Lauren Southern, a Canadian activist, received a ban from the United Kingdom for life because she conducted a social experiment that irritated Muslims. Apparently, you’re no longer allowed to have your own opinions – they must conform to the government approved opinions.
This just more evidence that there is an all-out global assault on liberty and free thinking. Southern’s ban comes after she distributed what the UK deemed “racist material.” In the “racist material”, the Canadian claimed Allah was gay. Well, gay isn’t a race and neither is Islam. So we’ve already pinpointed the problem here: Southern had an opinion that a government didn’t like.
According to the Daily Mail UK, Lauren Southern came under fire in February after she was caught handing out leaflets in Luton that proclaimed “Allah is a gay God” and “Allah is trans.” Although the 22-year-old said it was only a “social experiment,” she was detained in Calais when trying to re-enter the UK on March 13 and was questioned over the posters.
In a video posted on Thursday, Southern claimed that she received a lifetime ban from coming to the UK, stemming from the leaflet incident. A Home Office Spokesperson said that the “Border Force has the power to refuse entry to an individual if it is considered that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.” Free speech is always conducive to the public good, but it’s in the governments best interest to squash any dissent.
Southern says she became intrigued by an article which claimed Jesus Christ lived his life as a gay man. (Please note, that the author of that article has received little to no backlash for his theory that Christ could have been gay. Southern is banned for insinuating Allah is gay.)
Southern claims the UK has “blasphemy laws enforced by sharia” law. She also concluded that her social experiment “highlights a double standard in Western societies: why is it racist to say Allah is gay, but not Jesus is gay?”
“Why does (sic) the rights of Muslims to be homophobic trump the rights of gay people to have their self-expression?” Southern added that the UK “needs to have a conversation about this before they’re no longer able to have a conversation at all.”
Southern said she has assumed her interaction with the police in Luton was the end of the incident until she was quizzed for six hours by border guards in Calais earlier this month.
According to a new report by Middle East Eye, Prince Bandar bin Sultan – Saudi Arabia’s most famous arms dealer, longtime former ambassador to the US, and recent head of Saudi intelligence – was among those detained as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) so-called “corruption purge” that started with the initial arrests of up to a dozen princes and other top officials last weekend.
If confirmed, the arrest and detention of Bandar would constitute the most significant and high profile figure caught up in the purge – even above that of high profile billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal – given Bandar’s closeness to multiple US administrations and involvement in events ranging from Reagan’s Nicaraguan Contra program (including direct involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal), to making the case for the Iraq War as a trusted friend of Bush and Cheney, to directing US-Saudi covert operations overseeing the arming of jihadists in Syria.
Middle East Eye issued the reportbased on multiple contacts “inside the royal court” and indicates further that the scale of MBS’ aggressive crackdown is much larger than previously reported, and even involves the torture of “senior figures” among those detained:
Some senior figures detained in last Saturday’s purge in Saudi Arabia were beaten and tortured so badly during their arrest or subsequent interrogations that they required hospital treatment, Middle East Eye can reveal. People inside the royal court also told MEE that the scale of the crackdown, which has brought new arrests each day, is much bigger than Saudi authorities have admitted, with more than 500 people detained and double that number questioned.
And shockingly, those sources say that the longtime Saudi ‘deep state’ power broker and liaison with the West, Prince Bandar, is among the detained:
One of the most famous is Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former Saudi ambassador to Washington and confidant of former US President George W Bush. There is no word on his fate, but Saudi authorities said that one of the corruption cases they are looking at is the al-Yamamah arms deal, in which Bandar was involved.
While no doubt Bandar’s very well-known role in Saudi “oil for arms” programs which have come to define Saudi relations with the West over the past decades is a trumped up and “selective” charge (insofar as the highest levels of the state have overseen such shady dealing) the al-Yamamah deal in particular – which goes back to the mid-1980’s – has been a historical embarrassment to both the UK and Saudi governments (BAE Systems was the prime British contractor involved) for the astounding level of fraudulent accounting exposed in UK courts.
Bandar bought an entire village in the Cotswolds, a picturesque area of central England, and a 2,000-acre sporting estate with part of the proceeds from kickbacks he received in the al-Yamamah arms deal, which netted British manufacturer BAE £43bn ($56.5bn) in contracts for fighter aircraft.
As much as $30m (£15m) is alleged to have been paid into Bandar’s dollar account at Riggs Bank in Washington and the affair led to corruption probes in the US and UK, although the case was dropped in the UK in 2006 after an intervention by then-prime minister Tony Blair.
But more likely is that Bandar has been caught up in this week’s MBS dragnet for his closeness to Western heads of state and foreign intelligence services. With MBS’ aggressive consolidation of power which could result in ascension to the throne at any moment, and with fate of multiple princes and officials still unknown – not the least of which is now ex-PM of Lebanon Saad Hariri – a shroud of secrecy has resulted in myriad theories concerning what is really happening behind the scenes.
Likely, Bandar has been detained to ensure a communications blackout with Western intelligence and media until MBS’ plans are complete, with the added benefit of ensuring the “anti-corruption” angle to the purges for the consumption of international media.
Bandar (left) has been close to multiple US administrations spanning decades with direct involvement in events ranging from Reagan’s Nicaraguan Contra program (including being named in the Iran-Contra scandal), to making the case for the Iraq War as a trusted friend of Bush and Cheney, to directing Obama-era covert operations to arm jihadists in Syria.
Ironically, Bandar himself once seemed to publicly boast about receiving massive kickbacks in relation to Saudi weapons dealing, which perhaps further made him an easy and high profile target in this week’s crackdown. According to a royal family profile highlighting corruption in the New York Times from early this week:
Perhaps the most famous statement on corruption in Saudi Arabia was made by Prince Bandar. In an interview with PBS in 2001, he said: “If you tell me that building this whole country, and spending $350 billion out of $400 billion, that we had misused or got corrupted with $50 billion, I’ll tell you, yes. But I’ll take that anytime.”
