by Ian | Jan 2, 2022 |
As we reported here at Free Keene last year, nine peaceful activists were ticketed for violating the unconstitutional ordinance against “picketing” outside the NH governor’s house in Newfields, New Hampshire. All but one of the nine have fought the bullshit charge.
Last month, the first “not guilty” verdict came in the case of Frank “Footloose” Staples. Now, five more of the “Newfields Nine” have also been found not guilty. Libertarian attorney Seth Hipple filed a motion to dismiss where he argued the Newfields picketing ordinance is unconstitutional, but the robed woman ignored those arguments when finding the defendants not guilty, which means the illegal ordinance remains in place.
Here are the videos from the trials of five of the Newfields Nine, both trial dates combined into one video:
by Ian | Dec 26, 2021 |
Footloose Arrested at Sununu’s House
Whenever the state gang can identify the leader of a protest, they are inevitably targeted for attack and now Footloose has been arrested and ticketed multiple times. First, he was ticketed for attempting to hold a peaceful candlelight vigil near Sununu’s house, along with eight other people, aka “The Newfields Nine”. The police called this a violation of the town’s “picketing” ordinance, which was written specifically to protect Sununu from that dreaded free speech.
Just over a month later, he was arrested for “disorderly conduct” at a Shire Choir caroling event near Sununu’s house. All he was doing in the incident was speaking. According to police, he spoke too loudly.
In November, he was put on trial for the “picketing” and “disorderly” charges. I was there to record the full trials. The robed woman in Brentwood district court took the cases “under advisement” and ruled nearly two months later. She found Footloose not guilty of “picketing”, but conveniently didn’t rule on the constitutionality of the ordinance. She found him guilty of “disorderly conduct”, a Class B misdemeanor. He plans to appeal, but the next step is sentencing on April 7th at 9am. Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest.
First up, the “disorderly conduct” trial:
Here’s the “picketing” trial: (more…)
by Ian | Sep 1, 2021 |
Nobody is out on bail!
Nearly six months after his arrest in an insanely destructive 6am raid back in March, longtime Free Keene blogger Nobody has finally been granted bail. The judge in his case suggested that Nobody, who changed his name from Rich Paul to run for Mayor in 2019 then Governor in 2020, was being held illegally.
As was the case with my bail conditions, the federal “magistrate judge” denied Nobody’s bail initially and the defense had to appeal that “de novo” to the actual judge in the case, Joseph Normand Laplante. Laplante also happens to be the chief judge for the entire Federal District Church Court. Thus far Laplante has been much more reasonable than the magistrates, though the bail restrictions on the Crypto Six have varied wildly.
For instance, Aria DiMezzo is highly restricted on what websites she can visit and must ask permission from her probation officer to go to any sites that are outside her limited “whitelist”. However she has no restrictions on drug use. In contrast, I am able to go to any website except for sites for buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrency, am on home confinement, and am subject to random drug testing. I am allowed to use alcohol, though I prefer not to.
No co-defendants are allowed to speak with each other, though after filing motions with the court to remove the contact restriction between us, Aria and I were granted an exception by Laplante for the purposes of being able to perform and run our nationally syndicated radio show, “Free Talk Live“. I have a long list of people in addition to my co-defendants with whom I am prohibited from speaking. This includes my longtime co-host and co-minister in the Shire Free Church, Mark Edgington. As part of his bail, Nobody is also prohibited from speaking with the same list of people. Aria has no such restriction.
The BEARCAT bashed in Nobody’s front door.
- Defendant shall refrain from the use of any social media platform to make any publicly viewable posts…
- Defendant shall refrain from public speaking engagements on radio, television, or podcasts, and shall also refrain from “taking the mic” at public rallies or public events.
Federal District Church Court
Arguably, the restrictions as-written don’t prohibit his newsletter or perhaps even blogging. However I wouldn’t blame him if he chose not to rather than risk a post to Free Keene being considered “social media”, violating bail and getting locked back up. Hopefully his attorneys will be fighting to get his right to free speech respected again. On the positive side, he’s not restricted on travel and can leave his home without permission from his federal handler.
So much for freedom of speech. That said, I’m glad Nobody’s finally out.
Stay tuned here to Free Keene and listen to Free Talk Live for the latest on Nobody and the rest of the Crypto Six.
by Ian | Aug 11, 2021 |
Heroic mom Rochelle Kelley went to trial today and faced up to a year in jail after her arrest for daring to bring her kids to a Concord, NH playground in April of 2020 while the playground was closed due to “governor’s orders”. The courtroom was full of supporters and after the pathetic cops testified, the robed man actually found her not guilty! This is the full trial video, only available here on our Odysee channel:
by Pete Eyre | Aug 4, 2021 |
I took my children to the playground in April 2020 and got charged with disorderly conduct & criminal trespassing. My trial is August 11, 9am @ Concord District Court (32 Clinton St. Concord, NH). Show up (early if possible) to show your support, with or without signs. The more people the better! – Rochelle Kelley
What: Legaland trial for Rochelle Kelley
When: 9am, Wednesday, August 11th, 2021
Where: Concord District Court, 32 Clinton St., Concord, NH 03302 [map]
UPDATE August 11, 2021: Rochelle Kelley Found Not Guilty for COVID Playground Arrest – Full Trial Video
A bit of backstory and relevant links are below. What this boils down to is that Kelley and others involved questioned the aggressors and refused to cower. This of course is blasphemous to those who demand obedience.
Will justice emerge?
Text on the Concord Police outfit’s website claims that “Our department strives to develop strong relationships with our citizens…” If that were true the initial harassment of Kelley and others would not have occurred, the ongoing legaland threats against them would cease, and in the least an apology would be given. But instead, Stevens and his accomplice have yet to make right. Further, their colleague John Thomas has only dug in his heels.
In an interview with WMUR Thomas made clear the real cause for the ongoing harassment of Kelley, saying they had “No respect to the officers. It was very saddening to see how these folks carried themselves in front of their children in how they spoke to the officers that day.” Personally, I think it’s saddening to see how Thomas and his accomplice acted. What sort of world are they constructing? What sort of world are they apparently satisfied to leave the next generation?
The person who will oversee Kelley’s legaland proceedings is Edwin W. Kelly. His track record seems to indicate a person who’s not too fond of transparency. But, people can change. Let’s hope Kelly does the right thing and chooses to side with the law. (And by “law” I don’t mean legalese, but with the actual law, where a victim must exist before another is held to task.)
The court of public opinion is powerful. Your presence at this legaland hearing may help sway Kelly to do the right thing. If however, Kelly chooses to side with injustice he’ll only succeed in lessening the clout people grant to him and others responsible for these rights-violations. Either way, Kelley will have stood up for what she knows to be right.
(more…)
by Pete Eyre | Jul 2, 2021 |
For the first time since being caged, Ross Ulbricht — no stranger to readers of FreeKeene.com — candidly, and powerfully spoke out. In this 25-minute audio recording he:
- details his motivation for creating the Silk Road and his subsequent character assassination and caging
- implores his captors to act not with contempt but compassion
- shares his excitement about the liberating impact of decentralized cryptocurrency for individuals & humanity
(more…)
