Amanda initially posted video of her arrest to her Youtube channel, but it was removed within hours at the advice of her attorney. While it is understandable why she would lawyer up – the court system is an intimidating process – it’s always sad when attorneys advise their clients to not speak to media or post media relating to the case. The attorney’s advice disconnects Amanda from a large pool of potential supporters, as now we have no way of knowing what happened. Many may be willing to support her, but since the video is not being shown, some people will have a hard time getting behind her.
Since her attorney is refusing to release even what the charges are, which should be public info, I decided I’d do my best to track down the info. The court system doesn’t even have a docket number for the case yet, so I called Laconia Police and was treated very rudely and hung up on by “Sgt. Hubbard”. He refused to give me information about her charges and told me to either come down to their station or use the request form on their website, which is broken. I called back, this time recording the call:
For whatever reason, Hubbard changes his attitude after putting me on hold for a few minutes and then gives up the info. According to him, Amanda is facing the following charges: (more…)
Last night Amanda BillyRock was arrested by an agent of the Laconia Blue Light Gang. While the details are still coming in, some things we do know: She was pulled over, her car was impounded, she was put in a concrete cell overnight, and after a flood of phone calls, was released from her cell in the Belknap County Lockup today at approximately 1pm EST.
During my own phone call to the jail, the government agent on the other end told me that it was unlikely that Amanda would be released this weekend, but she was released just hours later! Was it a fluke? Or did the call-flood make the difference? Here’s the video I produced to encourage others to call:
The Civil Disobedience panel at Keenevention 2013 was presented by the star of “Victimless Crime Spree” and the host of Peace News Now, Derrick J Freeman. The panel’s focus was perhaps the most controversial form of activism – civil disobedience and noncooperation. Keenevention is certainly not the first time a civil disobedience panel has been presented at a liberty gathering, but it is the first time in many years that Russell Kanning, one of the original movers to Keene, returns to the stage! Russell was instrumental in making Keene the destination for future waves of activists who would emulate his peaceful disobedience. Russell was joined by another original Free State Project mover and liberty civil disobedience pioneer, Lauren Canario as well as yours truly, Ian Freeman.
The Police Accountability Tour had the opportunity to meet with the creative individuals behind CopWatch of East Atlanta. Having been active in their area since the late aughts, the project established itself as a resource for the community, providing a phone number for people in need of a few individuals armed with cameras to reach out through. Following an experience-based set of collectively understood policies, CopWatch participants are also involved in other actions in the area, including Food Not Bombs.
A pixelated still image from footage damaged in police custody
Stemming from an incident in 2010, and complimented by a similar situation which occurred later, the Atlanta police department has now been specifically trained to permit videography and photography of themselves and their suspects and detainees from a reasonable distance. During the 2010 camera seizure, which helped shape CopWatch of East Atlanta’s policies as well as the police’s, a camera phone was taken from an activist by the police after multiple unlawful requests to terminate the recording. Eventually, the camera was wrestled away, and a revealing phone conversation with the property-seizing officer was documented and disseminated. The officer revealed that the person potentially videotaped being arrested may act as a confidential informant on an investigation. The camera phone would be returned on the condition that the police employee could be granted access to the footage and ensure its deletion. An audio recording of the telephone conversation would secure a $40,000 settlement for the group. Upon retrieving the footage, it was posted publicly in very damaged condition, possibly as a result of its poor handling in police custody, or through intentional sabotage. Since that time, CopWatch of East Atlanta has adopted policies to prevent the loss of objective documentation of a scene by working in groups, wearing uniforms, keeping distances between videographers, and observing numerous other safety precautions. Recently at the DeKalb County public library, the group offered to the public a know-your-rights training session. (more…)
As reported here at Free Keene this weekend, YouTube vlogger and new Free State Project mover Amanda Billyrock was arrested in Laconia after allegedly running a red light and then not speaking to police.
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