And the New York Times summarized the key events of the multi-billion pound weapons deal with the UK as follows:
Weapons contracts have long been a source of wealth. British media reported that Prince Bandar received well over $1 billion in secret payments from BAE Systems, the leading British military contractor, over the course of a decade. The son of founding King Abdulaziz’s personal doctor, Adnan Khashoggi, became a billionaire as an arms dealer and go-between for weapons makers and members of the royal family.
Meanwhile, news of Bandar’s possible arrest and detention hasn’t spread very widely in international media reports as of this writing, but it will be interesting to see the response in the West should the news be confirmed. Will Bandar’s friends in Washington and London go to bat for him? Or will Prince Bandar quietly recede into the background of a permanent forced retirement from public life?
Most likely the latter will be the case. Regardless, for friends of the former powerful Saudi intelligence director on either side of the Atlantic and within Saudi Arabia itself, Bandar no doubt knows where all the skeletons are buried, and this alone makes him a worrisome, volatile and unpredictable figure in the midst of a transfer of power.
In a shocking development, Saudi press Al Mayadeen reported late on Saturday that prominent billionaire, member of the royal Saudi family, and one of the biggest shareholders of Citi, News Corp. and Twitter – not to mention frequent CNBC guest – Al-Waleed bin Talal, along with ten senior princes, and some 38 ministers, has been arrested for corruption and money laundering charges on orders from the new anti-corruption committee headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while Royal princes’ private planes have been grounded.
Among those fired and/or arrested are the head of National Royal Guards, Miteb Bin Abdullah, the Minister of Economy and Planning, Adel Fakeih, and Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan, the Commander of the Saudi Naval Forces.
As the local press further adds, the supreme committee chaired by Crown Prince and billionaire stops “on charges of money laundering.”
al-Waleed bin Talal is perhaps best known not only for his periodic CNBC appearances, but for his recurring on and off spats with president Trump:
Screenshot via Twitter
According to al Arabiya, among those sacked and/or arrested are Moteib Bin Abdullah, Minister of the National Guard, and Prince Khalid bin Ayyaf has been appointed as his replacement. A second Royal Order was issued to relieve Minister of Economy and Planning, Adel al-Faqieh, from his duties, and the appointment of Mohammed Al Tuwaijri as Minister of Economy and Planning.
According to a Royal Decree issued by King Salman on Saturday the anti-corruption committee is chaired by the Crown Prince with the membership of: Chairman of the Monitoring and Investigation Commission, Chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Authority, Chief of the General Audit Bureau, Attorney General and Head of State Security.
As Saudi analysts were quick to point out, the purge by the Saudi King means that King Abdallah’s last remnants (Riyad firmer gov. & head of Nat. Guard); media moguls; SAGIA & financial policy officials have been purged.
As Bloomberg notes, changing the head of the National Guard, an institution that’s been controlled by the clan of the late King Abdullah, “is not like changing the minister of oil,” said Kamran Bokhari, a senior analyst with Geopolitical Futures and a senior fellow with the Center for Global Policy. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this leads to greater fissures within the royal family.”
Arabiya adds that King Salman also issued sacking and replacement orders for Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan, the Commander of the Naval Forces, is to be terminated and be retired; his replacement is Vice Admiral Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghifaili, to be promoted to the rank of admiral and be appointed as Commander of the Naval Forces.
Additionally, Minister of Economy and Planning Adel al-Faqieh was replaced by Mohammed al-Tuwaijri, SPA said, quoting a royal decree. Commander of the Saudi Navy, Abdullah al-Sultan, was replaced with Fahad al-Ghafli. The king also replaced Minister of Economy and Planning Adel Fakeih withMohammad Al Tuwaijri, his deputy.
Al Tuwaijri, formerly vice minister for economy and planning, had already played a key role in shaping Saudi economic and fiscal policy over the past year. Before joining the government in May 2016 he was Middle East chief executive for HSBC. He’s served as a frequent spokesman for the government’s economic reform plan on TV and with Western journalists.
King Salman also issued an decree forming an anti-corruption committee headed by the crown prince. Its powers include the ability to trace funds and assets, and prevent their transfer or liquidation on behalf of individuals or entities, along with the right to take any precautionary actions until cases are referred to relevant investigatory or judiciary authorities, according to a government statement.
The committee’s formation was deemed necessary “due to the propensity of some people for abuse, putting their personal interest above public interest, and stealing public funds,” the Royal Order said.
Crown Prince: Every person, who has engaged in #corruption, regardless of their status, will be held accountable, provided there"s evidence. pic.twitter.com/sTxKfqvjo2
Some more cynical observers noted how MBS is quickly learning from XIi Jinping “how to get rid of enemies under justification of “corruption commission” & place “friendlies” in high places.”
Purge under the guise of combating corruption. Just like the earlier wave of arrests was a purge under the guise of combating extremism.
Others arrested include Walid bin Talal; Khaled Tuweijri; AlWalid Ibrahim; Turki Bin Naser; and others.
V. BIG Names of Arrests in #Saudi •Meteib Bin Abdullah •Walid bin Talal •Khaled Tuweijri •AlWalid Ibrahim •Turki Bin Naser •Adel Fakih https://t.co/I9yYZN21XS
Putting the arrests in context, the heads of the main three Saudi owned TV networks were arrested, Alwalid Bin Talal (Rotana), Walid Al Brahim (MBC), Saleh Kamel (ART).
The heads of the main three Saudi owned TV networks were arrested, Alwalid Bin Talal (Rotana), Walid Al Brahim (MBC), Saleh Kamel (ART)
As Bloomberg adds, Saudi King Salman appointed a former HSBC banker to head the country’s economy ministry and removed one of the royal family’s most prominent princes from as head of the National Guard. Separately, a number of Saudi princes and former ministers were arrested by authorities hours after the announcement of a new anti-corruption committee, with sweeping powers and headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news service reported.
