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!”
Related links
Caged for Four Days in Manchester – January 27th
Ademo’s Sentencing and Overview of Chalking Incident – [VIDEO] Jan 5th
Hey Manch: I’d Rather Sit the Time Than Fund the Violence [VIDEO] – Dec 30
State vs. Garret Ean Momentarily Concludes [VIDEO] – Nov 19th
Judge Overrules Press Block by Chalking 8 Prosecutor [VIDEO] – Nov 17th
Manchester City Clerk Bureaucracy [VIDEO] – Nov 12th
The “State” of NH v. Peter Eyre [VIDEO] – Nov 10th
Documents from Manchester’s Chalking 8 – Nov 9th
Patti and Freeman [VIDEO] – Oct 20th
Dude, Where’s My Phone? [VIDEO] – Oct 10th
Patrolling Manchester [VIDEO] – Oct 6th
Chalk the Police Day – A HUGE SUCCESS! [VIDEO] – Oct 3
Video Overview of National Chalk the Police Day - Oct 1st
Copblocking-Lite: Public Safety Tradeshow [VIDEO] – Sept 28th
Dinner Invite: John Patti of Manch PD [VIDEO] – Sept 27th
Do You Have Your Chalk Ready? [VIDEO] – Sept 24th
CopBlocking Police Checkpoint – Manchester, NH [VIDEO] – Sept 16th
Manchester PD Inconsistant Enforcing Laws [VIDEO] – Sept 15th
National Chalk The Police press release – Sept 13th
Manchester PD Tickets MARV [VIDEO]- Sept. 13th
Meeting at Manchester, NH PD [VIDEO] – Sept 7th
Manchester PD & Bureaucrat Outreach [VIDEO]- Sept. 8th
Manch PD Violate Court Ruling [VIDEO] – Sept. 6th
Supporters Help CopBlock.org Bloggers -Sept. 4th
Copblockers Return to Manchester, Seek Justice press release – Aug. 31st
Court to police: Let the public videotape – Aug. 31st by The Union Leader
Appeals court says there’s a clearly established right to openly record police – Aug. 29th
Manch Arraignment & PD Follow-up [VIDEO] – June 7th
Eight Arrested at Manchester, NH Pro-Police Accountability Rally [VIDEO] – June 5th
Eight arrested in protest of Manchester police – June 5th by The Union Leader
Cops bust cop-brutality protest [VIDEO] – June 4th by RidleyReport
Demonstration at the Manchester Police Station – June 4th event on Facebook
LOT Watches The Watchmen – June 3rd press release
Calling All Manchester Activists – May 31st
Attorney General clears officers involved in Strange Brew incident – May 27th by The Union Leader
SWAT team had relieved city force – May 10th by The Union Leader
Continue your education
Cop Block’s About/Contributors Page
I’m Allowed to Rob You! 10min video by Larken Rose
Non-aggression principle on Wikipedia
Private Defense Agency on Wikipeda
Voluntaryism on Wikipedia
You need money? Get a job stupid!
Of course they need money, they should get a job,,
“snoop doggy doggy, need to get a jobby job.”
While i believe that the police were wrong to confiscate cameras, I think the protesters who were “chalking” should have been arrested for vandalism. Protesting is protected constitutional speech. However, there is no constitutional right to “chalk.”
You state that it can easily be washed off, but that is not relevant. The sad thing is that your group detracted from the message by engaging in vandalism.
I don’t think chalking can be considered vandalism, because it does not cause damage to property. Without any damage, their is no victim so of course I agree that the arrest was unjust.
That being said, strategically speaking, I do not think chalking buildings, even public ones, is going to win the hearts or minds of anyone. I think chalking sidewalks is fine, but once you start chalking buildings I do agree that many will view that as vandalism and will be turned off by it.
While the chalk may easily wash off, you have to see the actions through the eyes of an objective viewer who has no idea whether the material used is chalk or spray paint. And even though chalk may wash away with the rain, one still has to wait for the rain. A government employee probably ended up removing the chalk. Therefore, in theory the rest of the taxpayers were faced with the choice of either leaving the chalk there until it rained or having to spend money to remove the chalk. Now we have damage and a victim. Free speech does not allow you to leave a mess that the state has to clean up.
Also, I don’t think that a random citizen should be allowed to deface a government building. Where do you draw the line? Can I chalk the washington monument or the vietnam memorial?
Chalking is definitely a form of vandalism. If the protesters wanted to write their messages, they could have printed their on signs and simply left them on the sidewalk.
