Feds Target Rainbow Family Independence Day Gathering (Again)

Shumlin asks law enforcement to stop ‘hassling’ Rainbow Family

Gathering doesn’t officially begin until today, but enforcement by federal officials has already clamped down on the hippie gathering.

Welcom sign at the gate. Photo by Sarah Olsen/VTDigger

Gov. Peter Shumlin said Thursday that he asked federal law enforcement not to harass or hassle anyone at the gathering site in the national forest in Mount Tabor after receiving some reports of intense policing.

Bus Village. Photo by Sarah Olsen/VTDigger

A sign at the back gate to the main area. Photo by Sarah Olsen/VTDigger

Jai Love singing at Bus Village. Photo by Sarah Olsen/VTDigger

Weseley, a Rainbow Family member, making coffee in Bus Village. Photo by Sarah Olsen/VTDigger

“There is no reason to hassle these folks,” Shumlin said.

Officers have issued 131 warnings and 106 violation notices so far to people involved with the gathering, the U.S. Forest Service said in an update Wednesday.

Views: 1085

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by truth on July 4, 2016 at 7:53am

Feds target Rainbow Gathering
D’Anna Merritt walked down the Rutland federal courthouse steps on West Street just before 10:30 a.m. Friday to wait under the shade of an ancient tree for the “hippie bus” back to the Rainbow Gathering in Mount Tabor.

Merritt is among a growing number of people attending the Rainbow Family of Love and Light Gathering who have been charged with federal crimes for minor offenses.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, to date, there have been 163 warning notices and 144 violations issued, as well as 91 unsolved crimes being investigated.

Merritt’s federal charge for not having her current auto insurance card was dropped. But when she was ticketed, she was warned that if she did not appear in Rutland federal court on Friday, a federal warrant would be issued for her arrest.

“It was about 11:30 p.m. on Monday ... they said the lights around my license plate were out,” Merritt said, sharing a cellphone photo of the lights working. “They ran the drug dog around my car three times, and then the officer smacked the side of my car really hard and said the dog had a hit on the car.”

Forest Service police forced Merritt, her 8-year-old daughter and her boyfriend out of the car and began searching the contents looking for drugs, she said.

Police found no drugs in Merritt’s car or possessions. She was not charged for the license plate lights being out even though that’s why police stopped her initially.

After a search by federal park police, Merritt was charged with not having a current insurance card with her, despite having insurance.

“They tore my book bag, they broke a $35 essential oil bottle,” she said. “They are using tax dollars to terrorize people.”

Ethan M. Ready, public affairs officer for the Forest Service, said there have been no major crimes in the two or so weeks members of the Rainbow Family have been camping in the Green Mountain National Forest.

There are about 40 Forest Service officers at the event along with local police, State Police and the Rutland County Sheriff’s department. Ready said the Forest Service police come from around the country for the event and about 50 percent have been to gatherings in previous years.

“Yes, people have been processed for some ‘petty’ crimes,” he said Friday afternoon. “We see the situation through the lens that we have yet to see any major crimes. Oftentimes, setting precedent will deter others from more serious violations.”

The Forest Service police approach to the Rainbow Gathering is reminiscent of the broken windows theory of policing that surfaced in the 1980s and focuses on policing minor crimes to prevent bigger ones.

But in recent years, broken windows policing has come under fire as a means of targeting certain groups.

A Massachusetts woman who calls herself Aviva was charged federally for a parking ticket and she did not have the option of mailing in the money for a fine.

“A bunch of people with no money and no resources are being extorted with no viable option,” she said on Friday, sitting near Merritt. “I had to go to federal court for a parking ticket. And I was told that if I didn’t come, a federal warrant would be issued for my arrest. Everything on my car was legal.”

Aviva had to pay a $50 fine.

“They don’t care if its drugs or a parking ticket, they are going to harass you,” Aviva said. “It’s like a formula they have and there are the same stories every year.”