Prince Miteb, son of the late King Abdullah, was replaced as minister of the National Guard by Prince Khaled Ayyaf, according to a royal decree carried by state-run media late Saturday. Before his ouster, Prince Miteb was one of the few remaining senior princes to have survived a series of cabinet reshuffles that promoted allies of the crown prince, who is the king’s son and heir to the throne.
King Salman has sidelined other senior members of the royal family to prevent any opposition to the crown prince. Prince Mohammed, 32, replaced his elder cousin, Muhammed bin Nayef, as crown prince in June, a maneuver that removed any doubt of how succession plans will unfold following the reign of King Salman, now 81.
While details remain scarce about this “Saturday of the long Saudi knives” – which some have suggested may be a countercoup attempt – DPA confirms the Al Arabiya report that three senior state officials were sacked.
Salman relieved Prince Moteib bin Abdullah of his post as minister of the National Guard, replacing him with Khaled bin Ayaf, the official Saudi news agency SPA reported. Additionally, Minister of Economy and Planning Adel al-Faqieh was replaced by Mohammed al-Tuwaijri, SPA said, quoting a royal decree. Commander of the Saudi Navy, Abdullah al-Sultan, was replaced with Fahad al-Ghafli.
No official explanation was given for the sackings.
In recent months, the Saudi monarch has carried out a string of reshuffles appointing young people in senior state posts. In June, Salman ousted his nephew as the crown prince and appointed his son Mohammed to become the first in line to succeed him. The monarch on Saturday ordered the creation of an anti-corruption committee led by the crown prince amid a rumoured crackdown on suspected tainted officials and royals. Mohammed, 31, is seen as the driving force behind opening up the ultra-conservative country to the outside world and weaning its economy off oil.
Furthermore, there is speculation that all private flights and VIP departures out of Saudi Arabia have been suspended temporarily, similar to what happened following the last “gentle coup” in June when Prince Mohammed (MBS), 32, replaced his elder cousin, Muhammed bin Nayef, as crown prince in June, a maneuver that removed any doubt of how succession plans will unfold following the reign of King Salman, now 81.
According to the AngryArab blog, the removal of Prince Miteb bin Abdullah as head of the National Guard, means that “this is the first time that the National Guard is not in the hand of Abdullah or his son.”
That put all apparatus of the military-intelligence network in the hands of Muhammad bin Salman. News that Al-Walid bin Talal has been arrested and accused of money laundering. This could be a service to Trump, who hates Al-Walid: the two fought it out on twitter during the campaign although Al-Walid tried to reconcile with Trump after his election but to no avail.
San Diego, CA — A man is saying San Diego Police robbed him of nearly $800 after they stopped, handcuffed and frisked him outside of a local bar early Saturday morning. However, police claim that they have no idea what happened to his money.
Bret Checketts detailed the incident in a Facebook post:
“They put their hands on me and grappled me, took my wallet and went through it, of which $780 of cash was taken from my wallet. I’m unable to pay my rent and have no idea when it will be returned to me if it will be. I was put in hand cuffs for over 20 minutes with no reason given, once they went through my whole wallet , felt me up one side and down the other, went through my pockets and wrote down my drivers license info on a police report, they released me and would not tell me what the Fuck just happened.”
Checketts had the wherewithal to record the incident, at least until his phone’s memory maxed out and stopped recording. But the interaction was long enough to reveal the officers were less than forthcoming with their reasoning for detaining Checketts.
Advertisment
One by one, Checketts took photos of all of the officers involved. They said they could not comment on their reasons for stopping him but told his friends he “matched the description” of a suspect they were looking for at the time.
Checketts identified the officers and described what he was doing in the moments leading up to what many of his friends are now calling legalized theft:
“San Diego Police Officer Daniel Riis, badge #6474, and Officer Robert Stinson felt it acceptable to detain me for no reason this morning. I had 2 Officers ask to talk to me while I was talking to 2 girls, friends of mine in town from sacramento, while minding my own business and doing nothing wrong.”
The young man told The Free Thought Project that he is innocent of any wrongdoing and added that he was never charged. He claimed he was simply stopped, detained, handcuffed, and had the cash taken from his wallet.
“No law broken. No reason for handcuffing me. No explanation whatsoever. This is asanine. Unacceptable. Untolerable. I want answers! I want an apology. The officers involved need to be suspended. Other parties took video of the whole incident. I will be launching an investigation and lawsuit. This will be made right!”
Checketts also questioned how what happened to him was legal if he had not been guilty of any wrongdoing.
“If I have done absolutely nothing wrong, how can police handcuff me, go through my person, take my money and give me no explanation. I called PD and was told by a supervisor sitting at his desk with his computer that he had no information to offer me and he hung up on me.”
He said his friends explained that what happened to him is called “civil asset forfeiture,” and is essentially legal theft by police of citizens’ property. As TFTP has reported, civil asset forfeiture is now responsible for stealing more possessions belonging to citizens than all US robberies combined.
READ MORE:This is Why People are Upset with Police -- 6 Cops Swarm Man for "Stepping Off Sidewalk"
Still, Checketts said he does not understand how a police force can get away with it. We spoke to Checketts by phone, and he said he did not receive any paperwork from the officers following his encounter with them. Even after being released from handcuffs, he said “they still wouldn’t give me any information.”
He said he did speak with one of the plainclothes officers who detained him. “I should have received a call from the Lieutenant or someone who was over him not one of the detaining officers,” he said, noting that he found it completely inappropriate.
Checketts said he is going to file an official complaint soon. He told TFTP he doubts he fits any description of a “suspect” police were looking for that night. “If you look at me, you can know I wasn’t that person,” he insisted. “I have no criminal record whatsoever so they have no reason to put me in detainment.”
“I only have one eye. You probably don’t come in contact with someone who only has one eye. So, I’m sure if you had an accurate description, you’d know if it were me or not.”
Checketts says he doesn’t have enough money to even pay his rent now. His roommate had given him the money to pay the rent and said he forgot to deposit the money after work. That is why he says he had so much money with him when police contacted him. He does not know how he could possibly sue them, even though he would like to.
