For instance, a Cop Blocker could be getting pulled over, send an alert to a “cell” including other Cop Blockers in the area, and then others would know the sender’s location and what was happening, and could mobilize to the scene to provide support. Meanwhile, the Cop Blocker who sent the alert could also stream live video from the pullover that his cohorts could watch while they were en route.

The app also had alerts for other categories such as fire, medical emergency, breakdown, and others. The idea being that when something bad is happening in your life, it’s better to have friends respond instead of armed psychopaths who might shoot you, your family, or your dog. In case you’re not already familiar with Cell 411, here’s a video that Cop Block’s co-founder Pete Eyre made showing the app’s various features several years ago:

Unfortunately, after years of useful service, Cell 411 fell into disrepair due to its founder falling on hard times due to some family difficulties. He reached out to me and the Shire Free Church took over the project in 2020, but by that time the software was essentially broken.

The first thing I wanted to do was open source Cell 411’s programming, which we have done. The project’s new head programmer, “Nobody”, is an old-school Cop Blocker and has spent the last few years – minus six months in jail when he was targeted by the feds for selling bitcoin – trying to refactor and improve the code. However, he needs help. It’s more than a one-man project and he’s getting burned out and needs some people with programming experience for Android and iOS who are willing to help make Cell 411 great again.

If you don’t know how to program, you can still help us test the app.

If you’re willing to help, please join our Matrix or Telegram support chats to get connected, and introduce yourself. You can also find our code at our Gitlab here.

Please share this story if you value Cell 411. Thank you.

Remember Cell 411? You can help bring it back to life. is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

In that vein, I recently kicked-off a new endeavor: Duty To Protect, which I’m really excited about. The project has some parallels to CopBlock.org and some stark differences. If you’re at all interested I encourage you to check out this hour-long convo I had with Jason Bassler and Matt Agorist of The Free Thought Project.

Onward and upward!

Duty To Protect homepage: https://dutytoprotect.net
Duty To Protect on Odysee: https://odysee.com/@dutytoprotect

CopBlock Co-Founder Interviewed About New Endeavor, Duty To Protect is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

In 2016 we featured a video from then-eleven-year-old Mikey Gordon as he shut down a state trooper’s speed trap in Alstead. In the Summer of 2020, at age 15, Mikey was arrested for allegedly refusing to pull over while riding a motorcycle in Keene, leading police on a high-speed chase that ended near Rt 12.

According to police, the then-unknown motorcycle operator ditched the bike and ran into the woods before police were able to catch up. Fortunately for the cops, a local snitch, Alexander Short – the owner of Short’s Detailing at 58 Forest Ave in Swanzey – approached them and told officers he knew who the operator of the motorcycle was, as the two had been hanging out in the Target parking lot the same night. The snitch placed a phone call to Mikey’s cell phone and officers were then able to locate and take him into custody, ultimately returning him home to his parents’ house.

Months later, Mikey was subsequently charged with two misdemeanor counts: “disobeying an officer” and “operating without valid license”. The first count was charged as “class A”, which could result in up to a year in jail and the second count charged as “class B” which could be a large fine. The Keene Police prosecutor offered a plea deal which would have dropped the class A charge in return for his guilty plea on the class B with the punishment being a 30 day loss of license and $620 fine plus $720 suspended on condition of good behavior. Now-seventeen-year-old Mikey heroically refused the plea deal and took the charges to trial (full video) earlier this month:

After the state presented its case, Keene district court judge Patrick W Ryan took the case “under advisement” and complimented Mikey, telling him, “you did a good job”. It was Mikey’s first time in court and he appeared pro-se, defending himself without the help of an attorney.

Normally, when a robed man takes a case under advisement it is a good sign that the verdict will not be “guilty”, because usually they are hesitant to deliver a not-guilty verdict in front of an audience and cameras. Judges are likely to issue more favorable verdicts when the cameras are off and no one is around, and that is exactly what happened in this case. Actually, the charges were “dismissed” according to the case file, which means Mikey wasn’t found “not guilty”. Dismissing charges after the trial has finished is an unusual result, but it’s still a solid win for the teenage Cop Block activist.

Observers reported that the snitch Alexander Short laughed and told Mikey outside of the courtroom to “have fun in jail”. Who is laughing now? One benefit of taking charges to trial is the police have to put snitches – or any undercover agents – on the witness stand to make their case, whereas if the defendant takes a plea deal the snitch is protected from public view. So now everyone knows that Alexander Short of Swanzey New Hampshire is happy to throw his friends under the bus and rat them out to the police for victimless crimes.

Congratulations to Mikey for his victory!

Copblocker Defeats Charges for Fleeing on Motorcycle While Underage is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Seven other people were also arrested for speaking out during the arrests of Footloose and Terese. The “New Hampshire Nine” had a court hearing on Friday to deal with some pending motions and unlike the rest of the Nine, Footloose is representing himself in the case. If you’ve seen his other videos, you know that means it won’t be dull. Here’s a video with highlights from his visit, including he and other activists bravely refusing to stop recording when threatened by a masked court goon. You can see the full uncut series of videos he recorded at Concord district court on his Odysee.

