Sec. 12.25.030. Grounds for arrest by private person or peace officer without warrant.That said, it's quite questionable whether any crime was actually being committed or attempted.
(a) A private person or a peace officer without a warrant may arrest a person
(1) for a crime committed or attempted in the presence of the person making the arrest;
(2) when the person has committed a felony, although not in the presence of the person making the arrest;
(3) when a felony has in fact been committed, and the person making the arrest has reasonable cause for believing the person to have committed it.
@JoeMiller - in case you were unaware, the Constitution also applies to reporters. #Ak #AkSenposted by ericb at 5:11 PM on October 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
“For those who may be hearing for the first time, it appears that ‘security guards’ working for my opponent, Joe Miller, manhandled and handcuffed a member of the press at a town hall, held in a public school, when the reporter/editor had the gall to attempt to ask Joe questions.posted by ericb at 5:25 PM on October 18, 2010 [17 favorites]
This behavior displays a disdain for the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate. A free press is the hallmark of a functioning democracy. While Joe Miller isn’t the government (much to his dismay), a candidate for public office has an obligation to answer press questions and not intimidate those who try to better inform the public. This extreme behavior is a reflection of the extreme views of the Tea Party Express, an organization that seeks to avoid the important questions about the America their strange theories would create. Fear and intimidation have no place in this or any other campaign.
Shutting the media out of a political campaign is un-American.
It is normal for candidates seeking public office to get tired or frustrated with the political coverage during the campaign. But it is entirely abnormal and unacceptable to run from or to intimidate the press. Those who seek political office must be accountable to the voters, which means answering questions posed to us.
I’ve held five town halls in this campaign, but as a big guy from a small town, I didn’t think I needed a security squad. As mayor, my ‘entourage’ normally includes one of my three kids. I guess I don’t have the personality for hired muscle with Secret Service-like earpieces! Candidates need to be accessible to voters, not hiding behind a wall of bodyguards.
Alaska cannot afford to elect Joe Miller. His truly bizarre theories of the constitution and what America should look like in the 21st century would be disastrous in the United States Senate. While last night’s Town Hall was overshadowed by the dustup between Mr. Miller’s bodyguards and a reporter, something disturbing emerged in his answers to the friendly crowd.
When asked about immigration and border security, Mr. Miller held out East Germany as a great example of how border security should be done. That’s right, the communist East Germany of Berlin Wall fame.
Apparently, Mr. Miller was asleep not only during the days that the First Amendment was covered at Yale Law, but also during the days that communism and the Berlin Airlift were covered at West Point. I guess Joe isn’t a fan of Ronald Reagan and his demand: ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’”
“A spokesman for the Anchorage municipal prosecutor’s office, Al Patterson, said the police are still transitioning paperwork and a decision on whether to press charges [against blogger/journalist Tony Hopfinger] is not expected until later this week. Patterson said that likely charges – if the prosecutor’s office ultimately files any – could be assault, trespassing or disorderly conduct.posted by ericb at 5:31 PM on October 18, 2010
Meanwhile, it appears Miller’s hired bodyguards are in the clear. A spokesman with the Anchorage Police Department, Lt. Dave Parker, said the ‘citizen’s arrest’ was done in accordance with private security procedures and that police officers arrived quickly at the scene after Hopfinger was put in handcuffs.
‘It’s totally legal for everywhere that I know of,’ Parker said. ‘How do you suppose people who are working a security detail in Macy’s make an arrest?’
Meanwhile, an attorney for Alaska Dispatch, John McKay, said that Hopfinger would likely not pursue any charges of his own against the security guards.
‘I think his inclination, at this point, is not to pursue any criminal charges although I think they illegally detained him,’ said McKay. ‘I don’t think he’s inclined to pursue that.’”*
Town Hall AnchorageNo where do I see any claims that pressmedia, Democrats, Gays or Vegans are not allowed to attend the PUBLIC event in the PUBLIC school.
Why: Because your friends, colleges, family, acquaintances, neighbors, need to be informed and hear Joe Miller speak for himself. Don't let the media skew your views. Make the decision for yourself. Help send Joe to DC!
When: Sun Oct 17 3pm – 4:30pm Alaska Time
Where: 1405 E Street Central Middle School
"William Fulton from Dropzone Security Services said Hopfinger should have known from the 'Joe Miller for Senate' signs outside Central Junior High School that the town hall meeting -- to which Miller invited citizens on the internet sites Facebook and Twitter -- was a private event.posted by ericb at 6:28 PM on October 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
... Fulton said that as a security guard he is familiar with state law, and he believes he has the legal authority to police 'private events' no matter where might take place. He refused to answer how exactly a member of the public attending Miller's town hall meeting at a public school was supposed to know it was a private event, but said the Joe Miller sign outside was the giveaway.
The meeting was open to the public. There were no names taken at the door. Reporters were not asked to apply for credentials.