READ MORE:Councilman Says City Retaliating Against Residents Who Dare to Complain about Bad Road Work
“I didn’t have an eye on what they were doing. I tried turning around a couple of times to find out what was going on and no one would give me any information,” Checketts said.
He also said the police department called him and asked, “Which officer took your money?” to which he responded, “I’d really like to know that but I was detained and could not tell you which one did it.”
“I hope these officers get training or possibly suspension because they simply had no reason to put me in handcuffs,” Checketts concluded.
This opens up a whole new can of worms for the Democrats in Washington as their entire world will soon be turned upside down
WASHINGTON (INTELLIHUB) — IT staffer of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a man by the name of Imran Awan, 37, was arrested by the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police for bank fraud at Dulles airport just before he attempted to flee the country on a plane to his planned destination of Pakistan.
The Pakistani-born information technology staffer is at the center of a criminal probe which may link others such as Florida Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz.
Awan allegedly billed the U.S. government and may have profited off of the scheme along with others who are potentially involved.
“Awan is accused of attempting to defraud the Congressional Federal Credit Union by obtaining a $165,000 home equity loan for a rental property, which is against the credit union’s policies since it is not the owner’s primary residence. Those funds were then included as part of a wire transfer to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan,” according to Politico.
The IT staffer was released by a federal court on bail with a GPS ankle monitor to later stand trial.
A mother was arrested and charged Sunday for letting her 10-year-old son shop alone at a toy store.
Jia Fan was charged with child endangerment for leaving her son alone at the Lego Store in the Eastview Mall in Victor, N.Y., AP reported. She went off to shop and came back to be arrested by Ontario County Sheriff’s deputies.
Child endangerment is a Class A misdemeanor in New York State. Persons charged with it can be sentenced to up to one year in jail, up to three years of probation and a fine of up to $1,000.
Free-Range Kids advocate Lenore Skenazy wrote about the incident at Reason.com.
“Ah yes, that poor, endangered kid, surrounded by small pieces of plastic,” she wrote.
But it’s not the first controversial arrest, Skenazy added.
In 2015, an 11-year-old boy was arrested for actually shopping at the Lego Store in the Chinook Mall in Calgary, she wrote.
The boy’s father, Doug Dunlop, wrote the company:
Dear Lego,
Today, our son went to the Lego store in Chinook Mall, Calgary, Alberta. He had over $200 and was intending to purchase some Lego with it….
Imagine my surprise when I entered the store and found that the manager had called a security guard to detain my son….
I spoke to the security guard who told me that the Lego store required a parent to be with any child 12 or under. He stated that it was Lego store policy and that he was just enforcing it.
I then followed the guard to the manager, and asked him why he would call security on my son. He stated that for safety reasons, no child under 12 could be left unattended in the store.”
Doug Dunlop.
Readers who commented at Reason were split on the news stories, believing that private stores have the right to limit the age of kids who can be left alone but wondering why police should be involved.
“Don’t blame LEGO,” one person wrote. “This is almost certainly to protect themselves against liability. Somewhere along the line, there are an attorney’s fingerprints on this.”
What is your reaction? Share it in the section below:
A student was arrested and handcuffed for distributing copies of the U.S. Constitution on a college campus, prompting a federal lawsuit.
A video shows officers handcuffing and arresting Michelle Gregorie for trespassing at Kellogg Community College (KCC) in Battle Creek, Mich. A member of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), Gregoire was handing out pocket-sized copies of the Constitution at the time of the arrest, a lawsuit from the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) alleged.
The college maintains the student was arrested in September 2016 because YAL is not a registered student organization, a KCC press release stated. KCC staff asked the students to register and move their activities to the Student Center. When they refused, they were arrested, which prompted the lawsuit.
“By policy and practice, Kellogg Community College … claims the unchecked right to prohibit students from engaging in practically any constitutionally protected expression anywhere on campus unless they first obtain permission from KCC officials,” the ADF suite states. “When students request permission, the College’s Solicitation Policy … grants KCC officials unbridled discretion to restrict the content and viewpoint of student speech if it does not ‘support the mission of Kellogg Community College (KCC) or the mission of a recognized college entity or activity.’ Thus, students may not speak spontaneously anywhere on campus.”
The college maintains its policy is constitutional.
“This case is not about free speech or viewpoint discrimination,” KCC spokesman Eric Greene said. “We have felt from day one of this unnecessary lawsuit that the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit and that the College’s Solicitation Policy is constitutional and appropriate in its scope.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom charges that the college violated the students’ First Amendment rights.
What do you think? Should colleges be able to restrict this type of speech? Share your thoughts in the section below:
Eric Clanton, a former East Bay community college philosophy professor linked online to violent assaults with a metal bike lock during a “free speech” rally in Berkeley on April 15, was charged Friday afternoon with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury to Sean Stiles. Additionally, the charges include the misdemeanor offense of wearing a mask to evade identification. If convicted, Clanton could be sent to prison.
Clanton, 28, of Oakland appeared alongside his attorney, Dan Siegel, in Alameda County Superior Court before Judge Thomas Nixon in Department 112. Siegel, who has been active for decades in East Bay social justice circles, rose to fame in the 1960s as a student activist at UC Berkeley during clashes with authorities.
Clanton pleaded not guilty to all charges and Judge Nixon set bail at $100,000. The routine hearing lasted only 15 minutes.
[snip]
Soon after April 15, Clanton was “outed” online, on the website 4chan, as someone who used a bike lock to strike a man in the head. The assault was captured in a video clip (below) that drew widespread attention and anger after it was posted on YouTube. Berkeley police had been widely criticized in far right social media posts for not arresting Clanton until Wednesday.
Just as the demonstrations in April brought two rival camps into conflict, reaction to Clanton’s alleged actions has also split. Some so-called antifa activists have called Clanton a hero for taking the fight against “fascism” and hate speech to the streets. Right-wing, pro-Trump activists have called him a “thug,” using unjustifiable tactics against people who simply want to express their views. Still others have said Clanton gives leftists a bad name and that violence is never the answer.
