Tennessee government officials have moved to seize land from American farmers in an effort to meet the goals of Democrat President Joe Biden’s green agenda.
The state is suing to confiscate farmland just east of Memphis that will be repurposed to build a new multi-billion dollar electric vehicle (EV) plant.
Ford Motor Company has announced plans to build a $5.6 billion electric truck and battery plant to be built in the rural area of Tennessee.
Officials in Tennessee are so eager to bend over backward to comply with the green agenda that the state is prepared to seize land from black farmers in order to facilitate Ford’s EV project.
Here’s a bit of the legislative contortions that led to the decision to build “Blue Oval City” in the Volunteer State, as reported by Reason:
In return for picking Tennessee, state lawmakers overwhelmingly approved legislation that would grant Ford $884 million in state incentives.
That includes a $500 million grant from the state’s current budget surplus and $384 million for site preparation, including $200 million for road improvements and $138.2 million for infrastructure and demolition services.
The bill also apportioned $745,100 to fund the Megasite Authority of West Tennessee, an 11-person board with the power to execute contracts on behalf of the development.
It can also take privately-owned land, via eminent domain, in order to facilitate construction of the facility and supporting infrastructure.
Eminent domain could not be more antithetical to the American concept of the primacy of private property.
Eminent domain refers to the authority claimed by the government and its agents to seize private property for public use.
The land can be taken against the will of the landowner provided the owner receives “just compensation” for his property.
Supporters of this scheme point to the Fifth Amendment as the authority.
The relevant part of the Fifth Amendment reads:
[N]or shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Lawmakers in Tennessee are planning to use eminent domain in their efforts to confiscate the land from farmers.
Tennessee Lookout reports:
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the state is seeking 35 separate tracts, either through purchase or eminent domain, in order to construct a series of road connections and widenings that will link the 4,100-acre BlueOval Ford campus to the new Exit 39 off I-40 to accommodate throngs of workers and truck traffic.
Thus far, the state has taken possession of 15 tracts — two through court proceedings, Nichole Lawrence, a spokesperson said.
Of the remaining 20 tracks, Lawrence said the state is in negotiation with property owners.
It’s unclear how many land owners the state has sued.
In Haywood County alone, court records show, the state has filed seven lawsuits seeking to take property for the new interchange.
The government is suing private property owners and asking the judiciary to collude with them.
The move seeks to deny to the landowners the most basic benefit of government: the protection of the right of private property.
One of the landowners being targeted by the state government is Marvin Sanderlin, a longtime local farmer with 400 acres.
According to court documents, the state is planning to seize 10 acres of his land.
Sanderlin’s land stands between the Ford plant and the interstate.
After Sanderlin rejected the state’s offer of $3,750 per acre, the state filed the complaint in court.
The offer of $3,750 per acre is supposedly in line with the so-called “just compensation.”
However, land in the area was selling for about $10,000 per acre before the announcement of the planned construction of the Ford plant.
Since the announcement, the value has skyrocketed.
Some listings are offering land in the area for as much as $200,000 an acre.
With those numbers in mind, under no reasonable definition would an offer of $3,750 an acre qualify as “just compensation.”
As Sanderlin explained it, as quoted by the Tennessee Lookout:
You can’t buy no land here for $3,500 an acre.
You can’t buy a swamp here for $3,500.
I told them this is the biggest ripoff there is.
They want your land, but they don’t want you to participate in the wealth.
As it stands, the state is advancing its lawsuits seeking to force landowners to “sell” their property for far below market value.
Tennessee officials are determined to keep their $884 million promise to Ford and comply with Biden’s green agenda.
To meet these goals, however, will mean destroying the very thing the government was instituted by people to protect: the right to property.
READ MORE: JPMorgan: Government Must Seize Private Land from Citizens to Fight ‘Climate Change’
