Jim Johnson’s Jury Trial for “Criminal Trespass”, aka Standing on Public Property

Nearly a year after Jim Johnson was arrested with 11 others for the horrible crime of assembling for a protest on the supposedly public property of the local jail, he faced a jury trial. They found him guilty. Sentencing has yet to complete. Here’s the footage of this historic first-ever jury trial of a free stater and at the end you’ll see an interview with a juror. While the trial did not come out in Jim’s favor, it wasted an entire day of the court bureaucrats’ time and filled up 50% of their courtrooms. Any large amount of civil disobedience and refusing to plea-bargain will crush the system with a huge burden of cases. Please come join the activism in NH!

Intimidation at the US Border

It has been some time now since I have shared thoughts or experiences here on the Free Keene blog as I have been dealing with personal issues surrounding the re-organization of my life after leaving the law enforcement profession.

I have been a mere mortal for about a year and two months now and throughout that time I have often found myself reflecting on things that I miss about my former career.

Whenever I start feeling a sense of loss or regret I remind myself of the countless victimless laws I used to enforce (and the subsequent victims I created).

Remember: when the state enforces a victimless law, it creates a victim.

I recently found myself crossing from Quebec, Canada into Vermont…  and I decided to not answer any of the questions that the US Customs and Border Protection agents grilled me on.  Here’s both what happened to me and some information to arm yourself with when dealing with the very dangerous federal government.

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First Ever Jury Trial of a “Free Stater”? Monday Morning.

Jim JohnsonThis Monday morning, 3/7, Jim Johnson, one of the “Trespassive Twelve” arrested at the Cheshire jail last year will be facing a jury trial, with jury selection beginning at 9am.

This may be the first jury trial of a “free stater” thus far in New Hampshire, and more are expected this year. It also appears to be the first trial that Cheshire county has held in months, due to the unfortunate plea bargain process that encourages people, through intimidation, to take a guilty plea for a reduced sentence. The state agents never have to prove their case, which is frequently full of holes, and people are forced to pay hundreds of dollars in fines. That’s no easy task anytime, let alone in a down economy.

Activists will be out early at the court to perform jury nullification outreach, informing potential jurors that they have the right to vote their conscience, not just whether the government’s statutes were violated.

Here’s a facebook event with the details. See you there!