A local chef, who had his food handler"s license was raided by a dozen cops and health department officials who stole all of his equipment because he fed the homeless without a proper permit.
The post Cops Raid Licensed Chef’s Home, Steal His Cooking Equipment—for Feeding the Homeless appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
A sheriff"s department in Florida is getting destroyed on Facebook for arresting and publicly shaming a couple—for selling shrimp to make an extra buck.
A large group of well-armed good samaritans took to the streets this week to openly break a bad law to help the homeless and those less fortunate.
Feeding the homeless is now illegal in Atlanta and you will be ticketed and extorted unless you pay the state for permission beforehand.
Image: Triple J"s BBQ, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TripleJsBBQ12/Green Cove Springs, FL — After Irma devastated Florida, most restaurants and stores were shut down in certain areas. Green Cove Springs was one of those places. So, when Jack Roundtree, owner of the Triple J BBQ food truck, arrived in town, not only was he welcomed with open arms — he was desperately needed. As he sold BBQ to paying customers, Roundtree used the extra money to feed utility workers for free for all their hard work. However, once officials saw a man who’d dare sell food in their town without paying them first, police were called in to make quick work of this entrepreneurial good samaritan.
Shut down and get out of town—is what Roundtree was told by local authorities for both providing charity and a much-needed product and service. Why was Roundtree told to get out of town, you ask? Well, he hadn’t paid the local government for the ‘privilege’ to sell food to those in need inside Green Cove Springs.
Roundtree is no outlaw. In fact, Green Cove Springs actually encouraged him to sell his BBQ during their monthly Saturday-in-the-Park event before the hurricane. But not this time.
Even if he would’ve gone to city hall to buy a permit to sell during the Irma aftermath, however, he couldn’t—they were closed.
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According to Clay Today:
“It was interesting to learn that Roundtree and his truck were encouraged to serve customers during Green Cove’s monthly Saturday-in-the-Park event without a permit, but during Irma’s aftermath, not so much.
“Had Roundtree decided to press his case at City Hall, he would have been greeted with a sign that read: ‘Due to Hurricane Irma, City Hall offices and services will re-open on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017.’”
So, instead of allowing Roundtree to offer free food to utility workers and sell food to people during their time of need, and just get a permit after government employees decided to return to work—they just kicked him out of town.
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Here’s how one Green Cove Spring witness, Bettie Tune, described the events at Rich’s on her Facebook page, as reported by Clay Today:
Just saw a BBQ food truck set up in town. GREAT!! Wanted to stop and get a good lunch for the guys helping us. When I pulled in, there was a Green Cove Springs police sitting there. OK, everyone has to eat, and the choices are very limited right now. Starting to talk to one of the guys from the food truck and found out that the “city manager” had sent her police to make them leave. This is such a great little town, but it seems like the people who run it do their best to keep it from progressing. THANKS Green Cove Springs City Manager. Shame on you!
The irony here is that he was kicked out of town for failing to get a permit by government workers because the other government workers who would’ve given him this permit, were not at work.
In a report from the Institute for Justice, Communications Coordinator, Matt Powers explains that Roundtree is not alone.
Cities across the country often impose strict regulations that make it nearly impossible for food trucks to operate. In 2011, IJ launched its National Street Vending Initiative to fight these laws.
In Baltimore, the Institute for Justice (IJ) is challenging a ban on food trucks parking within 300-foot of a brick-and-mortar business that sells the same type of food. In Chicago, IJ is challenging regulations that bans food trucks from operating within 200 feet of a brick-and-mortar business serving food and forces them to install GPS tracking devices that broadcast their every move. And IJ is challenging a Louisville, Kentucky, law banning food trucks from operating within 150 feet of any restaurant selling similar food.
These strict regulations are ostensibly designed for food safety, but in reality, serve to raise revenue for the state and limit established restaurants’ competition. They also stifle economic growth.
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As the IJ noted:
It is not only during times of crisis that food trucks contribute to their communities. According to IJ’s report Streets of Dreams mobile vending businesses help people escape poverty and unemployment through affordable start-up costs which creates the initial economic opportunity for upward mobility. IJ’s report, Seven Myths and Realitiesfound the presence of food trucks can actually help local restaurant industries by attracting new customers and serving as incubators for new restaurants. Cities should embrace food trucks and liberate them from onerous regulations so they can enjoy the benefits these businesses bring.
