The Ridley Report has recently been publishing continued analysis of the court victory for the independent journalist following his arrest in May of 2011. Three months later, Ridley was acquitted at a bench trial of a misdemeanor charge of trespassing, and a detailed summary of the trial was posted to Free Concord the following day.
A playlist on the Ridley Report youtube channel documents all of his own coverage beginning with the arrest and protests shortly thereafter, and continuing with analyzed video from the trial of key moments. On December 1 of this year, a video published which described a possible continuation of the case into legal land, this time in the form of a civil lawsuit against the Nashua police. Illustrated with claymation produced by another youtube content creator, the video entitled, Nashua police reject demand for groper’s dismissal linked to this information posted to a public forum by Ridley.
As you may recall, Nashua police arrested me while I was trying to film their actions outside a hotel in which Joe Biden was speaking. In the process of searching me, the arresting officer Denis Linehan touched my genitals. After our defeat of trespassing charges in court, my lawyer Stephen Martin has helped me issue a pair of demands. If met, we would drop suit. The initial demand called for monetary damages in the $15,000 range. When the city rejected that we represented that firing Linehan would be enough to prevent the suit. As expected, city attorney Brian Cullen has rejected that offer too. The city has however indicated a willingness to accept some other non-monetary settlement.
Throughout this month, four additional videos of highlights from the criminal trial have been uploaded. You can see even more edited portions of the trial created in 2011 on the playlist. (more…)
November 2011 – I am pulled over for speeding on the way back from some activism in Concord with a car full of activists. Trooper Kelly Healy asks my passengers for ID – I remind her that as passengers they are in no way obligated to show her ID. As I reach for my car registration she asks about my driver’s license and why there was an NH address on a FL license. I decline to answer her probing questions, instead asking her questions of my own, like, “Am I being detained?”. Healy returns to her car and later comes back with a speeding ticket, to which I ask her if she really wants to go to court, and she claims that is my choice. I remind her that it was her choice to aggress against me and tell her I’ll see her in court.
Or, maybe not. Trooper Healy never showed up to a court hearing scheduled for this week and the case was dismissed on my motion to dismiss for failure to appear on the part of the complaining party. I “won”! Here’s video from the pullover and court hearing:
I put quotes around the win because it took many hours of my time, for which I will not be compensated. Allow me to detail the process: (more…)
This post was originally published to KeeneCopBlock.org on Dec. 19th, 2012.
Many folks who reside in Keene are aware of the petty harassment doled out by Fred Parsells.
A former Keene police employee, Parsells now claims a “legitimate” right to be a nosy bother to his neighbors due to his occupation as a code enforcer.
Fortunately a lot of thinking individuals have concluded that when the initiation of force or its threat is utilized, whether “officially” sanctioned or not, the person initiating is in the wrong.
There’s much I love about Keene. Yet I could do without the countless iterations of force threatened or initiated by Fred Parsells.
Yesterday an appearance on Peace Love Liberty Radio from last week was released as an isolated segment. Today was published another radio appearance by Garret Ean on the Ladies in Keene program, which airs Saturdays from 11pm to 1am on the Liberty Radio Network. In the first of two segments, hosts Cecilia and Shaunna welcome Garret to discuss videos recently produced in the area. The second segment of the program finds them on the subject of UAV drone warfare. The 18 minute piece has been illustrated with relevant videos. You can hear the entire December 11 episode as linked.
Yesterday the case of State v Garret Ean was heard in regards to a $29.76 bicycle headlamp citation. While trial footage recorded by Free Keene videographers uploads, it’s worth making a note of the events before the trial, which resulted in one individual being temporarily banned from the courthouse for filming in the lobby. When I arrived just after 8:30am, I saw James of Shire TV standing outside of the front door and filming in. It was clear what had just occurred — he had been kicked out for filming. I’ve been in the same situation at Concord district court, where you will likely get ejected for recording outside of the courtroom. Sometimes, I am allowed through security with one camera but not another, and sometimes nothing is restricted.
On the inside, my videocamera was taken and replaced with a scruffy old property receipt, a number sharpie’d on it. I saw a slew of activists from Keene in the lobby speaking with bailiffs. Word was spreading that all cameras were being taken, even those with filled-out permission slips, until the judge authorized the forms. Myself planning to audio record the entire hearing, I had yet to fill out the blank media form which has three options: Still Camera, Video/Audio Camera, or Audio Recording. As my audio recorder and cell phone were not confiscated, I waited to fill out the copy in the courtroom.
Concord District Court head of security Peter Hamilton enjoying a pipe on break. Photo by Brian Blackden
I asked bailiffs why that today they had decided to seize all incoming videocameras. “The judge always authorizes recording, so why does everyone need to have their property confiscated?” The head of security, Peter Hamilton, appeared and stated that the judge who always grants approval of notices was out this particular day. He was possibly referring to judge Gerard Boyle, whom to my knowledge has not denied any press notifications placed before him. I have audio and video recorded others’ trials before both he and the sitting judge on this day, M. Kristin Spath, without hassle from either. This does not also include a lack of hassle from the bailiffs. My experience has been that having a filled out recording permission slip to present at the checkpoint does make one more likely to emerge on the other side with their camera unswiped. Hamilton cited rules handed down by Edwin Kelly as the basis for the restriction, Kelly being the very secretive administrative judge of New Hampshire district courts. (more…)
Bright and early tomorrow morning in Concord district court, there will be a trial concerning Garret Ean’s year-plus old contempt of cop bicycle citation. Folks will be traveling from around the Shire to attend, and you’ll get to see Free Concord’s editor grill on the witness stand the CPD sergeant whose juvenile and brutish response to an audio recording inspired the blog’s very first article. More time has passed since the matter being heard tomorrow than passed between the first and second incidents with the badged individual in question. Expect to see the video here of the policeman’s response to tough questions about how and why he executes his job. If you need a laugh in the meantime, check out this Concord Monitor article from October quoting a particular CPD officer as he praises the approval of a BEARCAT attack truck to be delivered by Homeland Security to the small city’s department.
On the federal front, congratulations to Colorado for earlier today becoming the second state to make available to the public legal cannabis. The herb has been greatly marginalized and ignored since its ban via taxation in 1938. Washington became the first state to nullify the federal ban when it implemented a ballot initiative four days ago that was approved by voters in November. While the Washington system maintains the prohibition on cannabis cultivation, Colorado’s statute allows for individuals to garden freely (within limitations).
Dec 16 2012: Full video of the trial published earlier today.
