In 2010, the Shire Society declaration was presented and signed by dozens at the Porcupine Freedom Festival. In 2011, ShireSociety.com was launched, allowing people to digitally sign the Declaration as well as print out their own. With the rise of other regional-focused activism sites like Free Concord and Free Manch, as well as Shire-branded activism efforts like Shire Choir and Shire Sharing, it seemed like the liberty activist community could use another venue for communicating outside the somewhat insular and corporate-controlled Facebook (notwithstanding how useful FB can be).
With that in mind, the Free Keene Forum has been re-branded the Shire Society Forum and expanded to include Shire-oriented forums as well as other regional forums for Manch, Concord, and the rest of the land commonly known as New Hampshire. (more…)
As if it weren’t ludicrous enough when Cheshire sheriffs threatened peaceful jury nullification activists for holding the door open for people, now the head sheriff Dick Foote comes out to threaten activists with trespass for singing carols in the court parking lot. He says it’s “harassment”, “stupid”, and more. He claims we’re banned from the court property “forever”, and his captain, Trevor Croteau claims we have to ask permission prior to coming on the property! So much for public property and holding bureaucrats accountable – if they don’t like the questions you ask and the place you ask them, they’ll just throw you in a cage.
For those unaware, these threats were levied when we showed up to sing some Shire Choir Chronic Carols in the Cheshire superior court parking lot Friday afternoon, after a week of caroling there off-and-on. Here are some earlier videos of what happened. Video 1, Video 2, Video 3.
Yesterday I received mail addressed to Ean Garret from “9th Circuit – District Division – Manchester” court. The title of the piece read, The State of New Hampshire and Ean Garret. I took note of the fact that the State had deescalated its language in addressing me — their paperwork no longer read State of New Hampshire versus Myself. A two page letter, signed on a third page as So Ordered, Judge William H. Lyons, affirmed the State’s inability to prove that I had violated either of two charges under NH RSA 644:2 on June 4th, when I was swept up in Manchester PD’s Chalking 8 incident. I was taken into custody, according to arresting officer John Patti, for refusing to move from a public area of the sidewalk when ordered. The judge determined that there was no basis for the officer to make this arrest under RSA 644:2. A violation for impeding potential pedestrian traffic is not authorized under the already broad disorderly conduct statute. While specific city ordinance violations allow police to ticket those who impede pedestrians, the New Hampshire criminal code does not. The State made no attempt to prove that I was even in the crime scene which one of the charges alleges I had interfered with, as John Patti barely remembered any of his multiple interactions with me.
Despite my victory, one of the two people arrested simultaneously with myself, Pete Eyre, was found guilty at the non-criminal violation level of one of the two charges. Interestingly enough, the charge he was convicted on was not the reason for his arrest, but was attached later. John Patti, who ordered Pete’s arrest but was my arresting officer, arrested us for allegedly refusing an order regarding a city ordinance violation. Neither the order nor the basis of the order were substantiated in court, yet Pete was, retroactively, in a sense, found guilty of having been in the “crime scene” and having been ordered out of it. The disorderly conduct statute is so over broad that you are automatically guilty at the violation level if you have been given what is considered a “lawful order”. By refusing the order, you are then guilty at the criminal level. (more…)
“Let me get this right; you guys went into the court house and harrassed this guys, taunted him and antagonized him, followed him around and wonder why they’re reacting to that?”
No, you don’t have it right at all, actually. (more…)
The Shire Society has expanded to include the Shire Choir, Shire Sharing, and Robin Hood. See “The Shire” menu tab at the top of this site to link over to various Shire sites. In addition, the Shire Society site has also added new features, including a Shire Map. Look for more exciting developments from the Shire Society in the new year.
As if it weren’t ludicrous enough when 
Nemi Jones, a New Hampshire native, and inhabitant of the Keene area for nearly 20 years was in court this week when security agents 