When people in need are denied food they are willing to purchase because government workers aren’t in the office to sell the maker of that food a permission slip, something is wrong in the land of the free.
As TFTP reported earlier this month, this problem is everywhere. It stifles local economic growth, persecutes the poor the hardest, and turns hard-working entrepreneurs into criminals, ripe for the extortion of state.
Luckily, thanks to Martin Flores, who filmed an innocent hot dog vendor named Beto get robbed by a Berkely police officer for selling hot dogs, Americans are seeing the harsh reality that is making a living in a police state.
Miami-Dade, FL — When all logic and reason is void of a decision — as in many decisions made by the state — authorities often turn to their only option, threats of extortion backed with force. The bureaucratic iron fist of Miami-Dade county is under fire this week, after providing an example of these threats, for their decision to issue notices of violations to residents for damage on their hurricane-wrecked properties.
One resident, Celso Perez, decided to speak up about a warning he received for his downed fence, only hours after the storm.
The Monday after the storm, Perez was outside with his neighbors cleaning up the damage when a Miami-Dade County vehicle pulls up.
“And we thought he was here to help us or offer some type of assistance with the trees, maybe he was going to bring us ice or something,” said Perez. But there was no help to be given — only threats.
Instead of help, Perez said, “He said he would have to cite me for having my fence down.”
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The code enforcer then brazenly walked over to the only part of the fence left standing and slapped a warning on it.
Perez explained to WSVN that he thought this had to be a joke. But it was not.
“I laughed. I thought he was kidding. ‘You are kidding right? We just had a hurricane six hours ago.’ ‘No, I’m not kidding. I have to cite you for this.’ I just laughed. OK, whatever; knock yourself out!”
To those who are thinking that this has to be an isolated incident, think again.
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According to WSVN, after Irma, the county handed out 680 pool barrier safety notices and 177 electrical hazard safety notices to homeowners suffering damage from Irma.
Naturally, after this story began taking off in local and alternative media outlets, the Miami-Dade county attempted to clarify their ridiculous tactics by saying it was done for everyone’s safety and it was not a fine. However, residents — especially those who were issued warnings — aren’t buying it.
A building official wrote, “The safety notice is neither a notice of violation warning nor a citation. It is important that we reach residents in the immediate aftermath of the storm, because that is when conditions are most dangerous, and taking steps to protect life is a critical part of the recovery process.”
In response to their reasoning, Perez had this to say.
“Give us a minute to breathe,” said Perez. “Let us get our power back on. And I wouldn’t mind if they told me that a few days down the line or due time but it bothers me that they came out here just a few hours after the storm had passed.”
Howard Finkelstein, WSVN legal expert also weighed in on the matter, saying, “This is outrageous. After Irma, people were stressed, they were worried and for a government official to slap a warning notice on them to add to their misery is insulting. Incredibly, it is legal but should Miami-Dade County be doing it? No. The timing was awful.”
Also, while there is no immediate fine imposed with these notices, make no mistake that officials will most assuredly escalate to this point for non-compliance.
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This is what the state does.
As TFTP reported last year, residents in Louisiana who suffered catastrophic flooding, were told they had to pay the state for a permit before they could even begin repairing their homes. Seriously.
Considering the daunting expense of rebuilding in itself, those State permission slips make reconstruction cost-prohibitive for some, while others — given the strict regulations pertaining to the floodplain and more — were forced to face the fact that they may not be able to rebuild on their own property at all.
“We haven’t suspended any or our requirements for permitting,” Justin Dupuy, building official for Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge, told Reason last year in an interview. “Before they start making any repairs, they just need to call in and check with us to see what they need.”
Any homes that needed more extensive reconstruction than simply the removal of water-damaged drywall and carpeting — cases where waters reached the level of electrical sockets — needed a full construction permit from the parish government.
Was the city providing a service by going around issuing warnings for code violations only hours after the hurricane? Or, were they carrying out an ill-thought out plan, which led to the unnecessary perceived harassment by residents, because they know no other way? Let us know in the comments below.
Berkeley, CA — Berkeley police are in the spotlight this week after one of their officers not only cited a man for selling hot dogs to willing customers without a permit but then opened up his wallet and robbed him of his cash as well.
