jeremy was out of town on business. These two statements do not make sense to me. If they were watching our home, how could they not know Jeremy was gone on business? I believe they intentionally raided our house while our boys and I were home alone in a blatant attempt to intimidate me and our family. These Gestapo tactics should make you angry. All they needed to do was contact Jeremy’s attorney and let us know they had a search warrant, and we would have complied with it because we are a law-abiding family. Instead, they chose to engage in a political stunt waste taxpayer dollars, and treat us as though we are terrorists. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This raid has seriously impacted the psychological well-being of our children. For weeks now our three-year-old has been talking about this incident and has had difficulty sleeping that he did not have before. Jeremy and I are angry that his attempts to cooperate were ignored and that the jackbooted thugs over at the FBI decided to treat an American Citizen with absolutely no criminal record in this manner. Jeremy was asked to turn himself in at the nearest FBI field office the day following the raid and he complied. Yet, the local news made it sound as though Jeremy was on the run and was hunted down and arrested in Florida. Again, nothing could be further from the truth.
I now have the distasteful task of humbly requesting your financial help during this trying time for Jeremy and me. As you can imagine, we are now facing a mountain of legal bills that Jeremy, even working full time, cannot begin to hope to handle on his own. I am fearful we may lose our house, our cars, and who knows what else if we cannot raise funds to help with these legal expenses. Jeremy has retained the services of Attorney John Pierce who is handling multiple cases related to January 6th. We are confident in John, but we need your help to give us a fighting chance to bring the truth to light. It is not easy for me to ask for your help, but again, I humbly ask that you give as generously as you can afford to give to help us in our time of need. Jeremy and I thank you in advance for whatever you are willing to chip in to support us and help us keep our lives together as best we can.
Sincerely,
Olivia Maria Rodgers