Dada in Federal Court 7/17 .... leads to 4 days in jail

[Michael Fisher]

Ridley said he stood in the IRS office for approximately 20 minutes with a sign reading, "Is it right to work 4 IRS?" before he was asked to leave by IRS employees. During that time he handed one employee a flyer promoting the website www.freenh.com, an organization that wishes to see a downsized government in New Hampshire.

Oops... someone needs to buy that domain and point it here. They made a mistake.

[Michael Fisher]

Grab a hard-copy of this when it comes out.

[error]

The freenh.com domain is taken already.

NHB Internet Services, LLC
   3 Taggart Drive Unit J
   Nashua, NH 03060
   US

   Domain Name: FREENH.COM

   Administrative Contact -
        John Webber -  jwebber@nhbis.com
        NHB Internet Services, LLC
        3 Taggart Drive Unit J
        Nashua, NH 03060
        US
        Phone -  603-594-3700
        Fax -

[KBCraig]

I submitted feedback to the UL, pointing out the error. It's too late to correct the print version, but hopefully they'll correct the internet version.

Great job, Dave!

Good article, too.

Kevin

[Kat Kanning]

Surprise surprise .... they want dada's money.

Maybe we should write them a citation and see if they'll pay us!

Ooooh, I like that idea!!

[d_goddard]

Any Diggs of this story would be much appreciated:
http://digg.com/politics/Homeland_Security_and_Petition_for_Redress_of_Grievances

[d_goddard]

Posted on the FTL BBS:
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=9027.0

[Dave Ridley]

I think the citation was $125, not $150, but maybe I misunderstood.   

If you guys digg it be sure to include the corrected NHfree.com URL in the intro.

[Dave Ridley]

 Homeland Security goes after Keene man for demonstrating at IRS office

By SON HOANG
Union Leader Correspondent
9 hours, 30 minutes ago

Nashua ? A Keene man had a run-in with the United States Department of Homeland Security in the parking lot of Building 19 yesterday morning.

Dave Ridley, 40, said he met with an official from the Department of Homeland Security in the parking lot, located at 420 Amherst St., who repeatedly tried to give him a $120 citation for handing out handbills at a federal office.

The citation stems from a silent demonstration Ridley held in early September at the Internal Revenue Service Nashua office, located at 410 Amherst St.

Keene residents have been holding demonstrations at their local IRS office for the past two months, Ridley said, and he wanted to hold one at the Nashua office to show the government that their movement was growing.

Ridley said he stood in the IRS office for approximately 20 minutes with a sign reading, "Is it right to work 4 IRS?" before he was asked to leave by IRS employees. During that time he handed one employee a flyer promoting the website www.freenh.com, an organization that wishes to see a downsized government in New Hampshire.

After leaving the IRS office, Ridley said he remained in the building next to the elevator with his sign for 15 minutes until Nashua Police officers arrived and asked him to leave the building.

Two weeks later, Ridley wrote an article in the Keene Free Press, a local newspaper with a circulation of 5,000, about his demonstration in Nashua, he said. Representatives from Homeland Security soon after left a message at his home while he was out asking to have a meeting with him.

Yesterday morning Ridley met with a Homeland Security representative who identified himself as "Inspector Schmidt," Ridley said.

Schmidt objected to having the conversation recorded and repeatedly tried to hand Ridley his $120 citation, Ridley said.

Ridley, who brought three friends along to observe the meeting, added that Schmidt remained polite throughout the entire exchange despite appearing agitated by Ridley's insistence to not accept the citation.

The entire meeting lasted approximately 10 minutes, Ridley said, and he doesn't know what will happen next. Since he never accepted the citation in person, he assumes that one will be mailed to his home.

Ridley thought the attention Homeland Security paid to him seemed unnecessary. "Aren't they supposed to protect us from terrorists not sign-wavers?"

Despite the fallout from his demonstration in Nashua, Ridley said he will continue to hold his silent demonstrations at state bureaucracies. He has held 20 demonstrations at various state-level government offices such as the Department of Motor Vehicles.

[Dave Ridley]

What's kind of surprising to me is that Son was apparently unable to get verifications but was still willing to run the story.  I guess it's a good sign if the media trusts us that much.  It's too bad NH reporters have such a high rate of departure from the state; we do seem to have establihed good relations with so many reporters but then they leave.  I guess we need to figure out a way to get more of the the higher ups at some of the papers to feel more friendly, but hopefully this will happen through the reporters to some extent.

Russell was commenting that the newness of so many reporters does also work to our advantage in that none of them bat an eye at the fact that so many of us are recent NH immigrants.  Many of the people telling our story have been here even less than we have.

[aries]

This was fun.  Four of met with one homeland security guy..Schmitt.  This time it was HIM who was shaking.  I don't really know why.  He was the one with the gun.

Dave talked nicely with the guy.  Schmitt cited him for giving out handbills on Fed property on the 11th.  He didn't deny that he got the info from Dave's article in the Keene Free Press.  When he handed Dave the ticket, it was real obvious he was shakin in his shoes.  Dave wouldn't take the piece of paper from him.  He's supposed to pay a $150 fine.  Apparently there's an appeals process.  Dave didn't know yet whether he'd pay or not.  At the end of the conversation, Dave told him nicely that he thought the guy was working on the wrong side.  It seemed to effect him funny...having us think he was the bad guy. 

Afterward, the reporter from the Nashua Telegraph showed up and talked to us for a long time.  She was amused about Dave's silent/slow backing up protest.  She headed over to the IRS next door to check it out right after the interview.  Apparently the Concord Monitor wanted to talk to Dave about it later, also.

Did he do the same thing they did and refuse to take the paper?  >:DGive them a taste of their own medicine

[aries]

Surprise surprise .... they want dada's money.

Maybe we should write them a citation and see if they'll pay us!

Ooooh, I like that idea!!

Have a stack of citations and give them to the IRS, or just cite the police?

[error]

Next step is to have the media actually present the next time you "meet with an official from Homeland Security" so they can observe -- and question the Homeland Security official -- for themselves.

[Dave Ridley]

Russell was mentioning we learned a lot yesterday. 

Some of the ideas we came up with for doing this better next time we are "asked" to meet with authorities: 

Make them wait a week so you can get a bigger group together, plan more stuff, generate more anticipation
Make a spectacle....signs, rattlesnake flags, etc.
Do it somewhere a lot of passersby will see you...maybe the state house or near a busy intersection.
If the hosts don't object, invite the authorities to meet you at a porcupine party so they have to wade through a crowd to get to you
Take still pictures and video. Take the stills no matter what objections they seem to have, there is no law against that.
audiotape them if they don't object by invoking the NH wiretap law
represent the keene free press as a journalist and then maybe you can audio tape even if they do object....supposedly journalists are excempt from some of the wiretap laws.

Of course, do the things we did too....bring friends, call reporters, etc. 

Any other ideas how this can be done better? 

[Insurgent]

represent the keene free press as a journalist and then maybe you can audio tape even if they do object....supposedly journalists are excempt from some of the wiretap laws.

 

I have a KFP press pass but haven't used it yet; done anyone know for sure what distinctions this pass allows? Does it give us carte blanch permission to videotape and/or audiotape? Does it get us past security or in to events that we wouldn't otherwise be able to attend?