The entire robbery was captured on video and subsequently went viral. But that was only the beginning. Showing how much society respects hard working entrepreneurs while decrying the police state that robs them, a Go Fund Me for the hot dog vendor has raised over $57,000.
The Go Fund Me campaign was started by the person who was brave enough to question authority and film the road side robbery. According to the campaign:
The funds raised will be utilized to cover legal and personal loses. In addition, funds in excess are to cover other vendors who have been robbed of their hard earned living through citations and removal of their carts. It is my goal to locate Juan in Berkeley. Any and all help to support and locate him is welcome.
On Monday, the video became so viral that UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Scott Biddy had to issue a statement, in which he justified the theft of the hot dog vendor’s money.
“While I cannot comment on the specifics of this particular case, our practice is to issue warnings before giving a citation,” Biddy said. “In a case such as this, it is typical to collect any suspected illegal funds and enter them into evidence.”
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According to NBC 5, UCPD officials said that three other people were warned about vending without a permit, but the vendor in the video was the only person who was given a ticket.
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Perhaps it was because he had the thickest wallet.
Whether or not the money in the man’s wallet was from selling unlicensed hot dogs remains to be answered. However, that was apparently of no importance to UC police officer Sean Aranas who found it necessary to confiscate it all.
Yes, selling food without first paying the government for permission—known as a permit—is against the law. However, this does not in any way justify this incident.
“That’s not right man, that’s not right,” Martin Flores, the man who took the video, said as he used his phone to record Aranas issuing the hot dog vendor, Beto, a ticket.
“That’s how it works,” the male officer responded. “Take it to a judge, and the judge can decide whether or not it’s right.”
The officer then took the money out of the vendor’s wallet, and when he began to protest in Spanish, the officer told him to “Back up.”
“You’re going to take his hard-earned money?” Flores asked. The officer replied, “Yep.”
“He doesn’t have a permit,” the officer replied as he dug through Beto’s wallet to steal his cash. “Yep. This is law and order in action.”
In an interview with NBC Bay Area’s sister station Telemundo, the street vendor said he holds down a regular job in construction. He was selling hot dogs to earn a little extra money, he said.
“People saw I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” he said of the response to the video. “I wasn’t stealing or drinking. I was just working to sustain my family.”
As TFTP has reported, in the Land of the Free, if you do not pay the State before you attempt to sell a product or service to a willing customer, you can and will be extorted, kidnapped and caged, with extreme prejudice.
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Sadly, Americans are being conditioned to think that in the land of the free, people are somehow morally wrong if they try to make a dollar without first being extorted by the state.
The bottom line is — in modern day police state, USA — exchanging goods and services is a crime unless the State gets their cut. We are told that this is for our safety and that we could all die if a brown man sells unlicensed hot dogs on the road side. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Morality does not equal reality — and the video above is more than enough evidence to prove this.
Riverside, CA — The state of California has long since waged a war on anyone who dares attempt to make a dollar by performing on the street. While some of these ordinances are in place for public safety, others are outright asinine and are a clear violation of constitutional rights. The latest example of this violation comes out of the city of Palm Springs in which a woman was arrested for reciting impromptu poetry. But the victim of this oppression fought back — and won.
Amy Marschak is a published writer from Colorado who performs impromptu poetry in public. For her one-of-a-kind street performances, she dons a Victorian dress and she takes requests from her listeners. For example, a pair of lovers on their first date might ask her to compose a poem on the spot to describe their meeting and their feelings for one another.
She’s been featured on local news stations and has performed across the United States. She sets up no table, does not block any paths, and performs upon request.
On March 13, 2015, Marschak was detained and issued a citation by Palm Springs police officer, Erik Larson. Larson issued this citation because Marschak was performing poetry in a public area.
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According to the lawsuit:
Larson stated that citizens were “not supposed to” perform on the streets of Palm Springs, and that street performing was “against the law…”
She was given a ticket by Defendant Larson that cited an ordinance prohibiting “sitting or lying” on a sidewalk (which she was not doing), later amended to a citation under the local ordinance that prohibits “obstructing” a public sidewalk (which she also was not doing). Around the same period of time, Plaintiff observed that other street performers were also being persecuted by Defendant Larson and other City of Palm Springs police officers on similarly spurious grounds.
