Greetings to all! To those who are following the Trial of Rich Paul, the saga continues. . .So much gratitude is going out to each individual for the overwhelming flood of loving support for Rich that is flowing his way! It has come in many forms, food, prayers, visits, mail, cash, paypal, bitcoins, oh my! Most important has been the activism supporting Rich with juror outreach and education, and the independent media coverage done by Rich’s friends right here in Keene, where history is being made and the world is able to watch thanks to them! A very special thank you goes to Ian Freeman for the incredible feat of filming the entire trial! Please tune in to this documented display of this cast of prohibition enforcement characters weaving a tangled web in the attempt to make a martyr out of Rich Paul.
Ian also did juror outreach every day of the trial (and for the last five years!), filmed Rich’s jurors as they left the courthouse after the verdict, and also filmed Rich’s interview from jail and posted it on vice.com. Thank you also to vice.com for covering Rich’s story before the trial began, and for also posting the interview with Rich from inside the jail. (more…)
The New Hampshire legislature never passed a law stating that Merry Man Graham Colson was banned in the Keene Common known commonly as Central Square. Despite this, Graham was issued a ‘No Tresapassing’ order from the square, which he believes is because he was riding a skateboard there. In an order issued by KPD’s Jason Short on May 10 2012, Graham is explicitly banned from ‘the common referred to as Central Square Keene NH 03431’. Aside from this ban, Graham has been neither charged nor convicted of a crime related to the town common. Last Thursday, he was arrested on a warrant while in the downtown for allegedly having been in the common on the previous day.
On April 22, Graham and I took an adventure into legal land to accomplish two tasks. First, we travelled to the Keene police department to obtain a copy of the original order, which was refused when originally issued last year. Then we crossed town to drop off a discovery request with the district court clerk at city hall, and the prosecutor’s office at the county courthouse. Demonstrating how common violations of petty rules on the common are, during the drive we observe a youth casually longboarding through the square. (more…)
A crowd of about 100 people gathered to celebrate the 4/20 holiday at 4:20pm in front of the state house in Concord this evening. This years’ event was hosted by the NH Teapot Party, covering for the usual organizing of the 420 Foundation. Rich Paul, founder of the 420 Foundation and outspoken opponent of the war on drugs was convicted on Thursday afternoon by jury on multiple counts of cannabis distribution. He remains detained while awaiting sentencing, and today marked the first annual celebration without Rich since the rallies began in 2010.
While Rich was blasting his ideas through a bullhorn last year, the New Hampshire Drug Task Force as well as the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force were conducting an investigation into Rich’s not-so-discrete sale of cannabis. Multiple purchases totaling 81 years of prison time were made through a confidential informant who himself had been busted for heroin distribution. Despite the questionable ethics and honesty of the DTF, FBI, and the confidential informant, the jury did not find Rich’s victimless crime worthy of nullification. Unlike many involved in the drug trade, who profit from actions that they hide from public scrutiny, Rich’s openness made him an easy target, though he was incorrectly profiled as an easy mark. When told that his charges would go away if he would incriminate others for the FBI and DTF, Rich courageously stood on principle and said, ‘No’. In a way, Rich is going to jail in place of the unknown others whom he chose not to involuntarily substitute for his position. (more…)
Clocking in at nearly nine hours (spread over three days) – this is the full raw video of Rich Paul being tried and found guilty by a jury of his so-called peers of selling cannabis and something that the state claimed he said was LSD, but it was not and he never claimed it was. The trial video features FBI agent Phil Christiana who perjures himself and several cops including drug task force members as well as snitch and heroin dealer Richard DuPont Jr.
In case you haven’t heard the story of how the police and FBI released a heroin dealer to catch a pot dealer, in order to turn him against his liberty activist friends in the Free State Project, here’s some of the backstory:
As always, please feel free to download the video via keepvid.com and use the video how you want. I hope someone can make a highlight reel – there is so much footage!
Here is audio from day 3 of Rich’s Paul trial for distribution of cannabis. Audio from the second day is not available as the doors were locked between breaks and only unlocked while court was not in session. Audio from day 3 covers closing arguments and the jury’s delivery of the verdict.
The trial of Rich Paul continues into its third day. While the public waits on the full video, here is audio of the first day’s proceedings courtesy Free Concord:
