One year ago today, myself and seven neighbors became the Chalking 8, when we were arrested at a protest outside of the Manchester police department on various charges. Three of the eight quietly plead out to a violation charge, simply to avoid having to finance a court battle over a criminal charge. Representing myself without an attorney at trial, I was able to beat two criminal charges. Ademo Freeman and Wes Gilreath were found guilty of chalking the Manchester police station, and while Ademo has a superior court trial pending, Wes sits in Valley Street jail, not just for the chalking charge, but also for having missed an earlier court date in the process, which was called ‘contempt of court’. He’s been incarcerated since January, and will hopefully be released in the coming weeks.
Kate Ager had a jury trial in May, in which she was found guilty of resisting arrest for what three officers testified was a one to three second delay of the arrest. She was not tried in superior court for the charge under which she was arrested (disorderly conduct) a charge which she was found guilty of at the non-criminal violation level of in district court, thus making the arrest charge itself ineligible to be heard by a jury. The full trial was filmed by two videographers, myself and Ian Freeman. You can see my full trial video in four parts here, and Ian’s footage here.
Yesterday Ademo posted to Free Keene and Cop Block an update on his case. His jury selection and trial dates were sent in an odd envelope to a random address from the court, and the prosecutor is trying to use the government’s error to prevent him from receiving a jury trial. The Cop Block post with video is here.
Today’s rain makes it a less than ideal day to chalk the police in anniversary. Keep an eye on Free Concord for more coverage of the Chalking 8 case.
News has broken today that fully informed jury activist Julian Heicklen has fled the country to avoid a pending warrant out of Santa Ana, California, where he is wanted yet again for distributing educational fliers on the rights of jurors. On May 22, Julian is said to have been granted Israeli citizenship at customs. It is unclear whether the eighty year old pamphleteering pioneer plans on returning to the United States. Freedoms Phoenix has the story.
After a 27 hour journey with activists from around Massachusetts and New Hampshire, early yesterday morning we arrived in the windy city. Expending almost every battery for the recording devices that I own, there is now upwards of 14 gigabytes of video, image, and audio files waiting to be processed. Throughout the day I filmed scenes from a scheduled rally in Daley plaza (where a cell phone jamming device was being used), an unpermitted march throughout downtown Chicago, and an evening assembly in Grant park. The Chicago Tribune has published photos from Friday’s festivities. Today crowds are expected to continue swelling. Here’s a juxtaposition preview of some of the coverage you’ll soon be seeing at Free Concord. The first image was a much more common sight than the second.
Yesterday, a much more pleasant aroma than usual lingered through the smoking parlor of the New Hampshire state house. While legislators coughed on tobacco fumes, Irvin Rosenfeld puffed his medicine under the lights of WMUR news cameras. As one of the few surviving participants in a federal medicinal cannabis study, Irvin is given 9 ounces of cannabis in pre-rolled joints per month. The cannabis is grown at the University of Mississippi under the control of the federal government. Along with the cannabis, Irvin also possesses immunity from any US drug laws which would otherwise criminalize him.
Since childhood, Irvin has been struck with Multiple Congenital Cartilaginous Exostoses, a bone disorder that causes tumors to form in his joints. Without using any other medicines, Irvin has not had tumor growth since he began using cannabis, which he has been doing regularly for 30 years.
The purpose of Irvin’s visit to the state was to clear up misconceptions about medicinal cannabis and to meet with legislators who are still on the fence. At the end of the attached video, you can see interactions with Rep. Al Baldasaro and Sen. Gary Lambert, both former opponents of medicinal cannabis legislation. Biker Bill has coverage of the press conference prior to the discussion in the smoking lounge, and WMUR did a piece on the visit that aired last night as well.
It’s a surprise to learn that Medea Benjamin was allowed into a press conference marking the anniversary of Osama Bin Laden’s mysterious execution. ‘Counterterrorism Advisor’ John Brennan spoke about US military operations overseas, including the use of drones to kill suspected combatants, at the April 30 event at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in DC. Medea (whom you may remember from the Jefferson Dance Party) stood and interrupted the official’s speech and spoke out on behalf of innocent victims of increasingly advanced US militarism. The venue was reasonable enough to not ask that she be arrested after police dragged her from the room. Linked you can read Medea’s account of the event, and see the courageous interruption below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXj7YfLRx5I
NH News
Today Dave Ridley published an illustrated weekly audio broadcast from Ron Paul on the current state of US foreign intervention. (more…)
One year ago today, myself and seven neighbors became the Chalking 8, when we were arrested at a protest outside of the Manchester police department on various charges. Three of the eight quietly plead out to a violation charge, simply to avoid having to finance a court battle over a criminal charge. Representing myself without an attorney at trial, I was able to beat two criminal charges. Ademo Freeman and Wes Gilreath were found guilty of chalking the Manchester police station, and while Ademo has a superior court trial pending, Wes sits in Valley Street jail, not just for the chalking charge, but also for having missed an earlier court date in the process, which was called ‘contempt of court’. He’s been incarcerated since January, and will hopefully be released in the coming weeks.
News has broken today that fully informed jury activist Julian Heicklen has fled the country to avoid a pending warrant out of Santa Ana, California, where he is wanted yet again for distributing educational fliers on the rights of jurors. On May 22, Julian is said to have been granted Israeli citizenship at customs. It is unclear whether the eighty year old pamphleteering pioneer plans on returning to the United States. Freedoms Phoenix has the story.
After a 27 hour journey with activists from around Massachusetts and New Hampshire, early yesterday morning we arrived in the windy city. Expending almost every battery for the recording devices that I own, there is now upwards of 14 gigabytes of video, image, and audio files waiting to be processed. Throughout the day I filmed scenes from a scheduled rally in Daley plaza (where a cell phone jamming device was being used), an unpermitted march throughout downtown Chicago, and an evening assembly in Grant park. The Chicago Tribune has 
