Chasing Liberty

Chasing Liberty

How Much Freedom Did the Founders Win—If the Government Can Still Take It All?

When a Republic steals more than a King

Jeff Charles's avatar
Jeff Charles
Nov 19, 2025
∙ Paid
a police car parked on the side of the road
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Joseph Rivers was a 22-year-old from Romulus, Michigan, who boarded an Amtrak train in 2015 with about $16,000 in cash—his life savings—to start a new life in Los Angeles as a music video producer.

His dream was cut short when federal agents decided the government was more entitled to that cash than he was.

In Albuquerque…

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