Chris posted an update to his facebook today informing us that the officer who threatened him with fines for driving for UBER in this video has now called and asked Chris to turn himself in. A warrant has allegedly been issued for his arrest on wiretapping charges. In a previous threatening call, the PPD officer, Andre Wassouf told Chris he was considering filing felony wiretapping charges, so the warrant may be on felony charges. As of this writing, Portsmouth Police have not returned media inquiries, so a copy of the warrant has yet to be seen.
I stayed up until 4am last night setting up for the home birth of my son. I am swamped with work and preparation up to my eyeballs, and Kayla could go into labor any minute.
My interest to participate in a POLICE WITCH-HUNT designed to MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF ME by charging me with a FELONY for a YOUTUBE VIDEO showcasing EFFECTIVE ACTIVISM, and potentially making me MISS THE BIRTH OF MY SON… is LESS than zero.
To the city of Portsmouth, I opt out of your system. Leave me alone.
Sounds like he has no plan to turn himself in. Things are getting very interesting on the Seacoast. Chris has shared the number of Portsmouth Police on facebook, 603-427-1500, and encourages you to call and share how you feel about this persecution. You can also donate to Chris via paypal and bitcoin.
The Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) raid on local Keene smoke shop PhatStuff in May 2014 resulted in a criminal indictment against Phat Stuff owners Panos and Katie Eliopoulos in February 2015 for Conspiracy to Offer Drug Paraphernalia for Sale (21 USC 846 and 21 USC 863) and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering (18 USC 1956). In a motion filed on October 5, 2015, it was revealed federal prosecutors had offered Panos a deal where he would plead guilty to some lesser charge in exchange for the government dropping the case against his wife Katie. Although Panos initially accepted the deal, he has since changed his mind and the beleaguered Keene business owners will be going to trial on January 20, 2016 at the federal courthouse in Concord.
Contrary to what was implied in the media, Phat Stuff and its owners were not criminally charged with selling synthetic cannabinoids or any other controlled substance. In the companion civil asset forfeiture case for Phat Stuff, USA v. $695.00 US Currency et al, the complaint alleges that on August 9, 2013 an undercover informant for the DEA purchased the synthetic cannabinoid known as PB-22 from the Keene store. The sale of PB-22 was not made illegal by the DEA until February 10, 2014 when the agency placed the compound on Schedule I by administrative order. Phat Stuff stopped selling PB-22 prior to September 27, 2013 to comply with a Keene city ordinance forbidding its sale. Since the constitution specifically forbids ex post facto laws, Phat Stuff and its owners could not be prosecuted for the sale and distribution of a controlled substance. That left the government with the charges of selling drug paraphernalia, conspiracy, and money laundering.
Ademo and Brian shortly before turning themselves in.
Ten days ago, Free Keene blogger and Cop Block founder Ademo Freeman was arrested in Kansas on a warrant for chalking in front of the Noblesville, Indiana police department. In the latest salvo in the War on Chalk, Noblesville PD had issued warrants for both Ademo and Brian Sumner, who have been on the Cop Block MAC Tour (Mobile Accountability for Cops) for weeks. Now, Ademo and Brian are pausing the MAC tour and last night turned themselves in at Noblesville PD to clear up the warrants. Here’s their full explanation as to why they turned themselves in and do not wish to be bailed out.
Last night, accompanied by Cop Blockers from Ohio and Indiana, they arrived at Noblesville PD and began chalking police accountability messages with the same liquid chalk product they’d used several weeks ago that resulted in misdemeanor “criminal mischeif” charges for them both.
After twenty minutes of chalking, finally the police came out. Here’s the video of the arrests, recorded by Indiana Cop Blocker Miah Dalek Akston:
They intend to sit in the clink until they are released. How long will Noblesville hold them for this dastardly crime before they face trial? Will the charges be dropped before then? Only time will tell. Stay tuned to Free Keene and Cop Block for the latest.
Meanwhile, Ademo suggests you contact James Baldwin, the prosecutor in their case or (if you really want to let them know you disapprove) visit the Noblesville Police Department and exercise your first amendment right with some chalk. You never know, you might even be lucky enough to join the guys in jail.
James Baldwin (Ademo’s Prosecutor) & Brian Patrick Johnson (Brian’s Prosecutor): (317) 776-8595
Hamilton County Jail: (317) 776-9800
Over the past two weeks, I provided 16 hours of availability for the 20 candidates for city council (10 At-Large and 2 from each of the 5 Wards) to come to the Cheshire TV studios to record a 5 minute segment for Candidates’ Spotlight. I’d like to thank the candidates who made the effort to come to Cheshire TV to record a segment for Candidates’ Spotlight.
Click on a candidate’s name to watch their segment:
After organizing and hosting the recent Mayoral Debate that aired live on Cheshire TV, I was encouraged to do something for City Council candidates. Because of the difficulty of coordinating 20 people into a single event, I decided to give candidates an opportunity to record a segment to air on Cheshire TV, and thus Candidates’ Spotlight was born. Candidates’ Spotlight will give local candidates a platform to speak to the community about the issues they find important during upcoming municipal, school board and state rep elections.
In order to give ample opportunity for candidates to record their 5 minute segment, I set aside 16 hours over the course of two weeks, (4 hours each Tuesday and Thursday, last week & this) for candidates to record their segment presenting their ideas to the public. The video segments are airing on Cheshire TV as filler content, and will be compiled into a long-form program also to air on CTV.
It has been one year since the 2014 Keene Pumpkin Festival and subsequent riot which spilled into the streets through the following morning. While snipers perched above the festivities for the second year in a row, no one was aware at the time that the riots would spell the end of PumpkinFest as a downtown Keene tradition. This saturday, the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey as well as the city of Laconia will be hosting their own independent Pumpkinfests. With few places to position snipers at the fairgrounds, unless special towers are brought in, there will likely not be such a militarized presence there. The situation in Laconia is more likely to host police with rifles, as also the organizer of previous Keene Pumpkinfests, ‘Let It Shine’ is also coordinating this year’s Laconia event.
In the time since last year’s chaos, I had since discovered two different articles hosted by the Blaze and Vocativ which feature content from facebook posts I had made that day. While I was unsure whether or not I had in fact captured an image of someone pointing a firearm in my direction, upon seeing the image as presented in the Vocativ piece, it appears to very clearly be a rifle aimed at the are where I was filming from (which was a heavily populated area at the time).
Laconia police are likely stocked up on riot gear as part of their preparation for the motorcycle weekend sponsored there each year. With luck, the relocated festival won’t deteriorate into a glass bottle war, and riot squads will not make an appearance.
owners Panos and Katie Eliopoulos in February 2015 for Conspiracy to Offer Drug Paraphernalia for Sale (