It’s also worth noting that there is an unconstitutional “Supreme Court” of NH order in place prohibiting recording in all parts of state courthouses except the courtrooms themselves. Those restrictions were put in place because of Keene activists recording over a decade ago and haven’t been meaningfully challenged ever since. Kudos to New Hampshire native Footloose for standing up for the right to record and the right to transparency. It was nice to see him back down the armed goon AND he did it while on bail conditions for his previous ridiculous victimless arrests.

Stay tuned to Free Keene for the latest on his saga.

CopBlocker Records in Court Lobby Despite Threats from Armed Goon is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

In December, the town gang in Newfields, NH passed an unconstitutional ordinance against “picketing” and then ticketed multiple people for a peaceful protest outside New Hampshire tyrant-king Chris Sununu’s house. They also arrested YouTuber Savage Truth 603 at the same time for “disorderly conduct”.

Subsequent gatherings at Sununu’s during January were left alone by police, but then on Sunday the 31st peaceful protestors were once again targeted by a phalanx of state police and local cops.

When we arrived around 2pm, there were already a bunch of police cruisers and probably at least a dozen visible masked cops around Sununu’s house. After some speaking and sign-holding, we began to sing COVID Carols. During the second song, several more state police cruisers arrived with a bunch of yellow-jacketed goons complete with zip ties.

They started walking towards us in a line as we continued our songs – the lyrics to which you can download at covid.freekeene.com. The armed thugs then stopped advancing and went back, perhaps aware that arresting people for singing might not look good on video.

After we finished, Nobody and I started to pack up to leave as “Footloose” from Absolute Defiance approached the police again, demanding he be given a ticket for “picketing”. The police chief from Newfields indicated that he did indeed have a ticket for Footloose, but no one else. The armed man then threatened Footloose with kidnapping if he raised his voice – something Footloose is known to do as a normal state of talking. Then, they arrested him for asking a masked plainclothes state police agent to identify himself. The charge? Cops’ favorite catch-all for peaceful activists they don’t like: “Disorderly Conduct”. Here’s video of the event, which includes the arrest scene:

Footloose was taken to Newmarket PD and released on personal recognizance. His arraignment on the “disorderly” charge is Feb 25th, 8am at Exeter District Court in Brentwood, NH. Sununu continues to hide and run his gang in secret.

Stay tuned to FreeKeene.com for the latest.

VIDEO: Man Arrested at Caroling Event at NH Governor’s House is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

After asking if he could get down from the bench on which he was standing, the man refused their invitation to talk and after confirming he was not being arrested, turned around and wisely ignored the uniformed gang members. Meanwhile I began peppering the lead agent with questions and then Nobody started in as well. Within a minute, they take off. That’s what you call a Cop Block!

Here is the video:

VIDEO: NH Rifleman Knows His Rights, Refuses to Talk to Concord Police is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

It late April I shared some outrageous video of uniformed, masked Concord gang members threatening a group of peaceful parents who had come to a local playground with their kids during the “stay at home” lockdown. The masked bullies targeted the small group of parents but the same gang ignored mass anti-lockdown demonstrations at the state house with hundreds violating the “orders” of “HIS EXCELLENCY” Chris Sununu. The armed gangsters knew they don’t have the numbers to challenge 400 demonstrators, but picking on a few peaceful families when no one else was around, now that’s more their speed.

Now one of the parents, Rochelle Kelley of Weare, NH says that even though she left the playground when the armed gang members ordered her to, several months later they issued a warrant for her arrest on charges of “Criminal Trespassing” and “Disorderly Conduct”. Two other parents from the same playground incident, Pamela Jewell and Tyler Workman were also arrested recently, according to WMUR. Curiously, WMUR was able to get the Concord police gang to comment on the story and actually provide information. The government lapdog media gets special treatment, apparently. When I requested the information about the case from the Concord gang records division on Tuesday I received a response back saying it could take up to ninety days. It wasn’t just me, Kelley herself requested records from CPD and was also given the same response. WMUR had no such difficulty, apparently.

The good news is that Kelley is planning to fight the charges and has retained liberty lawyer Dan Hynes to take the case. ReopenNH founder Andrew Manuse has put together a fundraiser for her legal defenses that in just a few days has raised over $2,600 of its $10,000 goal.

Just to be clear, multiple parents in the so-called “Live Free or Die” state are now facing two years behind bars for bringing their kids to a playground. It’s a perfect example of how insane this Fear World is and how far the state is willing to go to ensure people’s obedience. Were the parents at risk of infection by bringing their kids to a playground? Maybe, but it should be their risk to take. We are always taking risks. Until 2020, risk was a regular part of life and still is. It was probably more risky to just drive to the playground in the first place, but few people worry every day about getting behind the wheel of a rolling deathtrap.

The police gang would have you believe they are enforcing these draconian measures to help keep people safe. What would be worse for the kids, though? A young family coming down with an easily-defeatable virus, or mom or dad going to jail for two years? The reality is that the government gang is doing this to centralize their power and further their control of our lives and sadly most people are just doing what they are told, even if it destroys their business and freedom. I will continue to cover those like Kelley who are willing to stand up and fight. Her arraignment in Concord at district court is October 19th.

UPDATE: Parents Arrested Several Months After Bringing Kids to Concord Playground is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

For a dozen weeks, Keene police have ignored the weekly “Nightcap” events that have happened in Central Square, Fridays starting at 11:59pm. I had no reason to continue writing about the events here because they were a success – peaceful people having a quiet party in the Common, unmolested by state aggression.