Berkeley became a focus for action by both far right and far left activists following the violent protests on Feb. 1 that led to UC Berkeley canceling a planned appearance by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. Large protests occurred in downtown Berkeley on March 4 and April 15.
Unlike earlier arrests reported during and after Berkeley protests this year — which have resulted in no criminal charges thus far— the BPD homicide team handled the Clanton investigation because of “the severity of these felonious assaults.” BPD described the assaults as “violent” and said Clanton was shown on video “striking people in the head with a U-shaped bicycle lock causing significant injuries to the victims.”
Police said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Berkeleyside that Clanton attacked at least three people with a metal U-lock during the April 15 rally in and around Civic Center Park. Court papers reveal, however, that Clanton struck at least seven people in the head, according to authorities. One person received a head laceration that required five staples to fix. Another was uninjured but had a piece of his helmet broken off. A third was struck across the neck and back, police said.
Police said they found evidence Wednesday during a search of Clanton’s home in San Leandro that linked him to “Anti-Fascists and Anarchy political groups,” according to court papers. He was not at that residence, so authorities moved to a second address in West Oakland and said they found flags, patches and pamphlets “associating Clanton” with antifa and anarchist groups. Investigators arrested Clanton there.
Detectives said they “recovered U-locks, sunglasses, a glove, jeans, and facial coverings” consistent with items worn during the April 15 assaults, according to court documents. And a camera found at the San Leandro home contained “selfies” taken by Clanton, police said, “with him wearing black clothing and facial coverings” consistent with April 15.
Police said in court documents that Clanton’s phone records placed him near Civic Center Park during the time of the protest assaults, too.
Police wrote that other photos they found showed Clanton “posing next to Anarchy symbols.” An “Iron Front” tattoo on his bicep, photographed while he was being logged into jail, “is associated with Anti-Fascists,” too, according to court papers.
Eric Clanton, a former teacher at Diablo Valley College, was arrested by Berkeley police on Wednesday on suspicion of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon identified as a U-lock bike lock, and one of those assaults is alleged to have caused a significant injury.
Police say the violence happened April 15 in Berkeley when pro-Trump supporters clashed with self-described anti-fascist, or “antifa,” activists determined to stop a rally where white supremacist views were expected to be expressed.
Soon after April 15, 28-year-old Clanton was “outed” online, on the website 4chan, as someone who used a bike lock to strike a man in the head. The assault was captured in a video clip (below) that drew widespread attention and anger after it was posted on YouTube.
Until Wednesday night, Berkeley investigators had declined to say whether they were looking into Clanton, despite the outcry online calling for his arrest. Wednesday, officers arrested him in Oakland at 12:15 p.m. He is being held at Berkeley Jail with a bail of $200,000, according to Alameda County sheriff’s office records online. Clanton, whose listed occupation is college professor, is scheduled for arraignment Friday. Police said they have identified three victims in the case. All three were struck in the head or neck with a bike lock, police said.
Clanton was a student assistant at San Francisco State University in 2013, according to the SF State paper, Golden Gate Xpress. He worked at the college as a graduate teaching assistant until 2015. Clanton began teaching at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill in 2015, though he was not active this semester. According to Transparent California, Clanton taught philosophy for the Contra Costa Community College District in 2015 and 2016, and was paid as a lecturer last year by California State University.
“His work in political philosophy … centers on mass incarceration and the prison system,” his Diablo Valley faculty page entry read, though it has since been taken down. “He is currently exploring restorative justice from an anti-authoritarian perspective.” According to his brief DVC bio, he taught an intro philosophy course that included instruction in “ethics, critical thinking, and comparative philosophy.” Clanton listed “ethics and politics” as his main research interests.
Berkeley Police Capt. Ed Spiller told Berkeleyside on Wednesday that Clanton was not at home in San Leandro when officers served their search warrant Wednesday morning, so investigators with the BPD homicide detail, the team responsible for the case, had to track him down at a location in Oakland. Clanton was then taken into custody without incident.
Several people provided medical aid to a man who was struck in the head with a bike lock April 15. Photo: Daniel McPartlan
Police will continue to review videos and interview witnesses, and Spiller said there may be additional cases from the protests in Berkeley earlier this year.
“We’re taking every case seriously,” Spiller said. “We’re still asking people to come forward that have information.… There’s still work to be done.”
BPD has asked the public to share photographs and videos “of those who may have committed crimes during the event,” and to share information by phone at 510-981-5818.
When John Benjamin Haygood, a 10-year-old boy in Florida with autism, reported to his former school for standardized testing, neither he nor his mother had any idea what would ensue on that day. The pair arrived at Okeechobee Achievement Academy, a preschool through 12th-grade public school, last week to participate in the state testing when the school’s resource officer recognized John Benjamin and informed them that there was a warrant out for his arrest.
Though the warrant was valid, everything else surrounding the actual arrest is what has sparked a controversy and caused John Benjamin’s mother, Luanne, to seek legal counsel. She claims that they were not made aware of the warrant nor the charges against him prior to his arrest, despite the fact that the incident that warranted his arrest occurred in October 2016.
According to John Benjamin’s paraprofessional educator at the time, on October 27 he was acting disruptive by throwing paper balls around class at other students.
“When John Benjamin was asked to go to timeout he refused,” according to a probable cause affidavit. The educator “attempted to remove the student and sent him back to the timeout place. At this point, John Benjamin started kicking and scratching and punching” him.
John Benjamin was restrained and escorted out of the classroom for his behavior, and he was expelled from school that same month, though it’s unclear if it was because of this incident. He has since been homeschooled, and the day they came in for testing last week was his first time back at school since his expulsion.
When the resource officer began the process of arresting John Benjamin, Luanne can be heard in the background asking if he has the same rights as an adult. Since they had not yet been told exactly why he was being arrested, she says,
“Does he have to be told?”
“He doesn’t have to be told. He has a warrant,” one officer responds.
