Police State

RFID tracking armbands forced on all residents near California music festival

" Local residents living within a one-mile radius of the venue for the popular Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, which takes place annually in Indio, California, got an advanced preview of the emerging American police state this year. The Coachella's use of RFID (radio-frequency identification) wristbands to track attendees has been extended beyond just ticket holders to residents living around the Empire Polo Field where the festival takes place, even though forcing these tracking chips on the public is against the law." Continue reading →

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Judge Napolitano On NSA Spying: Most Extraordinarily Broad Search Warrant Ever Issued In US History

"Judge Andrew Napolitano called the situation 'a fishing expedition on the grandest scale we've ever seen in American history.' The government is looking for a select group of people, and instead of obeying the Constitution and simply getting a search warrant for their phones, the judge says, 'They got a search warrant for a 113 million phones!'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Napolitano On NSA Spying: Most Extraordinarily Broad Search Warrant Ever Issued In US History

Hacker Who Exposed Steubenville Rape Case Could Spend More Time Behind Bars Than The Rapists

"The case gained national attention after the 'hacktivist' group Anonymous leaked significant social media evidence implicating the assailants — including tweets, Instagram photos, and a 12-minute video of Steubenville high schoolers joking about the rape. But it turns out that working to expose those rapists may land one Anonymous hacker more time in prison than the rapists themselves will serve. As Mother Jones reports, 26-year-old Deric Lostutter — who has been known as 'KYAnonymous' throughout his role in the Steubenville rape case — could face up to 10 years of jail time if he’s convicted of hacking-related crimes. The FBI raided Losuetter’s home in April." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHacker Who Exposed Steubenville Rape Case Could Spend More Time Behind Bars Than The Rapists

Detroit police’s simulated purse snatching goes awry

"An FBI agent almost shot a Detroit cop on Wednesday at a gas station while filling up. The idea was to simulate a purse snatching and then invite a TV crew to film your reaction Detroit. 'The event takes place. The officer takes the purse, runs around the gas station. As he's running, an off-duty FBI agent is pumping gas. He witnesses the whole thing. He gives chase. He pulls his weapon, and as he turns the corner around the gas station, he's stopped by another officer, who identifies herself as a police officer and don't shoot, don't shoot, this is a scenario,' said Inspector Shawn Gargalino with the Detroit Police Department." Continue reading →

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Middletown CT Police Don’t Obey The 4th Amendment

"This is a film of my encounter with the Middletown CT Police Department on June 5th, 2013. Officer Peck illegally detained me without Reasonable Articulable Suspicion that I had committed or would commit a crime, as required by the Constitution (See: Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)). Officer Peck then lied to me and told me that filming the police department building and parking lot was a crime. Eventually the officers gave up on detaining me since I was doing nothing wrong." Continue reading →

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How Our Right To Travel Became a Bureaucratic Ordeal

"Last week, my vacationing family was stopped at not one, but two, internal checkpoints along Interstate 8 in Arizona and California and questioned about our citizenship. As recently as eight years ago, I drove to and from a house rental in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, with no identification beyond my driver's license. Since 2009, though, a passport or similar document has been required to cross back into the United States from anywhere. Nominally an internationally recognized right, travel of all sorts has become creepingly bureaucratized in recent decades to an extent that has completely transformed the act of going from one place to another." Continue reading →

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Collection of phone records stirs debate: Valuable tool or ‘beyond Orwellian’?

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the program helped to disrupt 'terrorist plots' on U.S. soil. 'It is lawful,' the California Democrat insisted. 'It has been briefed by Congress.' Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger, the two top Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, both stressed that 'this important collection tool does not allow the government to eavesdrop' and that it is routinely reviewed by Congress. White House spokesman Josh Earnest further stressed the importance of ensuring 'we have the tools we need to confront the threat posted by terrorists (and to) protect the homeland.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCollection of phone records stirs debate: Valuable tool or ‘beyond Orwellian’?

Tests Show 0.00% BAC, Retired Firefighter Arrested For DUI & Car Impounded Anyway

"The police documents show the drug recognition officer wrote, 'I conducted an evaluation of Jessie, in my opinion Jessie was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.' According the documents from the Surprise Police Department, the blood analysis showed no drugs were detected in Thornton's blood. Jessie's car had been impounded and the MVD notified of the DUI charge. 'I then get this message that my license is being suspended and I have to take some sort of drinking class or something,' said Thornton. According to the police documents, Thornton was later released to his wife. Thornton now claims this wasn't DUI. 'It was driving while black,' said Thornton." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTests Show 0.00% BAC, Retired Firefighter Arrested For DUI & Car Impounded Anyway

Army Vet: Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Found No Drugs, Killed His Dog

"Adam Arroyo has lived in his Breckenridge apartment for three years but has never experienced a day like this past Monday; when police busted down his door in search of drugs, shooting and killing his dog in the process. When Arroyo returned home Monday evening he found his apartment torn apart, door busted down and several bullet holes in his kitchen wall. Arroyo is a combat veteran who served in Iraq and plans to join the National Guard. This incident, however has left him heart-broken and angry. Arroyo now has to pay to have Cindy cremated. He also had to repair his door at his own cost and has had to miss work." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmy Vet: Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Found No Drugs, Killed His Dog

Jury Nullification Advocate Out Of Jail, Files Federal Lawsuit Against Judge

"Mark Schmidter is a free man after spending 104 days in the Orange County Jail. He was convicted late last year of indirect criminal contempt by Chief Judge Belvin Perry for handing out flyers at the Orange County Courthouse in the months leading up to and during the Casey Anthony trial. He says his fight over free speech is not over. Those flyers explained the right of jurors to nullify convictions if they thought the law was wrong, even if a defendant had committed the crime. Schmidter says he will jump right back into the fray now that he has served his time." Continue reading →

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