Concord Monitor Reports on Manch Mass Arrests

by | Jun 8, 2011 | 2 comments

The Concord Monitor’s report focuses on Garret Ean of Concord, who is a blogger at FreeConcord.org and was arrested in the mass arrests of liberty activists outside Manch PD on Saturday. Thanks to Matthew Spolar for the story:

A Concord activist was among eight people arrested at a protest outside the Manchester police station this weekend.

Garret Ean, a 22-year-old Pleasant Street resident who lost a race for a House seat last year, was charged with disorderly conduct at a Saturday afternoon protest that called for more accountability within the Manchester Police Department.

Ean said the protest, organized by copblock.org, a law enforcement watchdog site, was held in reaction to two recent headlines: an attorney general’s report clearing off-duty officers in the beating of a man outside the Strange Brew Tavern and the shooting of a man during a standoff last month.

“We felt someone was needed to bring it to Manchester PD’s attention that there are people who do want to hold them accountable for their actions,” Ean said yesterday. (more…)

City Council Doesn’t Care In Manchester

by | Jun 8, 2011 | 15 comments

I went to the Manchester City Council meeting this evening, along with about 35 others in support of Manchester activists speaking out about the unjust arrests and stolen properties from Saturday evening. There were several differences in the way their meetings were held as opposed to Keene (such as the mayor didn’t say a word to anyone addressing him), and I must say I found their attitudes and overall demeanor disgusting and unprofessional.

At the meeting, anyone was allowed to speak about any topic of their choice for 3 minutes, but one had to sign up before the meeting began.  An alderman/woman (aka city council member) then called people up one by one to speak. Not one alderman looked directly at the speaker, and in fact often rolled their eyes, ruffled through papers, or chatted amongst themselves. The mayor himself appeared tired and unwilling to listen to the citizens of Manchester voicing their concerns.

On the other hand, the people that spoke about Saturday’s arrests did a splendid job. They raised a lot of great points about how far is too far, police accountability, and using tax payers’ money to arrest people chalking and not showing identification (neither which are illegal). Many people that had their cameras or phones confiscated for “evidence” (why is beyond me as they have their own surveillance) spoke out and kindly asked the city council to tell the officers to return their property. The speakers were professional, eloquent, and I personally was very impressed! (more…)

The Jury Nullification Bill (HB 146)

by | May 28, 2011 | 1 comment

I know that a lot of the readers of this blog prefer out of the system activism, but there are certain bills that even some of the most diehard voluntaryists can get behind. I believe HB 146 is such a bill. The jury nullification bill has already passed the NH House, but it is having some trouble in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 2-2 on the bill as Inexpedient to Legislate, but that doesn’t mean the bill is dead. The full Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill later this week.

If this bill passes and is signed into law it would mean all the activism being done outside of court houses meant to inform potential jury members of their right to nullify a law would be done inside every court room where a jury is present. “In all court proceedings the court shall instruct the jury of its right to judge the facts and the application of the law in relationship to the facts in controversy.”

If you live in NH, please consider contacting the Senator that is supposed to represent you, or if you have the time, all 24 of them. A list of their contact information can be found here. The NH Liberty Alliance has pointed out that this is part of the official NH GOP platform, so if the Senator you are contacting was elected as a republican it might be helpful to remind them of this.