Comments on: Encounter with a New Mexico "internal border" checkpoint

By: EH

EH — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:57:00 +0000

…and I did not speak out, because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.

By: peregrinus

peregrinus — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:45:00 +0000

zomg the hippies … god forbid. How would Homeland Security respond to scary brown hippies? That’s got to be an episode of Homeland right there.

By: peregrinus

peregrinus — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Imagine the upset of the Azores’ Border Wonks representatives at the Border Enforcement Enablement Federation International Entities meet.

‘Hey! Change the rules to 100 miles from the nearest border to our borders! We’re feeling a little exposed here!’

Micronesia would get skin in that game. Could have fun with the Spratly Islands. Hell – isn’t Russia within 100 miles of Alaska?! What an opportunity!!

By: katkins

katkins — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:31:00 +0000

Sneaky Godwin.

By: Dennis Smith

Dennis Smith — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:46:00 +0000

The guy needs (another) beating, I have no doubt about that, however I’m sure this is not the way to go about it – at the cost of eroding the civil liberties or the public.

He appears to deliberately antagonise these people doing their jobs regardless of how you think of them they are being told how to do their jobs, and he presents himself as a self made target for stopping, he clearly set this up with a camcorder to hand, knowing full well that random stops are sometimes just that and if you pass through enough times you will be stopped either at random, or just because you appear familiar to them. The tinted windows don’t help either.

I can’t knock the uniforms quite as much as they might appear to deserve, after all they are doing a job, and they are being reasonably polite about it, not threats or violence, or for that matter the only raised voice was his.

Not taking sides in this matter, but it’s easy to jump up and berate the uniforms, but look at it from their side and the picture is very different to the one you initially see.

By: PeaceLove

PeaceLove — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:03:00 +0000

The guy set off all my gaydar bells. I bet his extreme hatered & fear of gays stems from some projected self-loathing.

That said, it’s often the most damaged and flawed people who display the courage to stand up to excessive–and armed–authority. He has the angry tone of a petulant 12-year-old but at least he has the balls to remain resolute.

By: Shinkuhadoken

Shinkuhadoken — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:24:00 +0000

Say what you will about this guy, but if more people stood up for their rights, there’d be a lot fewer checkpoints on the grounds that it just wouldn’t be feasible against a free people.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:33:00 +0000

Baa.

By: Richard Lord

Richard Lord — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:19:00 +0000

He was required to stop, they had the authority to ask questions. Lets make this perfectly clear to all you sheeple. HE was NOT required to answer the questions. HE had a right to remain silent. They had NO right to continue to detain him once he made it clear he was not ceding his rights. They have the authority to stop him and engage him in a consensual conversation. The moment they kept him detained after he demanded them to let him go the Jack booted thugs broke the law. If they were not able to get probable cause or even a articulate suspicion that a crime was committed they had NO authority to continue to detain him and IF they did they would not have been told by the REAL lawyers on the phone to let him GO.

By: merreborn

merreborn — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:24:00 +0000

Apparently this guy was involved in another “internal border checkpoint” incident (I believe both incidents took place in spring 2009? I’m not sure), in which he was tazed and bloodied. He was charged with two counts, and found not guilty on both.

http://sanderson1611.blogspot.com/2010/08/jury-returns-not-guilty-verdict-on-all.html

At any rate, I believe that speaks in some way to the legality of these stops.

By: Art Carnage

Art Carnage — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:49:00 +0000

Doubt it. If they thought they had a legal leg to stand on, it would have gone down completely differently.

By: m_a_s

m_a_s — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:51:00 +0000

No. They did LEGALLY detain him. Care t explain why you think otherwise?

If you have a probelm, with this, the real problem are the Laws and the legislators!!!

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 20:39:00 +0000

The Border Patrol in Liechtenstein could set up checkpoints deep into France, Germany and Switzerland.

By: dioptase

dioptase — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Wait until they get bored and start naming random nationalities. “Are you all Russian citizens?” “Are you a Japanese Citizen?” It really throws you if, like me, you’ve been through them dozens if not hundreds of times. You are just about to yell your automatic “Yes” when what they said registers.

Passengers get bored with it too. My brother and I enjoyed hiding under a blanket in the back as our mom drove through the checkpoints. For bonus points, we’d speak in spanish. Mom was not happy.

