Federal Police Ordered D.C. Chapter Silenced Outside Democrat Fundraiser 3/25/04

D.C. Chapter ^ | Thursday, March 25, 2004 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

Honor Roll for tonight: Staytrue, BillF, Angelwood, tgslTakoma, GunsareOK, BufordP, Trueblackman, sauropod and kristinn.

An officer with the Federal Protective Service ordered the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic to stop addressing Democrats waiting across the street to enter the Democratic Party's Unity Dinner in Washington, D.C. tonight.

Members of the D.C. Chapter had been peaceably assembled for two hours exercising their First Amendment rights with protest signs and their unaided voices. Apparently the litany of Democrat 'sins' grew too much for this officer to bear so he walked across the street to give a cease and desist order to the FReepers.

I had arrived somewhat late, getting there around 6:15 p.m. Most of the others had been there for at least an hour. I took the Metro there and got out in back of the National Building Museum where the fundraiser was being held. Secret Service agents and officers were everywhere. The rear entrance was where their protectees would be brought. I was told that former President Jimmy Carter had already arrived. I stuck around there for a few minutes hoping Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry or Al Gore might pull up. I spoke with a young Dean supporter for awhile as I waited. There were dozens of Deaniacs milling about holding Dean for President signs. No one showed up so I went around the front to join the rest of the chapter.

I paused at the edge of the crowd waiting to go through the security checkpoint to get in the building and checked how well our signs could be read from across the street in front of the GSA Building where we were set up.

They could be read very easily--especially the one that said, "IF OSAMA WAS A PIECE OF ASS, CLINTON WOULD HAVE NAILED HIM." The one that said, "I'M NOT FONDA HANOI JOHN KERRY," was also quite visible.

I joined the others who had been lightheartedly razzing the crowd with things like, "Dean supporters go to the west side of the building for a Howard Dean scream contest!"

Sauropod and tgslTakoma were working the crowd over, but I'll have to let them report what they were saying.

Angelwood had her Bill Clinton "Crime Wave" poster from YAF. Staytrue made a great John Kerry 'Waffles' sign. BillF was videotaping some of the action when not holding one of the several dozen signs we had brought. I'm not sure who held what other signs, but one of them said, "CLINTON-GORE PARDONED TERRORISTS, GEORGE BUSH KILLS THEM."

After I got settled in, I raised my voice to the Democrats across the street. I asked them many questions, starting with, "How can you nominate a man who took part in a debate about whether to assassinate U.S. senators? Thank God, he voted no, but he didn't tell anyone his group was talking about doing it. When asked about it later he lied and said he wasn't there. When confronted with evidence he was there he now says it wasn't a big deal, just a historical footnote."

I then asked them how they could nominate a man who went to Paris, met with the North Vietnamese and signed on to their peace plan against his brothers in arms still fighting.

I asked how they could nominate a man who went to Congress and lobbied in favor of the North Vietnamese.

"Where is your patriotism, Democrats?" I loudly asked, "Where the hell did it go?"

I then turned to the subject of the 9/11 commission hearings. I mentioned how they spoke about the "urgency" of the terrorist threat. I reminded them of Bill Clinton's record on national security. How the first time Monica Lewinsky did her thing on him, he was on the phone with a congressman who was concerned about the safety of our troops headed to Bosnia. I reminded them that Monica had sense enough to stop, but that Bill Clinton urged her to continue while he was on the phone with the congressman. "That was Bill Clinton's urgency," I told them.

I also brought up other remembrances of Bill Clinton's time in office. Such as Bill having phone sex with Monica on an unsecured phone line, knowing and not caring that he could be taped and subjected to blackmail by a foreign power.

Just to prove it wasn't all about sex, I brought up the Chinese money Bill took and the contributions from Loral and Hughes that greased his betrayal of our national security.

I then pointed out to the crowd of Democrats that in 1993 hardly anyone had heard of Al Qaeda, and that after eight years of Bill Clinton's presidency they were able to attack us here in the United States.

I noted Tom Daschle's concern for Richard Clarke and asked where his concern was for Clinton-era whistleblowers like Linda Tripp, Gary Aldrich and Notra Trulock.