Until this weekend, when the Keene police attacked in the form of ticketing everyone’s car parked around Central Square. This, while nationwide protests are calling for the defunding or outright abolition of police. In fact, just a dozen or so hours after the police targeted and littered their threats on the cars around the Square, it was filled on Saturday afternoon with hundreds of people protesting the police. Though Keene police’s chief showed up with a sign at the previous Keene Black Lives Matter event and pretended to care, it’s clearly business-as-usual for their agents on the street.

While the nationwide protests are rightfully focusing on the most egregious police abuses like the murder-by-cop or rape-by-cop, a major reason why any goodwill the cops might have had has been whittled away over decades, is their constant harassment and targeting of peaceful people for non-violent, victimless “crimes”. That’s exactly what they did on Friday night, when in search of revenue and obedience, officers Tim Richmond and new guy Jake Laporte showed up at our peaceful party.

When I noticed they had stopped in the street in front of a parked car, I walked over to see what was going on and Jake said something about enforcing a night time parking ordinance. I was not recording the scene just yet and I told him that he could go away and go find something else to do. He made a comment about just doing his job and got back into his police crusier where Tim was in the passenger seat. At that point, though there was still some hope he’d do the right thing and leave, I readied my phone to record video of the scene. Sadly he and Tim got out and began littering on the parked cars around the square.

Later the uniformed monopolists on violence claim they were ordered to enforce some “night time parking” city ordinance that allegedly prohibits parking from 2-6am in the “business district”, which they claimed was Main Street and Central Square. Then, on their last stop around the Square, Leigh, who was visiting from Manchester had gotten into his van right before they rolled up behind him. Because he didn’t leave quick enough, despite being in the process of leaving, the officers pulled up to block him from leaving at all and issued their final $15 ticket before leaving the area. Here’s the video:

Stay tuned to Free Keene to see what we do with the multiple tickets issued.

VIDEO: Keene Police Prove it’s Business As Usual By Targeting Peaceful Nightcap Event is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Finally, average people are showing concern for police violence! It only took thousands of innocent bodies piled up over many years and countless millions of peaceful people arrested for victimless crimes before enough people got mad enough to do something. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cops who brazenly choked him to death for several minutes while being recorded on video as Floyd tried to plead with the gang of killers and alert them that he could not breathe.

Floyd’s death wasn’t the first such death at the hands of police across the United States.

However, what happened to Floyd was the spark that lit a flame – literally, with large numbers of people coming out from their homes to join in protests demanding police accountability and railing against police violence, which is used more often against blacks, but affects all of the human race. The protestors even torched the Minneapolis third precinct station after police abandoned the property after days of protests outside, which was an amazing victory and was refreshing to see the people’s understandable anger targeted where it was actually deserved.

Sadly, some protests have also been sullied by violence committed against people and the destruction of private property in many cities. The destruction of innocent-owned private property has been significant and tragic. However, New Hampshire has thankfully avoided these losses, likely because people here are much more free to defend their property from attackers, with weapons if necessary. The people who are targeting private property are unwelcome among the peaceful protestors and are likely a mix of police acting as agents-provocateur and opportunists who are looking to destroy and/or steal.

Today in Keene, several hundred people gathered in Central Square at 4pm today for a Black Lives Matter protest that rivaled the BLM event from Manchester, NH on Saturday. After nearly fifteen years in Keene, I’ve never seen anything this big in Central Square, ever. Today’s event was probably 4-5 times larger than the biggest 420 rallies in Central Square more than a decade ago.

The honking from drivers was nearly non-stop including multiple large trucks and tractor trailers laying on their horns to cheers from the excited crowd. Keene’s police chief Steven Russo and Cheshire County’s sheriff Eli Rivera were both present in the heart of the park holding signs saying, “We hear you” and taking pictures with people. To their credit, this was a smart move. By physically joining the protestors, the police acting like humans can diffuse anger and deescalate tensions. However, talk is cheap, and “hearing” isn’t the same as “listening”, and it’s certainly not actually changing their behavior.

Will the Keene police stop arresting peaceful people for victimless crimes? It’s the insane war on drugs and other prohibitions that have resulted in people of all shapes and sizes and colors being attacked, imprisoned, and murdered by police nationwide for decades. Keene’s police have made a myriad of drug busts and assisted the DEA in raiding a popular local head shop on Main Street several years ago. A stroll through past posts here at Keene Cop Block shows just a fraction of the lives the local police have ruined in the name of their authoritarian prohibitions. Are they going to now see how they harmed their brothers and sisters, issue an apology, change their ways and send back the BEARCAT armored tank to its manufacturer?

I sure hope so, for their sake, but then again, I’m an optimist.

Police at BLM Protest: “We Hear You” – but are they listening? is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

The parents rightfully call the police “NAZIs” and “robots” and get the costumed people to admit that someone had called and snitched on the families for being at the playground. As you might expect, the cops lie to the parents, claiming they have to investigate if called. However, that’s not true as police have discretion and can choose to do nothing. Claiming they are obligated to investigate is a common lie by police to justify harming peaceful people. At the end of the amazing video, the male cop tries to propagandize the parents about COVID-19 and one lady starts coughing – the cops then finally leave – it’s hilarious!

