Copblockers stand up to Homeland InSecurity and Win
On Oct 8th 2016, James Peach met up with Mike Bluehair, Robert West and a few others, who were waiting behind the federal courthouse in Portland Oregon. They were waiting to film the ‘Bundy Prisoners’ as they got transported out after their court session. Apparently the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) doesn’t like that.
DHS proceeded to block off the sidewalk for that entire block with barricades and caution tape, at which point Mike Bluehair began filming. They then approached us and demanded that we move to across the street. We refused, asked for a supervisor, and proceeded to give them a talking to. In the end we push the point enough they concede the sidewalk to us and take down their barricades. The condition being we ‘don’t block the driveway’, which of course we never did beyond crossing like every other pedestrian.
Moral of the story, know your rights and press those rights. Just be safe with numbers and cameras rolling. I directly defied their orders, explained why and forced the captain to call his supervisor. State and federal goons are not all powerful, they’ve just gotten use to people following orders.