“So not even an adult has the right to be told when they’re arrested why?” Luanne asks in return.
Meanwhile, John Benjamin can be heard crying and saying, “I don’t want to be touched. I don’t like to be touched.”
John Benjamin was diagnosed with autism just two years earlier and given an individualized education plan to help accommodate his needs as he continued with school. However, he claimed that he didn’t like his assigned paraprofessional and that the aide was hurting him. After they tried to have the school change his aide and they refused, John Benjamin lashed out, resulting in the October incident.
Luanne recognizes that it’s her son’s autism that causes his behavioral problems and is now angry with the school for not being able to accommodate her child’s special needs and not informing her earlier about the warrant. John Benjamin is being charged with an outstanding warrant for battery on a school board employee, which is a third-degree felony. The 10-year-old boy spent the night in juvenile detention, where he claims to have only received one meal during his stay.
Luanne believes this was a “power play” by the school, but she hopes her video will warrant an examination into any wrongdoing by the school or police and raise awareness about the mistreatment of students with disabilities.
“Now, maybe something will be changed. Now, maybe somebody will believe me and other parents when we say our kids are being mistreated,” Haygood told WPEC. “It’s nationwide, and these children are not getting the services they are guaranteed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,”
John Benjamin has a court date set for May and Luanne intends to pursue legal action to fight the charges against her son. Watch the video below to see his arrest.
“I know, honey,” his mother; Luanne Haywood, can be heard saying on the video. “He has autism — he doesn’t know what’s going on, he’s scared to death, he’s 10 years old!”
The boy was arrested on April 12 for an incident that occurred in October at Okeechobee Achievement Academy in Florida, The Washington Post reported. The boy allegedly kicked and scratched the educational assistant who was working with him.
An Overreaction?
That prompted Okeechobee County schools to charge him with “battery on a school board employee” – a third-degree felony.
After the arrest, the boy was taken to a juvenile detention facility where he spent the night. His mother offered to go with officers in the police car, but they refused.
Prosecutor Abigail Albright told The Post that she plans to offer John Benjamin a “non-judicial sanction” which would probably mean counseling rather than criminal charges. Luanne Haywood vowed to fight that.
“It appears the school’s responses are beyond wrong and evil,” Scott Badesch, the president of Autism Society America, told The Post. “It is a tremendous failure by two allegedly responsible institutions — the police and the school.”
Badesch’s organization is planning to help the Haygoods with support services and legal counsel.
What is your reaction? Share it in the section below:
NEBRASKA – Former Dundy County Sheriff’s Deputy Charles Thibedeau remains behind bars today after his April 5th arraignment on felony kidnapping charges. The judge denied a reduction in the bond at the hearing and stated the former law enforcement officer is facing a minimum of 1 year in prison and a maximum 50 years in prison for the crimes he committed against a young woman.
According to Nebraska State Patrol Investigator Jeff Van Stelton’s affidavit of probable cause filed in Dundy County Court on March 23, Thibedeau waived his Miranda rights and admitted verbally and in a written confession to falsely arresting and detaining a woman while he was on duty and insisting on seeing and touching her breasts.
The 26-year-old woman remains unidentified as is customary for all alleged sex crime victims. Prosecutors say Thibedeau concocted a story about a police drug raid which he told her was going to take place at her home. He met the woman, with the promise of telling her all he knew about the raid.
Thibedeau allegedly said he’d tell her about the raid if she’d show him her breasts. She refused. But instead of letting her go, the officer detained her, and placed her in handcuffs, put her in the back of his patrol car, and then drove away. All the while the woman was protesting, saying he shouldn’t drive away and leave her boyfriend’s 5-year-old young son in the back of her own vehicle.
But the former officer, who was fired over the incident, drove away with her in the car with him. When he stopped the car, he reportedly removed her clothes and proceeded to molest her breasts before eventually releasing her to go on her way.
READ MORE:DHS Wrongfully Takes Daughter from Mother, Places Her in Custody of Alleged Sex Abuser
Judge Edward Steenburg told Thibedeau, “You did abduct another person and continue to restrain her, with the intent to hold her for ransom or reward or to terrorize her. Kidnapping is a class II felony,” he said as he read the charges to Thibedeau before denying a reduction in the $250,000 bond set in the case. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 3rd.
Actions such as Thibideau’s are no surprise to The Free Thought Project. What is surprising, though, and a bit encouraging for victims of sex crimes, is how seriously the police department and the prosecutor’s office are taking the allegations, even charging the officer with the crime and proceeding to trial.
All too often, we report stories where women’s claims against police officers fall on deaf ears. As we recently reported, one California woman had to resort to uploading videos of her ex-boyfriend neglecting his duties as a police officer before they would take action against him for her allegations he’d been abusing her physically. In that case, the officer was only charged after the videos came to light.
Other officers have been abusing women for years, cowardly hiding behind their badges, and getting away with their crimes. A Georgia woman had been terrorized by her ex-husband, a police officer, who eventually arrested her for complaining about his lack of help with the children in a message on Facebook.
In court documents, the woman alleges her ex promised her he’d drop the charges if she’d have sex with him. After she was arrested a second time, along with her Facebook friend, for the same charge (talking about her ex on Facebook), her ex-husband had her booked into the county jail. But it turns out, there is no crime for “criminal defamation of character” in the State of Georgia, and the woman is now suing her ex-husband in court.
Attleboro, MA — In what seems to be an increasing number of law enforcement officers finding themselves on the other side of the law, another veteran police officer has been arrested on pedophilia-related crimes. Attleboro officer Richard Woodhead,54, was arrested for attempting to engage in sex with a minor, possessing child pornography and attempting to receive child pornography.
Outwardly, Woodhead appeared to have it all together. He had a nice job as a peace officer, a position he’d held for 32 years. He was married and had children of his own, but the officer’s apparent obsession with child porn eventually led to his arrest. A search warrant was obtained for his home and executed.
During their search, investigators found, in a hidden compartment in his bedroom, a stash of child pornography, as well as a substance known as “jungle juice,” something which can be used as an inhalant.