'This is a simple trespassing issue,' Fulton insisted, but no one else trespassing in the hallway with Hopfinger was detained. Fulton said Hopfinger was special because he showed those signs of 'violence.'
... Fulton agreed with Hopfinger that there were a lot of people in the hallway. Some of them might have been other reporters, he said.
... Fulton said he felt no obligation to explain to Hopfinger how a reporter doing his job -- asking questions of a political candidate -- could be trespassing at a public school during a public event.
'I don't educate the public,' he said.
Fulton said he told Hopfinger to leave. Hopfinger didn't leave. So he banged him into a wall and cuffed him. End of story"*
"[T]he business license for 'Dropzone Security Services,' 3701 SPENARD ROAD, ANCHORAGE AK 99503, owned by William F. Fulton expired on 31/12/2009 and was NOT renewed!posted by ericb at 6:54 PM on October 18, 2010 [15 favorites]
The company belonging to Mr. Fulton, who was pictured in the above clips [1, 2] is currently not licensed for providing security services. Joe Miller therefore employed the services of a 'rogue' security company, so to speak.
'Dropzone Security Services' has an expired business license with the following details: [Line of Business: Support, Waste Management, and Remediation Services].
[T]his company has nothing to do with security services. It is a license for a trade company!
[The current business license is] "for 'Sporting goods stores'.
[Mr. Fulton] owns a shop for military surplus.
Mr. Fulton received the trade license TODAY!
This trade company lacks the necessary license for a security company, and he hasn't had one since 01/01/2010. Mr. Fulton owns no security company under another name, as the records show.
It is therefore proven that Joe Miller employed a security firm which is unlicensed.
We do hope that the IRS will now take a closer look at Joe Miller's dark-shirt friends from Spenard Road."*
" (1) Dont waste your money on these losers Although these guys have one of the better military selections in town they are a bunch of has been's and want to be's. You feel incredibly unwelcome and have to beg for help. When you do get help its usually pretty lackluster. Prices seem to come off the top of the head. This shady business is cash only too...so forget the card. Go spend your money at one of the other places in town and forget these wanna be GI JOE militia crackpots.posted by ericb at 7:09 PM on October 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
(2)) Decent surplus store, but could be better The sign on the door said enough for me, and nearly wanted to make me leave right then and there. Flat out said if you were there to look around, you just needed to go the F... somewhere else because they weren't a museum. Anti-government signs abound in and out. Inside, it's dark and very tight and nothing seems to have prices on it. It's just thrown on a shelf somewhere. I was there looking for some equipment (im in the military) and had my two boys with me. I couldn't even get the young guy working that day to acknowledge me. I will say they had more stuff then some of the other surplus stores in town, but there is no need to be so anti consumer and government like that. It just makes me not want to shop there regardless of my views on the current government. I came to shop and spend money, not dig around in the dark being ignored and feel like I was at some anti-government rally.
(3) Response from the owner: Wow sorry you didnt get the help you needed This is the first I've heard of this please feel free to call us if you have an issue. We are a wholey disabled veteran owned and operated company, most of our staff comes from combat arms MOS's. We are military focused and while we do sell to the general public our priority is our military client's. Prices vary greatly even with the same item depending on your rank, job (ie discounts for military, law enforcement, fire fighters etc) what we paid that day for it how long its been in inventory and customers attitude. As for our cash only policy, we do provide an ATM for our customers that wish to use a card. We refuse to pay credit card fees to a company that we have nothing to do with that does nothing for us (credit card fees only increase the price of goods for every customer)."
"'I would say Tony was aggressive, and I would say he was rude because he interrupted me, but he didn't do anything wrong and he wasn't posing a threat to Miller,' Symbol said.posted by ericb at 7:31 AM on October 19, 2010
She said Miller tried to get away from the reporter and in doing so put his hand on her arm and pushed her aside. Her 8-year-old son, Vincent Mahoney, was standing right behind her, and Miller bowled him over in his attempt to get away. 'I don't know if [Miller] didn't see him or didn't care, but he didn't say "excuse me" or "I'm sorry". He didn't even turn his head,' Symbol said. 'He simply did not care at all.'
... Other reporters also were physically prevented from moving down the hallway where Hopfinger was being kept. A video shot by Anchorage Daily News reporter Rich Mauer and posted on the newspaper's website shows three guards blocking Mauer and Dispatch reporter Jill Burke from approaching Hopfinger. In the video, Burke repeatedly asks a guard to takes his hands off her.
... 'I do not believe that he did anything wrong,' she said. 'He was rude and he was aggressive but that's just what the press does. Legally he did not do anything wrong that deserved to be put in cuffs.'
'The whole thing just made me sick,' she said.'I was a big supporter of Joe Miller, I really was. But not anymore.'"
