James Cleaveland gave an epic, inspirational speech at Keenevention 2014 and covered dreaming big, taking risks, facing fear, persistence, making mistakes, haters, his parents, Robin Hooding, his arrest for recording police, the Pumpkinfest riots, Keene and the Free State Project, and took several audience questions. Here’s full video:
Despite fierce competition from a recently deceased video activist dog, Jazzy Girl, an American Dingo/Chow mix was crowned last evening as Keene’s #1 dog activist for the 2014 season. Jazzy is the second dog from Keene to appear on local currency, after the debut of Ji’Coin featuring infamous dog activist Ji’e’toh earlier in 2014. Jazzy’s first place finish was followed by the Malinois Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, with undocumented MiniPin Ji’e’toh placing third. Jazzy enthusiasts released this statement following this award’s annuciation.
Jazzy would like to thank you for your votes and wishes you a happy new year! Here she is in front of the CopBlock banner, which she took part in weekly this year! On her walks around the campus on weekend nights she brought good cheer to many KSC students, who commented about how they missed their dogs as they lavished attention on Jazzy! Her constant presence helped us connect and share know your rights flyers with people who otherwise may not have stopped to talk.
Jazzy is also known for her acts of humility in respecting the efforts of other liberty activists in Keene, such as when she proudly accepted the placement of a Ji’Coin into her collar shortly after the fresh minting of the counter-currency. One vote was also cast for Oscar, a black lab visible at chalk rallies in the downtown and who is among the licensed canines in Keene.
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During the lengthy trial, the state called several police witnesses to testify that in order to keep James safe from a gunman who was threatening to take his own life, that they needed to arrest James and put him in a cage for two years. Of course, the police really wanted to keep themselves safe from James’ camera and were willing to crush the supposed freedom of the press to do so.
Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the verdict when it’s available.
Make no mistake, these three criminal charges against me were not ‘dropped’ by Gilford Police Chief Bean-Burpee and his prosecutor Sergeant Eric Bredbury, they were dismissed by a New Hampshire Circuit Court Judge after a full hearing. In spite of having months to review the law and the facts, the Prosecutor refused to drop the charges or even propose a plea, but rather continued to seek a conviction to justify the State’s violation of my First Amendment right of free speech, and my unlawful arrest.
I was fortunate enough to be experienced in the legal system, and also had the determined, talented, and effective counsel of Mark Sisti and Jared Bedrick of Sisti Law Offices. But what about those who have none of these advantages? One of the most troubling aspects of this experience is having to face the fact that, out of the millions of people arrested every year in the United States, many are unlawfully arrested, maliciously prosecuted, wrongfully convicted, or pressured to plead guilty just to get it over with. Having a jury of one’s peers is supposed to be a check on this system, but NH law precludes a jury trial for a defendant if he is not facing possible incarceration.
How are activists helping the community and how can you get involved? Watch the first-ever Keenevention Charity Panel and find out. Presented by the foundress of Shire Sharing, Amanda Bouldin, panelists included Theresa Eudaimonia of Occupy NH, Stephanie Murphy of Fr33 Aid, and Dale Everett of Flaming Freedom. Here’s the full video:
