WOW. Copblock and Liberty on Tour‘s Pete and Ademo went to trial today on felony “wiretapping” charges and “resisting arrest” in Greenfield, MA. (Click for extensive background info.) Over fifty supporters turned out! The courtroom was literally full with liberty-loving friends and associates of Pete and Ademo. Before trial, the “trespassing” charges were dropped, which was the original reason for arrest, but as we have seen, that never stops them from continuing prosecution.
Unfortunately, electronic devices were forbidden from the courtroom, with the exception of Jason Talley, who was the anointed one allowed in with a video camera. He was also allowed to bring in his tablet computer, which they decided that he can not bring in for the final day of trial, tomorrow. Why? Probably because he did an awesome job of videoblogging the trial, including classic moments showing what the atmosphere in court was like. Here’s a quick video showing one of SEVERAL instances of the audience erupting into applause for Pete and Ademo.
Besides that, the audience also laughed multiple times, and the court security and robed man did nothing. In addition, multiple hats were worn in court, and nothing was done. Nothing was also done about the applause, even though the prosecutor asked the robed man to stop it.
It was amazing.
Numbers make a difference. Had there been five of us instead of 50+, we would easily have been stopped from laughing and applauding.
I’ve never been in a court situation like this. I hope it continues as this movement grows. You ARE moving to NH to join the fun, right?
Don’t miss the other videos from Talley.TV. Here’s the boys recapping the day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOoVqokaTHo
It’s not over yet – closing statements and jury deliberations start at 9am tomorrow. So, if you couldn’t make it today, come on out!
The media reporting on the trial included MassLive.com, whose story has a nice photo of the activists demonstrating before court this morning.
Dale and I also talked in detail about the trial experience in tonight’s Free Talk Live, for pretty much the whole first hour.
There is also a blog by an attendee who thought it was bad that people laughed in the trial. Ultimately it is a good question to ask the jurors, should we be fortunate enough to snag one for an interview post-trial, but really, it was totally natural when people laughed, and I hope they took it well.
The photo on this article is courtesy Connor Berry at Masslive.com, and here is his article:
GREENFIELD — Jury selection got under way Monday morning in the trial of two New Hampshire men accused of illegally filming their encounter with law enforcement officials at the Franklin County Jail & House of Correction last summer.
Pete Eyre and Adam Mueller, founder of the “pro-police accountability” organization Cop Block — which advocates filming or photographing police and posting those images online — were arrested July 1, 2010, outside the Greenfield jail when they refused to stop filming on the premises.
The men, who had gone to the facility to bail out two friends being held on drug and weapons charges, claim there were no signs indicating they could not film at the jail. They continued to record the encounter against officers’ orders, leading to their arrest by Greenfield police.
On Monday morning, Eyre and Mueller and about 60 supporters gathered outside the Franklin County Courthouse with placards protesting police tactics that they believe tread on their natural freedoms. Eyre and Mueller are so-called voluntaryists who adhere to the principles of a stateless society based on natural law, not a formal system of rules and regulations with law enforcers such as police and other agents of the state.
As of 10 a.m., the legal proceeding had not resulted in any conflagrations inside or outside the courthouse. At a previous court appearance, however, supporters of Eyre and Mueller caused a minor disturbance at the conclusion of that proceeding, which prompted extra security precautions Monday.
In an effort to control the crowd and avoid any disruptions, court guards sealed off a hallway abutting the Superior Court courtroom. The trial is being held in that courtroom even though it is a District Court case.
Picking a jury can take hours or days in some cases, depending on the nature of a case and how much media exposure it has received. In Eyre and Mueller’s case, the duo launched a media blitz in advance of Monday’s trial, though the effectiveness of that campaign was not immediately evident. There were no TV or radio reporters on hand for the trial, which attracted only a handful of print-media reporters but numerous Eyre-Mueller supporters wearing CopBlock.org or LibertyOnTour.com T-shirts and items bearing other pro-liberty, anti-government slogans
Any chance of reaching a last-minute plea deal with the defendants before the start of the trial apparently was not an option: Mueller was wearing a T-shirt with nevertakeaplea.org emblazoned across the back, making it clear that he and Eyre planned to fight the charges.
District Court Judge William F. Mazanec is presiding over the trial, which could last a couple of days. The case is being prosecuted by Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Banks.
Eyre and Mueller are representing themselves, though a pair of court-appointed attorneys were seated at the defense table. One of those attorneys was ween whispering to the defendants’ at several points during pretrial motions.
Eyre and Mueller’s black-and-gold “Liberty on Tour” mobile home — dubbed MARV, which stands for Mobile Authority Resistance Vehicle — was parked outside the courthouse. Despite their current legal woes, the men are touring the nation this summer to espouse their views on a voluntary society and promoting the practice of publicly challenging law enforcement officials by filming and photographing them.