Kudos to these parents for calling out the police and recording video of their thuggish behavior. Thank goodness some people are standing up for freedom here in New Hampshire. Those of us who don’t want to live in fear – as the state and mainstream media are demanding – need to let our voices be heard. I don’t want to live in an insane medical authoritarian nightmare state, what about you?

If you are sick of this shit and want more freedom, come to the state house this Saturday from noon to 2pm in Concord and join the next freedom-to-assemble rally. See you there!

VIDEO: Concord, NH Police VS Parents at Playground is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

National talk show host, Linux entrepreneur, and Cop Block activist Christopher Waid knew there was a chance he could be arrested for holding the police accountable at a DUI checkpoint in Manchester, but he probably didn’t expect it to be as ridiculous as it was. Moments after he and I had arrived on the scene in April of 2017, Waid walked across one half of Bridge St in order to reach the median to get a closer shot with his video camera. Immediately, Manchester’s own badge #1, Robert Harrington charged over and yelled at Waid, “Get over on the sidewalk where you belong, NOW!”

Harrington then got up in Waid’s face and demanded ID to which Waid declined, correctly stating he has no obligation to provide the angry cop with ID. Harrington then arrested Waid, and charged him with the police’s favorite catch-all of “disorderly conduct”. I caught the entire thing on video, which you can see here. The “disorderly conduct” charge was a “Class A”, which carries up to a year of jail time. Later in the mail, the police sent an additional “violation” for crossing the street outside of a crosswalk.

Now, two years later, the people calling themselves the “City of Manchester” have cut a check to Waid for $15,000 of taxpayers’ money for Harrington’s obviously illegal arrest. For the first time since his arrest, the video from Chris’ camera that was confiscated is now available for you to see. I’ve augmented it with a little of my camera’s view for perspective:

After hiring attorney Seth Hipple, both charges against Waid were dropped – further proof the police knew they had no case and the charges were brought as an excuse to harass a police accountability activist and get him away from the DUI checkpoint on the night in question. Waid, through attorney Hipple, sent the City of Manchester a letter with his intention to file a lawsuit against them and Harrington in Federal court. In the letter, Hipple included his proposed lawsuit where he cited federal code title 42 section 1983, deprivation of rights.

In the 16-page potential suit, Hipple points out that officer Harrington told multiple lies in his *sworn affidavit*:

• Harrington falsely claims it was Waid who approached him, and that “He moved the camera toward my face in such a way as to cause me concern that he would strike me.” The video obviously shows it was Harrington who approached Waid and got right up in his face while grabbing Waid’s camera. Curiously, Harrington didn’t seem at all concerned about the large Maglite flashlight held in Waid’s other hand, as he didn’t mention it in his affidavit.
• Harrington’s complaint against Waid claims he committed “disorderly conduct” by obstructing ‘business’ in a government facility. The road is pretty clearly not a government facility and the only disruption to their DUI checkpoint was the officers’ choice. They left their post so they could harass a member of the media who had come to observe them.
• Harrington claims I was on the median with Waid, which was not true. I had partially crossed the street, but returned to the sidewalk when I detected the likely arrest.

Hipple correctly argues in the potential suit that Harrington, through the use of intimidation tactics and arrest, violated Waid’s 1st amendment right to be the free press and record government police as well as Waid’s right to be free from unlawful arrest and battery.

Given the costs to litigate this obvious deprivation of rights case, the city cut a $15,000 check to Waid to settle the matter and avoid having to lose in court. It only took two years, but Waid was completely vindicated and took home most of the $15,000 after attorney’s fees. Sadly, it was Manchester taxpayers who are on the hook for the awful police behavior that continues in that area. No officer is held directly accountable for their own actions. Harrington’s pay won’t be docked.

In an exclusive interview with Free Keene, Waid said, “While in some respects this entire case has been a vindication of my rights and actions there is a long way to go in fixing the abusive nature of the state. Sadly even where there is no immunity from police misconduct, as was the case here, there is no real consequence for the officers involved. The police will continue to get away with lying, manipulation, and even rape in some cases with utter impunity. Fortunately while there is no hope outside of New Hampshire there is inside thanks to the freedom migration movement. In time we will overcome an apathetic public and corrupt system.”

Hopefully Manchester cops will keep their hands off the media in the future, but only time will tell. When asked what he planned to do with the money, Waid said he intended to spend some of it on cryptocurrency like bitcoin and the rest against further oppression of free people.

“City of Manchester” Gives Cop Blocker $15,000 After Illegal Arrest by Lying Cop at DUI Checkpoint is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Thankfully, another brave student pulled out their phone upon hearing a commotion from inside the bathroom and captured the entire tackling on video:

Understandably many are outraged at the officer’s use of force over a simple vaping incident, but that’s not really what caused English to fly into a violent rage. The young victim’s real crime was disobedience. The youth had the gall to act as though he were a free man, walking away from a threatening, potentially violent anti-nicotine nuisance and attempting to go about his day. English has his “authority” to worry about and can’t possibly be seen by others as someone who one could just walk away from without consequence, so he used violence to dominate the young man in front of a crowd of people.

Keene Police have been making headlines nationwide for proclaiming that English was fully within police guidelines for his use of force against the “subject” – yes, that’s actually how they refer to the rest of us non-gang members. Keene police chief Steve Russo exonerated English in a recent release, saying his agent had not violated any department guidelines or state statutes, but Russo said further that English was worried the young man was a potential trespasser, claiming to the Union Leader, “At that point, he didn’t even know he was a student”.

