There was a crackdown at the Smoke Down at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia yesterday, May 18th, 2013, as police presence was at an all time high, and at an all time low for their violent thuggish behavior, when they forcefully arrested at least four peaceful liberty lovers. Much footage and controversy is coming forward about these arrests of Adam Kokesh, N.A. Poe, NJ Weedman, and Don Dezarn. The latest news indicates that Don Dezarn and the NJ Weedman were released immediately on the spot, with citations. Adam Kokesh was reported by one source to have been released, but other sources say he and N.A. Poe are now detained in the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center, to face arraignment and bail hearings on Monday May 20th. Here is some of the footage of the whole Smoke Down event, Don Dezarn gets released at 28:41 point in the video,
FBI Bomb Technician Phil Christiana spent the day following the attack at the Boston Marathon at the trial of Rich Paul in Keene. He gave the least consistent testimony of any of the state’s actors, and even altered specific facts as his cross examination evolved. At first, it is alleged that the investigation into Rich had nothing to do with the Joint Terrorism Task Force that Christiana is employed by. It ends with Christiana admitting that he wanted Rich to cooperate with a JTTF investigation in exchange for the dismissal of charges against him.
One of the most ridiculous instances of a heavy-handed plain clothes officer harassing young people and then arresting one for not following nonsense orders to leave fast enough at his behest was uploaded to youtube and liveleak on April 27. It has spread especially far today, with many sites featuring articles with the revealing video. You observe a dishevelled white man in sordid clothing approach a group of black youths and he demands to be given possession of a can that one is drinking from. The young people ask the man to identify and he says ‘police’, continuing to insist that he be given the can. The iced tea/lemonade fusion drinker, X, holds the can out to display the label and reads it to the man. He begins reaching for the can, and his intentions are questioned. He then goes into arrest mode, doing a quick ordering of X off of the property, drops the ‘T’ word a few times, and then arrests him for trespassing. It’s worth noting that the iced tea/lemonade can was not taken by police as evidence, yet displayed in its entirety for the camera, and clearly not a beverage worthy of any ‘reasonable suspicion’ of a crime.
This tactic is the same as taken by city bureaucrats in response to the Keene City Council Drinking Game in 2010. Charges in that case were dropped, and Round 2 of the consumption escapade went off without further police action. Since the entire incident revolved around suspicion of an otherwise legal drug, should this senseless arrest be counted as another casualty in the war on drugs?
The fourth Occupy New England regional convergence was held this past weekend at the University of New Hampshire’s main campus in Durham. The gathering brought together dedicated activists from around the Northeast to spend time workshopping, networking, and strategizing. In a twist of fate, riot police would descend upon the surrounding area as outdoor presentations on street medic effectiveness and bullhorn mastery occurred on the campus green.
Presidential candidate Vermin Supreme was about midway through a session on de-escalating tense situations when chants of ‘UNH, UNH’ were audible from down the street directly across from the audience. Moments later, riot police appeared to be blocking the road off as students poured out of the area, many bearing cell phones in a manner suggesting that they were video recording. I wandered down for a closer look, and was surprised to see multiple officers carrying paintball guns, and others holding large canisters of pepper spray, most wearing helmets with face shields, gloves, and other protective gear (short of physical riot shields). Students were compliant with requests to stay out of the area, but were clearly agitated by what had previously occurred, several students reporting to have been hit and bruised by rubber bullets (likely pepperballs). From across the road, Vermin’s voice amplified through his bullhorn, reminding everyone to stay calm, that this was only a test, and to ignore the man with the megaphone. The mood lightened lightly as the police froze momentarily and onlookers responded with laughter and applause. (more…)
A thirty-second television spot which gives another take on the upcoming series AKPF #1 is now available. Stay tuned for more on the cable access series which premieres Monday, May 13 at 7pm on Cheshire county’s channel 8.
I am pleased to announce May 13 as the scheduled date of premiere for Cheshire TV’s newest variety series, AKPF #1. Earlier today, a program preview was completed and uploaded to the Aqua Keene channel. AKPF #1 will function similar to a variety show, and occupy a 30-minute slot from 7-7:30pm Mondays on Cheshire county’s channel 8.
Do you have content you would like to see featured on the program? Would you like to guest host an episode? As the series is prerecorded and will not be utilizing the cable access studios, the producers have total creative control outside of the standard financial and broadcasting standards constraints. Submit your unique ideas or content to akparkingforce@gmail.com. Feel free to create your own content using the archives of creative commons videographers, such as those working alongside the AKPF.