I saw a woman in a bright blue outfit get out of a car across the street with a group of people and called out a friendly warning to her, "Be careful around Bill Clinton in that blue dress, he might have a flashback!"

One of our group brought up the Democrats' obstruction of President Bush's judicial nominees, so I spoke about how they had mistreated Miguel Estrada. I pointed out how the Democrats blocked a Hispanic man because they were afraid he would be the first Hispanic nominated to the Supreme Court. I told them they were "keeping the brown man down because he was the "wrong kind of brown man."

Senator Ted Kennedy came waddling out of the fundraiser accompanied by a staffer and went to his car which was waiting close to where we were standing. Everyone had something to say to Teddy. He waved us off and hustled into the passenger seat of the car. I asked him how Mary Jo Kopechne was doing.

As he was driven away, I called out to the crowd that Ted Kennedy had left Mary Jo to die underwater, left her there for ten hours while he tried to save his political career. "He did it, aren't you proud of him?" I asked, "He's your senator."

I then asked if their Klansman senator, Robert Byrd, was there. I reminded them that Byrd had been a Grand Kleagle in the Klan. I told them that even in the 21st century, Byrd was still using the 'n' word. I also reminded them that Byrd was the only senator to vote against both black Supreme Court nominees.

It was at this point that the police officer approached me. I looked hard at his uniform to see if he was actually a policeman or a just a security guard because he had on a sweater like the guards wear. I saw he had a badge that said Federal Protective Service--he was a cop, a federal cop.

His first words to me were, "There's a whole lot of love here tonight." I just looked at him and thought, "Oh geez, here it comes."

BillF stepped up to listen in and the cop tried to get him to back off, asking him, "Does this conversation concern you?" BillF said it did and stayed there.

The cop was right in my face and told me I had to stop speaking to the crowd across the street. I argued back saying I wasn't using a bull horn, just my voice and that we had done this for years at the White House and elsewhere without incident.

The cop wouldn't hear it and told me I had to shut up because I might provoke an incident. I told him no one from across the street had come over to argue with us for the two hours we had been here. I told him this was a First Amendment issue. He denied that.

He mentioned the woman in the blue dress I had warned about Bill Clinton, saying she talked about coming over to confront us. I told him she hadn't and no one else had. He said it didn't matter.

He told us if we said anything else, he would move us down the street and around the corner.

I told him, "Fine, you're the law and you own this street. We'll do what you say." I figured one cop with a bad attitude over what we were doing was not worth going to jail for.

So we kept quiet, but Angelwood made a new sign that said, "WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TALK TO YOU BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BECOME VIOLENT."

Trueblackman came to the rescue and lightened the mood with a sign of his own that mocked John Kerry's statement that he wanted to be 'America's second black President' after Bill Clinton.

Trueblackman's sign said "I WANT TO BE AMERICA'S 44TH WHITE PRESIDENT."

That was a controversial sign. Folks either laughed or scowled when they saw him holding it. A Washington Post photographer came over and took several pictures of Trueblackman with his sign.

A while later, an older white man, who looked like a politician but we can't place his face, came out to get in his chauffer driven sedan. He called out to us, "Vote Kerry."

Trueblackman told him, "I'm voting for Bush."

This set the white man off. He sneered at Trueblackman, "What has George Bush ever done for you?" The racist way that sounded stunned us all, I think. I don't remember what if anything, any of us said in response to that.

Baghdad Jim McDermott came out after that. Trueblackman asked him a question about Iraq that he didn't answer.

Sen. Tom Harkin came out to leave, also. As he walked with a staffer to his waiting car, I violated the cop's order and shouted out to him, "Hey Tom, are you proud that John Kerry voted against assassinating U.S. senators? Are you proud Kerry went to Paris and took the side of the North Vietnamese? Are you proud Kerry lobbied Congress in favor of the North Vietnamese?" Harkin turned around to listen for a few seconds before he got in his car, but I didn't hear a reply.

As he drove off I asked, "When is the Democrat Party going to nominate a patriotic American for President?"

The cop who had ordered me to be quiet came down the steps of the building across the street to the curb and stopped. I was prepared to tell him that no order of his would stop me from exercising my First Amendment right to criticize a U.S. senator.