While Keene Police are trying to make English look like a hero protecting the school from a potential intruder, the reality is much different. In KPD’s official release, they claim the Keene Police and the school district are, “committed to maintaining the safety and security of the students…which may regrettably include when necessary, the use of force to secure that safety.” There were no allegations the young victim was doing anything violent. He was allegedly vaping in the bathroom. No one was threatened by the young man. The only dangerous, violent threat in Keene High School that day was Keene Police’s Joshua English. Who is he?

Don’t expect the mainstream media to do a modicum of digging about English. Otherwise you might have already discovered English shot a man to death in Keene back in 2010. Free Keene blogger and former police officer Brad Jardis covered the story here when English was found to be within the state’s use-of-force guidelines in the shooting incident. In that case, the man who was shot by English was holding a knife to a woman’s throat, so our blogger Jardis agreed with the shooting as necessary. However, is it really the best decision to assign one of the only officers at KPD who has violently taken another human being’s life the duty of being the high school’s cop?

Also, if my memory is correct, English was formerly in the military. I was unable to verify this, however. KPD’s officer Steven Tenney could not recall whether English was former military when I spoke with Tenney by phone this afternoon. One local claims English was U.S. Army Special Forces.

English isn’t the real problem, of course. Unless he’s actually a psychopath, English probably wanted to help stop bad guys and real violent criminals when he signed up to join the police. Then he got assigned as vape patrol at the high school and is now “just doing his job”. His job is the problem. Nicotine addiction is a difficult thing, but like any drug addiction, it’s a personal struggle for the individual to overcome. Using the state’s violence isn’t helping end addiction – the state makes everything worse. Despite the failure of alcohol prohibition, cannabis, and other ongoing drug prohibitions, people still have not learned their lesson. Prohibition does not work. It never has, and never will. It doesn’t matter how many peaceful vapers are attacked physically by cops, or how many street cigarette dealers are choked to death, nicotine use will continue and police will continue to whittle away their once-positive image by their ridiculous violent enforcement.

Last year, the city gang in Keene passed a ridiculous ordinance prohibiting the possession of nicotine products by anyone under 21 years old and also banning sale of those products to under-21s. As we libertarians predicted at the time, despite the woman who proposed the ordinance not wanting to prohibit possession, the police would be targeting young people for harassment. I even confronted the police chief over this at the hearing where a city committee voted to approve the nicotine prohibition. I asked Russo if simply looking young was “reasonable articulable suspicion” for the police to demand identification from a young person with a vaporizer or cigarette. He admitted he believed it was, while simultaneously claiming they wouldn’t be stopping people in the streets – an obvious lie. That’s exactly what police can and will do. That is precisely what has been happening to countless under-18 Keene youth for years. Police would regularly harass, ticket, and arrest teens for nicotine use and now they can harass even more young people – any of them who they believe to be under 21.

Is a violent takedown of a vape-using young person what the prohibitionists imagined would happen when they passed their precious ordinance last year? Those of us who understand the consequences of prohibition saw this coming. Stop the madness and leave peaceful drug users alone.

The student victim in this case has been identified to me and I’ll be reaching out directly to him for comment. Stay tuned here to Free Keene for any updates.

School Resource Officer Who Tackled Student Also Killed Man in 2010 is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

According to NBR, when his parents, who love their son dearly, heard about his behavior they were quite concerned for his safety and well-being. They called to have him involuntarily committed so he could get the help and treatment he desperately needed at the time. Or, so they thought.

Unfortunately, then Keene police showed up and took things from bad to worse by responding to the mentally ill man with every cop in the vicinity, plus state police. One neighbor reported counting at least eleven police cruisers on the scene. It was a huge show of force considering NBR has no history of violence, nor had he threatened anybody. In fact, NBR was not charged by the police on the night in question with any crimes whatsoever. The police took him into custody without incident and delivered him to the Cheshire Medical Center to begin his involuntary commitment. There was no legitimate reason for such a large police response.

There was also no reason for several armed men with at least one laser-sighted assault rifle and two full-body shields to break down his front door and terrorize NBR. Though he expressed to the officers that he just wanted to go to sleep, he told me he did not resist their arrest.

The video and photo he took during the break-in by Keene Police, who broke down his front door, is stunning, terrifying, and just sad. In the video, at least one laser-sighted assault rifle is pointed at NBR as police demand he put down the phone in his hand. He makes it clear he is recording, thankfully not being shot to death for holding his phone. People have been killed by police in other jurisdictions when police claimed they thought the phone was a gun. NBR even managed to take an intense picture of the event to share with the world to show how dangerous the police can be and how unnecessary their actions were.

Does anyone actually belive this level of force by the Keene Police Department was appropriate or justified in any way? While it was extremely risky, thankfully NBR recorded the situation so it could be shared with others. It is a terrifying view of the police state on display, in a completely and clearly excessive response to an all-too common situation. Police operating policies and procedures should be changed to prevent this from happening again in the future.

Mental illness is a weak point in the Non Aggression Principle, which is the principle that defines libertarianism.  Clearly in a society with no coercive state, something would need to be done about someone who has lost their mind and has become a danger to himself or others, and that something will usually involve some level of aggression.  However, an involuntary commitment process should not involve men with assault rifles, shields, and overwhelming force unless the person is actually putting people in danger. In this case, NBR was simply having a breakdown in his own home. He was not a danger to himself or others, he did not threaten others, and he did everything the officers ordered him to do without incident.

