NH: Free Staters race to defend DL refusenik

[DadaOrwell]

Always interested to get the crossfirer take on events in the Free State...

Libertarian activist Russell Kanning of Keene, New Hampshire has just been arrested (April 10) for driving without a license and refusing to appear in court. Kanning is the publisher of the Keene Free Press newspaper and probably one of the five most prominent pro-liberty activists in the state.

He was briefly arrested last month after being pulled over for a malfunctioning headlight on Keene's West street. Keene police then re-arrested him April 10 after he refused to appear in court on the driving-without-a-license charge.

Operating his bumper-sticker-laden vehicles under the motto "In a free country, you don't need government permission to travel," Kanning has been arrested at least three other times for acts of civil disobedience, including his 2005 attempt to board a flight from Manchester without government "papers."

Kanning appeared in Keene District Court April 11, attended by a hastily gathered group of at least nine supporters. Some stood outside holding "Free Russell Kanning" signs, others went in to hear the proceedings.

It looks like they are claiming they will hold him until May 14. The jovial nonviolent resistance advocate is said to be refusing to cooperate with processing and is also refusing to post bond.

As of April 11 the latest Details on the situation are posting to the NHfree.com forum at:

Russell arrested 4/10

We will be posting a lot more info there as we get it, including action items if any of you would like to help. Thanks for keeping an eye on our circumstances.

 

[Kandahar]

That's ridiculous. Of course you should prove you're able to operate a motor vehicle safely before you go out and do it.

I'm sure there are plenty of sensible Free Staters; I've always liked the idea of the movement. But this kind of **** just makes them all look like lunatics.

 

[Chuck]

DadaOrwell!!!

Greetings! Good to see you here at this site too!

While I agree with you guy in general on this, his specifics are off the mark. A citizen has the right to travel unrestricted, I agree. But a citizen also has a duty to be able to prove his citizenship at all times, especially if he is claiming his citizen's rights.

Now driving,,,,,,
The right to travel is not the right to operate a motor vehicle, at least not on public, or government built roads. If you want to, you can travel across country, assuming you can avoid a trespassing issue. But one thing about traveling, you're not home anymore. You have to pay for traveling on someone else's road, and meet their conditions.

He can travel by foot.
He can drive on his own land.

Glad to see you post here also. I enjoy hearing from your band of merry men for freedom.

 

[DadaOrwell]

thanks for the responses guys.

I hope that our readiness to come to Russell's defense, imperfect and controversial though his cause may be, gives some indication of the even greater willingess to rise to the defense of others who fight battles of a more mainstream nature.

 

[DadaOrwell]

Russell is free as of a couple weeks ago. He never paid their fines or made any promises, sentenced to time served.

Viva Russell Kanning!

Here is an article I wrote about it in the Keene Free Press before he was released

-----

04/27/07

I pulled 3 silent demonstrations for Russell in bureaucrat lobbies today and yesterday. Yesterday I did Keene District Court for about an hour and among other things got a chance to hand one of my pro-Russell flyers to Mayor Blastos. He said he'd read it. No one tried to kick me out but they did try real hard to ignore me; this included lowering the blinds on their teller windows. One bureaucrat came out and told me he isn't involved in this, and neither are the people who run court that tried Russell!

Today when I went to the jail to demonstrate they said *they* are not involved, and I should protest at the courts! At the jail, they didn't tell me to leave but they did call the state troopers, and apparently told *them* I was refusing to leave. The trooper who showed up threatened to arrest me and went so far as taking out his handcuffs. He's also banned me from returning to that jail property for as long as I shall live (I and my children and my children's children LOL). He finally asked me to leave. However he did read the flyer and kept it; he also showed a reasonable degree of patience once my pokey departure process got underway.


Before he arrived, I basically just demonstrated for the cameras in the little hallway leading to the lobby, and then went out side and showed the sign to prisoners via their windows. Got a lot of thumbs up and furious knocking on the windows.

Earlier today I did about an hour inside Keene Police Dept. They mostly ignored me, and read the flyers.


My flyer:

Dear folks at Cheshire Co. Jail, Keene District Court and KPD:


I have the right to remain silent. Do you have the right to question your orders?

On April 10 and in the days following, this institution was responsible for arresting and/or jailing Keene resident Russell Kanning, on the charge of driving without government "papers."

In today's hyper-controlled society, that's a controversial thing for him to do. But is it wrong? Do you have some reason to believe he or his actions are a threat to others? If not, how many dangerous people has your institution allowed to run free, while it cages or otherwise torments a man who is standing on principle?

If you are ordered to seize a harmless man like him and remove him from his family, is it right to comply? If so, is it right to comply unquestioningly?

Is it right to place him, or to indirectly assist others in placing him, into a concrete or steel box? Does the existence of a law automatically justify enforcing it? Is it right to try and force Russell to bow down before a licensing regimen he believes is morally wrong?

What are you personally doing to mitigate this institution's actions against Russell? Are you expressing concern to anyone, either openly or anonymously?

Is the power to license the power to destroy? Are you comfortable being part of the destruction? If history remembers Russell - and there are indications it may - how will it remember the part you played in his detention?

Respectfully yours,

Dave Ridley
NHfree.com

My sign:

"Is it right
to detain
Russell Kanning?
NHfree.com"

 

[DadaOrwell]

<<But this kind of **** just makes them all look like lunatics.>>


You use the word lunatic like it's a bad thing !