According to the Global Information Network About Drugs, Jungle Juice is considered a “popper,” often used in the gay community as an aphrodisiac. Its chemical name is Amyl Nitrite and is a vasodilator. Its dizzying effects have also been put to use as a date rape drug.
State and federal authorities were seen searching the inside of his home. Along with the possession charges, he was also charged with attempting to receive child pornography.
Woodhead was made to appear before a federal judge in Rhode Island shortly after being arrested. According to WHDH News 7, who reported on the case, prosecutors say the crimes began last fall and involve emails as well as phone messages. More details will emerge when he goes before the judge to determine if bail will be allowed in his case.
READ MORE:Pedophile Cop Arrested for Masturbating Outside Child"s Bedroom Window
As The Free Thought Project has reported extensively, the federal government reportedly maintains child pornography websites and use those sites to identify, and arrest unsuspecting pedophiles. When asked to reveal the measures they use to get their suspects, the government has even dropped charges against its defendants.
While, for the moment, no child has been implicated as a victim of officer Woodhead, there still exists the possibility federal prosecutors are protecting their identity. The arrest comes after what appears to be an epidemic of sex crimes involving high profile individuals. From former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is under investigation and will likely be charged with child pornography crimes, to former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who raped young wrestlers when he was their coach, our nation’s leaders are involved in sex crimes with children. They come from both sides of the political spectrum, reach across all religions, and serve as judges all the way to street-level police officers. Pedophiles are everywhere and increasingly, it seems, civil servants.
The United States has yet to see a scandal involving crimes against children be as wide-reaching as those we’ve reported coming out of the United Kingdom and Europe. But rest assured, the day will likely come when a great number of pedophiles in the highest levels of government are arrested in a major roundup that will make pizzagate look like a school field trip.
Okaloosa County, FL — In the fall of 2016, voters in Florida approved the sale of medical marijuana statewide. But if anyone thinks that Florida law enforcement is going to get soft on marijuana as a result, they might need to think again. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office paraded their latest drug bust on their Facebook page this week. They found Kayla Martin, 26, to be in possession of four melted gummy bears and two lollipops, arrested her, and charged her, not only with possession but with intent to distribute. The six tiny pieces of THC-laced candy were photographed, along with the perpetrator, and uploaded to the department’s FB page.
A woman who tried to sell candies laced with the marijuana extract THC was arrested today by Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies. 26-year old Kayla Margaret Martin of Miles Martin Road in DeFuniak Springs is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute within 1000 feet of a county park. A beachgoer complained to OCSO deputies after she says Martin approached her around one p.m. and tried to sell her the edibles while at the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island. Deputies located two lollipops and four gummy bears in Martin’s bag. The gummy bears had melted due to the heat.
According to the FB post, the young lady was apparently trying to sell her wares on the beach on Okaloosa Island. After one person reportedly complained about her attempts to sell her homemade edibles, the police swooped in to arrest the now accused drug trafficker.
READ MORE:Landmark Study Shows Nature Kills PTSD in Combat Veterans
But the backlash against the police department was immediate. Jordan Ford wrote, “Wow. Good job getting this dangerous individual off the street. TWO lollipops. Man. I can sleep better tonight.” The American Libertarian Army confronted the department with one simple question, “Why don’t you catch someone with a drug that can actually harm someone? Are you afraid of going after the drugs that actually bring violence?”
As the Free Thought Project has been documenting for years, the war on drugs keeps catching enterprising entrepreneurs like Martin, who understand the medicinal value of cannabis and attempt to capitalize on its benefits to human health. Cannabis has been demonstrated to serve as an effective anti-anxiety, painkiller, antidepressant, antiepileptic, anti-cancer drug, and works well for veterans suffering from PTSD. Why police around the country continue to pursue low-level drug offenders such as they allege Martin to be, smacks in the face of current research, legislative movements, common sense and human dignity.
While Okaloosa County parades Martin and her wares on the internet (they probably let the gummy bears melt so they appear more like heroin in the pictures), the backlog of unprocessed rape kits continues to grow. All across the country, including Florida, police have refused to do their jobs and process rape kits; the medical evidence collection kits hospitals collect to help to convict alleged rapists.
In Florida, they’re called “Sexual Assault Kits” or “SAKs.” Instead of using the money to process more SAKs, the State of Florida allocated 300,000 dollars to study the phenomena of unprocessed SAKs sitting in evidence lockers all across the state.
READ MORE:Video: Man Makes Cops Look Like Foolish Tyrants as they Come After Him for Suspicion of Pot
What the research team at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found, after investigating the how the state’s law enforcement agencies handle their SAKs, may be shocking to some. “Responding agencies indicated there were approximately 13,435 unsubmitted SAKs within their inventories and approximately 9,484 of them should be submitted,” they concluded. In other words, there are nearly 10,000 women in Florida who are still waiting for justice in their rape cases, as their rape kits remain unprocessed.
Consider the dichotomy at work. Police praise themselves for busting a cannabis advocate with six pieces of candy, yet store their SAKs away to be processed when they get around to it. Some could contend, with reason, police departments all across Florida are guilty of serious dereliction of duty, preferring to arrest cannabis advocates in place of prosecuting rapists, some of whom may be serial rapists.
Rockville Center, NY — Police investigators were perplexed after a series of Peeping Tom incidents occurred in their town. On at least three occasions, a man would go up to someone’s home, shine his cell phone light into the window of the home, and when someone eventually noticed the stranger standing in their yard, the man would then turn the light onto himself, spotlighting his exposed genitals.
The mystery, however, was solved Sunday night, when police nabbed their man. No. Literally. He was one of their own. It turns out the Peeping Tom/Flasher villain was a veteran detective of the New York Police Department, who served in a precinct in Brooklyn. Detective Robert Francis was arrested and taken into custody after a homeowner called police to complain of yet another nude flasher. When police arrived, they reportedly found Francis masturbating while peering through a child’s window. Francis was arrested at 2:30 am on charges of public lewdness and endangering the welfare of a child.
