Posted on 12/18/2003 9:21:36 AM PST by tgslTakoma
Kristinn and I testified yesterday at a Public Oversight Hearing held by the the Washington, D.C. City Council Committee on the Judiciary, regarding allegations made by numerous leftist organizations and individuals, that the Metropolitan Police Department are an out-of-control band of jackbooted thugs who run rampant through the streets arresting, beating and spying on radical leftists as they plan and carry out peace riots and other assorted mayhem.
Here is how the hearings were described, according to the D.C. Committee on the Judiciary calendar:
1. Current Policies and Practices of the Metropolitan Police Department Related to Demonstrations within the District. To investigate MPD’s policy and practice in handling protests based on allegations of preemptive actions in April 2000, wrongful arrests in September 2002, and recent alleged instances of excessive force against antiwar demonstrators.
Sounds fair and balanced, doesn't it?
Oh, if only you had been there yesterday to witness it in person! The Madam Chairperson, Kathy Patterson led off the hearings by reading a letter that she said was written by two lawyers for some of the people arrested in April 2000 during the anti-IMF/World Bank protests. I won't go into minute detail on the letter and Ms. Patterson's comments after reading the letter aloud; but will sum it up as Ms. Patterson seems to be going through the motions of a fair hearing before she condemns the defendant.
Before the first panel of speakers were seated, Councilmember Sharon Ambrose also had a statement... she said she moved to DC in 1969 and had experienced (participated in) anti-war demonstrations in DC back then. Today she is shocked and outraged by what the MPDC has done recently. She appears to believe fully all the allegations of the leftists.
OK, so I've set the stage for you.
First to testify were (where is my notepad with names?!) a representative from the ACLU (lawyer), a representative (lawyer) from the National Lawyers Guild, and late-arriving Mara VerHeyden-Hilliard (lawyer) from the Partnership for Civil Justice.
ACLU had printed up a rather large booklet to accompany their testimony. ACLU is concerned that people were unlawfully arrested having committed no crimes and having not first been warned to disperse before being arrested, among other allegations.
The National Lawyers Guild lawyer was of course very concerned, too, that their clients' and their observers' constitutional rights were violated; mentioned that they were arrested for thought crimes, rounded up the night before the "mass demonstrations" even occurred (Seattle's earlier similar "mass demonstrations" included overturning and burning cars, broken shop windows and other vandalism and DOP), innocent passersby were rounded up and arrested, etc., etc.
Mara VerHeyden-Hilliard talks about her clients' constitutional rights also being violated, demonstrators' meetings were infiltrated by government spies and agents provocateurs, law enforcement agencies were photographing them as they gathered and marched (for whatever the cause du jour), closing down their demonstration headquarters for fire code violations; and just being all-around mean to the peace rioters.
ACLU went over their allotted time by a little more than 1 minute (timer was stopped at 40 seconds overtime, so can't be specific), NLG went over by only a few seconds, Mara VerHeyden-Hilliard went over her time by approximately a minute. After the trio had testified, Kathy Patterson and Ms. Ambrose had several questions of the panel, that took another ten or so minutes. The more we listened to this kangaroo court of a public hearing, the warmer our blood became. But that was a good thing because Kristinn and I were in the second panel to testify.
We were the only two on that panel. Kristinn spoke first, and his testimony was very good. Kristinn had originally been told that as a spokesman for a group, he would have ten minutes to speak; but we found out late on December 16th that the times were cut way back for everyone to three minutes, due to the number of people who had signed up to testify. He submitted his full written statement and had to condense his spoken remarks considerably from the document.
As Kristinn spoke I took a look around the council chamber - the lefties did not appear to be happy about his comments. He gave a brief history of the DC Chapter, and our five-plus years of peaceful political demonstrations in DC, MD and VA. He pointed out that we have rules for protesting and briefly listed them, saying that we have never had an arrest at any of our more than 200 protests.
Kristinn's testimony follows:
Testimony of Mr. Kristinn Taylor
Co-Leader, D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com
Before the Washington, D.C. City Council
Committee on the Judiciary
December 17, 2003
Re: Current Policies and Practices of the Metropolitan Police Department Related to (Preventing Riots and Mayhem by Anti-American Leftist-Led) Demonstrations within the District.
Good morning,
Currently, our city is in yet another of its never-ending crises. There is gang warfare in broad daylight in our streets, the public schools are in chaos and the medical examiners office is in a shambles. This city does not respect the dead, let alone the living. But here we are spending two days of hearings, plus countless man-hours behind the scenes, to rake the Metropolitan Police Department over the coals for preventing violence-prone anti-American leftists from achieving their goal of rioting and causing mayhem in our nation's capital.
My name is Kristinn Taylor. I am a Co-Leader of the D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com. I was born in the District of Columbia and have been a citizen of the District since the mid-Nineties.