By: nico_forgot

nico_forgot — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:51:00 +0000

This guy is not a champion of the people. He, like the first officer, is part of the problem. He demands answers and then refuses to cooperate. He lacks understanding of the law and common courtesy: beginning in an antagonistic fashion. Don’t lick boots but don’t be a jerk to those in the boots, either.

By: kmoser

kmoser — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:29:00 +0000

And hippies. Don’t forget the hippies.

By: Tim Pedersen

Tim Pedersen — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:21:00 +0000

The officers illegally detained him. That’s not within their legal rights.

By: Ipo

Ipo — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:50:00 +0000

Government bloat.

By: pduggie

pduggie — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:05:00 +0000

Seems like that was actually 1976, not bush. that this went down.

By: pduggie

pduggie — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:03:00 +0000

I wonder if he’s one of those Soverign citizen “I have the right to Travel the country byways without interference dudes”.

They always go on about how they have found teh secret words that enable them to escape police control. Maybe its true.

By: bigdave323

bigdave323 — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:35:00 +0000

True, dat. If they were right, those pigs would have used the jaws of life to pry him out of that car. Then he would be manhandled, probably tasered, charged with resisting arrest, and jailed pending hearing in a kangaroo court. YOU KNOW THAT!

Good for him. I’d like to give him a good citizenship award. Fascists just wanna fasc.

By: m_a_s

m_a_s — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:32:00 +0000

More pressing problems? Like what? Two sets of idiots arguing? Both were acting within thier legal rights.
@TacoChuck: The officers do indeed have a legal right to make the requests they did. Right or wrong, that’s just the way it is.

By: TacoChuck

TacoChuck — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:17:00 +0000

If you watched the entire video and thought it was about if he rolled down his window or not, then I can understand you have other, more pressing problems to deal with.

By: m_a_s

m_a_s — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:07:00 +0000

Yes, a great day for people to enforce their rights to not roll down their window!

By: ChicagoD

ChicagoD — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:29:00 +0000

It’s OK, they’re not.

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000

On the other hand, this guy probably thinks Ant should be summarily executed. Hopefully that offends you more than breaking something over someone’s head.

By: IronEdithKidd

IronEdithKidd — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:17:00 +0000

I find it quite interesting that I’ve not seen any of these checkpoints in person. I live about 40 miles from Canada. Can anyone tell me, with a straight face, that these checkpoints aren’t all about harassing the scary brown people?

By: ChicagoD

ChicagoD — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:10:00 +0000

You’re actually wrong about all of those points. Fascinating.

By: waetherman

waetherman — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:05:00 +0000

Yes. As much as some would like to think otherwise, border control checkpoints that are not at the border are legal, and according to Wikipedia, there are several Supreme Court decisions that entitle them to stop motorists for brief questioning and pull them aside for more extensive questioning selectively at checkpoints.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Border_Patrol_Interior_Checkpoints#cite_note-4 I can only see what is in the video, but to me it looks like this guy is failing to comply with a legal request by an immigration officer to submit to questioning, and they decided to select him to more extensive questioning in a different location as a result. He then fails to comply with that request and instead blocks the checkpoint. So whatever this fellow may think of the law, he’s on the wrong side of it.Civil disobedience has its place as a way to encourage dialog about what is legal and why. But those who participate in civil disobedience must realize they are breaking the law and be willing to suffer the consequences.

By: soybeans

soybeans — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:56:00 +0000

I’ve been through plenty of these in California and Arizona, most notably on the way in and out of Slab City. These guys aren’t TSA rentacops, they’re real actual border patrol officers with actual police power. They’re looking for drug smugglers and illegal aliens, and it’s within their lawful powers to do so. There’s also agricultural inspection stations at state borders. They too have the lawful right to inspect your vehicle and make you throw out your produce.

Obviously it helps to be middle aged, white, and driving a late model vehicle in decent condition; or if not, at least look respectable. Not saying their screening criteria are spotlessly fair, just saying tidy yourself up a little and don’t be a douche when they stop you.

They’re there because we as voters decided that the war on drugs is A-OK fine and dandy, and that we don’t want to give foreign guest workers a legal way to come here and work. And terrorists, don’t forget the terrorists. And out of state produce. They are there because we allowed it, and they could just as easily be gone if we’d just get off our asses and vote for people who will shut this crap down.