Foster
traveled on a private plane to the ranch with Scalia after he opted to
leave his U.S. marshal detail behind, while Poindexter was the man who
found the Supreme Court Justice dead in bed on the morning of February
13.
Ranks
in the Order include Grand Prior, the most senior position, Grand
Master, and Knight Grand Officer - though it is not clear which of these
roles the men occupy.
According to records unearthed by the Washington Post,
private planes owned by Wallace 'Happy' Rogers III and A. J. Lewis III
were also chartered to the ranch, but it is unclear if the men were
there.
Rogers,
a prominent hunter and museum owner, and Lewis, the owner of a
restaurant wholesale business, are both former members of the Order's
elite.
The Cibolo
Creek Ranch was used as a meeting place for the American branch of the
Order in 2010, when 53 members converged for 'three days of organized
shoots, "gala" lunches and dinners.'
According
to a website for the Order, it was created in 1695 by Count Anton von
Sporck, ruler of Bohemia, which now forms part of the Czech Republic.
The
aim was to gather the finest Noble hunters from across Bohemia,
Austria, and the Austo-Hungarian Empire, ruled by the Habsburg family,
one of the most powerful European dynasties.
It was named after Saint Hubertus, the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers.
The
Order's aim was to promote the gentlemanly sport of hunting, considered
one of the finest pursuits a young Nobleman could take up during the
17th Century, and to promote the conservation of game animals on which
the sport relied.
The
Order was disbanded after Austria fell into the hands of Adolf Hitler
during the Second World War, and refused to become part of the Nazi
propaganda machine.
According
to the group, Hermann Goering, who founded the infamous Gestapo police
force, asked to become a member in 1938, and executed the Grand Prior
when he was turned down.
The Order was restituted in 1950, and in 1966 the first American branch was established at the Bohemian Club in San Francisco.
It
is under the Royal Protection of King Juan Carlos of Spain, Archduke
Andreas Salvator of Austria and the Grand Master is Istvan von Habsburg
Lothringen, Archduke of Austria, Prince of Hungary.
Members
of the order often wear green silk coats emblazoned with their logo of a
Germanic cross and the Latin words 'Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes' -
meaning 'Honoring God by honoring His creatures.'
Asked
about the Order, Poindexter responded: 'There is nothing I can add to
your observation that among my many guests at Cibolo Creek Ranch over
the years some members of the International Order of St. Hubertus have
been numbered.
Photo: Reuters
Justice Antonin Scalia spent his final hours on a Texas ranch in the
company of a secret society of hunters that originated in Austria in the
1600s, it has been revealed
Source: Wikipedia
Members of the Order, distinguished by their crest (pictured) included
Noblemen from the royal families of Europe. The American branch of the
Order was founded in 1966 in San Francisco
'I am aware of no connection between that organization and Justice Scalia.'
The
revelations that a secret society was attending the ranch alongside
Scalia comes amid controversy and conspiracy after it was decided that
there would be no autopsy for the Supreme Court Justice. Descriptions
of the judge being found with a pillow 'over his face', the fact that
the death was certified over the phone, and the suddenness of his
passing all contributed to theories that his death may not have been
natural.
However,
his son Eugene has since said there is 'no doubt' in his mind that his
father died of natural causes. Thousands paid tribute to Scalia, a
lifelong Catholic, at his funeral last week.
A
sheriff's incident report, released on Tuesday, shows there was
'nothing out of the ordinary' in Scalia's room when he was found dead.
It
describes a pillow being over his face, but not in a way that would
obstruct breathing. There was also breathing apparatus on Scalia's
bedside, to treat his sleep apnea, but he was not hooked up to it at the
time. A
doctor's letter was also released that revealed Scalia had been
suffering from coronary artery disease, obesity, diabetes, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease and high blood pressure - alongside being a
smoker.
Physicians have since testified that the justice's conditions, individually or taken together, could all produce fatal results.
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