Multiple liberty activists responded to the scene after local independent journalist Jared Goodell posted the news that armed police were on Central Square. (Goodell’s personal facebook profile is quickly becoming a go-to destination for breaking news in Keene.) Keene police kept the initial call from the alleged hostage-taker off of their two-way radio system, in what was the beginning of a campaign to preclude the public from actually knowing anything about what was happening in their midst.
All people in the streets knew was the police were hiding behind brick walls, brandishing guns and observing the block of buildings that includes 39 Central Square. To their credit, the Keene police were not preventing people from taking the risk of walking downtown, but they were at the same time not informing anyone about the risk that may have been present.
When asked, multiple pairs of the officers surrounding the building would deny any knowledge of why they were there. Why lie? After I asked three sets of officers what was happening, I finally got the barest minimum of information out of Michael “Pepper” Kopcha. He admitted there may be a situation in the building, but again, gave no information as to what danger may be present.
There are arguments both for and against how they responded, but there’s no good reason to keep people in the dark about what is happening, especially if they want people to believe they are “serving and protecting” them. (more…)
This morning while I was enjoying some breakfast with fellow activists at the Keene State College dining commons, we noticed two men in military olive-green walking quickly across campus. One appeared to have a machine gun. Quickly we learned the school was on lockdown as rumor was that a man had used a gun in a “domestic incident” that happened somewhere off-campus.
Apparently the fact that someone used a gun somewhere in the vicinity of a college is now reason to shut down an entire campus. Perhaps that’s because weapons are banned from on campus, meaning that all law-abiding people are disarmed and would be easy targets for a gun-toting madman, who would not give a damn about the school’s gun restrictions.
New Hampshire is a very safe place because of its relative gun freedom compared to other states. It’s a shame that the good people on campus are not free to defend themselves. The law really needs to change on this matter, to restore the right to self-defense on school property. This police state stuff is getting ridiculous. Don’t the cops understand that this is New Hampshire and people have guns everywhere off campus?
The suspect, known as a local white supremacist scumbag.
Just because some local white supremacist loser fires a gun in a domestic dispute doesn’t mean the campus is in jeopardy. Even if it was in jeopardy, their current safety measures will most certainly result in bloodshed of campus staff, at minimum. Allow me to explain.
So, we finish up our meal and decide to exit the cafeteria, despite people telling us the school bureaucrats were standing at the doors, trying to discourage people from leaving the building. James Cleaveland, Conan, and I all left anyway. One lady got in front of me and pleaded with me to stay in the building. I told her no thanks, that I was fine, and walked out the door. As I was walking across campus, every single glass door to the campus buildings were being “guarded” by campus staff.
Put another way, a madman with a gun could easily slaughter multiple campus staff, who of course are completely unarmed and essentially standing in the open. It’s all security theater. Any determined killer would have no shortage of helpless targets on a college campus. The dining commons itself holds hundreds of students, who would be fish in a barrel if the would-be shooter merely stood outside the East side of the building, which is all-windows.
Given that murder wasn’t the suspect’s intentions (he is accused of firing a gun in the air, not directly at anyone), no one on campus was in danger – this time. Therefore, the cops get to look like heroes for tromping around campus with their weaponry, acting like they’re the thin blue line protecting the defenseless (because of the state’s rules) college students. Had this guy wanted to hurt college students, he’d have come on campus and done that right away, before police were called, and no one would have been able to stop him, unless of course they too were carrying illegally on campus. (more…)
UPDATE @ 8:30pm: James has been arrested for Klonopin allegedly found in the truck. According to an officer Lee at the Dinwiddie sheriff’s department, this is a class 1 misdemeanor. James is facing a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail if the state can prove he “knowingly” possessed the drugs. He has a $1,000 bond and will likely be transported to the Meherrin regional jail.
Original post from this afternoon:
Free Keene blogger and owner of 101 Deals Thrift Store, James Cleaveland, is currently stranded in Dinwiddie, VA after armed men calling themselves “sheriffs” stole his yellow box truck. Initially the armed men asked James to search, which he refused. They then informed him they will be getting a warrant to search, because of terrorism, human trafficking, and serial killers. He is currently at the Dinwiddie county sheriff’s office and is currently streaming live video on Bambuser:
James says the Dinwiddie gang brought out a dog which they claim alerted on the vehicle and further claims that the tag is expired, so they towed it to the sheriff’s department. That’s where he is right now, awaiting the search of the truck. He has not been arrested or charged. James has said on his livestream that the “bad cop” Sgt. David Williams prevented him from retrieving his wallet from the cab of the truck. Later however “good cop”, name unknown at this point, did retrieve his wallet for him. Early on in this situation, I called the sheriff’s department to inquire on the whereabouts of the truck. The lady who answered the phone told me that the truck was indeed there and that Williams had been involved in the stealing. I asked to speak to Williams and at that point recorded the call. He acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about: (more…)
Josh Paulette is a Cheshire county sheriff’s deputy. We first met when I was being transported to the jail for my first act of noncooperation close to a decade ago. He was as courteous as someone could be who is tasked with transporting people in shackles. Like many police in New Hampshire, Josh is easy-going, affable, and is generally pleasant to encounter, even when depriving you of your liberty. Like all of us humans, he’s not perfect. There was one time that James Cleaveland witnessed (and video recorded) Josh tackle a young college-age male after he drunkenly ran from an open container arrest, but aside from that adrenaline-fueled incident, I have nothing but praise for my experiences with Josh.
Earlier this month, Josh pulled me over for allegedly cutting through a parking lot to avoid a red light on West St, which is apparently illegal in NH, despite the common practice’s positive effect on traffic flow. One of the general principles of Cop Blocking is not talking to the police, but when you have a cordial relationship with them, as many activists in Keene do, a different approach is necessary.
When interacting with police you know, consider the following options along with the standard Cop Block suggesstions: (I don’t employ all of them in the video – this stuff takes practice, and I’m not perfect.)
Be polite, yet assertive of your rights. – Asserting your rights actually helps keep polite police as well-behaved as possible. Police would prefer to deal with people who don’t know their rights. Even though an officer’s demeanor may be cordial, he *is* conducting an investigation and has the ability to deprive you of your liberty with near-zero consequences to himself. Don’t let them fool you into a false sense of safety. Despite Josh’s friendly demeanor, this is an adversarial encounter and you can hear the adrenaline in my voice when I say “I don’t know.” I’ve had lots of experience with police, but it’s still common for me to be nervous when pulled over, especially at first. Practice helps, but you still never really know what will happen.
Mattheus Von Guttenberg, Bitcoin Magazine contributor, and Liberty Forum speaker, stops by the Rebel Love studios. Rob, Shire Dude, and MVG all announce that they have have talks at this year’s Liberty Forum in Manchester NH at the Radisson Hotel. The Rebel Love Show will also be recording live at Liberty Forum each day of the event. Topics discussed in this episode include MVG giving an update on the status of Bitcoin, should the Bitcoin Foundation be in existence?, when will Bitcoin be the mainstream currency?, MVG and Rob share TSA activism stories, issues with coming out as a Free Stater at work, using the topic of police as a tool of outreach, MVG filmed Amanda Billy Rock being arrested, right to travel activism, and cop blocking in Manchester.
