After three weeks of being jailed for not filling out a court form, then ultimately for being morally opposed to paying money to aggressors, Jim Johnson is among the semi-free again!
Generous people donated to Jim’s wife Lauren Canario, and she and Jim made the choice to pay the ransom. It is good to have Jim out of the cage, and outrageous that he was put there in the first place. The man in the robe, in an “ORDER”, claims he doesn’t have “statutory authority” to instead of a fine, impose jail time at $50/day, or community service. (See that ORDER, as well as the original one that Jim was imprisoned on here.
Can the robed man, John P. Arnold, be held responsible? Word is that some activists are pursuing the new “grievance committee” option in Concord against both Keene judges, Arnold and Burke. How successful it will be is another question. JJ and I also put in a message with John Lynch, “the governor”, who is the man who appoints all the judges. Thus far, he has not called back.
Other shenanigans related to this case:
The hearing where John P. Arnold threw Jim Johnson back in a cage was about as secret as you can get. (more…)
In this state it is a crime to falsely report to law enforcing authorities that an individual has committed an offense. Specifically RSA 641:4 “False Reports to Law Enforcement” prohibits this type of conduct.
The law reads in part:
A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he:
I. Knowingly gives or causes to be given false information to any law enforcement officer with the purpose of inducing such officer to believe that another has committed an offense; or
Police and federal agents are not your friends. When they talk with you, everything you say is being committed to their memory to be used against you in court, should they decide to arrest you for some arbitrary reason. Lying to them can also get you in significant trouble as it is always illegal to lie in federal jurisdiction and frequently illegal in state jurisdiction.
If you don’t believe me… just ask Martha Stewart. As rich and influential as she is, it is too bad she didn’t know to just keep her mouth shut. Had she not spoken with federal investigators she may have never been convicted of anything. This is why I frequently advise people that when they interact with government agents that the best thing they can do is always remain silent.
Back in March I wrote about how I practice the art of not answering prying questions from federal agents when returning to the United States. Some may perceive this as me purposefully being disrespectful or looking for trouble. It is not intended to be either of those things. My refusal to answer questions is an attempt to protect myself and my privacy.
Two days ago I visited Nogales, Mexico. When I returned I was arrested, handcuffed, and thrown in a cage by a US Customs Agent. It was my first time ever being arrested. I was released without charges.
Why would I be released from federal custody without any charges?
There are two basic versions of the Golden Rule, with a bunch of variations found in virtually every major religion in the world. It is so common it prolly predates religion and written language.
1. Don’t do to others, as you don’t want done to you. (Negative version)
2. Treat others as you want to be treated. (Positive version) (more…)
Jason Talley of Talley.TV and the Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund and I follow an undercover officer from Nashua PD with our cameras as he leaves his hiding spot in the police-friendly “Courthouse Pizza” (across the street from the court building). We pepper him with questions before he can escape in his buddy’s police cruiser. This is an excellent example of how more activists with cameras can make a huge difference – we were able to chase after this cop and others stayed behind at the pizza place to keep an eye on the rest of the cops:
While reading the excellent article by the Union Leader that Ian Freeman blogged about earlier, I couldn’t help but notice the following comment:
“It would be a real tragedy if one of these people were shot in the face while reaching for a recording device that looks much like a weapon.
– The Blue Boot, manchester”
There is absolutley no conclusive evidence that this commenter was in fact a member of law enforcement. For the sake of argument, please assume that he is.
What Mr. Boot is suggesting is that members of the public utilizing cameras to record public servants performing public functions (as allowed by the 1st Amendment all law enforcement officers swore an oath to uphold) be shot under the fabricated guise of a justifiable shooting.
After three weeks of being jailed for not filling out a court form, then ultimately for being morally opposed to paying money to aggressors, Jim Johnson is among the semi-free again!
