by Ian | Sep 1, 2021 |
Nobody is out on bail!
Nearly six months after his arrest in an insanely destructive 6am raid back in March, longtime Free Keene blogger Nobody has finally been granted bail. The judge in his case suggested that Nobody, who changed his name from Rich Paul to run for Mayor in 2019 then Governor in 2020, was being held illegally.
As was the case with my bail conditions, the federal “magistrate judge” denied Nobody’s bail initially and the defense had to appeal that “de novo” to the actual judge in the case, Joseph Normand Laplante. Laplante also happens to be the chief judge for the entire Federal District Church Court. Thus far Laplante has been much more reasonable than the magistrates, though the bail restrictions on the Crypto Six have varied wildly.
For instance, Aria DiMezzo is highly restricted on what websites she can visit and must ask permission from her probation officer to go to any sites that are outside her limited “whitelist”. However she has no restrictions on drug use. In contrast, I am able to go to any website except for sites for buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrency, am on home confinement, and am subject to random drug testing. I am allowed to use alcohol, though I prefer not to.
No co-defendants are allowed to speak with each other, though after filing motions with the court to remove the contact restriction between us, Aria and I were granted an exception by Laplante for the purposes of being able to perform and run our nationally syndicated radio show, “Free Talk Live“. I have a long list of people in addition to my co-defendants with whom I am prohibited from speaking. This includes my longtime co-host and co-minister in the Shire Free Church, Mark Edgington. As part of his bail, Nobody is also prohibited from speaking with the same list of people. Aria has no such restriction.
The BEARCAT bashed in Nobody’s front door.
At the de novo bail hearing, unlike the magistrate, Laplante didn’t seem concerned with Nobody’s statements on the recorded jail phone that seemed to be in favor of shooting police. He agreed with the defense that Nobody’s comments were just blowing off steam as Nobody was frustrated by the outrageous arrest and subsequent caging. Despite Laplante’s voiced opinion about Nobody’s lack of dangerousness, in a frustrating concession to the prosecution, he has restricted Nobody’s freedom of speech and prohibited him from making any public statements on media or at protest events. Here’s the relevant portion from page six of Nobody’s bail conditions:
- Defendant shall refrain from the use of any social media platform to make any publicly viewable posts…
- Defendant shall refrain from public speaking engagements on radio, television, or podcasts, and shall also refrain from “taking the mic” at public rallies or public events.
Federal District Church Court
It was stated during the bail hearing that the concern was not that Nobody himself would commit violence but that he might influence listeners or followers to do so. So now he has no freedom of speech. This despite an accused person supposedly being allowed to be “at liberty” prior to trial. Does the first amendment not apply to people on bail? Strangely, he had more free speech inside the cage at the Merrimack County Spiritual Retreat where he was held the last several months. Nobody could, and did, call in to Free Talk Live on more than one occasion – so long as Aria or I were not on the show. Now he is specifically prohibited from any audio or tv appearances. He had also, while in jail, begun a newsletter for his church. Will he even be able to continue it?
Arguably, the restrictions as-written don’t prohibit his newsletter or perhaps even blogging. However I wouldn’t blame him if he chose not to rather than risk a post to Free Keene being considered “social media”, violating bail and getting locked back up. Hopefully his attorneys will be fighting to get his right to free speech respected again. On the positive side, he’s not restricted on travel and can leave his home without permission from his federal handler.
So much for freedom of speech. That said, I’m glad Nobody’s finally out.
Stay tuned here to Free Keene and listen to Free Talk Live for the latest on Nobody and the rest of the Crypto Six.
by Ian | Aug 26, 2021 |
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Simon Wood at New York Magazine for an in-depth feature-length story about The Crypto Six and the migration here to New Hampshire and Keene as the Mecca for cryptocurrency users.
Don’t miss this great article.
Thanks to Simon and photographer Mark for the coverage.
by Bonnie | Aug 22, 2021 |
If you drive to the wrong location in New Hampshire, you may still end up at a protest. Nikki, (a nurse from Massachusetts,) and I intended to drive to the vaccine protest going on in Concord, but we drove to the wrong Dartmouth-Hitchcock location, the one in Lebanon. There is a larger gathering going on certain days at the Concord location, so at first we thought, “Where is everybody?” There was a group of just three guys on the side of the road by the entrance to the hospital with signs saying things like “No forced shots”. We went up to them with our camera and found out that the organizer of this protest and his wife had only left for a bit and would be back, and that the organizer had been sleeping in his military-style truck on the side of the road every night just to keep the protest going. We had accidentally found a second protest, and it was a 24/7 protest!
