I thought some people here might be interested in a recent freedom related
(not software related though) arrest that occurred the other day. I was
essentially arrested for filming a police checkpoint in Manchester, New
Hampshire (police invoked non-existent law to interfere with recording, made
multiple contradicting and confusing requests, and were quick to obstruct and
damage video recording equipment). Papers please. I don't think I'll be
posting this to the ThinkPenguin blog as its irrelevant to free software /
the company / etc. However I thought people here might be interested in
following the case. The entire trial will be highly publicized, recorded,
etc. One of the officers humorously threatens me with a motor vehicle
violation. To be clear I was not drinking, not driving, had no car nearby
(got there via another driver which had his car parks two or three blocks
away), and in no way under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Most likely I have a slam dunk case against the Manchester police department
for violating my rights to record (Glik v. Cunniffe), violations of their
authority to conduct the checkpoint (they'll likely end up in contempt once
appropriate paperwork is filed with the superior court under which they had
authority to operate said checkpoint), and interfering with the freedom of
the press. There are multiple related parts to the incident including
lawsuits, prior notices to quit harassment of us (the media), further
complaints (required to bring a lawsuit in New Hampshire), motions to the
superior court in regards to illegal police activity in relation to the
checkpoint itself (the authority under which a checkpoint can legally be
operated), a possible criminal trial (if it does not get dismissed or
similar), etc.
Assuming the charges don't change before my arraignment it's a Class A
Misdemeanor with up to a year in jail. This would entitle me to a jury. If
instead it gets dropped to a Class B Misdemeanor I'll be denied my right to a
trial by a jury of my peers. Provided nothing changes the charges shouldn't
stick as I did not violate the all encompassing 'disorderly conduct' charge.
To be specific it's a "disorderly conduct" charge that I was arrested for,
but this can be changed before the arraignment (doesn't usually happen
though). If your interested you can hear more about the arrest on the Free
Talk Radio show that I co-host on Friday nights:
https://www.freetalklive.com/podcast/2017-04-21
There will also be video posted of the incident leading up to the point of my
arrest at http://www.freetalklive.com/ (my video was seized, but experienced
correspondents bring back up, as I did, we had several people apart from the
nearly 20 activists protesting the checkpoint with video cameras)
You can also watch other police accountability videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgnVXppkmzBKfTOwe-KqAJQ/videos
You can find a similar 'stand your ground' video of me in a different context
that was posted a few weeks ago (no arrests were made, as again, I'm an
experienced media correspondent and aware of the laws, and police tactics,
plus it doesn't hurt when you are with people who've already won numerous
lawsuits against the police):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgnVXppkmzBKfTOwe-KqAJQ/videos
Also there are probably hundreds of police, state house hearings, and similar
(where I and others have testified on freedom-connected issues like Bitcoin,
crypto currency deregulation in relation to money transmitters, and drones
particular concerning for drone operator privacy to more mundane issues
including drug decrim and bureaucratic employer regulations making employers
ask permission for and file paperwork to pay employees every two weeks
instead of one- of which only a few states even require), and similar
encounters over the past year + mostly of me yet-to-be published (though
others have published videos of whom I was with in many cases see above two
links).
