(Earlier this month, Paul Jacob was the featured speaker at the GRIH Annual Dinner. He is a stalwart fighter for liberty. Alas, all fighters eventually face serious challengers, and Jacob’s efforts have gotten him into a bit of trouble. His political opponents are trying to twist the law in an effort to bring him down. Below is his story, and a plea for help.)

Fair warning: I’m about to use that overused phrase, “full disclosure.”

I often talk about folks who are unfairly targeted by government. That’s also today’s topic: the so-called Oklahoma Three, three persons who helped organize an initiative drive out in Oklahoma. This was a Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR, a measure to impose limits on the growth of state spending.

The political establishment blocked the TABOR measure from reaching the ballot.

But they didn’t stop there. Now the Oklahoma attorney general, a fellow named Drew Edmondson, has indicted three people for conspiracy against the state. The OK 3 face up to ten years in prison for this alleged crime.

Ten years.

No time right now to give you all the background. But the Oklahoma Three did comply with the state’s residency requirement for circulators, as state officials explained it . . . a requirement now being challenged in federal court for unconstitutionally interfering with the right of citizen initiative. And here’s where the full disclosure comes in: as you may already know, I’m one of the Oklahoma Three. The others are Susan Johnson and Rick Carpenter.

We would rather not go to prison for ten years for supporting democracy.

So I’m asking for your help. Go to freepauljacob.com. Learn more about the case. Sign up for the e-mail updates. Spread the word. Write letters to the editor. Post on political blogs. Call radio shows. Stand up for my rights . . . and your rights, too.

Paul Jacob is a member of the GRIH Board of Advisors and Senior Advisor at the Sam Adams Alliance and Foundation.