After being issued a note of extortion by police for speaking words on a public sidewalk, Marschak felt violated. So, she retained an attorney and fought the ticket. She later won her case, however, Marschak then filed another lawsuit because she feared, rightfully so, that she will be arrested or cited again for reciting poetry on the sidewalk.
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Palm Springs City Hall just settled that lawsuit as well and for Larson’s poor decision and lack of constitutional knowledge, the taxpayers were hit with a $30,000 bill.
According to the lawsuit, Marschak alleged her constitutional rights were violated. She was seeking to affirm and vindicate the fundamental constitutional rights of street performers to express themselves freely in the public areas of Palm Springs without fear of harassment by local police.
According to the Desert Sun, Marschak’s battle was a successful one—not just because of the settlement either.
As the Sun reports:
In return for Amy Marschak dropping her suit, City Hall agreed to “take steps to affirm” the rights of street performers, in part by sending a memo to police about those rights, according to the settlement agreement.
The city council is also revising the laws that led to the lawsuit in the first place.
“What specific changes are made is up to the city’s elected representatives,” said Tom Seabaugh, a civil rights attorney who represented Marschak. “But we did secure through this lawsuit a commitment from them that they will take steps to do better in the future.”
“I can imagine some people thinking that because nobody was injured, there were no broken bones and nobody died – why is she being paid?” Seabaugh added. “I think the answer is that constitutional rights are important, and there should be accountability and consequences for violating them. That’s one of the points we wanted to make, and we think we’ve made it.”
Marschak’s battle is a noble one as more and more street performers are finding themselves in legal trouble for doing nothing other than brightening people’s days as they walk by.
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Last year the Free Thought Project reported on the story of a California man who was ticketed for juggling. Reporters with The Jones/Skelton Report, Joff and Alex, out of Santa Cruz, filmed police citing a man for juggling on the sidewalk. When Alex asked the officer if he was really citing the man for this non-offense, the officer confirmed that he was indeed citing the man for juggling — because throwing balls to yourself is banned in the Golden State.
The list of things in the United States to do that are illegal is ever increasing at an absurd rate. From walking across the street to riding a bicycle, ordinances across the nation, enforced through the barrel of a gun, continue to cause undue pain and suffering for otherwise innocent Americans on a daily basis. However, because of Marschak’s battle, at least poetry is safe—for now.
Perris, CA — In the Land of the Free, if you do not pay the state before you attempt to sell a product or service to a willing customer, you can and will be extorted, kidnapped, and caged, with extreme prejudice. A video published to Facebook this week shows a Perris police officer assault a woman who was selling flowers on the side of the road — she apparently failed to pay the state for the privilege.
The video does not tell the entire story. However, it starts as the officer is grabbing a woman who is holding multiple sets of flowers, clearly arranged for sale on the roadside. So, based on the multiple instances previously covered by the Free Thought Project, we can assume that she was approached for the selling of flowers without a permit, especially considering the officers are not from ICE.
As the video begins, the motorcycle officer is grabbing the woman by the arm. The woman, who apparently doesn’t speak English, is clearly terrified.
Not wanting to be assaulted or otherwise extorted by the Perris police department, the woman pulled her arm back and tried to move away. She was still holding onto her flowers, indicating that she was in no way a threat to the officer.
However, as the woman attempted to move backward, away from the officer, he grabbed her by her hair and attacked her.
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Within seconds, the officer had tripped the woman — who was still trying to protect her flowers as they likely cost her much needed money — and was on top of her.
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The video is appalling as the cop kneels down on the woman and shoves his gloved hand over her mouth. The woman begins yelling out in Spanish as another cop joins in on the arrest — allegedly over flowers.
As the officers roll her over to place the handcuffs on her, we can see just how terrified the woman is as she urinated on herself.
The Free Thought Project reached out to the Perry Police Department to ask them for a statement about this video. However, we have yet to hear back from them.
Some of the comments on the video below, are almost as disheartening as the video itself. Multiple people attempted to justify this assault and battery by claiming the woman should’ve had a permit.
Facebook user, Chuck N. wrote:
taxes, it;s called getting a permit, pay taxes, oh and dont resist when officer gives you a ticket. Is that person even in the country legally?
Another FB user, Eady T, wrote:
Selling flowers without a vendor’s license is a crime. Petty but crime non the less. So is resisting arrest.
Sadly, American are being conditioned to think that in the land of the free, people are somehow morally wrong if they try to make a dollar without first being extorted by the state.
