Evan, the Emperor of Free Grafton, has been in custody since last Monday when he dared to wear a paper hat in front of a man, who just so happened to be wearing a dress (makes sense right?). After that encounter armed men in costumes (aka – police) put personal information and/or finger prints into a computer, where another ‘sister’ organization (Keene District Court) to theirs claimed Evan owed $384 to them. (NOTE: No proof of contract, evidence of damage to property or a victim has never been presented to the Emperor.)
The most upsetting part of this is that Evan is being held in segregation. Which is a single cell, about 6′ x 8′, that you spend 23 hours a day in. When asked why Evan was being held in segregation Rick Van Wickler, superintendent of the Cheshire Co Jail, reportedly stated that ‘his’ policy is to hold those who refuse to pay the fine in segregation – see this FB thread.
Nevertheless, the Emperor is supposed to be released this Wednesday at 7:06 am after spending 8 days on lockdown – something that cost taxpayers approximately $1,000 – bravo guberment. To celebrate his release I’ll be taking the Emperor out to breakfast and hope you join us- details here.
If you have time to get up to the jail before Wednesday please do so, I know it’s one day before his release but it’d be great to make it fly by for Evan with a bunch of visits, plus it will get him out of his cell for more than just one hour.
Evan also wanted me to thank everyone for the support, he’s gotten several post cards from Mail To Jail. Thanks 🙂
The post below was written by Pete Eyre and posted this morning to CopBlock.org.
By Pete Eyre
On July 24th I was thrown to the ground and arrested after questioning Keene District Court bailiff Pete Macy’s demand to remove my hat. Rather than behave like a civil person and have a conversation about his request, Macy and his accomplices, Keene Police Department employees James Cemeralis and Matt Griffen resorted to force.
While I was still handcuffed on the ground Pete Macy was ordered to submit an incident report by his supervisor Lance Walton. After two months of phone calls to Walton and Walton’s boss, Jason Jordanhazy (who never returned my calls) and physically stopping by Keene city hall multiple times, I finally received the report in the mail. It was chock-full of inaccuracies – Macy purposefully submitted a skewed version of the truth to protect himself.
Fortunately my friends had captured their unjust actions on video and shared it online at CopBlock.org, FreePete.org and elsewhere. Thanks largely to the outrage many felt and expressed about the actions of the government employees, my charges were later dismissed. Yet no one has been held accountable nor even apologized (I see Cemeralis almost weekly when doing “Don’t Take the Plea” outreach and have asked him numerous times to meet to discuss what happened and to apologize. Though he expresses interest in meeting he has yet to follow through).
But is it really too surprising that Macy lied on his report? What fear of repercussions does he face? Macy, like other government actors, may claim to “serve” or “protect” you but we all know in reality they are not accountable to you or I. They claim the right to steal from us (taxes) and if we question their actions or inaction’s we face the threat of or actual use of force.
Ask yourself – if given the choice, would you voluntarily choose to hire such liars and thugs? What would happen if you behaved in such a way? If you lied to your boss? If you attacked, kidnapped and held hostage a customer?
While conducting “Don’t Take the Plea Deal” outreach (which is where activists hand people attending court a flyer) this morning Pete was approached by the district attorney (DA) for Keene. I witnessed this encounter but my camera was still in my jacket so I have no video. The conversation was simple, the DA approached Pete and said, “I’m going to be dropping all your charges.” Pete said he appreciated that and the DA went upstairs to court.
I’m hoping to write an more exhaustive ‘about’ me post but I’m rather busy, like everyone else, so it will have to wait. For now, here is a post I published at CopBlock.org. It’s fitting considering Free Keene activists did most of the leg work which resulted in me being freed from jail. Thanks again.
Three weeks ago yesterday Pete Eyre was assaulted, hand cuffed and dragged from a public building then put in a cage because he wore a hat inside ‘the’ courtroom. The following day, at Pete’s arraignment, I spoke out against Edward Burke’s (the judge) decision to keep him locked up. The judge ordered Pete to remain in jail because he refused to ID himself and shortly after sentenced me to 60 days in jail for my outburst.
So how did I get released early? Well, with so many great activists doing so many different things to free me, it’s impossible to say exactly what it was and a mix of everything is likely the answer. People were calling the jail, writing letters to Burke, protesting, making videos, filing motions, contacting media and much much more. A big thanks is in order for JJ, Andrew “280”, Aubern, Tayna, Carolyn, George, Smeg, Ian, my family  and of course my boy – Pete. These guys are one kick ass team (not to undermine those who helped them – everyone did a great job and I’m so grateful to have support from so many) and I really value the support we show one another. (more…)
