Activists light up a marijuana cigarette in the Keene Police Station
James B Schlessinger Jr.
October 5th, 2009
Words on paper are not stopping activists and locals from living like free people in Keene, New Hampshire. Whether it is marijuana consumption on the Commons or a young woman going topless on Main Street, Keene has become the place to challenge unjust, immoral, and simply foolish laws. This has naturally rankled many state and local civil servants. The Keene City Council voted against sending a resolution to the state house begging for marijuana decriminalization legislation–instead individuals on the council were encouraged to send a personal message. The Keene Police Department has shown both professionalism in its dealings with the 420 events and violence though Police Prosecutor Sergeant Eliezer Rivera.
April 13, 2009, was the day that David Ridley, of Grafton, was to be arraigned for videotaping in the second-floor lobby of the Keene City Hall. Sam Dodson was arrested on that date, while videotaping there; his charges changed several times over the following months.
Six individuals who were concerned for the well-being of their friend when they heard Sam screaming in an adjacent room were issued summons or arrested for not vacating the scene of the abuse. The trials for five of these six, all from Keene at the time of the incident, have concluded, and the results are as follows: Tim Danforth – charges dropped; Richard Onley – charges dropped; Nick Ryder – charges dropped following a trial; Patrick Shields – found guilty of resisting arrest, sentence suspended; David Krouse – found guilty of disorderly conduct, fined $250, mitigated with 6 days in the Cheshire County House of Correction.
Kurt Hoffman was scheduled to have two trials on Friday, October 2, one for his arrest in connection with the April 13 episode, and another for an unrelated incident where he was cited for a stop sign violation and disobeying a police officer. Mr. Hoffman seems to challenge the root of the problem with the state–what he views as the lack of legitimacy and authority in controlling individual’s lives. Judge Edward Burke requires a certain level of pageantry in the courtroom, and found Kurt guilty of contempt of court before the trials had even started. Mr. Burke sentenced Mr. Hoffman to 180 days in jail, at $80 a day this is going to cost taxpayers $14,400. Kurt decided that he did not want to cooperate with his own caging, and assumed a passive position on the floor.
Police Prosecutor Eliezer Rivera moved in and executed the arrest and then tried to clear all the non-state employees out of the room. Aubern Goodwin was able to stay with Kurt for a short while when he was placed into a holding area. She reportedly witnessed Mr. Rivera violently attack the handcuffed Mr. Hoffman. A call was put out to the Keene Fire/EMS for an ambulance as the attack injured Kurt’s neck. The EMS and sheriffs arrived and started ordering cameras turned off and areas cleared of people, all while spouting irrelevant HIPAA regulations in a blatant attempt to assert authority. One of the EMS workers, Captain Ronald Leslie, even stole a camera, directly snatching it out of a videographer’s hand.
Sam Dodson’s trial concluded more than thirty days ago, and Judge Burke has yet to provide a ruling. Having watched the video of the incident that was on Sam’s camera and read a transcript, one item to note is the seemingly callous nature of arresting officer Eliezer Rivera. As Mr. Dodson cried out in pain, Rivera was heard laughing, saying, “Louder, louder!” Taking that into consideration with the latest attack made against Kurt Hoffman, it appears that Sergeant Rivera may be a liability for the Keene Police Department and the taxpayers of Keene.
On August 23, 2009, 18-year-old Cassidy Nicosia of Manchester decided to walk around Keene topless just as her male friends were doing. This caught the ire of the Keene Police Department, who made it a point to stop and harass her. Not knowing how to proceed, the police resorted to the default option: violence. They arrested Cassidy and charged her with indecent exposure and lewdness, only to turn around two weeks later and drop the charges, admitting that what she did is not illegal.
Rich Paul and Noah Wood of Keene decided to enjoy a marijuana cigarette at Central Square every day at 4:20 PM–a time significant to the marijuana-smoking culture. The first day, it was just the two of them, but over the next couple of days, more and more friends showed up to enjoy the toke time. The first day I went, about thirteen people were in attendance and the occasion was still private.
On September 23, a reporter from the Union Leader was in the area, investigated the gathering, and published an article about the event that appeared the next day, triggering an open call for marijuana smokers to meet up with those already participating daily.
