20 Jul 2000

Keith Henson <hkhenson@netcom3.netcom.com>

Unarreste?

Got out to gold base again around 5 pm. It was still hot, but I had my water spray. I got my thugs back. Just after I parked, Edwin Richardson and thug 2 (we really need to put a name on him) came tearing up in a big SUV, passed my parked car and jumped out. Before I could see them, I was not sure what was going on, so I jumped back in my car. But since was just them, I got back out and started picketing.

Richardson and thug 2 were doing the usual provocations to get me to take a swing at one of them, and complaining about my taping them. (I told them that if they talked, they were going on tape).

I was starting on my second or third round and was near my car which I had parked just beyond the east overpass when a Sheriff Deputy by the name of Rowe pulled up. He jumped out and put cuffs on me. Richardson and thug 2 started bitching to him about me taping them when he blew them off by saying they had no expectation of privacy out on a public road, and to stuff it. I don't think they knew this arrest was coming down or why.

I was more than a bit mystified as to why I was being arrested, since I don't have much on my conscience that is not well beyond any statue of limitations. However, it was lock my signs in my car and off to the new sheriff station we went.

As near as I can paste it together, Rowe arrested me as a *citizen's* arrest on the say so of someone in scientology. In theory, that puts all legal risk, including death, on the one who has asked the deputy to arrest. And get what for--ICBM and cruise missile threats against (*) and scn! You remember that posting where I said modern missiles are more accurate than someone else posted about? Well, that and the section out of the Gilliland book were what scn was claiming has caused a disruption of the internal ways they do things (what was not specified).

It was more than a little unclear, but (*) may also be worrying about being carried off by eagles. Deputy Rowe read me Maranda rights (something the LAPD did not do when they arrested me at scn's request a few years ago and asked if I wanted to talk to him about this series of postings. He held out the possibility that he and the sargent would decide the charges were silly and let me go. (Later he admitted that this was not the case and that he had absolutely no choice but to book me because scn said they wanted me citizen's arrested.)

So, figuring there was nothing I could say re such an entirely silly business (I mean, did he frisk me for MIRVs?) which would hurt my case, I tried to educated a guy who knew *nothing* about the cult, computers, or net.culture. What a way to spend an evening in handcuffs. As a cautionary tale, I told him about Steve Jackson Games and the fun *that* caused because not one of the Secret Service agents had the slightest clue about computers, role playing games, or cyberpunk science fiction. At the end, he allowed as how since scn was actually doing the arresting, I would have to be taken over to Riverside, 30-40 miles away and booked. They might or might not let me bail out. Now, this generated a problem, because I take a serious mix of drugs to hold down my blood pressure, skipping a dose causes high rebound problems, and I had last taken them very early in the morning. Of course, they could not just stop by Ida's and let me take them because prisoners cannot take prescriptions other than ones given by the county (I think the fear is someone might get high in jail).

It was, therefore, a total unknown as to how long it might be before I could get medication. Since none of them could check blood pressure (sheesh) they had to call the paramedics to do it. About the time the paramedics said I really should not just be transported directly to jail, but should stop by a medical facility first, something had come unglued with the scns refusing to sign the citizen's arrest papers. This left the county with all the false arrest liability, not to mention who would get sued if anything happened to me while in custody. (I didn't mention it, but about ten years ago I sued Riverside county over the excesses of some coroner deputies and won.) So I was "unarrested" (Deputy Rowe really used that word) and stuffed in an ambulance to be checked out at the nearest open emergency ward. This was most of the way to Riverside and part way there we were diverted because one hospital would not take anyone who was originating from the Sheriff's office.

It was a long ride, but I used it to fully inform the two paramedics, BobF and Bob, about our favorite cult. When we reached the hospital, the most reasonable thing for me to have done was split AMA and go take my blood presure medications. I offered to go take them and come back, to be checked out, but as it was I spent a few hours there before I could sign out and get a cab back to my car. While I was there I had a rapt bunch of listeners, a good number of whom had horror stories of their own about our favorite cult (as did the paramedics).

On the way back to pick up my car, Carl, the cab driver, got the an ear full and it turned out he knew the Shaner family and was familiar with her senseless death, but he did not know the complex had anything to do with scientology. All together I would estimate that another 30 people were educated about Xenu, the cult and the cult's presence near Henet. You can bet they will be talking about this to their friends tomorrow.

Sorry I don't have time to do a polish on this report, I only have a few hours before I will be out there again.

Keith Henson,
Reporting from the Hemet front

PS If this report gets upstaged by the Macgoo defection, count me among those cheering.

PPS I suspect scn did not gain any points by jerking the Sheriff's office around with the on/off citizen's arrest business. Also, knowing this rule, even if it was not applied here, you can skip the interogation unless you think it worth the educational effects.