This article was originally published by Matt Agorist at The Free Thought Project.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember, police are employees of the government. They are there to protect the people who pay them, not you. It’s past time to wake up and realize it.
Last year, after the killing of George Floyd, protests erupted across the country. One such protest took place in Manassas, Virginia, and subsequently turned violent sparking a secret meeting among several Prince William County board members and then-chief of police for Prince Williams Barry Barnard.
The secret meeting was not open to the public which spawned a subsequent lawsuit against the board, claiming that the supervisors violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by attending a forum organized by the police chief and refused to allow the public to attend.
The lawsuit was supported by many members of the community, who subsequently raised nearly $25,000 for legal fees. Though the lawsuit was ended in May of this year, according to those close to the plaintiffs, the harassment for seeking government accountability did not end.
Alan Gloss was one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit last year, who is reportedly a target of said harassment as he has been outspoken in holding his local government accountable. In fact, the harassment was captured during a meeting in July when the board’s Chair At-large Ann Wheeler was caught on a hot mic saying, “what are you going to do about Alan Gloss?”
This statement garnered the attention of another concerned citizen, who decided to email the board and tell them that it was not okay to target citizens in this way. In the unnamed man’s email, he wrote:
“What about you going to do about Alan Gloss?” The smart answer to that is “nothing.” If anything happens to him, you will face even more investigation and scrutiny than has already been revealed.
According to the Potomac Local News, that unnamed man also criticized a number of other government policies and moves in his email.
The writer also criticized Wheeler for comments earlier this year at those who opposed a new housing development on 340 acres of land in the county’s rural area, noting they created “manufactured outrage” in their opposition to the project.
The author also called out a newly proposed equity and inclusion policy, initiated by the current Board, that would create diversity and equity teams at every county government level to ensure the new equity policy is enforced. The policy is still under review by county officials.
“The feedback deadline [for the proposed policy] had to be extended, presumably so you can get more positive feedback,” the author writes. The author also urges the Board of County Supervisors to censure Wheeler and Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey “for their disdain for citizens.”
Exactly none of the words in the email were threatening or otherwise unlawful but this did not stop the board members from siccing the police on the man for his free speech. Because the email had a subject line of “Government Target” — in reference to government targeting Alan Gloss as recorded on the hot mic — board members claimed this was a threat.
This week, body camera footage of the interaction between the officer and the unnamed man was released, showing the power of government to attempt to silence or threaten their critics.
The idea of police visiting a citizen for their lawful free speech is chilling. However, the officer in the video below was cordial and explained that they have to look into all complaints of threats by anyone, including a board member.
In what could have been a violent encounter, the officer never once escalated and left the interaction with a handshake — much to the chagrin of the board members.
Despite the visit, board members still expressed concern that the unnamed emailer was a threat but police quickly shut them down.
“The writer had a voluntary conversation with the [Criminal Investigations Division] member, and it was determined that the intent of the e-mail was not to threaten or harass,” penned county police, Chief Peter Newsham.
Rights flexed.
This is why PGP, Encryption and Encrypted Email is the best way to go. Sites like Protonmail are gona be the safest way to send encrypted email
NOPE!,
there is NO encryption on the open market that they can’t read!
IF you want privacy you will need your OWN code.
In the video for with this post; I’m not impressed by the fact the investigator was a “nice guy”, or that he even acknowledged nothing was wrong, he had no business being at the man’s house. It is sufficient we have our 1st Amendment rights, and no one was threatened – period. There was zero grounds for follow up by law enforcement. Furthermore, that local officialdom would sic the police on citizens who want to hold them accountable is beyond outrageous, it is unpardonable. No doubt the local officials hope this one visit was enough to intimidate the citizen. I bet it’s not, I bet the citizen will likely make a post how the officials used the cops to try and silence him. And by the way, a little research in the story showed that everyone including the police are accused of every form of racism, all manufactured and unproven.
This cop was almost apologetic, as if he knew it was a stupid call, but he had to make it because of who signs his paycheck.
Most people think the cops work for them, when we know the truth…they protect and serve the state. But there isn’t even any widespread agreement on this simple premise. It’s just more division.
Before the age of the internet there were maybe 7 authors with a million readers each. Now there are a million authors with 7 readers each. No wonder there is no agreement on anything.
Oh well,like you once posted;
“Village Idiots have collectively gathered on the Internet to drown out the voices of reason”
Truer words have never been spoken.
…there isn’t even any widespread agreement on this simple premise. It’s just more division. …No wonder there is no agreement on anything.
…divide and conquer.
A time proven strategy.
Always think about who is doing the dividing, who benefits from it, and hold them responsible for it if the law allows.
If there are no Hunter deals or creative input over influential industries, we are ultimately just venting at eachother and not directly involved in politics.
We should be rating these discussions on the extent to which they empower us, directly.
There is a chain of command or due process or leverage, and which media personality actually takes you there — how grievences are redressed.
Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except the endless present in which the party is always right.
George Orwell
Give it a few decades and people wont even know about the war between the States, possibly erase Slavery as well, to make a more “harmonious society”.
Never talk to the police.
If they insist have a lawyer represent you or just say nothing as is your constitutional right. They’re just hoping you will accidentally say something they can somehow use to charge and prosecute you (and it doesn’t take much to give them a reason to do it if they want to).
If they continue, or even threaten arrest you for not talking, get a lawyer and sue them for the maximum amount allowed by law plus punitive damages against those responsible for sending them. Don’t let them get away with it.
You don’t have to talk to them so you shouldn’t.
Local Police, County Sheriff, State Police, FBI, CHEKA, STASI, OGPU, NKVD, KGB
Point has been proven, the policemen did the right thing.
Also Read: BP: Yuma Sector rescues woman from heat exhaustion
Never never never talk to the police. They are the enemy. Get that through your thick skulls. There are no good cops, for if there were, there would be no bad cops.
The secret meeting was not open to the public. They secretly send out a friendly detective.
What were the correct channels for him to air his grievances, or for them to leverage influence?
What news network tells us?