I arrived on-scene as Heika was being loaded up into a KPD cruiser. Her crime? “Free” speech over a megaphone. We were kicked out of the court earlier by the robed man because a bunch of activists stood for Rich Paul when he was called. It was because we were kicked out of court that Monica went to get the megaphone – I had run home at this time to make a phone call I was late for, and when I returned, Heika was being arrested for “disorderly conduct”. According to witnesses, Heika was not on the megaphone when police arrived. They didn’t give her a warning that she was being “disorderly” – they just came up and arrested her. They are calling it a bail violation, so she’s in jail at least for the night and the arraignment is expected for tomorrow. Hopefully she won’t lose her job. 🙁
Regarding my last blog… a commenter spurred an idea in my head.
If I was going to drink beer in public in violation of the law, I do it from a beer bottle that can be closed with a cap and keep the cap with me. If the police approached me I’d simply put the cap back on the beer.
If the police asked me if the beer is mine… I’d say that it is, because if I didn’t it is essentially abandoned property and they can pick it up and dump it out.
If someone, say you, claimed the property as your own, in order for the police to legally open (and use in court) the beer that you just closed, they now need a warrant. Be sure to assert that you consent to no search of your property, as opening the cap of a container is a “search.” This takes anywhere from 2-4 hours of the police and court time. This will get old real fast for the police… or it is already old, and they’re not going to do it.
As the police cannot lawfully seize someones closed beverage without the intent to get a warrant (and heaven knows they’re not going to want to invest hours and hours and thousands and thousands of dollars in applying for warrants) to investigate whether or not the beverage was used in violation of the law… it seems to me that they are only left with the option to leave peaceful people drinking beverages alone.
PS: If they did take my closed beer without the intent to apply for a warrant to determine if it is alcohol (and a violation of the law) I’d probably will have a good civil suit against the police for stealing my stuff. I’d be sure to follow up on this to make sure that they did apply for a warrant. Once the statue of limitations has expired and the state can no longer initiate a prosecution against me for violating an open container ordinance, I’d be calling Attorney Lance Webber to see what type of civil action I could bring against the government for violating a slew of different statues and constitutional amendments.
(I am not an attorney, this is not legal advice… Lance is though, and he is exactly who I’d go to if this happened to me.)
Want to make it impossible for the police to attack people for the completely victimless act of possessing an open container, grind the courts to a halt, and force your local police department to alienate the state forensic laboratory… all while not actually breaking a law?
The Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund is looking for media volunteers. Want to support the good people who break bad laws like Keene’s Disobedient Seven? We’re looking for volunteers to assist with new media initiatives like researching, writing press releases, blogging, social media broadcasting etc. Want in? Get in touch.
First, thanks for all your support while I was in jail! If you want to help Rich Paul, please chip-in at the Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund. Here’s 26+ minutes from my arrival on the scene to when the cops took my stuff at the police station.
You’ve gotta give the Union Leader credit for their headline.
UPDATE: The Union Leader has re-written parts of the article, presumably after Sam gave them a call. The new article is posted here. I will leave the old one up so people can see the differences.
By MELANIE PLENDA
Union Leader Correspondent
KEENE – Being bare breasted on the streets of Keene may not be illegal, but breast painting, drinking in public, blocking police cars and harassing officers is.
At least seven people were arrested Sunday shortly after 6 p.m. when bystanders reported people were drinking and taking off their clothes in Central Square in downtown Keene.
Keene Police Lt. Darryl Madden said the people in the park were not arrested for nakedness, which is not illegal in Keene.
“One woman was toples and she was getting her breasts painted by another woman,” he said. “There’s no law against being naked, but you can’t be lewd or lascivious. And one person groping someone’s breasts and saying lewd things certainly qualifies.” (more…)
Want to make it impossible for the police to attack people for the completely victimless act of possessing an open container, grind the courts to a halt, and force your local police department to alienate the state forensic laboratory… all while not actually breaking a law?
The 