The bottom line is — in modern day police state, USA — exchanging goods and services is a crime unless the state gets their cut. We are told that this is for our safety and that we could all die if a brown woman sells flowers on the corner. But nothing could be further from the truth.
READ MORE: Last Month US Cops Killed More Citizens than UK Cops Fired Their Guns This Entire Century
Morality does not equal reality — and the video below is more than enough evidence to prove this.
Here is the link to the Perris police department’s Facebook page, if you’d like to leave them a scathing, but peaceful review.
Sadly, this is one of many incidents in which people trying to earn a few bucks have been attacked or otherwise kidnapped by police ‘protecting society.’
In May, the Alameda County Sheriff’s department posted a photo of a deputy arresting a man for selling fruits and vegetables on the roadside and attempted to justify it. When people read the department’s justification, they lashed out — peacefully — to let them know what they were doing is wrong.
In June, a 38-year-old homeless man was attempting to earn some honest money by providing a much-desired service to the residents of Kennewick, Washington when he was threatened with extortion and arrest by the local police department who effectively ended his enterprise. After the Kennewick Police Department threatened the homeless man and prevented him from making a living, they took to Facebook to shamelessly brag about it.
The American Civil Liberties Union is calling Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s decision to cancel right-wing gatherings in Portland unconstitutional, even though the position, on the surface, aligns the group with conservative organizations they frequently oppose.
On Monday, in the wake of a deadly attack on MAX allegedly by a man who was filmed doing a Nazi salute at an alt-right rally in April, Wheeler posted on Facebook and Twitter: “the City of Portland has NOT and will not issue any permits for the alt right events scheduled on June 4th or June 10th.”
“The Federal government controls permitting for Shrunk Plaza, and it is my understanding that they have issued a permit for the event on June 4th,” he continued. “I am calling on the federal government to IMMEDIATELY REVOKE the permit(s) they have issued for the June 4th event and to not issue a permit for June 10th.”
Wheeler’s announcement was greeted, unsurprisingly, with anger from the alt-right community, but pushback also came from ACLU, recently known for fighting President Donald Trump’s executive orderbanning travelers from six Muslim-majority countries, an order which is popular with the alt-right crowd.
Mat dos Santos, legal director at the ACLU of Oregon, said Thursday that what Wheeler is asking for from the federal government, and what he is doing himself by refusing permits, is unconstitutional.
“It was really troubling to hear Mayor Wheeler talking about how hate speech is not constitutionally protected,” dos Santos said, “because that is just legally wrong.”
The line between what is and isn’t protected in the constitution is clear, dos Santos said. It is the line between “concrete evidence of an imminent threat of violence” and everything else.
The ACLU believes it is important to keep this line solid, regardless of emotions or the side of the issue they may fall on, ideologically.
Photo credit: Memorial at Hollywood Transit Center after MAX stabbings
A memorial of chalk messages, photographs, handwritten notes, flowers, candles and stuffed animals occupy the Hollywood Transit Center after Tuesday morning after Friday’s stabbing deaths and injuries of three Good Samaritans on a MAX train. Stephanie Yao Long/Staff
According To Fox12 KPTV Portland:
The federal government will not revoke the permit for a rally planned in downtown Portland on Sunday despite an impassioned plea from Mayor Ted Wheeler.
The U.S. General Services Administration announced Wednesday that all rules and regulations were followed by the applicant for the permit to host the “Patriot Prayer” event at Terry Schrunk Plaza.
The application was submitted May 10 and approved May 15.
Wheeler called on the federal government to revoke the permit for what he called an “alt-right event” due to the deadly stabbings on a MAX train at the Hollywood Transit Center on Friday.
Wheeler told people planning to rally to “back off” and let the community heal, saying the event would only “exacerbate an already difficult situation.”
Rally organizer Joey Gibson met with Wheeler and city leaders at City Hall on Tuesday. He said the event is in no way connected with murder suspect Jeremy Christian.
Gibson said Christian attended a previous “Patriot Prayer” rally, but he was kicked out.
The General Services Administration released a statement Wednesday saying the agency and Federal Protective Services are working closely with the mayor’s office and the Portland Police Bureau to prepare for Sunday’s event.
“Since the permit was lawfully obtained to assemble at this federal location, GSA has no basis to revoke the permit,” according to the U.S. General Services Administration.