Jay Diaz, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union said this is a repeating pattern. “No matter where they gather, there is a heavy-handed approach,” he said on Friday afternoon. “This is constitutionally questionable. This is certainly very worrisome. We have had a number of complaints.”

Diaz said the ACLU has written a letter to the Forest Service chief calling for an end to the targeting of Rainbow Gathering attendees. “We hope the Forest Service will back off,” he said.

Additionally, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has expressed his concern about the situation.

“The governor understands the challenges posed by this many people gathering in one place,” said Scott Coriell, spokesman for the governor’s office. “He is concerned, however, about some of the reports he has seen. Our office has been in touch with federal and state officials about that. In Vermont, we pride ourselves on being a welcoming place to all who visit. The governor has expressed his desire to see those visiting our state treated accordingly.”

Nonetheless, Ready said, they have not been instructed to cut back on ticketing.

Forest Service police impounded Melanie Southern’s 1984 GMC van because her insurance was not valid. Southern, who is from Indiana, said she is handicapped and walks with a cane. “They took my van and left me on the side of the road with a cane,” she said Friday morning. “They made me walk a mile and a half to the camp.”

And on Friday, after paying a $50 fine, Southern was asking for directions to Hop To It Towing, to pick up her van and pay the impound fee.

“I was told it is about $500, I only make $800 a month on Social Security,” she said.

Others outside the courthouse said federal police were walking through religious ceremonies with guns, which are prohibited in what they call the circle, where they pray for peace.

“We call out, ‘guns in the circle,’ when they come in because guns are not allowed,” Merritt said.

Ready said he has no knowledge of federal officers walking through religious ceremonies, but admits they have conducted foot patrols through campsites.

The ACLU said they are keeping a watchful eye on developments as the gathering continues. “We hope gathering attendees will be allowed to exercise their rights to free expression and assembly without unnecessary disruption or an unreasonable police response,” Diaz said.

kathleen.phalentomaselli

@rutlandherald.com

Comment by truth on July 4, 2016 at 6:54am

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

tjdavis posted a video

Alabama’s Biggest Secret - Operation Paperclip 🇺🇸

In the north of Alabama is the city of Huntsville. It's here where German scientists built NASA in secrecy after World War II. Operation Paperclip is still s...
2 hours ago
tjdavis posted a photo
4 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Cheeki kea always nice to her you chime in and you're damn right! "
18 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Les Prone thanks for your support Dude! "
18 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
19 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a photo

The inconvenient truth

Trump spells it out!
22 hours ago
Sandy posted a photo
yesterday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post What Made the Founding Fathers of America so Brilliant?
yesterday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Motives of Joe, to shit in the well by showing totally irrelevant proof?"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less, Motives of Wyatt or Joe? What archeologist wouldn't want proof of Jesus as part of his…"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less Prone, Considering Joe Rogan to be the gatekeeper of anything is just short of ridiculous the…"
yesterday
MAC posted a video

Don't Go To Hong Kong Now (Even on Connecting Flights)

Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code laowhy86 for an extra 3 months free at https://Surfshark.deals/laowhy86Article 23 in Hong Kong is real,...
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

Terrorist Attack on Moscow - Ukraine Committing Suicide? | Larry C. Johnson

"...And I guess I'll just park this you tube here also for something to ponder from last year.…"
Tuesday
tjdavis posted photos
Tuesday
Less Prone posted a video

Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth) NL

Deze nieuwe documentaire van de Britse filmmaker Martin Durkin toont aan dat klimaatalarm een verzonnen doembeeld is zonder enige wetenschappelijke basis. He...
Monday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"It can be true, but why isn't he offering real evidence? What are his motives?"
Monday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
Monday
cheeki kea favorited Less Prone's blog post Going against the stream of lies and death
Monday
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"You're spot on in regards to the the real estate component of this mass migrant mess Doc V and…"
Monday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

Terrorist Attack on Moscow - Ukraine Committing Suicide? | Larry C. Johnson

"This video out 2 days ago but the 4 terrorists already caught and 11 others involved identified…"
Monday

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted