Heroic liberty activist Rich Paul is facing 81 years in prison for selling cannabis and is taking it to trial by jury. You’ve seen his videos and may generally know his story, but Rich decided to write it down in his words, via his Facebook page. Here’s his story of his arrest, Part 1:
My name is Rich Paul. Last year, on May 31st, I was arrested by the Keene Police department. I was transported to the police station, where I expected to be booked for some crime. But I was not booked. Instead, I was taken to Special Agent Philip Christiana, who attempted to blackmail me. I was threatened with 81 years in prison, for delivery of marijuana and delivery of a substance purported to be LSD. I had, indeed, delivered marijuana as alleged, but had not purported anything to be LSD. The told me I had only one chance to save myself from them … that was to go on selling marijuana, but at the same time to spy on my friends at the Keene Activist Center, a political association of which I am a member.
I invoked my right to council, but Christiana said that if I did not relent, that the offer would be withdrawn, and that I would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that no plea bargains would be offered to me at any time. I wanted to hear what he had to say, so I did relent and waived my right to council. I said that I would not make any kind of deal with him without being represented by council, to protect my interests. I also told him that we would not be negotiating with him, because he did not have the authority to give me immunity, and because law enforcement officers are permitted to lie to suspects, and that I could not trust him for that reason. He responded with a lie … he said that he was not permitted to lie to suspects. This is patently false. He went on to assert that if he perjured himself that he would be fired. This was probably true, but was a half lie … he could not perjure himself in conversation with me, because he was not under oath. Perjury is the crime of telling a lie under oath. I explained this to Christiana, and he reacted as if that information was new to him. At this point I lost all respect for Special Agent Philip Christiana of the FBI.
Christiana spoke with me about what he intended for me to do. He wanted me to return to the KAC wearing a hidden transmitter, and to lie about the reason for my arrest, and to determine how people reacted, and who questioned my story. This was clearly not the actual intent of the whole operation. He repeatedly told me “You are going to have to do things that you don’t want to do”. I asked him “Like what?”. He said that some of my friends would be selected, and I would be expected to lure them into felonious drug transactions with me, in order that they could be blackmailed in the same way. I told him that if I knew anybody who was making a bomb or planning violence that I would have come to him, rather than waiting for him to come to me. He did not seem to care. He veered from solicitous to aggressive, at one point suggesting that “nobody had to go to prison”, but at another saying that “somebody was going to go to prison, it was all about who”. I answered that it was not about that, it was about right and wrong.
At this point, Christiana started to question me. When he asked the first question, my address, I again invoked my right to council. Christiana repeated that if I invoked my right to council, that I would be going to jail for a long time. I said “OK, we’ll do that, then”. At this point Christiana appeared to end the interview … he had a KPD officer process me to be sent over to the jail. I was fingerprinted and my personal information demanded. Then I was placed in a cell for a short time. Then I was removed, and returned to the interrogation room where I had spoken with Christiana previously. At this point, to my astonishment, he told me that I was going to be released on my own recognizance, and that I could contact a lawyer, but that I was only to ask this lawyer whether an FBI had the power to give immunity. I made non-committal noises that might have sounded like agreement, but I had no intention of limiting my conversation with my attorney when I had obtained one, or to accept legal advice from law enforcement, especially from an agent who had already attempted to mislead me repeatedly. I insisted in getting a business card from Christiana, and he finally agreed, but crossed out the “ip” in his first name and his entire last name, his email address, and other identifying information. I could not believe how amateurish this appeared. I thanked Christiana for leaving his water board at home, and he ushered me out the front door of the police station and told me to start walking, not even waiting for my ride to arrive. I half expected to be shot in the back as I walked away. I breathed a sigh of relief when I reached Marlboro Street.
I was delighted when, a few hundred yards later, my lady’s car rolled into view, and she returned me to the Club.
To be continued …
Coming up: How the blackmailer was exposed, why Rich posted a confession on YouTube, and why he still expects to win the case!
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* http://facebook.com/420Foundation
* https://www.facebook.com/events/633165166700915/?fref=ts
