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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

http://vtdigger.org/2016/07/01/law-enforcement-becomes-issue-at-rai...