A great deal has happened these last several days involving activists and various Law Enforcement Agencies around Keene, NH. Many videos have been posted and much outrage expressed. In the end I think the heat of the moment causes us to lose sight of the reality and perhaps creates an illusionary world where one does not exist.
I might catch hell from my friends for posting this but I’m the type of person who speaks his mind regardless.
In general the Keene Police Department and the local Sheriffs have acted in a very professional manner and have shown a great deal of restraint in dealing with activists. Most notably, Lt. Shane Maxfield. In every incident I have seen involving the Lt. he has been calm and communicative, dare I say honorable. This is reality. Whether you like the job they do, the actions they take or the orders they follow, we are fortunate to have good humans in those uniforms. And they are human, just as we are, subject to the same flaws and features, the same mistakes and misjudgments.
I do take issue with the way Patrick was carried today and the way Sam was likely treated, I do take issue with the orders to arrest peaceful activists for victimless crimes and I do take issue with the use of force in general to achieve a hegemony of the State over the Individual. One need only read my previous blog entries to see how I feel.
This morning, Free Keene blogger AnarchoJesse was arrested for “Excavating without a permit” as he was working on creating a community garden at Keene’s Central Square park. Activists were on-scene with video cameras. Look for a more detailed Ryder Report later, but here is the initial live footage of him tilling the land prior to the police arriving and his subsequent arrest. He was booked and released with a complaint demanding he “answer” it by May 12th. It sounds like he’ll be taking this to trial and refusing to pay any fines.
The Keene Police Department made the right choice and left a group of about eight liberty activists alone while they played a game of frisbee in Keene’s Central Sq. yesterday. I haven’t researched it, but it’s my understanding any sports involving something that can take to the air are prohibited in Central Sq., making this a criminal game of frisbee:
Earlier in the afternoon, several activists toting video and still cameras poured out of the weekly Social Sundays gathering at Vendetta and I streamed it and the above video live to Live.FreeKeene.com, our new page that allows you to watch activism live as it happens. Police refused to respond to questions about why they were arresting this apparently peaceful man:
Keene Police, it’s great if you leave activists alone, but you really need to leave everyone who is peaceful and not harming their neighbor alone. We’ll keep watching and reporting until you do the right thing all the time. More liberty activists are coming every month!
If you’ve seen the recent videos of courtroom oppression, you already know there’s a crackdown on the free press here in NH. Videographers are being refused entry into district courts across NH! A couple of years ago, begging (asking permission) to video in court was successful. However, when the violent monopoly (government) saw that the videos were helping showcase liberty activists’ successes in court, they started to crack down on cameras in court. In response to the restrictions, Dave Ridley notified the court he’d be disobeying their ban on panning a camera in court. Keene District Court’s judge Burke quickly reassessed his court rules and allowed Dave to pan and silently allowed several activists to bring recording devices in court to document Nick Ryder’s successful refusal to pay a speeding ticket. It seemed freedom was winning.
Liberty activists called WKBK’s Talkback this morning and discussed free market services, courtroom oppression, and running red lights. You’ll hear them censor a portion of Lauren’s call where she was attempting to promote the upcoming award ceremony for judge Burke on 3/22, 5pm at Vendetta in Keene. I have emailed Cynthia to ask for an explanation as to why this portion of her call was dumped. I will post her response when she makes it. Dumping Lauren’s promotion of an event seems a little unfair as people call Talkback constantly to announce community events. You’ll also hear the smarmy statist guy call in to try to show everyone how smart he is.
If you are awake on Saturday mornings, we could really use your help! Please join us in calling the program with a pro-liberty viewpoint. Get details on when and how and discuss with other activists on this Free Keene forum thread.
If you’ve seen the 
Liberty activists called WKBK’s Talkback this morning and discussed free market services, courtroom oppression, and running red lights. You’ll hear them censor a portion of Lauren’s call where she was attempting to promote the upcoming award ceremony for judge Burke on 3/22, 5pm at Vendetta in Keene. I have emailed Cynthia to ask for an explanation as to why this portion of her call was dumped. I will post her response when she makes it. Dumping Lauren’s promotion of an event seems a little unfair as people call Talkback constantly to announce community events. You’ll also hear the smarmy statist guy call in to try to show everyone how smart he is.
