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Post by Smurfette Principle on Jun 9, 2011 21:23:56 GMT -5
As you all might know, I'm from New Hampshire. And there's this hilarious thing called the Free State Movement, which is basically trying to relocate libertarians into New Hampshire. Why we need it, I don't know, we're libertarian enough as it is. Anyway, this guy from a few towns over is hilarious.(Copy pasting whole article, since it can't be read without an account yet) A Henniker man arrested during a motor vehicle stop Saturday night refused to identify himself to Police Chief Steve Campbell, claiming to be a prophet who did not need to provide his name, address and vehicle registration.
John Redman, 66, of Henniker was charged with disobeying an officer and taken to the Valley Street jail in Manchester. He was released on $5,000 personal recognizance with a court date pending.
Campbell said he pulled Redman over for a broken taillight. Redman refused to reveal his name or address, and would not provide a driver’s license, according to the chief.
Instead, he handed Campbell a business card that said “Prophet of God.”
Campbell tried to run the license plate number to identify the man, but was informed by Redman that the plate was homemade. The Eagle Summit he was driving did not have a Vehicle Identification Number. Antrim and Hancock Police were called to help identify the man, who according to Campbell was calm and polite the entire time, despite his unwillingness to comply with the officers’ request for information. He did not physically resist the officers during his arrest, Campbell said.
People are required by law to reveal their names, addresses and dates of birth if an officer requests it, according to Campbell. Without this information, the chief said, an officer cannot know if an individual is wanted or dangerous.
He said he had no choice but to arrest Redman and transport him to Valley Street jail, where he continued to refuse to identify himself.
At his arraignment at the Henniker District Court on Monday, Redman refused to use official titles, including “chief ” and “judge,” or any other official title to refer to the police chief and judge, according to Campbell.
When asked where he lives, he replied that he lived “in his body,” which is a body that belongs to God. He also referred to his name as the name “the state likes me to use.”
Redman was given $5,000 cash bail with the stipulation it would be changed to personal recognizance if he provided Campbell with information on his identity. He provided Bennington Police with an expired passport that he had a friend bring to the station.
Campbell said that Redman’s actions were very similar to those made by members of the Free State movement, made up of activists who call for a reduction in all levels of government and emphasize the freedom of the individual, although Redman said he was not be affiliated with that group.
According to its website, the Free State Project chose New Hampshire to transform into a “Free State” in 2003. Its data suggests that 20,000 Free Staters live in the state.
On a post made on the Free State Project Forum on Sunday, a member under the name “Tuk” said that Redman is a Quaker living with him and others in the Geodesic Dome Intentional Community near Henniker. |
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Post by Thejebusfire on Jun 9, 2011 21:40:30 GMT -5
Wow... That's all I can say, just wow.
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Post by tolpuddlemartyr on Jun 9, 2011 22:31:51 GMT -5
Isn't "Prophet of God" a synonym for "unemployed"?
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Post by Radiation on Jun 9, 2011 22:43:44 GMT -5
Isn't "Prophet of God" a synonym for "unemployed"? No it's a synonym for "completely batshit insane" |
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Post by Napoleon the Clown on Jun 9, 2011 22:47:29 GMT -5
My BiL is a libertarian so his Facebook feed provides many facepalm worthy articles from Cato and Von Mises...
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Post by MaybeNever on Jun 9, 2011 22:49:53 GMT -5
It's all fun and games until society loses cohesion.
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Post by sylvana on Jun 10, 2011 2:20:48 GMT -5
Well, on one had I guess he did manage to provide the police officer with an interesting story to tell his friends. In my book, "Prophet of God" is pretty much a sign to call for an ambulance to return this guy to the funny farm.
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Post by dakotabob on Jun 10, 2011 5:14:01 GMT -5
Okay, now that's just funny.
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Post by Old Viking on Jun 10, 2011 14:41:21 GMT -5
Years ago I tried the "prophet of god" shtick with a cop. It was ineffective.