But instead of crossing the street to us, he turned and walked down the street to his patrol car. He started it up and drove off into the night.

We wrapped it up at 8 p.m. and most of us went for dinner downtown. It should be noted that a few Ralph Nader supporters stood near us holding a banner that said, "DEBATE NADER."

Also, a bunch of LaRouchies were leafletting cars while other LaRouchies repeatedly drove around the block with 'Blues Brothers' speakers on the roof of their car blaring Lyndon LaRouche speeches.

Everyone in the D.C. Chapter did great tonight. I hope they add their experiences on this thread, as this write up ended up being mostly about my experience there.

At least we didn't get arrested.

[kcvl]

Is he named after a gun?

[NYCVirago]

Excellent job. Bump!

[CONSERVE]

bump

[kitkat]

Kristinn, THANK YOU for speaking for all of us who can't be there.

[leadpenny]

On my way home from work last night around 9 p.m., I was listening to xlinton's sickening, legacy building, self-promoting speech on C-SPAN Radio.

Now, I read this spectacular report. I have to tell you that I'm already fighting a cold or allergies, and between the speech, my headache and the chilling scene of a police officer stifling free speech, I think I'll just go back to bed and be really depressed.

The area of the National Building Museum and the National Police Memorial is one of my most favorite areas of DC, but it will now be remembered, by me anyway, as a place where a terrible and frightening line has been crossed. The trampling of civil liberties needs to stop.

Thank you all, I think, for being there.

[Tactical]

The cop who had ordered me to be quiet came down the steps of the building across the street to the curb and stopped. I was prepared to tell him that no order of his would stop me from exercising my First Amendment right to criticize a U.S. senator.

I'd be willing to bet (from experience) that this cop wanted to make an arrest and you guys were the target. But when he returned to his post, he talked to his supervisor who told him to back off and sent him on another assignment.

If this happens again anywhere, with any police agency. Comply with the cop's request/demand, but ask to speak to his supervisor immediately. If he doesn't get one over to you, then call the police agency by cell phone and request a supervisor meet you at the scene.

This let's them know you mean business too. The supervisor will squash any potential trouble as long as you speak him or her calmly, quietly and logically.

You guys were dealing with a partisan hot-shot low level cop. They aren't supposed to confront you without a complaint of disturbing the peace or other violation.

But always talk to a supervisor, that old boy doesn't want things to get out of hand and he will step on his people if he feels they're out of line.

You guys did a good job and used common sense.

[Drango]

At least we didn't get arrested.

LOL...

About 9 months ago in California, 50-60 of us were on a bridge overpass waving American flags. Something we did on the 11th of every month. The Highway Patrol came up and kicked us off the overpass, asserting we were slowing traffic on the freeway below.

I know your dilemma as I pondered if it was OK to get arrested for waving the American flag or if I should just follow the orders of the police. I left....

[risk]

litany of 10 years of dem transgressions bump

[MindBender26]

There are important legal and tactical steps to take to prevent this problem of unconstitutional police interference.

You need to get a formal opinion letter from a good DC First Amendment lawyer about police rights to contain you in one area, move you once you are established in a place, make noise, etc. For example. in some jurisdictions, bull horns are perfectly legal.

You should then have a copy of that letter with you at all times.

Then, and this is important, always have multiple video camcorders at all rallies. At least one should be up close, accurately recording any confrontation with or orders from any LEO. If a separate wireless microphone is being used, it should be clearly visible so as to ensure no one accuses you of surreptitious taping.

The start of any confrontation should include politely speaking to the effect of "I'm now being approached by a man in a police uniform with a badge/shoulder patch reading X Y Z. The officer's name tag says John Whatever and his badge number is XXX.

Then politely say to the officer, "Sir, I want to give you the courtesy of letting you and your superiors know that we are video and audio recording this discussion. Now, what was it you wanted to say to us?"

If a LEO always have another person with you. If LEO asks something like "Does this concern you?" The answer is a simple "Yes." (It's hard to argue with a simple yes.)