The turnout for the September 25 event was between 80 and 100 individuals, with the Keene police standing by doing nothing more than talking with those who walked up to them. The result was a resounding success for the liberty movement, and sent a clear signal.
The marijuana rally on the 26th was the largest to date, and rumors that police were planning to make arrests were confirmed when Rich Paul was taken into custody. The arrest caused quite a stir, and an impassioned throng marched to the police station. Once they arrived, a group moved to a restricted area and set up a circle in which more marijuana was smoked. Police Lieutenant Shane C. Maxfield came out and spoke at length with the press and activists. Mr. Paul was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond, with a court date of November 2.
The following day Evan of Keene was arrested when police suspected him of smoking marijuana. It was in fact a chocolate mint cigarette. Evan was released shortly after arriving at the police station and met an even larger crowd en route to the police station. The crowd decided to push the envelope even further by going into the police lobby and lighting up a joint. I wasn’t able to get a hold of the actual cigarette, but the scent in the air was clearly that of marijuana. Since then, Keene police have indicated they will not be harassing smokers.
Due to extensive media coverage, people in the rest of the state, and quite possibly the nation, are looking to Keene for a fresh approach toward finally repealing antiquated, unconstitutional, and socially destructive laws prohibiting peaceable behavior.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, James moved to Keene, NH in late 2007 with the Free State Project and with the purpose of voting for Ron Paul in the New Hampshire Primary as well as permanently moving here. Since the move James, commonly referred to as 'JJ', has transitioned into more of a bohemian anarchist than a libertarian.
JJ has experience in the private sector as a precision mechanical assembler/technician and maintenance person. He is a former member of the Army National Guard. Currently James is a blogger at 
Badass! Thanks for the run-down! Keep up the great work in Keene y’all!
Will Keene be to this generation what San Francisco was to my father’s generation?
Does that guy’s shirt say “Free Yayo?”
Yes, I believe it does ‘free Yayo’.
Pardon my ignorance, but who is Yayo?
Tony Yayo. A rapper from New York who is part of 50 Cent’s group, G-Unit.
I need to get to Keene!
One need not travel to China to find indigenous cultures lacking human rights or to Cuba for political prisoners. America leads the world in percentile behind bars, thanks to ongoing persecution of hippies, radicals, and non-whites under prosecution of the war on drugs. If we’re all about spreading liberty abroad, then why mix the message at home? Peace on the home front would enhance global credibility.
The drug czar’s Rx for prison fodder costs dearly, as life is flushed down expensive tubes. My shaman’s second opinion is that psychoactive plants are God’s gift. Behold, it’s all good. Canadian Marc Emery sold seeds that enable American farmers to outcompete cartels with superior local herb. He’s being extradited to prison, for doing what government can’t do, reduce U.S. demand for Mexican.
Only on the authority of a clause about interstate commerce does the CSA (Controlled Substances Act of 1970) reincarnate Al Capone, endanger homeland security, and throw good money after bad. Administration fiscal policy burns tax dollars to root out the number-one cash crop in the land, instead of taxing sales. America rejected the plague of prohibition, but it mutated. Apparently, SWAT teams don’t need no stinking amendment. Father, forgive those who make it their business to know not what they do.
Nixon passed the CSA on the assurance that the Schafer Commission would justify criminalizing his enemies, but it didn’t. No amendments can assure due process under an anti-science law without due process itself. Psychology hailed the breakthrough potential of LSD, until the CSA shut down research and pronounced that marijuana has no medical use, period. Drug juries don’t seat bleeding hearts.
The RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993) allows Native American Church members to eat peyote, which functions like LSD. Americans shouldn’t need a specific church membership or an act of Congress to obtain their birthright freedom of religion. John Doe’s free exercise of religious liberty may include entheogen sacraments to mediate communion with his maker.
Freedom of speech presupposes freedom of thought. The Constitution doesn’t enumerate any governmental power to embargo diverse states of mind. How and when did government usurp this power to coerce conformity? The Mayflower sailed to escape coerced conformity. Legislators who would limit cognitive liberty lack jurisdiction.
Common-law must hold that adults are the legal owners of their own bodies. The Founding Fathers undersigned that the right to the pursuit of happiness is inalienable. Socrates said to know your self. Mortal lawmakers should not presume to thwart the intelligent design that molecular keys unlock spiritual doors. Persons who appreciate their own free choice of path in life should tolerate seekers’ self-exploration.