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Post by ltfred on Jun 13, 2011 22:26:33 GMT -5
My BiL is a libertarian so his Facebook feed provides many facepalm worthy articles from Cato and Von Mises... Mises was one of the best comedians the economics faculty has ever had. |
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Post by Amaranth on Jun 14, 2011 8:56:33 GMT -5
As you all might know, I'm from New Hampshire. And there's this hilarious thing called the Free State Movement, which is basically trying to relocate libertarians into New Hampshire. Why we need it, I don't know, we're libertarian enough as it is. Anyway, this guy from a few towns over is hilarious.(Copy pasting whole article, since it can't be read without an account yet) A Henniker man arrested during a motor vehicle stop Saturday night refused to identify himself to Police Chief Steve Campbell, claiming to be a prophet who did not need to provide his name, address and vehicle registration.
John Redman, 66, of Henniker was charged with disobeying an officer and taken to the Valley Street jail in Manchester. He was released on $5,000 personal recognizance with a court date pending.
Campbell said he pulled Redman over for a broken taillight. Redman refused to reveal his name or address, and would not provide a driver’s license, according to the chief.
Instead, he handed Campbell a business card that said “Prophet of God.”
Campbell tried to run the license plate number to identify the man, but was informed by Redman that the plate was homemade. The Eagle Summit he was driving did not have a Vehicle Identification Number. Antrim and Hancock Police were called to help identify the man, who according to Campbell was calm and polite the entire time, despite his unwillingness to comply with the officers’ request for information. He did not physically resist the officers during his arrest, Campbell said.
People are required by law to reveal their names, addresses and dates of birth if an officer requests it, according to Campbell. Without this information, the chief said, an officer cannot know if an individual is wanted or dangerous.
He said he had no choice but to arrest Redman and transport him to Valley Street jail, where he continued to refuse to identify himself.
At his arraignment at the Henniker District Court on Monday, Redman refused to use official titles, including “chief ” and “judge,” or any other official title to refer to the police chief and judge, according to Campbell.
When asked where he lives, he replied that he lived “in his body,” which is a body that belongs to God. He also referred to his name as the name “the state likes me to use.”
Redman was given $5,000 cash bail with the stipulation it would be changed to personal recognizance if he provided Campbell with information on his identity. He provided Bennington Police with an expired passport that he had a friend bring to the station.
Campbell said that Redman’s actions were very similar to those made by members of the Free State movement, made up of activists who call for a reduction in all levels of government and emphasize the freedom of the individual, although Redman said he was not be affiliated with that group.
According to its website, the Free State Project chose New Hampshire to transform into a “Free State” in 2003. Its data suggests that 20,000 Free Staters live in the state.
On a post made on the Free State Project Forum on Sunday, a member under the name “Tuk” said that Redman is a Quaker living with him and others in the Geodesic Dome Intentional Community near Henniker. There's a guy who comes into town to use the ibrary's internet access who is very similar to this. He's also a libertarian, and batshit crazy religious, and paranoid as fuck about people knowing where he lives, his identity, etc. Not quite the same kind of insanity, mind. Maybe it's a New England thing. |
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Post by Rat Of Steel on Jun 14, 2011 12:34:02 GMT -5
It quite possibly is, Amaranth. *nods* I, for one, have never been religious in my life, nor a rabid conspiracy nut. Say what you will about libertarians, but even if we label that political philosophy "crazy" for the sake of discussion, it's definitely not the same kind of crazy as this guy.  |
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Post by jackmann on Jun 14, 2011 13:55:43 GMT -5
Libertarianism is the same sort of "crazy" as communism. Neither system works in a pure form, and there are different gradients of adherents ranging from "mostly reasonable" to "Sweet zombie Cthulhu on a pogo stick, someone get the tranquilizers."
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Post by perv on Jun 17, 2011 14:51:24 GMT -5
That's pretty fair comparison. On the other hand, libertarians might be hilarious, but authoritarians are just depressing.
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Post by ltfred on Jun 17, 2011 17:13:08 GMT -5
That's pretty fair comparison. On the other hand, libertarians might be hilarious, but authoritarians are just depressing. Fortunately, there aren't really any proper authoritarians in western society. Nobody's walking around with signs saying 'King George for President'. Unless you were redefining liberalism as authoritarianism. |
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