From Redeye in Alabama:
<http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_cXhg-NDP48/TqutOP3BA-I/AAAAAAAALXE/JaQ9XC28bn4/s320/occupy%2Bnashville%2B6.jpg>While
everyone was focused on the police brutality directed to the Occupy
Movement protesters in Oakland, California, the same stuff was happening
right in our back yard in Nashville, Tennessee. Here is a run down
thanks to the Tennessee Progressive Blogging Community
<http://www.leftyblogs.com/tennessee/>.
From the Civil Rights Museum to arresting Occupy Nashville Folks in One
Week
<http://newscoma.com/2011/10/29/from-the-civil-rights-museum-to-arresting-occupy-nashville-folks-in-one-week/>.
Last night, a working member of the press was arrested covering the mass
arrests at Occupy Nashville. I like to call this a "PR nightmare" which
should be Gov. Bill Haslam and Bill Gibbons safe word right now.
Yet that's what happened in the early morning hours, as Metro Night
Court Judge Tom Nelson told the troopers who arrested 25 peaceful Occupy
Nashville protesters at midnight on Legislative Plaza — along with Scene
reporter Jonathan Meador, who was attempting to get off the plaza when
he was cuffed and hauled off — that the curfew being enforced at the
Capitol had no constitutional grounds whatsoever.
I find it to be amusing in a not so funny way our governor was in
Memphis this week visiting the Civil Rights Museum.
A few things I've noticed is that political persuasion doesn't mean
beans right now when it come to the public outcry from Tennesseans. One
thing that cannot be controlled is passion. I say it entirely too much
but to quote Maya Angelou, it's not what you say or what you do, it's
how you make people feel.
BREAKING: Night Court Judge researches and rules that he can find no
authority to charge Occupy Nashville with curfew violation
<http://enclave-nashville.blogspot.com/2011/10/breaking-night-court-judge-researches.html>
http://enclave-nashville.blogspot.com/2011/10/breaking-night-court-judge-researches.html
Around midnight Friday/Saturday, the Twitter stream reported that
Tennessee Highway Patrol conducted another raid of Legislative Plaza to
arrest Occupy Nashville protesters who refused to let last night's raid
deter them from returning to occupy the plaza in dutiful defiance of
Governor Bill Haslam's arbitrary 10pm nightly curfew. Several reports
from on-site revealed that a Nashville Scene reporter, Jonathan Meador,
was cuffed and taken away, too. When a fellow reporter inquired about
the detainment of Meador a THP officer replied, "You want to be next?"
One observer reported
<http://twitter.com/#%21/cwage/status/130156590702661632> that while
rounding up protesters, THP allowed well-dressed TPAC ticket-holders to
pass through the plaza after the curfew was in effect.
However, state troopers failed to get the arrest warrants for Occupy
Nashville curfew violations that they sought from the same Night Court
Magistrate who refused their requests Thursday night. According to
Occupy Nashville, Magistrate Tom Nelson told
<https://www.facebook.com/OccupyNashville/posts/188539047892573> THP:
I have reviewed the regulations of the state of Tennessee, and I can
find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere
on Legislative Plaza.
The protesters are being released, and according to their Livestream
they are planning to reoccupy the plaza this morning. Their Twitter
stream also noted that the Magistrate's ruling may have far-reaching
implications for other public spaces across Tennessee.
What interests me about these events is that state troopers have no
grounds to de-camp Occupy Nashville overnight since the Magistrate
continues to refuse to permit arrests. Any future detainment of
protesters constitutes THP harassment. Also, it seems that Governor
Haslam has blundered into a huge new set of problems over the legality
of his curfews formulated specifically against the relatively small
Occupy Nashville group. This is turning into a David versus Goliath story.
UPDATE: Bill Hobbs, who was present to observe the raid, relays
observations
<http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2011/10/29/breaking-scene-reporter-arrested-in-troopers-crackdown-on-occupy-nashville#readerComments> to
the Nashville Scene that indicate that the state troopers may be
starting to cross some boundaries:
/I was there and witnessed troopers treating people - protestors and
press - rudely. I was attempting as a freelance photojournalist to
photograph police cuffing protestors and was deliberately interfered
with by officers carrying video cameras who quickly jumped in front of
me multiple times. A few minutes later, one put his hand on me, shoved
me back a foot or two, asked if I was "media," (I said yes), and then he
told me if I crossed "that line" again, I'd be arrested. There was no
visible line./
Occupy Nashville Vet Injured during 2nd round of arrest.
<http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-nashville-vet-injured-during-2nd.html>
Occupy Nashville: Vet Injured During 2nd Round of Arrests
<http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6tlAoUbOLA0/Tqu10RdCIaI/AAAAAAAALXQ/7Oj1WWkHxgw/s1600/occupynashville.jpg>The
charges were dismissed after a whole lot of drama
<http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-nashville-cops-arrest-nashville.html>,
time and money was wasted while the State of Tennessee violated the
constitutional rights of its citizens and injured 2 of them:
<http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111028/NEWS01/111029004/Occupy-Nashville-protesters-released-after-second-night-arrests?odyssey=mod%7Cmostview>
Two of the 26 Occupy Nashville protesters arrested early this morning
were injured, says Karl Bolton of Franklin, who says he is part of the
movement's legal team. One man, a veteran, was taken to the hospital.
His condition is unknown. A woman also received minor injuries, and her
camera was broken.
After the Night Court magistrate dismissed their warrants, the
protesters were planning to march back to Legislative Plaza.
Occupy Nashville: Cops Arrest Nashville Scene Reporter Along With 26
Protesters
<http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-nashville-cops-arrest-nashville.html>
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Occupy Nashville: Cops Arrest Nashville Scene Reporter Along With
26 Protesters
<http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_cXhg-NDP48/TqutOP3BA-I/AAAAAAAALXE/JaQ9XC28bn4/s1600/occupy%2Bnashville%2B6.jpg>For
the second night in a row, eager beaver cops swarmed down on the
peaceful Occupy Nashville
<https://www.facebook.com/OccupyNashville> protesters at the People's
Plaza, this time 26 arrests were made. In case anyone was wondering what
the hell there is to protest about, the not so great state of Tennessee
is busily making the protesters case by perpetrating serious
constitutional violations against its citizens.
According to the repressive state of Tennessee, not only do we not have
the right to peaceful assembly, we don't even have the First Amendment
right to a free press at that peaceful assembly. The first arrests were
carefully staged at 3am to avoid press coverage and now in what appears
to be an effort to intimidate the press, a reporter has been arrested
for the crime of covering the police state tactics of bully Governor
Bill Haslam.
<http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700192711/Tenn-protesters-arrested-for-2nd-straight-night.html>
Keith Olbermann
<http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-nashville-countdown-with-keith.html> is
gonna love this story.
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