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# Mugged by the State: Outrageous Government Assaults on Ordinary People and Their Property 

June 2003 • Published By Regnery 

By Randall Fitzgerald 

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It’s a scandal — the misguided government policies and overzealous enforcement that have victimized ordinary Americans. That’s the story Randall Fitzgerald tells in *Mugged by the State*. Fitzgerald uncovers example after example of government harassment, including: a woman taken to jail for not wearing a seatbelt; a family diner seized under eminent domain laws; a couple who found army helicopters hovering over their land in a dispute over wetlands; and others.

Fitzgerald, a longtime reporter for *Reader’s Digest*, gives a voice to the countless Americans around the country whose freedoms are being violated by the very government that should be protecting them.

Excerpts from the book:

- [A Cure in Search of a Problem](https://www.cato.org/pubs/books/muggedbythestate/excerpt1.html)
- [The Tennessee Casket Seller](https://www.cato.org/pubs/books/muggedbythestate/excerpt2.html)
- [The Arizona Brake Repairman](https://www.cato.org/pubs/books/muggedbythestate/excerpt3.html)
- [The Oregon Retirees](https://www.cato.org/pubs/books/muggedbythestate/excerpt4.html)
- [The Maine Fish Processor](https://www.cato.org/pubs/books/muggedbythestate/excerpt5.html)