Since the property is public, should the same guidelines as, say, a park or basketball court be followed? Was it permeant chalk, do they even make that? Shall we ban sidewalk chalk, and cage up some children for vandalism? Ummm. Vandalism, really? Seems a bit harsh, if I do say so, myself? Is there any victim here, other than the individuals that were arrested for making some chalk drawings, and letters? Was any property destroyed or harmed by their freedom of expression? There is this substance called, water… it takes chalk off in seconds. The fact is, that this is a blatant misuse of funds, in a terrible economy, to proceed with a trial. The tax payers of Manchester should be appalled by this grossly negligent handling of their hard-earned tax money, to persecute some chalk drawlers. If the residents are apathetic to these abuses of valuable resources, and these “chalkers” are found guilty, as charged, than… Please accept my deepest sympathy to those poor children of Manchester. Who will be deprived of expressing themselves using temporary sidewalk chalk on public land or face the cage for being vandals, under some judge or jury’s ruling… There really is no difference, if you think about it… Temporary freedom of speech and expression would be illegal in Manchester for young and old alike…
Let me tell you about this marvelous invention we call “the garden hose”…
Andrew, it’s worth making clear the following: not all those present at the rally or among those arrested chalked the sidewalk/building. Also, some of those who had their property (camera of phone) taken by the Manch PD were arrested while others were not (and remember no receipts were issued).
The language on both of my disorderly conduct charges is collectivist in nature – it notes that I was “part of a group that . . .” The same text is used on the complaints levied against others.
The rally was going well. Lots of people showed-up. Conversations were being had with passerbys and police. Then when “How many has Manch PD killed?” was chalked on the wall (visible at 2:05 in the 13min arrest video above) John Patti of the Manch PD threatened arrest. When I questioned the grounds on which that would be based Patti said “disorderly.”
The police didn’t take issue with our activities until that question was written, which makes me conclude that it we were targeted not for the chalk but the message. A specific message can’t be illegal nor, to echo Pamela, can the action of chalking public property, despite how unsupportive some may be of those actions.
@ Peter
You still haven’t answered the question about who was going to clean the chalk off of the wall/street,
You still haven’t answered the question about who was going to clean the chalk off of the wall/street,
Maybe the cops should use the same pressure washer they used to clean the blood of James Breton from the sidewalk.
@copblock Why do you let racist, double-posting garbage like Dan post comments? Pro-cop websites would never allow it. It’s like you believe in freedom of expression for all individuals.
As I stated in my first post, I do not condone the police confiscating any of the cell phones or cameras. Specifically in cases where the owner of the property is not arrested, the police have no authority or right to confiscate property without a warrant.
I’m not sure if it was the question itself or the fact that it was chalked on the side of the building that led the police to start arresting people. But I still hold that “chalking” on the side of a public building is an illegal act. The message is irrelevant.
If you believe that chalking the side of a building is legal, then where do you stand on spray painting the side of the building? Or hanging a poster? Why not just go ahead and redesign the whole exterior while you are at it?
You can state that chalking washes off with water, but do you really expect a cop to know that. These guys are not that bright as you well know.
“Maybe the cops should use the same pressure washer they used to clean the blood of James Breton from the sidewalk.”
GREAT IDEA!
“You can state that chalking washes off with water, but do you really expect a cop to know that.”
um, how should I put this…..DUH. Of course I expect a cop to know that chalk washes off. Being so stupid as to actually consider any possible claim that any competent adult doesn’t know that chalk washes off makes one even less competent than an adult who genuinely doesn’t know that chalk does in fact wash off. Just sayin’.
Who asked who was going to wash the chalk off? I betcha $20 that Pete and Ademo would have washed the chalk off if someone had politely asked them to do so like civilized human beings, but some thugs wearing costumes threw them in a cage instead.
Makes sense, right?
So lets chalk every piece of public property we can find. Police cars, garbage trucks, city hall, schools, etc. Under the society that these extremists envision, I have the right to cover city hall with the message “Fuck da Police.” I can write it on the inside of the building as well as the outside. And no one can do anything about it.
And I can also go to a public elementary school and draw pictures of people fucking on the walls ( both inside and outside.)
There is no harm to it, because it all washes away with a little water.
Let me state it clearly. YOU DO NOT HAVE A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO DRAW ON THE SIDE OF A PUBLIC BUILDING.
“I betcha $20 that Pete and Ademo would have washed the chalk off if someone had politely asked them to do so like civilized human beings”
I call bullshit on this one.
Kelly,
You state that Pete and Ademo would have washed the chalk off if someone had politely asked them to. But if you truly believe they have a constitutional/legal right to chalk the building, why should they consent to remove the chalk?
And that is the point of all of this. Chalking the building is against the law. And you have no constitutional/legal right to violate this law.
Isn’t begging for money so you don’t have to work fun?
@ Peter
You still haven’t answered the question about who was going to clean the chalk off of the wall/street,
I would like to here pete and ademo clearly state their position on whether they believe that it is a violation of the law to chalk the side of a building. Do they believe they have a constitutional right to do so?
