Why I’m Supporting Dr. Peter Watts Against the United States Border Patrol

Dr. Peter Watts, beaten and arrested at U.S. border

Ironically, as I was working on the second in a series of articles on immigration last night, I came across this:
Dr Peter Watts, Canadian science fiction writer, beaten and arrested at US border

Hugo-award-nominated science fiction author Dr. Peter Watts is in serious legal trouble after he was beaten, pepper-sprayed and imprisoned by American border guards at a Canada U.S. border crossing December 8. This is a call to friends, fans and colleagues to help.

Peter, a Canadian citizen, was on his way back to Canada after helping a friend move house to Nebraska over the weekend. He was stopped at the border crossing at Port Huron, Michigan by U.S. border police for a search of his rental vehicle. When Peter got out of the car and questioned the nature of the search, the gang of border guards subjected him to a beating, restrained him and pepper sprayed him. At the end of it, local police laid a felony charge of assault against a federal officer against Peter. On Wednesday, he posted bond and walked was taken across the border to Canada in shirtsleeves (he was released by Port Huron officials with his car and possessions locked in impound, into a winter storm that evening). He’s home safe. For now. But he has to go back to Michigan to face the charge brought against him.

The charge is spurious. But it’s also very serious. It could mean two years in prison in the United States, and a ban on travel in that country for the rest of Peter’s life. Peter is mounting a vigorous defense, but it’s going to be expensive – he’s effectively going up against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and he needs the best legal help that he can get.

In Watts’ own words:

If you buy into the Many Worlds Intepretation of quantum physics, there must be a parallel universe in which I crossed the US/Canada border without incident last Tuesday. In some other dimension, I was not waved over by a cluster of border guards who swarmed my car like army ants for no apparent reason; or perhaps they did, and I simply kept my eyes downcast and refrained from asking questions.

Along some other timeline, I did not get out of the car to ask what was going on. I did not repeat that question when refused an answer and told to get back into the vehicle. In that other timeline I was not punched in the face, pepper-sprayed, shit-kicked, handcuffed, thrown wet and half-naked into a holding cell for three fucking hours, thrown into an even colder jail cell overnight, arraigned, and charged with assaulting a federal officer, all without access to legal representation (although they did try to get me to waive my Miranda rights. Twice.). Nor was I finally dumped across the border in shirtsleeves: computer seized, flash drive confiscated, even my fucking paper notepad withheld until they could find someone among their number literate enough to distinguish between handwritten notes on story ideas and, I suppose, nefarious terrorist plots. I was not left without my jacket in the face of Ontario’s first winter storm, after all buses and intercity shuttles had shut down for the night.

In some other universe I am warm and content and not looking at spending two years in jail for the crime of having been punched in the face.

But that is not this universe.

Stay tuned.

Click through the first link and scroll toward the bottom of the article if you are interested in contributing to Peter’s defense against United States Border Patrol thugs. I will be doing so myself as soon as a separate defense fund (apart from his homeless kitty kibble fund) has been established. I have also tweeted my support of Dr. Watts to @customsborder on Twitter, and I encourage you to do so as well.

Why am I supporting Dr. Watts against the United States Border Patrol on the small amount of information available so far? Dr. Watts was peacefully attempting to cross the border- leaving the country- and doing absolutely nothing to violate any other person’s rights. The aggression was wholly initiated by the Border Patrol who wrongfully impeded his peaceful travel. I have strong suspicions about whose account of the incident will prove truthful, but the facts so far are sufficient in my view to size up the situation. Regardless of who was assaulted or not in the ensuing activity, the incident would never have happened at all if the United States Border Patrol had not been violating the rights of peaceful people to cross borders freely.

Dr. Watt’ belongings have been stolen by Border Patrol, and he reports that he has been severely physically assaulted by these thugs. Yet he is the one facing up to two years in jail if convicted, not to mention possible fines, essentially for the non-crime of not submissively acting as doormat for the Border Patrol but rather actively questioning their behavior. As Cory Doctorow put it:

I just sent him CAD$1,000, because this is absolutely my biggest nightmare: imprisoned in a foreign country for a trumped-up offense against untouchable border cops. I would want my friends to help me out if it ever happened to me.

I encourage you to contribute to his defense against what may possibly be the most powerful and abusive law enforcement agency in the United States. If you are on Twitter, you can also let @customsborder know that you are supporting the man they are abusing, especially if you will be contributing to his defense.