Profanity fine leads to planned protest

By William R. Toler

WARNING: In the spirit of free speech, this post is completely uncensored.

A recent decision by a Massachusetts town to fine foul language has spurred a massive, planned showing of civil disobedience.

Liberty activist Adam Kokesh announced on his online show “ADAM VS THE MAN” that he would be hosting the event Free FUCKING Speech Demonstration in Middleborough, MA. The profanity party is scheduled to take place at the Middleborough Town Hall June 25. The same town hall where residents voted 183-50 to impose a $20 fine on cussing in public, according to the AP .

Lethal force against law enforcement OK’d in Indiana

By William R. Toler

A new law in Indiana has liberty activists cheering and law enforcement cringing.

A recent addition to the state’s Castle Doctrine bill gives residents the greenlight to use lethal force to protect their homes and vehicles from someone barging in, even if that person is a “public servant,” according to Bloomberg News.

The addition stems from a state Supreme Court decision last year that ruled residents had “no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers.” Yes, you read that right. The court ruled that you have no right to resist UNLAWFUL entry by police officers.

Now, with the state’s new law, you can…at least if you’re in Indiana.

Man arrested for trying to report suspected crime

By Carlos Miller
Photography Is Not a Crime

John Nix pulled out his cell phone after spotting what he thought was a gang of thugs mugging a man in the parking lot of a North Carolina shopping mall last week.

The former city council candidate ended up in jail after the men who were in street clothes turned out to be cops arresting a suspected shoplifter.

They thought he was taking their picture.

Congressman bans cameras, cops commit armed robbery

By William R. Toler

In a shocking display of police state tactics, an Ohio Congressman banned and had cameras confiscated from individuals attending his town hall meeting.

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) allegedly had signs placed in front of the venue banning cameras. After some attendees failed to obey the signs, police officers went through the audience to take them away.

The story was first brought to my attention by Carlos Miller at Photography is Not a Crime. (Click the link to see the crime happen.)

The amature videographers asserted their rights to the cops, but to no avail. An officer told one of the individuals the ban was “to protect the constituents.” The videographer stood his ground saying, “I’m well within my rights” after being asked “Are we gonna do this easy way? Or the hard way?” After protesting a few seconds more, the camera was stolen by the officer.

The officer then walked over to another person with a camera and attempted to steal it as well. “It’s not against the law to film this,” she said. “Yes it is,” the officer replied. “That’s what I’ve been told.”

Why should there be a “hard way?”

More photog false arrests

By William R. Toler

The last time I checked, photography was not a crime. But a rash of arrests this year would seem to suggest otherwise.

Courtesy stockphotopro.com

We’ve already introduced you to the work of Carlos Miller who has documented an alarming number of incidents where people have been arrested, usually for videotaping or photographing the police or federal buildings.

The most recent case involved two reporters, including Reason.tv’s Jim Epstein. Their crime: having cameras at a public meeting of the DC Taxicab Commission. Contrary to most open meeting laws, the Commission bans videotaping because it has “found television cameras to be disruptive to meetings.”

It started when Pete Tucker from thefightback.org was approached by an officer and asked to turn off his camera. “I’m a reporter,” he pleaded with the officer. After refusing and repeating multiple times that he was a reporter and it was an open meeting, Tucker was arrested. Epstein followed toward the door, camera in hand. One lady asked him not to record her. “I don’t give you permission,” she said. Epstein was then arrested himself.

Photography is not a crime

By William R. Toler

Shutterbugs across the country noticed a disturbing trend and some have even found themselves behind bars for doing their job or passion: photography.

Carlos Miller, a “multimedia journalist,” maintains a blog featuring stories of people arrested for photography. Dozens of photo-activists have been incarcirated for videotaping police officers, usually to catch abuse of authority. According to Miller’s website, he has been arrested twice for photographing cops and beaten both charges.

One case that’s been getting a lot of attention from the liberty movement involves John Kurtz, a real estate agent and photo-activist. Kurtz, founder of Orlando Copwatch, was arrested Jan. 1 after police say he interrupted an investigation and shoved an officer, the Orlando Sentinel reports. He faces a maximum of six years for “resisting without violence, battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, obstruction of a police officer.”

Here are the facts according to Orlando Copwatch:

Fourth Amendment flushed in court decisions

By William R. Toler

“I’d like to get some sleep before I travel. But if you’ve got a warrant, I guess you’re gonna come in.”

The late Jerry Garcia would be disappointed–as are many civil libertarians–that his line from “Truckin'” is no longer relevant thanks to several recent court rulings.

Last week, the Indiana Supreme Court rendered two decisions that invalidate the protections of the Fourth Amendment. First, the court ruled that police did not have to knock before entering a home to serve a warrant, according to nwitimes.com. Then a few days later, the court decided 3-2 that individuals have “no right” to resist police entering your home without a warrant.

The ruling stems from a case in which a police had been called to investigate a couple arguing outside their home. As the couple went back in, the husband told police there was no need for them. When the officers tried to enter anyway, the husband pushed one of them against the wall. The other officer then subdued him with a stun gun and arrested him.

In a prime example of Orwellian Doublespeak, Justice Steven David wrote in the opinion, “We believe … a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence…We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest.”

Let’s analyze that for a moment, shall we?

The price tag: An 8 percent tax hike

By Ryan Graczkowski

One of the local controversies that has plagued Raleigh has concerned the construction of a new public safety building.

The idea of it is that the current facilities for the police, fire and emergency response departments are out of date and ultimately not able to serve the city’s needs. The center’s purpose is to consolidate these departments within an updated central location, one that presumably can meet the city’s – and ultimately the county’s – needs better.

It seems like a fairly standard building procedure. But there’s a catch to it. The city of Raleigh is also aiming to put through an 8 percent increase on the city property tax. The two are considered to be far too closely timed to be a coincidence. As a result, the city council’s been locked up in debate about this for at least the past month.

Mall Santa snapshots lead to arrest

By Corey Friedman

Maybe R.C. Basford’s just camera-shy. Perhaps he’s an adherent of some obscure aboriginal faith that teaches that a snapshot snatches away the soul.

Either would be preferable to the more likely alternative — that Basford is a bully who doesn’t think the law he’s sworn to enforce applies to him personally.

A Charleston, W.Va. police officer, Basford arrested a professional photographer who tried to take his picture inside a mall Tuesday, according to the Charleston Gazette. Scott Rensberger had previously been seen snapping photos of children with Santa Claus.

Parents approached Rensberger and expressed concern that he had taken pictures of their children. As a courtesy, Rensberger deleted the images, but Basford later approached him and asked why he’d photographed the kids.

“I can’t believe you are asking me that,” Rensberger said to Basford. “Do you mind if I take a picture of you?”

Scholar’s arrest about speech, not race

By Corey Friedman

Henry Louis Gates’ civil rights weren’t violated. His constitutional rights, however, were thrashed.

The prominent Harvard professor, an African-American who was confronted by a white police officer after forcing open the door to his own Cambridge, Mass., home, has called the incident — and his subsequent disorderly conduct arrest — racially motivated.

Police acted appropriately in their investigation of a reported burglary, but they trampled Gates’ First Amendment right to free speech when the W.E.B. DuBois scholar was charged with disorderly conduct for loudly criticizing the officers.

Gates was returning home shortly before 1 a.m. on July 16 and used his shoulder to pry open his stubborn front door, according to media reports. A neighbor believed he and another man were breaking into the house and called Cambridge police. Sgt. James Crowley arrived at Gates’ home, questioned him about the reported break-in and asked for identification.