NBR is currently receiving mental health treatment on a voluntary basis. He told me, “I had a sleep study last night. Early results indicate night sweats, grinding my teeth, and screaming while sleeping. My doctors believe this is a result of the trauma and abuse I suffered from the police officers and security officers”.

NBR was then transferred to an observation cell at the Cheshire County Department of Corrections, where he was kept in solitude for another week while waiting on a hospital bed to open up at the state hospital in Concord. NBR stated, “The three weeks at the ER, jail, and state hospital were traumatizing. I hope nobody else with or without a mental disorder has to go through what I went through. People deserve to be treated with kindness and with more respect than that”. In fact, placing people with mental health issues in these places can often exacerbate mental illnesses and make their difficult situations even worse.

This situation wasn’t the only recent ridiculous encounter NBR had with Keene police. In late Summer, prior to resigning from his job at Eversource Energy, he had been taken into custody by the Keene Police after having an argument with his significant other. The police went to NBR’s residence at two-in-the-morning with a warrant for his arrest. He was sleeping peacefully at the time. The police did not allow him to put clothes on or put shoes on. After being processed at the station, he was forced to walk home from the station to his house in west Keene at 3am in his underwear, without clothing, without shoes, and without his cell phone. NBR filed a complaint with the Keene Police Department after this event. KPD responded saying that their actions were justified.

NBR is asking people to donate directly to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), if they would like to support his cause. NAMI states that: “Millions of people in the United States, 1 in 5 or nearly 60 million, face the day-to-day reality of living with a mental health condition”. NAMI is dedicated to providing advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so people and families affected by mental health issues can improve their lives.

Please share this tragic story. This could easily happen to you or one of your loved ones. It’s not hard to treat people well and to help others, but Keene police’s excessive and dangerous response did not help anyone here. Unfortunately, the police will continue to be funded no matter how abusive they are, because taxpayers know if they stop paying for the police’s “services”, then their door is likely to be the next one busted down.

Police Send SWAT Team to Apprehend Non-Violent Man Having Mental Breakdown in Own Home is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

The good news is, such a platform already exists in the form of Mastodon, which is a decentralized, federated competitor to Twitter. Unlike Facebook and Twitter which are centralized platforms controlled by corporations, a Mastodon server can be run by anyone and worldwide there are thousands of Mastodon servers. Each server admin decides the rules for their server, including which other Mastodon servers to connect to – this is what it means when Mastodon is described as “federated”. Its decentralized, federated structure is why Mastodon is much more censorship resistant than the centralized, corporate platforms.

I also highly recommend following “The Police State” on Liberdon – they’ve been doing a solid job reporting on police corruption – much better than the mostly-dormant Cop Block.

Facebook’s blog post explaining their takedowns basically admitted they were upset that pages like Cop Block were getting people to leave Facebook and visit their respective websites, meaning potential revenue for the sites in question and potentially less revenue for Facebook. Facebook doesn’t want you to leave Facebook. Whether there were political motivations behind the takedowns is more speculative, but it certainly reeks of it. Regardless of their reasons, perhaps you should consider leaving Facebook entirely and helping build the decentralized alternatives. It’s up to you.

RT Reports On Facebook’s Takedown of Cop Block Page + Hundreds More is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Now it looks like Crate should have take up the habit of consuming cannabis. Maybe a joint at the end of his work day would have helped him calm down and deal with his anger issues that appear to have led him to attacking his own son. Crate resigned earlier this year to avoid prosecution by the state’s attorney general’s office, agreeing that he’ll undergo counseling, apologize to his son, and not seek recertification as a police officer, according to the Union Leader.

Don’t think for a moment that Crate is unusual. In fact, he’s not the first police chief to be embroiled in corruption and controversy. Just last year a police chief from Cheshire county was convicted of rape of an actual child (not a teenager). Don’t forget the New London, NH chief who allegedly coerced college girls to take nude photos in the police basement when they were arrested for some victimless crime or another. Or how about the Canterbury, NH chief who allegedly used his position of power to engage in sexual acts with a female teen police explorer? There’s the Haverhill, NH chief who resigned after being busted for DUI. The list just keeps getting longer and longer – does anyone actually still trust these guys?

Of course, if I were to try to catalog the known corruption news regarding the rank-and-file officers, it would be a much more difficult task. Here’s one of the more recent stories involving two now-fired Manchester detectives, Darren Murphy and Aaron Brown, that allegedly used their badges to coerce a woman into sex in order to avoid criminal charges. According to witnesses, the forced sex allegations are just the tip of the iceberg with those guys.

Given the corruption is endless with people in power, how do we stop or reduce it? The answer is that taxes need to be voluntary. If police are not guaranteed a budget every year regardless of the satisfaction of the people they allegedly “serve”, we should not be surprised when they behave poorly. If people were free to stop funding the police, then they’d have to shape up and become more accountable to the people who pay their paychecks. If you could say “no” to their “service”, maybe they’d start being more service oriented and focus on catching real violent criminals instead of college kids who just want to have a good time. Crazy, right?

Hmm, I wonder if because he resigned to avoid prosecution rather than being charged and fired, is Crate still eligible for that sweet police pension?

