Carlos Miller Arrested At Occupy Miami Eviction

Photo journalism activist Carlos Miller was arrested Tuesday evening while he was attempting to cover the police’s eviction of Occupy Miami. Carlos is no stranger to arrest for photography. He has beaten two separate prior charges for photographing police. This most recent arrest sounds very similar to what occurred during the Chalking 8 incident in Manchester, in which the police criminalize a group and then arrest all those they associate with the group. In my case, though it came up at one point, I did not need to address whether I was acting as press at the time of my arrest to demonstrate that the seizure was unfounded. In this case, protesters were ordered away from an area where press were allowed to remained. Carlos was swept up after the protesters had already been cleared despite identifying himself as press when addressed and being near other reporters.

Photo: Carlos Miller

The police have deleted the footage he had taken in the moments leading up to his arrest. Another journalist is believed to have captured footage of (more…)

Arpad Toth Speaks Out Against the Bearcat and Fear

Arpad Toth writes the Sentinel this excellent letter about the Bearcat and how fear is hurting us:

Fear leads to BearCat

There is a specter haunting our nation — a specter of fear.

To me, and I know that in this evaluation I am not alone, it is apparent that since Sept. 11, 2001, fear has been the motivating force for change across the United States.

Where do I see fear? For the present I use but one parameter — despair, the need to arm one’s self, seek protection against the “other.” The “other” is too often an illusion than a reality but what a powerful one it is. (more…)

Jailed Activist Recommends Against Disobedience in Manchester

I’d highly suggest my fellow activists steer clear of disobedience as a tactic in Manchester. Manch PD and Valley St are not fun to deal with and the Rule of Law is made real by people believing in it.
-Wes Freeman

Wes’ recent letter from jail (hopefully we’ll get a blog post from him soon), where he is sitting for six months for the dastardly “crime” of missing a court date (“contempt”) is as follows: (You can write to him at Mail-to-Jail!) (more…)