Rich Paul, who was out on probation after spending nearly a year in jail for the “crime” of selling flowers has been arrested and taken straight to the jail aka Keene Spiritual Retreat. The probation department alleges that he has continued to consume the evil flowers and that Rich was in possession of a weapon at the recent attack on chalkers Monday night. (Rich had a monopod on his camera and detached it and held it at the ready for self-defense as two potential assailants approached him.)
UPDATE: He will have a bail hearing Friday at 9am and at this time he is facing the prospect of years in prison. Stay tuned to Free Keene for the latest. Here’s the RAW video of his arrest:
After being trounced in the 1st federal circuit court, the Town of Weare and the notoriously corrupt Weare Police Department have settled with Free State Project President Carla Gericke to the tune of $57,500!
After Weare police had arrested her for “wiretapping” for recording a traffic stop then dropped the charges, Carla sued. She had recently won an “interlocutory” appeal case where the 1st circuit decided (again) that there is an established right to record government police doing their job in public and that police cannot claim “qualified immunity” from personal liability when arresting videographers.
The civil case against Weare, the WPD, and the individual officers was remanded back to the federal district court to move ahead to trial, but now that trial has been canceled with the news that Weare has given up and settled the case for over $57,000! Plus, there are no restrictions on her discussing the case, as are typically found with settlements. Congratulations to Carla and her attorneys for this epic win!
Superintendent Rick Van Wickler of the Cheshire “House of Corrections” aka the Keene Spiritual Retreat has been featured on this blog several times in the past for his heroic advocacy for ending the insane war on drugs. He’s no stranger to press coverage and now has been made the subject of a recent VICE.com feature that focuses on both his support of drug legalization and his more-humane manner of running a jail.
In the article when asked about drug users, he relates,
The majority of people who drink alcohol in this country have no problems with it. They’re alcohol users: They drink on the Fourth of July, and barbecues, and at the Super Bowl. Then think about somebody who is an abuser of alcohol, meaning that they use alcohol much more than they should. But they’re still working. They still have a house. They’re still in a relationship. Finally, think about an alcohol addict—an alcoholic. Their lives have been destroyed by alcohol. Now, you can take the exact same analogy and just replace alcohol with drugs. Heroin? Cocaine? Meth? You have users, abusers, and addicts in pretty much the same ratios. Let’s not be so damn naïve and say that we in America don’t have professional people that are addicts, because we all know that’s not accurate. We have professional people who are heroin addicts, who have been heroin addicts for years, and are meeting the standards of their employment. That’s happening, and to deny it is an atrocity.
Interestingly, Van Wickler is listed as “Formerly” part of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of mostly former law enforcement who now speak against prohibition. I wonder what the reasons for the split were. I’ve emailed Rick with the question and will post the reasons if he chooses to make them public.
Today’s controversial Cheshire TV weekly installment features a variety of diverse perspectives in media dating from as recently as two days ago to as far back as four years ago. Budgetary hearings come full circle as performance artists dominate in the state house, baked drivers take to the obstacle course, the world’s history is relayed with eggs, and anti-chalk hooliganism takes hold in Keene.
00:00 – Warning disclaimer to Cheshire TV audience
00:10 – I’ve Seen the Future monologue
03:41 – History of the World as told by Eggs
11:13 – Corporate News presents stoned drivers taking to the roads, safely
16:27 – The anti-chalk apocalypse, war on smiley faces genocide (de agua)
22:44 – The Law’s Coming, hell’s coming performance art
26:12 – Derrick J files some motions at the court
28:50 – End disclaimer segment
Rich Paul, who was out on probation after spending nearly a year in jail for the “crime” of selling flowers has been arrested and taken straight to the jail aka Keene Spiritual Retreat. The probation department alleges that he has continued to consume the evil flowers and that Rich was in possession of a weapon at the recent attack on chalkers Monday night. (Rich had a monopod on his camera and detached it and held it at the ready for self-defense as two potential assailants approached him.)![Gericke_Carla2008[1]](https://i0.wp.com/freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Gericke_Carla20081.gif)