New Hampshire’s Top Police Chief Resigns After Attacking Own Son is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Kauffman, a respected software engineer and entrepreneur currently CEO and founder of the decentralized blockchain-based media protocol called LBRY.io recorded the threats and eventual attack by Manchester Police’s patrolman Ryan Olsen on his smartphone. In the approx two minute video, Kauffman is in his driveway and explains to the viewer that he is being kept in his property against his will by the arbitrary detention by MPD. He is not told he’s a suspect in the homicide investigation but is being prevented from leaving to pick up his son.

When he merely walks down his driveway to investigate what is happening near his own home, Kauffman is threatened by officer Olsen who tells him to “go back that way” and when Kauffman asks on what law he’s basing his orders, Olsen says “I’m not gonna tell you again.” When pressed to cite the statute, Olsen pulls out the old police catch-all, “Disorderly Conduct“. Seconds later, Olsen leaves his post across the street, shouting at Kauffman, then manhandles him after telling him repeatedly to “walk back please”. Please? Is this a request or an order?

Olsen arrests Kauffman, charging him with a “Class A” misdemeanor version of “Disorderly Conduct”, which means Kauffman will be facing down up to a year in jail for his heroic non-cooperation with the oppressive Manchester police state. He was released on PR bail pending arraignment in Manchester District Court.

YouTube Version:

LBRY Version:
https://open.lbry.io/KauffmanArrestManch

Despite the awful arrest by the terrible Manchester cops – the worst gang in the state – it was refreshing to see some courageous activist video by a Manchester area activist. Kudos to Jeremy for doing a great job standing up for his freedom to travel and proving that when the police state comes down, we’re all just in a big open air general population prison cell. If only we had more activists like him. May his example inspire others to stand up to the police state. Freedom was never won by begging.

Related news: Keene Cop Block has just released our new updated-for-2018 know-your-rights flyer! It’s a simple rundown of individual rights when dealing with the police. It is intended for distribution across New Hampshire, but may also be useful to other areas. It’s informative and keeps-it-simple. 2018 Edition: Front Side / Back Side. I’ve handed out several hundred of these in just the last two weeks around Keene State College and the students really appreciate the information.

Stay tuned here to Free Keene for developments in this case.

VIDEO: LBRY.io Founder Arrested For “Disorderly Conduct” of Trying to Leave Home is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

One of the newest designs at LibertyMinded.com is a shirt that features the “Thin Blue Line” flag overlayed within the outline of a pig captioned “Pigs Never Cross the Line” as well as naming the “Thin Blue Line” as “America’s Largest Gang” and perfectly pointing out what the “Thin Blue Line” flag really is: A gang symbol for a protected class of thugs that shield their brotherhood from justice when they commit criminal actions. If you believe that the thin blue line is the defining reason why there can never be a good cop, this is the shirt for you.

Be prepared to (we hope peacefully) confront some cop suckers if you wear this one… and ask “Where are all the GOOD cops that cross the thin blue line?” Check it out for yourself here at LibertyMinded.com.

P.S.  I don’t make any money if you buy this, but my friend Johnson from Liberty Minded shared this with me and I thought the Cop Blockers would love it.  -Ian

From a distance, this new shirt looks pro-police, but when you look closer, oh my! is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

As it turns out, a car full of people with video cameras wasn’t welcome in their secondary screening area. After one agent orders me to pull into their secondary screening for refusing to answer questions, his commanding officer intervenes before I can even cross over a single lane of traffic, and even apologizes for not wasting more of our time with their invasive screening! In hindsight, I should have told him to apologize to all the cars without camera-toting occupants for wasting everyone’s time with their oppressive police state checkpoint. Here’s the ridiculous video:

No one in the car was planning to answer the agents’ questions, given one has a right to remain silent (that the US Supreme Court has now required be invoked in police encounters). Obedience to tyrants only encourages them. Besides, as someone who believes in liberty, I don’t believe in government borders. Peaceful people should be allowed to enter a free country. Of course, we all know by now the United States is not a free country, and in fact has been dropping on the various international freedom rankings.

Also this weekend, NH Libertarian Party candidate for US Congress NH-2, Justin O’Donnell also traversed the checkpoint while live streaming to facebook. His friend in the passenger seat obediently answered the agent’s inquiry while O’Donnell debated with the agents, ultimately admitting to having been born in Boston, MA. Prior to this, the agent threatened to detain O’Donnell until he answered the question.

The New Hampshire ACLU is requesting anyone else with video of the checkpoint to send it to them. Here’s part of their statement:

Based on videos of the checkpoint recorded by motorists, the way CBP is conducting these checkpoints is deeply disturbing, coercive, and unconstitutional. The CBP told motorists that they were “required” to answer their questions. This is inaccurate. All individuals going through these checkpoints have the right to say absolutely nothing. CBP officials also told individuals that, if they did not answer questions, they would be indefinitely detained until they agreed to answer. This too is not only a legally inaccurate statement, but it flies in the face of the Fourth Amendment and the cases interpreting it. The refusal to answer questions does not create reasonable suspicion or probable cause to prolong a stop at these checkpoints. If a person refuses to comply and CBP cannot promptly determine the person’s immigration status, CBP must immediately release that person. CBP should cease its practice immediately of lying about the law and what is required in order to coerce compliance.