The D.C. Chapter of Free Republic is an independent, grassroots conservative group that came into being in September of 1998. Since our founding, we have held over two-hundred protests and demonstrations in the District. We have also been active in Virginia and Maryland. None of our members or participants have ever been arrested at our events. None of our members or participants have committed acts of violence or property damage at any of our events.
The D.C. Chapter of Free Republic has a code of conduct at our events which we regularly announce and rigorously enforce. Briefly, our rules are: No violence, no profanity, no racism, no provocations, obey the law and treat all law enforcement officers with respect.
Never have we had the alleged behavior of the MPD against the leftist groups directed at us. While some might say that is because the cops play favorites, our experience has taught us otherwise. Our group has earned a reputation for being peaceful and law-abiding while protesting some of the most hotly contested issues of our times.
The leftists, on the other hand, have earned a well-documented reputation of violence and mayhem.
Many members of our group have been assaulted by leftists over the years. Several of our Support the Troops rallies have required protection by large numbers of riot-gear clad police officers to prevent all-out attempt by leftists to attack and overrun the rallies.
The genesis of the problem facing the police is in the 1999 Seattle riots by anarchists, communists and other America-hating anti-capitalists. Those riots garnered worldwide attention and emboldened leaders and participants alike to seek to do the same in Washington, D.C. the following April. Fortunately, the MPD took a pro-active stance and was able to prevent and contain the planned violence and mayhem.
Nevertheless, businesses shut down and streets were closed costing millions of dollars in extra police protection and lost productivity.
However, the rights of those bent on terrorizing our nations capital must be protected, apparently at the cost of everyone else's rights. Similarly, the September 27, 2002 incident in question reprised the promise of violence and mayhem in our nation's capital -- only this was in a time of war and terrorist threats.
It was well-publicized on leftist Websites and in the mainstream media that September 27 was the day for strictly illegal demonstrations and efforts to shut down the city. Chief Ramsey took those threats so seriously that his initial response was to urge people who chose to drive to work in D.C. that day to bring a sandwich and a good CD to listen to because you could be stuck in traffic for awhile.
Indeed, early that morning bands of leftists attempted to block major commuter roads in downtown. Only the swift response of the MPD prevented that morning from devolving into chaos.
A few hours later, more leftists gathered in Pershing Park near the White House. The MPD faced a Hobbeson's choice: arrest the lot of them indiscriminately and take them out of action for the day, or respect their rights to terrorize our nation's capital and have to chase them down all day long while everyone else s rights were violated by the leftists.
The police chose to take the lot of them out of action. I have a hard time disagreeing with that decision. The treatment of those arrested could have been handled better and as a result will probably cost the city some money. But, what's it worth being a revolutionary if you re not mistreated by the Man? Otherwise you'd have nothing to revolt against.
For all the caterwauling about police tactics, very little is said about the tactics of the leftists who by their deeds and words invite police scrutiny.
The front groups for the communist Workers World Party, International Action Center and its offspring A.N.S.W.E.R. have several lawsuits against this city for alleged civil rights violations involving demonstrations they've led.
It is hysterically funny that the allies of tyrants like Fidel Castro, Kim Jong-Il and Saddam Hussein complain about comparatively insignicant transgressions by American law enforcement, considering the despotic governments they support.
In fact Brian Becker, best known in his guise as a leader of A.N.S.W.E.R., has publicly expressed that peaceful, law-abiding demonstrations are just a tactic.
Mr. Becker is quoted in the January 14, 2001 Washington Post giving his reasons for turning away from the infamous Seattle riots and adopting peaceful protests for the time being, "We fashioned our tactics to the moment when the movement is on the verge of broadening its base to a large section of the population....We know now a big part of the population actually agrees with us, but they dont want to come to a demonstration and get beat up by police and get tear-gassed."
Tony Murphy, another communist A.N.S.W.E.R. spokesman, expressed the group's support of the Palestinian homicide bombers who exclusively target innocent civilians in an April, 2002 radio interview.
In May of this year, after the fall of Saddam Hussein s hellish regime., A.N.S.W.E.R. published a statement supporting the killing of American soldiers: "The anti-war movement here and around the world must give its unconditional support to the Iraqi anti-colonial resisitance."
Unconditonal support means unconditional support. If the Iraqi anti-colonial resistance took to car-bombing downtown Washington, or sent homicide bombers to blow up passenger-laden Metro buses, A.N.S.W.E.R. says go for it.
Perhaps their mouthpiece, the esteemed civil rights lawyer Mara Verheyden-Hilliard can explain the legal vagueries of giving unconditional support to those killing and maiming our servicemen and women when she testifies.
