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Manchester’s Chalking 8

August 31, 2011January 6, 2014 Pete Eyre 3629 Views Ademo Freeman, chalk, chalk the police, christopher micklovich, copblock.org, greenfield police department, james breton, john patti, jones county sheriffs department, keene, libertyontour.com, manchester police department, Massachusetts, motorhomediaries.com, New Hampshire, Non-aggression principle, Pete Eyre, private defense agency, Self-ownership, Simon Glik, taxes, video, voluntaryism, william h. lyons

First, watch the 2min video above,
then check out the following:

Synopsis of Saturday, June 4th 2011 incident
More-exhaustive overview from August 31st, 2011
How you can help
Related links
Continue your education

Synopsis of Saturday, June 4th 2011 incident

A pro-police accountability rally held outside the Manchester Police Department to draw attention to the dubious killing of resident James Breton and clearing of officers who savagely beat Christopher Micklovich resulted in the unjust arrest of eight and the seizure of nine cameras and phones (without the issuance of receipts).

The rationale cited for the heavy police response? That some of those present had used children’s chalk to write on the sidewalk and building’s exterior walls, resulting in graffiti and criminal mischief charges, and that some were part of a group that didn’t move fast enough when pictures were being taken of “evidence” (chalked statements), resulting in disorderly and resisting charges.

The reality? Those wearing badges didn’t like their authority questioned and reacted using the only tool they know: force. There was no victim or damage to property in the offenses alleged. The arrests, charges and pending court dates are nothing more than harassment intended to chill dissent.

More-exhaustive overview from August 31st, 2011

My colleague (Ademo Freeman) and I (Pete Eyre) were two of those arrested outside the Manchester PD now facing charges, which has forced us to delay our next tour (see: LibertyOnTour.com & MotorhomeDiaries.com). We yesterday relocated from Keene to Manchester, where, working with others on the ground, we’ll be better-able to get our names cleared. The sooner that happens the sooner we can move on with our life and projects, hold accountable the real criminals and embolden others to stand up for their rights.

We know we’re not in the wrong and that we don’t need to go to law school for three years to know how to tell the truth. Instead, believing the light of truth a potent disinfectant, we seek to bring as much attention to the situation using diverse tactics aligned with our principles (non-aggression and consensual interactions). And we’ll film our activities to be transparent and share ideas with those elsewhere.

As I stated in the video at the top of this post, we’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of people and thus far the only folks who have threatened or used force against us were wearing badges. On June 4th it was those wearing “Manchester Police Department” badges that aggressed upon our rights and who continue to waste taxpayer money to pursue these ridiculous charges (money that was, remind yourself, first stolen from you).

We never seek to get arrested. The actions of John Patti and his colleagues at the Manchester PD on June 4th demonstrate the hollowness of their claim to “serve and protect.” Police brutality, corruption and double-standards won’t stop with the creation of a civilian review board or another internal investigation; they will cease only when we each conclude that no one has the right to initiate force.

Our intention is always to educate. To share the novel idea of self-ownership – that we each own ourselves and thus are free to act so long as we don’t initiate force against another. That means that no one has extra rights, even those who wear a badge.

Thus far we’ve been “successful” confronting threats of force pro se (as successful as you can be defending yourself against people who interpret the same “law” they create). We’ve had charges dropped or were found not-guilty in Greenfield, MA, Keene (Ademo), Keene (Pete), Las Vegas (Ademo) and Jones Co. MS (*Ademo hung jury). We’ve also stood for our rights in hairy situations we thought we must (see: Edgewater, NJ, Sante Fe, NM, west Texas, and Detroit/Windsor). And we have been transparent with previous donations (see: donations in Jones Co., MS and donations in Greenfield, MA).

Also, the recent Glik ruling in the First Circuit Court of Appeals bodes well for seeking transparency and accountability of those who wear badges.

How you can help

~~Donate using the Chipin below to help cover the costs we’ll incur while being on the ground here in Manchester – food, gas, printing, events and outreach, etc.~~ If you have specific ideas on the “.etc” – on tactics we should consider, please do share your idea as a comment to this post or via our submission form. We’ll leverage each dollar donated to get the greatest return on your investment.

Another option is to help us while getting yourself something like a t-shirt, intro/outro to a video, or a Power-a-Post by myself or Ademo (we’ll give you a shout-out on the post and include a link to your own site or we’ll give some love to your favorite thinker, organization or piece of content). See: CopBlock.org/Support

Also, we’re hoping to replace and step-up some of our tech gear before our next tour, so if you want to donate for specific items that’d be cool.

Thanks in advance! We’re serious when we advocate for “liberty in our lifetime!”