The New Hampshire ACLU does excellent work for freedom and I’m glad to have attended their recent Bill of Rights awards dinner for the sixth year in a row this year. Stay tuned to the Free Keene blog for the latest on this continuing violation of everyone’s right to travel unmolested.

Border Patrol Internal Checkpoint VS NH Cop Blockers is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

What was this tremendous militarized response regarding (at who knows what taxpayer cost)? A man who’d allegedly brandished and fired a weapon, according to the Keene Sentinel. That’s it.

Luckily independent journalist Vincent Freeman of Shire Free Media was on-the-scene and captured video of the militarized police state insanity. Overreaction? You decide.

To their credit, the cops didn’t hurt the man in the home this time, but they didn’t need to respond like this. This is a scary level of police militarization and very dangerous to liberty.

Think this was the first time something like this has happened in Keene? Think again. In 2012 police had a similarly ridiculous response to an even less-threatening domestic incident in West Keene where a man stormed off into the woods while armed. Oh and don’t forget the lockdown of part of Downtown prior to that in 2010 over an abandoned backpack full of beer. More recently, who could forget the ridiculous response to the Pumpkinfest Riots the police created in the first place by raiding peaceful day parties.

Video of Insane Militarized Police State Response to Alleged Armed Man in Keene, NH Home is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

The Ohio state highway patrol is also engaged in the practice of searching cars and arresting drivers and passengers for whatever else they find. On June 2nd they arrested two men for marijuana possession and trafficking on Interstate 75 southbound, near milepost 197 in Wood County. This appears on the highway patrols facebook page:

During interaction with the occupants, troopers detected an odor of raw marijuana. A probable cause search of the vehicle revealed five heat-sealed packages containing marijuana, worth $22,700. Troopers also discovered $4,918 in cash. The driver, Robert J. Milton, 43, of Evansville, Ind., was incarcerated in the Wood County Jail and charged with possession and trafficking in marijuana, both third-degree felonies.

It is accompanied by the following photograph.

So in other words the State troopers wish us to believe that they can smell marijuana that is vacuum sealed without the help of a dog. This trooper expects you to believe that he smelled this weed you see pictured here with his own nose. How is that possible?? Isn’t that why they have K-9 units in the first place? I find it hard to believe a man can smell marijuana through a vacuum sealed package don’t you? The implications are that this trooper lied and invented probable cause to search a vechile that otherwise should have only gotten a ticket. Which brings up another point. Isn’t Ohio a medical marijuana state now?

So why is Ohio still arresting people for marijuana if it is a medical marijuana state? Isn’t that just taking medicine away from people in need? Since the state has been dragging its feet about putting the medical marijuana program that it created in effect, how else are sick people supposed to get the medicine they need? It is extremely hypocritical of the state to allow medical marijuana and continue arresting people for weed.

The people of Ohio had an opportunity in 2015 to vote for full legalization that would have allowed people to grow their own medicine in their own homes, but big lobbies convinced the voters that issue 3 would create a monopoly for the out of state big growers. How do you feel now Ohio? The governor of Ohio, John Kasich signed a plan to legalize medical marijuana into law without a vote. He arbitrarily came up with a plan and put it into action after the defeated issue 3 vote, without allowing Ohioans the chance to vote on it. Provisions of this law allow people to bring marijuana in from other states so what are we doing here? Why continue to arrest people for it on our highways?

Recreational use is still illegal in Ohio, but decriminalized. You may posses up to an ounce of marijuana and only be subject to a ticket. But why? Why allow the police the power to invent probable cause in order to arrest people for a plant that is medically legal, and recreationally decriminalized? It’s because it is the biggest money making extortion plan the highway patrol has available to them. Potheads always go to court and always pay their fines!

Do the right thing Ohio. Legalize marijuana across the board and take this disgusting abuse of power away from these highwaymen! Stop letting police get away with breaking one law to enforce another bad law! Remember Ohio, good people disobey bad laws!

Here are some of the comments on the OSP Facebook page regarding these marijuana arrests:

Justin Tippett “Heroin epidemic in Ohio killing people and y’all are out wasting tax payer dollars on a weed. Good job State Highway Patrol. Just freaking fantastic.”

Mike DiOrio “Scary scary stuff guys. Harmless plants. Harmless plants that may help the opioid epidemic. Congrats on wasting tax dollars.

Shane Bracy “Enforcing unjust laws, which have been proven time and time again to be against the will of the people, is tyranny. Just doing your job is no excuse, sorry. Hitler’s generals said the same thing…”

Matt Morbitzer “Although I’m completely for the full legalization of marijuana these officers are doing their duty as by which the law states. Now if we could only get rid of said law these gentlemen can put forth more effort into getting actual harmful drugs and junkies off the streets.”

Matt Bechstein “The hostility shown towards the OHP should be directed to the grand old Ohio legislators that allowed a piece of garbage proposal to legalize pot to be voted on knowing full well that it would be voted down. Maybe some day Ohio will join this century. Till then, it’s still illegal and they did their jobs.”

Jesse Peele “All these comments & not one mention of OSHP posting this at exactly 4:20. Two dummies off the street is not a bad thing. Seriously morons 15lbs… it’s called cruise control. No props to OSHP though. This fell in their lap”

Jason Sebaugh “Great job loser troopers. You took something harmless off streets while the guy with fentanyl and heroin are driving right past you.”

Ohio State Patrol STOP ARRESTING FOR WEED! is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights