Arresting Protestors for Doing Nothing.

[strredwolf]

If you watched MSNBC, you'll probably know about this story.

A fairly adept biker, Joshua Kinberg, had modified his bike with a laptop and wireless connection so that you could SMS a message to be sprayed, with water-soluable chalk, onto the ground as he rode it.  He planned to execute this protest durring the Republican National Congress, but in the middle of being interviewed by Ron Regan for MSNBC's Hardball, HE WAS ARRESTED WITHOUT ANY REASON!  He was put into a makeshift jail for 24 hours before a courtdate was set, and the bike with hardware confiscated.  Officers interviewing him got basically nothing illegal out of him -- his plan wasn't to do anything illegal.  ( Water soluable chalk isn't destructive )  So he's got to find another lawyer, write a motion to dismiss, and show up in court at the end of the month.

WTF is NYC DOING?!?  I think you have to have a lawyer on speed-dial in order to enter the city limits now.

Comments

[kesarra.livejournal.com]

That would be the fault of the Patriot Act. It allows law enforcement to do whatever the f#ck it wants. A lawyer won't help you if you just disappear; which just happens to be within the governments power now.

[caesarsalad77.livejournal.com]

Heh. Well they are technically allowed to arrest him...and they don't have to tell him why for 24 hours. Most likely, they got a bit freaked out by what must have looked like an oddly wired bicycle. Who's to say it couldn't have been a bomb?

Anyways, I'll bet he can sue. And I know he'll get any charges tossed out.