"A reporters' rights group blasted the campaign of Alaska Republican senate candidate Joe Miller on Monday after a liberal blogger was handcuffed by the candidate's private security guards before being set free by police.posted by ericb at 7:44 AM on October 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
'It strikes me as virtually incomprehensible that anyone would have to rough up and handcuff a reporter who's just trying to do a story,' said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press.
'It seems to me that they didn't like this guy, so they just decided to take him out,' Dalglish said of Tony Hopfinger, editor of the Alaska Dispatch website."
“Miller accused Hopfinger of using the town hall for a ‘publicity stunt.’ Miller also has claimed the online news site has focused its attention on negative stories about him.posted by ericb at 7:56 AM on October 19, 2010
Hopfinger didn't respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press, but he said on MSNBC's ‘The Last Word’ Monday night that the guards weren't clearly marked as security.
His attorney, John McKay, called the incident ‘bizarre’ and said Hopfinger committed no offence.
‘Do I think Tony was right, editorially? Absolutely,’ Rogoff said.
Miller is locked in a race with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whom he upset in the Republican Party primary and who is now running as a write-in candidate, and Democrat Scott McAdams.
Last week, Miller declared he would no longer answer questions about his past, following what he alleged was a leak to members of the media of his personnel file from his time as an attorney with the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
Miller has had to respond to a number of disclosures that he or his family had received the types of government benefits — farm subsidies, Medicaid, unemployment — that he now rails against or has questioned the constitutionality of.
In acknowledging this, saying that for a time he struggled like many others have, he said he no longer gets benefits and that it has no relevance to the current race. Miller also said his campaign would continue to be as transparent and honest as possible.
But during a news conference in which he declared his personal life off-limits, he singled out the Dispatch, saying its ‘so-called journalistic objective is anything negative about Joe. ... It doesn't matter whether the sources are anonymous or not. They'll publish it on their blog.’
The Dispatch was first to report that Miller, a fiscal conservative who has called for an end to the ‘welfare state,’ accepted farm subsidies in the 1990s. It's also among the news organizations suing for access to Miller's personnel file from the time he worked at the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
A former borough mayor claims Miller was nearly fired in 2008 for using government computers in a failed effort to overthrow the state Republican chairman. The Dispatch had reported allegations related to this before the mayor publicly spoke, citing unidentified sources.
Miller on Monday acknowledged to CNN he was disciplined over the matter but said he was never threatened with termination.
Rogoff said Hopfinger was ‘doggedly’ pursuing an answer to Miller's employment question when he was shoved by a member of the security detail. Miller has called her a ‘max donor’ to Murkowski, though [Alaska Dispatch publisher Alice] Rogoff said she hasn't made a political contribution since buying the Dispatch last year.”
"Although fueled by dislike for taxes, hatred of the 'liberal media' - including virtually all channels, barring Fox News, and most print publications - is a central tenet of the Tea Party's world view. ...posted by ericb at 1:04 PM on October 19, 2010
Like most US elections, this year's midterm race is chiefly a contest between the Democratic and Republican parties. But not far behind is the strange tussle between the Tea Party movement and the media.
Tea Partiers see the media as an arm of the bicoastal liberal elites. The media, on the other hand, see the colourful biographies of people such as Christine O'Donnell, the Republican candidate in Delaware, or Sharron Angle, the Republican Senate candidate in Nevada, as unmissable stories."
DoD Directive 1344.10 -- governing "Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces on Active Duty" -- provides: "A member on AD [active duty] shall not: . . .[p]articipate in partisan political management, campaigns, or conventions." The legality is the least of the concerns here. That Directive exists because it's dangerous and un-democratic to have active-duty soldiers taking an active role in partisan campaigns; having them handcuff journalists on behalf of candidates is so far over that line that it's hard to believe it happened. The real issue, though, is Joe Miller: the fact that he did this and then emphatically defended it reveals the deep authoritarianism of many of these "small-government, pro-Constitution" right-wing candidates. Any American of minimal decency should be repelled by this incident.posted by ericb at 1:44 PM on October 19, 2010 [3 favorites]
“Anchorage's municipal prosecutor said no charges will be filed against Alaska Dispatch editor and co-founder Tony Hopfinger, who was handcuffed and detained by Joe Miller's private security detail at a public event Sunday afternoon.posted by ericb at 2:03 PM on October 19, 2010
‘Basically, nothing's going to happen,’ said Al Patterson, chief municipal prosecutor. Patterson sent out the following press release early Tuesday afternoon:After careful review by the Municipal Prosecutors office of witness statements, police reports, and other materials relating to this incident, it has been determined that no criminal charges will be filed against any party.The chief guard of the detail, which included active-duty soldiers, said he placed Hopfinger under a private person's arrest. Anchorage Police Department spokesman Lt. Dave Parker told the Anchorage Daily News that someone making a private person's arrest has a right to restrain the subject, but only if the arrest is legal in the first place.