The Committee is surely aware that one of the tactics of leftists is to put the police on trial. This committee, unwittingly or not, has given a great victory to the America-hating leftists with this two-day proceeding. Civil rights are a tool of power for them, not a belief. Undermining the morale and effectiveness of law enforcement plays right into their hands.
But we will endeveavor to protect the leftists' God-given right to violate everyone elses rights and undermine our government because we have such fond memories of the Sixties. Have a nice day.
Thank you.
Then it was my turn. I had printed several pages of photographs taken at our rallies and counterdemonstrations to show some of the behavior of the less-than-peaceful leftists at these events. My testimony, however focused on the events of May 24, 2003. I printed several sheets of photos from that day's events, to accompany my spoken comments, all of which were distributed to the councilmembers in attendance.
My testimony follows:
I believe in individual self defense, national self defense and in freedom of speech and expression for everyone.
I do not believe that freedom of expression includes the right to: damage and destroy public or private property, riot, theft, assault, battery, threats and intimidation. Nor do I believe that anyone has a right to silence another's voice through any, all, or none, of the aforementioned means.
In more than three years of participation in peaceful demonstrations on the street of DC, I have never seen or been involved in an incident where any law enforcement agency has used excessive force, or in any other way violated a person's civil rights.
I have seen however, and have been a victim of those same civil rights violations by leaders and followers of some of the groups who are here today to condemn the police. And those same police agencies on trial today came to my (and others') aid many times, protecting us from the violence of numerous left-wing radical groups and individuals.
A case in point:
On May 24th of this year I was a silent and peaceful spectator at a joint ANSWER and Muslim American Society sponsored rally at Freedom Plaza, of all places, when I was targeted by Brian Becker and Mara VerHeyden-Hilliard, and publicly labeled a government spy and a "cockroach."
For nearly an hour that day and under the watchful eye of International ANSWER's Brian Becker and Partnership for Civil Justice's Mara VerHeyden-Hilliard, I was followed, harrassed, surrounded, hit, shoved, pushed, taunted, threatened and intimidated by friends and followere of these two. Actively participating in these actions were National Lawyers Guild civil rights "observers."
(I have provided a large packet of captioned photos showing these incidents and othersm, for your further study.)
Now I know that ANSWER, the Partnership for Civil Justice and the National Lawyers Guild have righteous sounding mission statements; but deep down, under that cloak of righteousness are some very evil agendas. A little time spent on Google searches will tell you more than I have time to do in three minutes. Here's a good starting point; type in "Brian Becker"+communist, and you can read the man's own words praising Kim Jong Il and Fidel Castro as humanitarians and benevolent leaders of a happy and well-fed populace.
It would be reasonable and prudent to take every word they offer you today with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Thank you.
Mara VerHeyden-Hilliard had an icy smile on her face as we left the panel table. Too bad Brian Becker wasn't there, too.
As we left the hearing, the ACLU guy came up to me in the hallway and asked for a copy of the photographs. I gave them to him and told him that they could not be used for any purposes without my permission.
Is ACLU wondering now just how much they want to tie their accusations against the MPDC with the National Lawyers Guild and the Partnership for Civil Justice, since both of those groups were actively involved in the civil rights violations against me on May 24, 2003? If they want to appear fair and balanced they should disassociate their activities from NLG and PCJ, imo.
Second interesting tidbit...
The Washington Post, continuing in their fine tradition of ignoring the left-wing violence against conservatives, completely ignored our testimony when they wrote this story.
Imagine that!
P.S. Everyone can watch this circus live online by using this link to DC Cable channel 13. It plays in Window Media Player, but the cable channel's media player window did not have sound (on my computer) so I had to click on the little video window and chose to watch it in my default player. That worked for me.
They are grilling the Chief right now...
Warning: Long post.
Exactly!
All DC Chapter members and others who have demonstrated peacefully in DC, who might want to submit written statements (and photos of left-wing violence they witnessed), still have some time to do so.
Kristinn, how much time will the record be open??
Without people like you displaying the courage to speak out, these dangerous lefties will rule the streets!
Remember Don Adams? It's tough to try to get justice in this country now--it will only get more difficult for any law-abiding citizen to win against these thugs, if the "good guys" don't speak up!
It's a neverending battle we have to fight, to hold these media outlets accountable for their bias. In DC we have the additional problem that our city is governed by left-wing extremists.
The committee members were not at all happy to hear what Kristinn and I had to say, about their other witnesses (NLG and PCJ) having participated in the very same actions that they were condemning the police department for doing.
And they didn't have a single question for us when we finished our statements. They wanted us to go away. The sooner the better for their parade of leftism to continue. As the next panel of leftist "victim witnesses" finished their testimony, Patterson and Ambrose had plenty of questions for them. And not one of the questions was, "Can you prove your allegations?"
Typical leftist tactics.
Awesome work, my FRiends...MUD
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