Last week I applied for a concealed carry license because winter clothes make it nearly impossible to open carry and driving with a loaded gun is a crime in NH. New Hampshire is a shall-issue state, which means that if a person qualifies, he must be given a license.
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Tag Archives | keene
Kathryn Dill told us what it was like to be arrested in America for selling lemonade. This took place on Lemonade Freedom Day, organized by Robert Fernandez who told Fox News, “the biggest thing that I’d like to achieve here is to get good people to disobey bad laws”. Yes, that’s right, Fox News covered Lemonade Liberation. But he spoke to us first in this Q&A with Lemonade Freedom Day’s Robert Fernandez.
Keene PD Illegally Denies Pistol License
This Disobedient Month: August 2011
After July the Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund began August by highlighting some of the upcoming civil disobedience and trials. We gave a shout out to our northern neighbors who are also saying “no” to their government.
We discussed the freedom to travel with two reports, one by Darryl Perry on the Tyranny of Vehicle Registration. This was inspired by Michele Seven who received 9 tickets for driving unregistered vehicles and accompanying violations. She also had two of her vehicles towed, twice each. It will be interesting to see what Michele has planned and we intend on covering it here. You can read Michele’s take on the case and learn why she wants you to opt-out of vehicle registration.
For more information, visit our freedom to travel campaign.
Sadly this month we saw Ian Freeman go to jail for the civil disobedience of blocking a police car. The driver of the car was attempting to kidnap a friend of Ian’s and he felt it necessary to peacefully protest by standing in front of the car. The Ridley Report covered it and Talley.TV recorded nearly the entire trial, even when Judge Arnold disrupted court to enforce decorum “strongly” and to threaten me. One video that we singled out was Ian’s opening remarks to the jury. He told them that they “have a unique ability to stop laws that hurt peaceful people.” The jury found him not guilty of resisting arrest but guilty of Obstructing Government Administration and Ian was sentenced to 90 Days in a cage. Quite a severe punishment for standing in front of a police car for less than 5 minutes.
Our response to Ian’s caging was the launch of the Ian Freeman Indignation Fund. We’ve publicized his bold civil disobedience and filled his commissary account while he’s in jail. We even had people hurricane proof his home recently. Thanks to everyone who has donated – so far we’ve raised over twelve-hundred dollars.
Ian has been communicative from jail. Mail-to-Jail.com has been transcribing his letters and posting them online. Ian’s Blog from Jail #1 thanks the Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund for our support, and letter #2 shares a “taste of life at the Cheshire ‘House of Corrections.’”
Photo by Food Not Bombs
For more information visit our Free Ian Campaign.
We passed along that Julian Heicklen was heading to Orlando to disobey. He did and was arrested for handing out jury information. Despite this bad news there was a civil disobedience victory after the Orlando mayor backs down to Food Not Bombs and John Kurtz reminds us of the civil disobedience by Eric Montanez that started it all.
We’ve also covered a victory in the war on cameras by the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
For more information on that, visit our campaign against the government’s War on Cameras.
In other news, hypocrisy was called out when New Hampshire broke liquor sales records while caging peaceful people.
While the state of New Hampshire is encouraging the sale of liquor, other local and federal governments are cracking down on a far more menacing beverage: LEMONADE!
Photo by Eddie Free
Meg McLain discusses her Lemonade “Terrorism”. Free Concord Celebrates Lemonade Liberation While Raising Money for CD Evolution. Lemonade Liberators discussed their arrest with Adam Kokesh and we spread the word about a call flood for the Lemonade Liberating Three.
This was the place to watch the live stream of the three people arrested for selling lemonade in front of the U.S. Capitol but the following video is my favorite example of civil disobedience this month, as children defy police in Washington and purchase lemonade at the Capitol:
Speaking of video, the Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund has invested in video conferencing capability so we can stay in better contact with the people we support. Soon you’ll hear directly from the good people who disobey bad laws. We will also make this available to people for media interviews in support of our mission. See for yourself in this Anarchast with Seth King.
You can keep us going with your support. The more resources at our disposal, the better service we can provide. This includes sharing the stories of those saying “no” to aggressive governments. Please consider supporting us today.
Keene Cop Would Arrest Rosa Parks
KEENE, NH – Several activists found themselves at Keene District Court the day after the Porcupine Freedom Festival. Rich Angell was on trial because the State claimed that he is required to register with them before he can travel on their road monopoly. Rich Paul was there for charges of criminal trespass and criminal contempt.
During Angell’s trial, Beau Davis was kidnapped and caged for wearing a hat. Before “Judge” Burke made note of the hat and ordered Beau to remove it, I wasn’t even aware that the soft-spoken activist was in the room. Burke compared his court to a funeral and religious service and demanded an offering of respect in the form of hat removal. Beau declined to remove his CopBlock.org hat and refused to assist in his kidnapping.
The video above was live-streamed yesterday morning and shows activists questioning the court bailiffs who kidnapped a peaceful person. Despite the bailiffs’ unauthorized orders for activists to leave the court lobby, an officer of the Keene Police Department reassures us that we can stay, and agrees to answer questions to those with or without cameras. Hannah Hoffman asks the Law Enforcer if he would have arrested Rosa Parks for her act of civil disobedience and he admits that he would, despite it being an effective way to create change.
He admitted to having a different philosophy than many of the concerned community members but refused to elaborate on what that might be. YouTube commenter Mike for Liberty posted that he believes “his philosophy is? violence.”
No Permits (No problem?) at Free Keene Fest this Sunday!
KEENE, NH – The latest Free Keene Fest will take place this Sunday, May 8th, from 12-4pm at Railroad Square in Keene, NH. The City of Keene and their Law Enforcers generally ignore the event which is amazing considering what takes place at FKF despite all of it being peaceful and respectful, not to mention fun! From event organizer, Heika Courser via FreeKeene.com:
It’s that time again…Free Keene Fest will be held Sunday, May 8, from 12-4pm on Railroad Square. The rock band, Federal Crime, will be playing live during the festival. If they sound familiar to you, it’s probably because they have played at other Free Keene Fests and even played behind the E.F. Lane Hotel during the Music Festival last fall!
There will be lots of unique things to do, see, and buy. A few will even be handing out informational material on various liberty-oriented topics! Poker and other games will be set up, and food/ beverages will be for sale. Looking for some pro-liberty apparel to sport? Come on down! There will be a couple of vendors, including one of my favorite local artists, Dave Dixon, selling his famous t-shirts and sweatshirts. Did I mention there will be a clothing drop-off if you are looking to give to the community? Clothing will be collected at the Fr33 Aid booth to be donated to a local charity and anyone in need.
Free Keene Fest has been a fun time for many for almost five years, being held biannually. Many people come from afar to hang out with other liberty-minded individuals. There are no permits or vendor’s fees paid to the city of Keene for this festival of freedom. However, responsibility for your property/trash/etc is expected!
I sincerely hope to see this Spring’s Free Keene Festival a smashing success!
I’ll be there to cover the event for Talley.TV and to spend time with my girlfriend who is travelling all the way from Connecticut to attend Free Keene Fest. I hope to see you there as well!
Pete Eyre Assaulted and Kidnapped by the City of Keene for the Crime of Wearing a Hat
Reports continue to come in from the City of Keene, NH’s absurd and violent enforcement of silly laws. This time, Pete Eyre is victimized for wearing a hat inside a government building on the coldest day in years. Keene Law Enforcer, Matt Griffins, even used excessive force against this peaceful man.
George Donnelly created this video summarizing the events:
Ethan Lee Vita provides the following eye witness report to CD Evoluton:
Mike Segal and I were in court for separate alleged actions. Pete [Eyre] and Ademo [Freeman] were coming to film my trial and support both of us.
The day started out very cold, at -22 Fahrenheit, and was probably about -15 when we got to court. The court is poorly heated and while it was not that cold, it was still quite chilly. Pete is a nearly bald man without much hair to warm his head. As such, he was wearing a hat that said, “Don’t Tread On Me”. A few minutes after he sat down, and without the judge in the room yet, a bailiff began demanding he remove his hat. His reply was simple, “but then I’ll be cold”, repeating it.
Then the bailiff said something about policy, to which Pete asked whose policy, the courts responded the bailiff. Pete asserted that he had not signed this policy and the bailiff asked if he wanted to go. The bailiff tried to ask him to leave again, but then walked over to him and touched him, which Pete objected to, rather politely, “Sir, please don’t touch me”. Followed by a plea for justice, “Sir, thats my property”.
At this point, Sergeant and Prosecutor James Cemorelis came forward aggressively, “you’re out of here, get out of here, you’re arrested…!”. Pete was then carried forward where they wrestled with him to handcuff him, Pete innocently proclaiming, “It’s my body, its my property! What are you guys doing? Why can’t you act like real people?”. Someone attests that “he’s a peaceful person”. Pete continues with, “force is not necessary” while also asserting he meant no disrespect. I couldn’t tell if Pete was actively resisting or just not cooperating by the angle, but it was evidently angering the cops and bailiffs arresting him.
I stayed in the court room afterward because I had a trial, but Pete was then taken to a hallway thats publicly accessible and kept there, with a bailiff blocking a door that says Don’t Block Door on it. Later on, a cop came into the room wearing a hat. People in the audience, the judge was still not in, asked him about the hat to which he responded, “Never seen a hat before?”. I believe Carolyn retorted, “We just saw someone get arrested for wearing a hat”. I later saw him in the videos of Pete in the hallway. If those videos were from before he entered the courtroom, that would mean he knowingly wore it into the room.
There are two central locations for people self-organizing on how to respond to this situation: www.copblock.org/freepete and freepete.org. So far, there are plans for a call flood, some morning activism passing out Don’t Plead Guilty flyers, and other potential tactics.
The arrest of Pete Eyre has sparked suggestions for a new wave of civil disobedience against unjust enforcement of laws in the City of Keene. “Dr. Q” of Cop Block suggests:
Next time someone has a court date, we should bring a group. One person wears a hat inside. If s/he gets arrested for it, everyone else in the group pulls an identical hat out of his or her pocket and puts it on.
Dave Ridley compiled the various videos taken of the courtroom drama by Shire Independent Media in his latest report:
My Journey to Fr33 Agents
About a week ago Jason told y’all that I was joining the team here at Fr33Agents.com. I’m really looking forward to being part of such a powerhouse of liberty-oriented bloggers but first I thought it’d be good to share a little background about myself as it’ll influence my future posts.
As was noted, I recently left my gig at Bureaucrash. It was not an easy decision but one I felt compelled to take as I believe the projects that I’m now working on — the Motorhome Diaries and Fr33 Agents — are the best opportunities I have to further the freedom movement. I valued my time at Bureaucrash — both because I believe we (the many awesome crashers and I) did solid work and because I developed some real friendships with many principled, creative, and inspiring individuals (some of whom will soon be joining me as a blogger here on Fr33Agents.com).
I first made it to DC in Jan. of 2005 as an intern at Cato in Foreign Policy and Defense. That summer I was a Koch Fellow placed at the Drug Policy Alliance after which I was hired on at the at the Institute for Humane Studies. My last gig at IHS found me working as the director of their Campus Network program, for which the two main goal were to:
- provide resources (intellectual, financial, networks, etc.) to liberty-oriented students and organizations
- grow the pipeline of open-minded students into IHS’s great line-up of seminars and scholarships
I traveled to Boston, Chicago, Philly, NYC, VA, NC and elsewhere and was able to meet with and learn from some really high-caliber students. The impact these trips had — developing a personal relationship, sharing ideas and resources, etc. — cannot be understated and is one of the major reasons I believe the Motorhome Diaries will be successful.
The second question I asked each student (after what had turned them onto the ideas of librety) was what websites they visited most-frequently. The most-common response was either cato.org, lewrockwell.com or mises.org. I bring this up as my fellow-Fr33Agent.com blogger Greg recently went on the offensive against the Mises Institute.
Why? Because it’s not worth continuing these tired ad hominem attacks.
I’m not asking Greg (or anyone else) to drop all critiques of fellow-libertarians and start goose-stepping to some sort of conformity, but I do think it important to step back from the fray and consider where it’s best to allocate our scarce resources — to continue levelingl personal attacks, which then become self-fulfilling prophecies or to focus on our comparative advantages to more-effectively advance the freedom movement?
Jason and I just left beautiful Keene, NH, which we’ve dubbed the hotbed of libertarian activism (and which Ian Freeman of Free Talk Live describes as the libertarian media capital of the world). It’s clear that these activists have already had an impact in their community, changing minds one at a time while advocating for a voluntary society. I’d hope that Greg and those at Cato and Mises would grant that it’s great that these individuals are advancing the freedom movement through activism just as those activists would likely cede that it’s a good thing that those at Cato and Mises act as they best see fit.
It’s a great thing that individuals and organizations are trying a wide variety of tactics because it means that there are more chances of success. If we put all our resources into the think tank model or into any other model our ability to wage the ideas and culture war lessen dramatically. Instead of admonishing those in our ranks for not taking exactly the same approach as we do, give them credit when it’s due just as you hold them to task for tactics you deem as erroneous, which is why I’m glad to be at Fr33Agents.com, where we strive to do just that.