Francis has not been fired, suspended, or even sent home on leave. Instead, the police department opted to place the detective on “modified” duty. As The Free Thought Project has consistently reported, often when a police officer is being investigated, he/she will be given paid leave while the inquiry is conducted. In Francis’ case, he hasn’t been given leave and has been allowed to keep his job, all the while still facing criminal charges following his arrest.
According to PIX 11 News, fellow police officers are describing Francis’ actions and his subsequent arrest as a “betrayal of the badge.” We at The Free Thought Project couldn’t agree more. But, sadly, many times, these same heinous crimes are covered up by police departments hoping the entire incident will simply go away. Worse still, those same officers are allowed to keep their jobs, thanks in part to the hard work of their police unions, superiors, or arbitrators.
READ MORE:Police Officer Charged With 21 Counts of Sexual Assault On a Child, Still On Payroll
One neighbor said of Francis’ actions, “I think it’s really disgusting and kind of unthinkable what he was doing,” said one neighbor interviewed on the scene. Another neighbor, who was also exposed to the flasher’s genitals, described what the man was doing. “He was just out, you know, naked, in the middle of 21 degree weather, and was showing himself off,” she said. “I spoke with the mother and she said her daughter is very shaken up about it. And I don’t blame her. It’s just very disgusting,” the victim said after speaking to the latest family devastated by the detective’s actions.
Police said the flasher had a habit of exposing himself while standing in the yards of his victims, even going so far as to tap on the victims’ windows before exposing himself. But this latest incident is the first reported one where they learned the perpetrator was masturbating. They won’t say, however, if Francis is connected to the other series of events, but it is likely no coincidence.
Giving credit where credit is due, the Rockville police did an excellent job of catching the offender who’d been terrorizing the town’s residents who lived along Seaman and Lakeview Avenues. But we do have a few questions which remain unanswered. Does Det. Francis have a history of these types of incidents the various police departments where he’s worked have covered up? And are there any other victims out there who’ve been hurt by his actions. If so, the public has been encouraged to contact the Rockville Centre Police Department at 516-766-1500.
READ MORE:Child Task Force Cop Caught Viewing Child Porn at Work, Molesting and Stalking Kids -- 29 Times!
OKLAHOMA CITY (CN) — The Oklahoma state senator charged last week with felony child prostitution resigned Wednesday, though Ralph Shortey’s exit will not change the balance in the Republican-dominated state Senate.
Ralph Shortey, R-Oklahoma City, was arrested last week and charged with hiring a 17-year-old boy for sex after meeting him on Craigslist.
Police charged the 35-year-old married father of four with engaging in child prostitution, engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of a church, and transporting a minor for prostitution — all felonies.
The Senate stripped him of his authority a week after police found him in the suburb of Moore on March 9 with a teenager at a hotel.
Shortey’s bail was set at $100,000. He is to appear at an initial court hearing Friday.
“I appreciate the service the men and women of the Oklahoma Senate provide, and I recognize the need for the business of the Senate to proceed without distraction for the remainder of the legislative session,” Shortey wrote in his March 22 resignation letter.
According to the criminal information charging document, Shortey offered teenager J.M. “money in exchange for sexual contact” within 1,000 feet of First Christian Church.
Police said the encounter was preceded by the boy sending Shortey an online message that he needed money for spring break.
“The defendant replied, ‘I don’t really have any legitimate things I need help with right now. Would you be interested in “sexual” stuff?’” according to a sworn affidavit by a Moore police officer. “JM responded ‘Yes.’ The conversation goes on with both discussing logistics and how and where JM and the defendant are going to meet. JM tells the defendant ‘Hey keep updated cause I want you bad daddy.’ The defendant responds, ‘I’m gonna fuck you like a good little boy if you keep calling me daddy.’ The message included a smiley face emoji after boy.”
READ MORE:BREAKING: OK Senator Arrested for Child Prostitution After Being Caught with Teen Boy
Police say they found a box of condoms in Shortey’s backpack and a bottle of lotion in the teenager’s backpack in the hotel room.
The boy said he’s met Shortey on a Craigslist personal encounter listing and that they have known each other for a year. Police said a “strong odor of marijuana” came from the hotel room and they found a green plastic container labeled “Colorado Retail Marijuana.”
Oklahoma lawmakers swiftly condemned Shortey after the charges were announced. In a 43-0 vote on March 15, senators approved a resolution accusing Shortey of “disorderly behavior.”
In a statement to Oklahoma media Wednesday, Shortey asked for privacy and said he would defend himself against the charges.
Shortey, whose voting history includes support of bills targeting gay and transgender people, was re-elected in November to his fourth term.
His resignation is effective immediately.
Despite his resignation, Republicans still dominate the Oklahoma Senate, 33 to 6, with one vacancy.
On Monday Politico reported that a protester who had blocked Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos from entering a school on Friday has been charged with assault for “impeding/assaulting US government cabinet member.”The man has been identified as Bilal Ahmed Askaryar, a refugee from Afghanistan. Politico obtained the police report on the case.
Askaryar, who entered his plea on Saturday in Superior Court in Washington, was given “several lawful orders” to move out of the way of a vehicle, and then pushed an individual identified as “V-1.” Listed as a factor under one of the charges is “impeding/assaulting US government cabinet member.”
Below is the video from the incident on Friday where protesters prevented DeVos from entering the school. In the video you can also see Askaryar getting arrested for committing assault.
Afghanistan is not currently one of the seven countries on the Travel Ban list but that may be changing in the near future.The Washington Times reports that there are several countries that the Trump Administration is considering adding to it’s list of banned countries in order to keep the country safe. The countries that may be next on the list include: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt.
A group of students was accosted by campus police for the presence of their "free speech ball," and told that it was scaring other students.
(@HSajwanization) 
Bruce Paddock, brother of the Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, was just arrested—in Hollywood—by a swarm of LAPD and FBI, for child porn charges.
Shepard Ambellas
