Ademo Freeman continues to attract more eyes to his case. Yesterday a letter from him transcribed at nevertakeaplea.org was published. He affirmed that he would not be accepting a plea deal to safely avoid jail or prison time, and that he will trust a jury of his peers not to convict him for his victimless attempt to create transparency.
…by the time this is published to CopBlock.org and other blogs, I’ll have refused Michael’s offer and here’s why. First, I can’t go against my principles and sign a deal that says I acknowledge my actions as wrong or illegal. Second, I’m not a hypocrite. How can I advocate refusing plea deals and sign one myself? I don’t judge anyone who has taken pleas because each case/charge is different. Third, I am confident I can show a jury, with facts and logic, that I shouldn’t be caged for my actions.
Appearing today on CNN’s iReport blog is an entry about Ademo’s upcoming trial, which is scheduled to take place in Manchester in just over a week. (more…)
WeAreChange released on their youtube channel yesterday a video update of events around the nation which begins with an overview of the military police occupation in Anaheim, California. After a series of shootings of unarmed suspects, protests have swelled in the streets of the Los Angeles suburb whose local government is dominated by Disney’s commercial interests.
This unidentified man was surrounded and arrested seconds after this photograph was taken. July 29, 2012. Anaheim, CA
The video then highlights happenings here in New Hampshire, featuring video from Ademo’s wiretapping pretrial hearing, and footage from the recently releasedDerrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree, a documentary composed of content created by many Shire activists. See the well-produced three minute video “Disney Wiretapping Crime Spree” attached below.
At midnight tonight, the feature length documentary Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree premieres on Free Keene’s youtube channel. Derrick J is an activist who moved to New Hampshire for the Free State Project. He wasted no time here, quickly getting involved with projects around the state, and choosing to live free despite the tyranny around him. His boldness caught up with him, as he began racking up charges in Keene for all sorts of civilly disobedient behavior. Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree tells the story of Derrick’s time here in the Shire, leading up to his sixty day jail stint and eventual exile tour. With a two year suspended jail sentence hanging over his head, it is safer to spend the next twenty four months outside of NH. Embedded below is video that I recorded with Derrick on July 20, his final day in Keene before departing the Shire. You can see different trailers for the film here and here, or check out the official site at victimlesscrimespree.com.
In a post yesterday, Ademo Freeman’s current situation was reported as he awaits trial on felony wiretapping charges. Sitting in Valley Street jail on ‘resisting’ charges for going limp during a chalking arrest, his final pretrial hearing was cancelled and rescheduled two days later. Yesterday’s post has the video of the hearing, just released today is this video of the chalking that went on outside of the jail on July 25 immediately after the hearing was cancelled on Wednesday.
https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=QcaVVGqV22w
Ademo was able to see the chalkings left on the sidewalk of Valley Street from his cell window, but as a consequence of the peaceful gathering outside, the cell block in view of the sidewalk was locked down and Ademo was relocated to another area of the jail.
A suspicionless checkpoint will be established by the police on the roads of Concord some time during the first week of August. It’s no wild guess to predict that the court-sanctioned violation of rights will be occurring on either a Friday or Saturday evening. At the checkpoint, vehicles will be profiled and stopped without probable cause for the offence of happening to pass through the designated security area. These checkpoints are established in the name of preventing DUIs, though often more arrests are made for victimless crimes not related to impaired driving. Beyond the arrests made, the police produce thousands of dollars in revenue for the state by operating these checkpoints, as dozens of drivers are cited for innocuous motor vehicle violations. At a recent suspicionless checkpoint in Bedford, the Union Leader reports that of the 330 vehicles that were stopped, twenty-eight drivers were given motor vehicle citations, four were arrested for non-alcohol drug possession, one arrested on an immigration charge, and a whopping four drunk drivers were arrested. Also profiting from the festivities are the towing and impounding companies utilized by police.
In the Union Leader’s thorough overview of a night spent at the police’s peacetime security checkpoint, they describe the state’s modified RV, the DUI Mobile Command Center. In case you’ve ever wondered what it’s like inside the Command Center, here’s a video I took of the vehicle on display at Concord’s law enforcement National Night Out, August 2, 2012.
At midnight tonight, the feature length documentary Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree premieres on Free Keene’s 