Then we can move on to the important stuff, such as how to combat a corrupt police department.
1. @ Peter
I am curious about your thoughts on who was going to clean the chalk off of the wall/streets?
@ Peter
I am curious about your thoughts on who was going to clean the chalk off of the wall/streets?
If you chalk anything other than the footpath I would argue that it is vandalism.
The charges against those who ‘didn’t move fast enough’ are obviously nonsense. It’s the same mentality that was used in Dave Ridley’s trespassing case recently.
If you can prove you were moving at a reasonable pace you should be able to overcome those allegations.
I must agree with Pete that this is about the message. If the “protestors” had actually been there in a rally of support for the Manch PD and chalked all over the building things like, “We love the Manch PD” and “Thank you for your service” I bet nobody would have been arrested.
“Under the society that these extremists envision, I have the right to cover city hall with the message “Fuck da Police.” I can write it on the inside of the building as well as the outside. And no one can do anything about it.”
You’re an ignorant troll. The society that we envision is a stateless, voluntary society – thus, no “public-property.”
“Let me state it clearly. YOU DO NOT HAVE A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO DRAW ON THE SIDE OF A PUBLIC BUILDING.”
The constitution doesn’t grant right. Rights are something you have, you are born with. No piece of paper can take those away, nor can it grant any rights which you do not already have.
But hey, you’re intellectually lazy, so that’s ok. You can go on with your constitution crap all you want.
NO VICTIM = NO CRIME! How can a victimless crime, like chalking, be against the law? Sticks & stones may break my bones, but WORDS will never HURT ME!!!!! But, you know, let’s throw these people in jail because some thugs in uniforms got their feelings hurt by some words written in chalk on the side of a wall. Hmmm, where is the sanity?
@Linux ummm that was a really sorry response. your only addressing him that way because you guys dont have a real response to back up your piss poor activism.
Hey Ademo I can’t wait to start the party just after you and all your other Maggot friends get a bullet in the eye
There is a dire need for police in this country and it seems all your experiments do is cause problems. You try to get arrested knowing the laws. The reality is that most laws help people either directly or indirectly. A DUI is a victimless crime per sea but if they are not vigorously enforced a drunk driver could kill you or someone very close to you. I think there are bad police officers but most of them are hard working family oriented people who really enjoy helping people and helping their respective communities. I’m actually saddened to see the amount of tax dollars wasted by your organization. Police, Lawyers and Court costs all because you think laws are unfair. Vote for change and campaign with civility to enact change. What you’re doing is lazy and simple minded and shows neither bravery nor ingenuity.
My grandfather told me that everyone hates the cops until they need one. That is really all I think when I see this level of immaturity.
Chalking is vandalism? I can’t believe some of the nonsense I’m reading in these comments. We chalked all the time(we being my YAL chapter) all over Madison and never got any trouble from anyone. Then again, there’s big support there for free speech and police accountability.
I don’t think Ademo or Pete hate the cops. There’s serious problems with police all over this country for a variety of reasons…nonviolent resistance, as they do here on CopBlock, is one effective method of recourse. Granted it’s not the only thing CopBlock does, but when push comes to shove, they stick up for their rights. Most people won’t do that.
It seems odd to me that all these posts are about the chalk, not the message. “How many people have been killed by the Manch PD?” Even one is too many. These people think at least one was killed.
“MPD stop hurting people” Obviously these young people don’t have the money to prosecute the offending police. There was an obvious connection to some wrong doing, by the police.
That should be the object of these posts, not the chalk.
What is the name of this foolish person that took the life of someone that disagreed with him. Demand his name and arrest the fool. He shot an unarmed man for a civil reason. That is not what they are paid to do. The police chief is responsible, what is his name? Citizens vote for the police chief, I’m sure he would not have public support to get re-elected. Don’t be fooled into commenting on the chalk, that’s not important. The inappropriate actions of the police are important.
The Supreme Court ruled just last week that it is legal to record any public happening. Those that stole your cameras to keep from revealing the truth are the real culprits, not the chalkers. Demand through your Letters to the Editor to have their names, make it public so we can see who is corrupt. As is said, “ignorance of the law is no excuse” they are guilty and should be exposed.
Know your Constitutional rights, know the law, illegal confiscation is much worse then vandalism.
Walmart shoplifters don’t “seek to get arrested” either.
So the public got arrested for chalking their own public property, paid for by their own public funds.
Gotta love America.
Chalking the sidewalk, OK, but the side of a brick building? How would you feel if you owned (not saying the gov owns anything) a brick building and someone wrote chalk all over it? Even if it is “easy” to remove. I support the intentions of the actors.