The organizer and his wife, a nurse named Nicole, returned and I interviewed her about her opinions on Dartmouth-Hitchcock mandating COVID vaccines for all of their staff. Their protest is getting a lot of attention from people driving past, and even getting conversations started. A group of teenagers whose parents flipped the protesters the bird as they drove by later returned without their parents to ask questions. They have sueDHMC.com on a huge sign that is visible from the road. Keep up the great work, protesters! Here’s the video:
by Pete Eyre | Aug 17, 2021 |
A key impetus for FreeKeene.com is to cover liberty activism in the Free State of New Hampshire. Content often takes the form of documenting an uninvited incident, ousting aggressors, and supporting individuals standing up for their rights. But just as relevant in this peaceful evolution are happenings that proactively seek to grow neighborly goodwill and interconnectedness.
Enter: West Manchester Day, happening Saturday, September 04, 2021.
West Manchester, Free State of New Hampshire
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by Ian | Aug 11, 2021 |
Heroic mom Rochelle Kelley went to trial today and faced up to a year in jail after her arrest for daring to bring her kids to a Concord, NH playground in April of 2020 while the playground was closed due to “governor’s orders”. The courtroom was full of supporters and after the pathetic cops testified, the robed man actually found her not guilty! This is the full trial video, only available here on our Odysee channel:
by Pete Eyre | Aug 6, 2021 |
A recruitment pitch made earlier this week by the Manchester Police Outfit touted qualified immunity as a job perk. Qualified immunity being the legalese that says that some people (those with badges) are not to be held accountable for their actions unless their counterparts in legaland deem it so.
Unsurprisingly this post received a lot of attention. And, in keeping with police protocols to limit transparency, it was quickly deleted.
In a follow-up, the the top-dog of the Manchester Police outfit Allen Aldenberg voiced platitudes: “This post was not the place to mention qualified immunity.” Why not? Is it that Aldenberg is against qualified immunity, as asked by commenter Justin O’Donnell?
I don’t think so. Nowhere has Aldenberg questioned the “qualified immunity” guise. So again, if qualified immunity is indeed claimed, why does Aldenberg say that it should not be mentioned in a job pitch?
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by Pete Eyre | Aug 4, 2021 |
I took my children to the playground in April 2020 and got charged with disorderly conduct & criminal trespassing. My trial is August 11, 9am @ Concord District Court (32 Clinton St. Concord, NH). Show up (early if possible) to show your support, with or without signs. The more people the better! – Rochelle Kelley
What: Legaland trial for Rochelle Kelley
When: 9am, Wednesday, August 11th, 2021
Where: Concord District Court, 32 Clinton St., Concord, NH 03302 [map]
UPDATE August 11, 2021: Rochelle Kelley Found Not Guilty for COVID Playground Arrest – Full Trial Video
A bit of backstory and relevant links are below. What this boils down to is that Kelley and others involved questioned the aggressors and refused to cower. This of course is blasphemous to those who demand obedience.
Will justice emerge?
Text on the Concord Police outfit’s website claims that “Our department strives to develop strong relationships with our citizens…” If that were true the initial harassment of Kelley and others would not have occurred, the ongoing legaland threats against them would cease, and in the least an apology would be given. But instead, Stevens and his accomplice have yet to make right. Further, their colleague John Thomas has only dug in his heels.
In an interview with WMUR Thomas made clear the real cause for the ongoing harassment of Kelley, saying they had “No respect to the officers. It was very saddening to see how these folks carried themselves in front of their children in how they spoke to the officers that day.” Personally, I think it’s saddening to see how Thomas and his accomplice acted. What sort of world are they constructing? What sort of world are they apparently satisfied to leave the next generation?
The person who will oversee Kelley’s legaland proceedings is Edwin W. Kelly. His track record seems to indicate a person who’s not too fond of transparency. But, people can change. Let’s hope Kelly does the right thing and chooses to side with the law. (And by “law” I don’t mean legalese, but with the actual law, where a victim must exist before another is held to task.)
The court of public opinion is powerful. Your presence at this legaland hearing may help sway Kelly to do the right thing. If however, Kelly chooses to side with injustice he’ll only succeed in lessening the clout people grant to him and others responsible for these rights-violations. Either way, Kelley will have stood up for what she knows to be right.
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