Get over 111 reasons to move to Keene at http://move.freekeene.com !
See you sooner rather than later, hopefully!
So, I thought to ask Whitepages.com about this violent police sergeant. Here he is:
Eliezer Rivera
55 Pine Ave
Keene, NH 03431-2310
(603) 357-9686
Household: Jennifer L Rivera, J Rivera
Da judge appears to be
Edward J. Burke
56 Chapman Rd
Keene, NH 03431-4369
(603) 352-6168
Household: Kathleen K Burke
Perhaps these fine people would enjoy conversations with the public about their violent behavior toward peaceful persons.
Non-violent action against government has not had nearly enough recent practice in the US, but it has a great deal of history elsewhere (and in the US) and there is a considerable amount of information. Gene Sharp’s, “The Politics of Nonviolent Action”, contains in volume 2 (of 3) an excellent description of the details on a wide variety of methods. Those described by James as occurring in Keene, fall under Sharp’s Chapter 7 Section entitled “Citizens’ Alternatives to Obedience”. A group of methods that Sharp covers in Chapter 4 Section Ostracism of Persons, is what I and husband Paul Wakfer refer to as negative social preferencing – purposeful non-voluntary association (contrasted with positive social preferencing). This is what Jim Davidson, above, has in essence suggested by providing the full name and address of the the law enforcer and judge associated with the related incidents and urged readers to notify them of their disapproval of the actions taken. Keep in mind though that the enforcers are the key! Without the enforcing agents, the Laws/Mandates/Edicts/Rulings of legislators, executives (including the President) and judges are meaningless! This is a universal truism anywhere in the world. The enforcers are the key! (For more on Social Preferencing – http://selfsip.org/solutions/Social_Preferencing.html )
I strongly recommend to those in Keene, and anti-Statists everywhere, who have not read it to study Sharp’s works for an understanding of how powerful non-violent methods can be in bringing about a withering of the State. However, having the proper philosophical basis for an orderly society as a replacement is a necessity otherwise the ensuing vacuum will be filled by something with very similar and possibly even worse. A self-ordering society of individuals interacting to mutual benefit, each with the goal of maximizing hir lifetime happiness (the purpose of each whether or not s/he recognizes that fact), is possible. Individual self-order without rule by others is the social system whose members are humans, who have become fully adult. Just as people can become physical adults, so can they become social adults – if only they are allowed (and even required in the sense that they will not achieve their desires unless they do) to socially mature sufficiently. Understanding the social interaction methodology by which more individuals would progress to become fully socially mature adults requires a paradigm shift in thinking about human interactions.
There are many forms of activism going on here in Keene. This article highlights the more direct challenges of law and authority. Individuals are taking part in market based activism, political, outreach and communications as well as volunteering and helping to improve the community of Keene.
One of my favorite expamples in history of what Sharp terms “Ostracism of Persons” is the Boycott of the Royal Irish Constabulary, which was a big factor in the move for Irish independence. This is detailed in an article contained within Carl Watners collection of articles <a href="http://tr.im/v3As" target="_blank"I Must Speak Out." Which I highly recommend.
I'm glad you provided a link for that resource. I plan on exploring it fully.
Kudos to the folks in Keene for the good work you do.
However, I urge you not to use overconfident, boastful claims such as the title selected for this article. It’s important to remain humble.
I agree and I value humility. The claim made by the title was reinforced soundly today as 6 liberty activists were arrested for peaceful civil disobedience. 3 were released and are home tonight while the other 3 are in the county jail bringing the total to 4 liberty activists at the Westmoreland Jail.
This article is designed to be a recruitment tool. We have many visitors to Keene in the time I’ve been here and the same story is told: no where in the world is there such an outright challenge to the state.
Here watching this tide come into Keene is awe-inspiring. Every week just about a new person arrives or visits and new ideas are brought into the fold. It is literally snowballing before my eyes.
I do not make such claims to be boastful but rather to illuminate the truth. I can’t say this is the beginning but it is far from the end.
If it’s the truth, let people come to it on their own. Don’t shove it in their faces with boastful claims – for ANY reason or purpose.