If asked why. The first party simply says, "Because I want him/her here." Always be polite, but do not be intimidated. They may try to separate leadership from the group. Do not let them do so. Do not push a camera into anyone's face. Never touch the officer or yell at him/her in any way. Don't block a sidewalk, stand in road, etc.

If ordered to do anything that your lawyer says they can not make you do, say, "Our lawyers say we do not have to do that, and we don't want to, and we're acting on advice of our lawyers, and they asked me to give you this." Then politely hand the officer a copy of the lawyer's letter saying why you can stay/be where you are.

If LEO starts to read letter, move away from him/her a few feet and begin conversation with some other FReepers, acting as if your conversation/interaction with LEO is over.

Be respectful of LEOs. In any confrontation with LEO, uses phrases like, "I know you don't want to stifle protected First Amendment Free Speech any more than anyone else does......" Always be polite. Address LEO's as "Officer." If there are any hotheads or provocateurs in your group, get them away. They may be from lib side, trying to get us blamed for trouble.

Often, Feds will try to get local LEOs to do dirty work. In that case, something like "Just because some federal officer wants you to get into trouble denying us our First Amendment rights, that doesn't make it right or legal. Please read the lawyer's letter again and you will see how any such action can make you, your superiors, your deparmtent, the mayer, all liable for damages for this illegal action... and of course, officer, you have now have been formally informed of the law in these matters, in writing, so that makes any violation much worse."

Two cameras are better than one, because if they try to take first camera, second camera can record that. For a major confrontation, even have a third camera with a good long lens some distance away. If something serious goes down, quickly change tape in camera. Get the tapes out of the area ASAP. Cops may try to take them as "evidence."

If they try to intimidate you into not recording, simply say "Why are we recording this? Because we have an absolute legal right to do so, because our lawyers (plural) want a perfect record of everyone's conduct here, yours and ours, and the TV stations will want it too..... and if LEO still has a bad look on his face, add, "and because we all remember Rodney King."

Once they see you are not going to back down and will politely and legally stand up for your rights, and not be intimidated, they will usually go away and leave you alone.

[MindBender26]

Never stop recording. The harder they push you to stop recording, you know the more they want to do something and not have it recorded. If you record, they, not you, will be intimadated.

They remember Brother Rodney too.

There ARE some areas you cannot record, ie airport security screening ares, etc. but that restriction does not extend to "police operations."

[hellinahandcart]

That was one Democrat of a cop.

[tgslTakoma]

!

[onyx]

Thank you DC Chapter! BRAVO!

[tgslTakoma]

BillF and I took some still photos, BillF and Staytrue also had video cameras rolling, and BillF had a tape recorder on at times. We'll be posting visuals later today/tonight.

We had a good time.

[TxBec]

cant wait to see the pictures.

[TheSarce]

So we kept quiet, but Angelwood made a new sign that said, "WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TALK TO YOU BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BECOME VIOLENT."

It's taken nearly five minutes to catch my breath, this made me laugh so hard! Sheer shining genius from the DC Chapter (as usual)!

Is there an emoticon for a standing ovation? ;-)

[sauropod]

One gentleman did cross the street and approached me since i was holding the "I'm not Fonda Hanoi John" sign. He asked me if I had served in Vietnam.

I sensed that the man was giving me an ideological litmus test: if I had not served over in 'Nam, then I had no right to anything.

I replied to him that no, I was to young to go to 'Nam. I then asked him about Hanoi John's 2 Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, and a Bronze Star all obtained in 4 months, with hardly any time off. He looked stunned for a moment. Then he turned around and started leaving.

I tried to engage him again in debate but he was having none of it.

Now, another Chapter member said to me that I should have waited for the gentleman to actually come out and say that since I did not serve in 'Nam that i should siddown and STF U.

Next time.

[sauropod]

I suggested that we all wear silver duct tape a la Martin Sheen.

[sauropod]

I suggested getting his badge number. I don't think he has to give a written order, since our experience in the past is that permits are, in the opinion of DC's Finest and other LEOs "revokeable" on the spot if they feel the situation is getting out of hand (it wasn't.)

There is no point to antagonizing LEOs. They are there to keep the peace and we respect that.

[cyborg]

That wouldn't be enough to silence a lot of FReepers I hear! LOL