Today outside of day one of the historic trial of Rich Paul for cannabis distribution, myself, Pete Eyre, and Ademo Freeman had the opportunity to interview FBI Special Agent Phil Christiana. Earlier in the day, on the witness stand, Phil admitted to working for the joint terrorism task force, and was very reluctant to reveal any information about his asking Rich Paul to wear a wire. When asked directly why he was investigating the Keene Activist Center, he stated that he could not speak about the KAC. Coincidentally (or not) two weeks after Rich’s arrest, city bureaucrats obtained a search warrant to inspect for smoke detectors and evidence of a ‘lodging house’.
Phil Christiana
As he exited the courthouse following his testimony today, the three of us asked Phil about his investigations into peaceful people in the Keene area. According to him, Rich’s case is the only time he has worked with the NH Drug Task Force, receiving approximately six calls for service from local and state agencies per year. His responses were brief and slick. When Kim Kossick, Rich’s public defender, inquired why Christiana offered to drop charges if Rich would wiretap others at the Keene Activist Center, the agent responded that he was not at liberty to discuss an investigation relative to the KAC. Christiana has had an interest in finding informants within the New Hampshire liberty movement for a few years. He approached Dave Ridley in 2005 but ceased interacting with him once informed that everything he relayed to Ridley would be shared publicly. According to Dave:
My experience with him was that he was more or less polite and professional…but creepy. He came to the same Keene house when I lived there, to learn more about Russell Kanning’s plans for civil disobedience at Manchester Airport’s TSA checkpoint. (more…)
Following the significant increase in attention being given to Robin Hood of Keene, I was interviewed today by Derrick J Freeman of Peace New Now, as he recorded updates from the Shire in additional conversations with James Cleaveland and Rich Paul. Our interview covers background details that expand upon some of the information presented in a recent Keene Sentinel article. A video report was also prepared last week by WBIN.
The April 14 2013 edition of Peace News Now was visually illustrated by Free Concord’s Garret Ean. In Sunday’s program, you’ll hear about the latest on Bitcoin, police accountability issues in Salisbury, NC, and how a recently declassified NSA document might reveal evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Check out episode #95 of the daily newscast produced by superactivist Derrick J Freeman below:
This guy, Goldstein, comes out to every cannabis decrim/legalization hearing and speaks against freedom and in favor of prohibition. This time, inspired by Dave Ridley, I caught him in the hallway with a few questions, as did Rich Paul. Naturally, he only wanted to speak to supporters:
On April 11, the Senate Judiciary Committee held public hearings on the 1/4 ounce marijuana decriminalization bill and the industrial hemp legalization bill, and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing on the “therapeutic cannabis” bill.
Keene bureaucrats are furious about Robin Hood! Robin Hood of Keene is the most popular act of engagement with the community that FreeKeene has experimented with so far. Robin Hood employs a handful of individuals to feed the parking meters in downtown Keene. They are funded by private donations, usually from people they save. The Robin Hooders leave a type of calling card on the windshields of cars that they rescue, and when people return to see that they’ve been saved, they often donate and “Like” the Robin Hood of Keene Facebook page. (more…)