In a press release, Miller had said Hopfinger ‘physically assaulted another individual and made threatening gestures and movements towards the candidate.’
When asked if any charges would be filed against Drop Zone, the security firm that detained Hopfinger, Patterson said not by his office.
‘That most likely rolls over to the civil side,’ Patterson said. ‘That would depend on whether Tony wants to do anything with it.’”
"An extremely frustrated Fulton also confirmed that DropZone has faced some questions over its license with the Alaska Division of Corporations, Businesses, and Professional Licensing, which the Alaska Commerce website shows expired at the end of 2009.posted by ericb at 2:09 PM on October 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Fulton claims they 'just got a renewal the first of the month, that should be done within 30 days,' and that the revelations were 'bad timing' in light of the Hopfinger incident. But he said, the state licensing department 'never got mad at me.'
A representative in the Alaska Division of Corporations, Businesses, and Professional Licensing told TPM that the license had never been renewed."*
"[Alaska Department of Public Safety] spokeswoman Megan Peters released a statement via email Tuesday, two days after Hopfinger’s arrest at an event Miller hosted at Central Middle School.posted by ericb at 8:30 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
'After DPS received multiple inquiries from reporters regarding the security detail at the Joe Miller town hall meeting a quick review of the statutes regarding security agencies, personal and bodyguards was done,' Peters wrote. 'It has been decided that an investigation into the matter is prudent. With that being said, I can not give you details regarding the case until the investigation is completed.'
... Peters would not provide any details about the state’s licensing procedure, citing the investigation, but she did provide a citation to the state law that requires licensing." *
“According to a report by the Anchorage Police Department, the head of Joe Miller's security team for his town hall last Sunday couldn't identify who Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger allegedly assaulted before the private security guards handcuffed and detained him.posted by ericb at 12:25 PM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
William Fulton, head of DropZone security, had alleged that he detained Hopfinger after the journalist pushed someone up against a locker. Hopfinger had been trying to question and videotape the Republican Senate nominee when the security team asked him to stop. Hopfinger says he was then pushed, and began to push back before he was detained.
But, according to the Dispatch, the APD report says that neither the police, several witnesses interviewed by the police, nor even Fulton himself could identify the victim of Hopfinger's alleged pushing. Sgt. Mark Rein, who wrote the report, said: ‘Fulton then said that he wanted to make an arrest for assault because Hopfinger pushed a man into a locker. I asked him to let me talk to this person. Fulton said that he didn't know who it was, but that he would find him. I gave Fulton 10 minutes to find the unknown assault victim, but none was forthcoming.’
Rein also writes that Fulton asked that Hopfinger be arrested for ‘trespassing,’ and ‘told me that he needed me to complete the arrest for his insurance. I told him that I would not be taking action based on insurance.’”
"In yet another blow to Alaska Republican Joe Miller's Senate campaign, a judge ordered Saturday that his contentious employment records be released later this week.posted by ericb at 11:27 AM on October 24, 2010
Judge Winston Burbank ruled in favor of a local news outlet's lawsuit to unseal Miller's employment records at 4 p.m. Tuesday unless the Republican appeals his case to the state Supreme Court — a decision that was still in question Saturday night.
Miller's employment records when he was a part-time attorney at the Fairbanks North Star Borough have been a controversial issue in the Alaska Senate race, which has become a competitive three-way contest. Polls show Miller and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is running a vigorous write-in campaign, in a dead heat — with Democrat Scott McAdams trailing them by a few points.
Depending on what the employment records reveal, their release could come as yet another hit to Miller after a rough couple of weeks on the campaign trail — much of which has been at the hands of online reporting outlet Alaska Dispatch, which sued for release of his employment records.
... It's unclear yet whether Miller will appeal the judge's ruling: His spokesman, Randy DeSoto, told POLITICO in a statement, 'Joe is going to confer with his attorney to see if an appeal is even necessary.' But unless Miller’s attorneys make a move, the records will be released Tuesday afternoon."
"How do we know we're one week out from Election Day? Because everyone is going crazy right now. Before last night's final Jack Conway-vs.-Rand Paul debate, a Paul supporter stomped on a MoveOn activist. In Florida, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink was accused of cheating at last night's debate (her makeup artist reportedly passed her a note from the campaign during the debate). As we noted yesterday, the Democratic gubernatorial in Rhode Island told President Obama to 'shove it' for remaining neutral in the race. And we learned that Mississippi Congressman Gene Taylor (D) said he didn't vote for Obama in 2008 (so he voted for Nancy Pelosi for speaker, but not Obama in '08?). October's campaign phrases that pay: 'Shove It' and 'Man Up.' Can you tell it's a week out? It's a fitting conclusion to a nutty campaign year."posted by ericb at 12:28 PM on October 26, 2010
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