Fully Informed Jury Association Activism With Julian Heicklen, July 27 - 30, 2010

So far July has been a successful and peaceful month for Julian Heicklen and the rest of us distributing FIJA pamphlets . The International Libertarian was at two of the events, July 29 in Allentown, PA and July 30 in Philadelphia, PA.

In Allentown a reporter from WFMZ, a local TV station, interviewed Julian and filmed him distributing some pamphlets:


The Philadelphia event was much better attended. Not only were many FIJA pamphlets handed out but the Love Police had a blast giving away free hugs:



There's plenty of activism planned for August with and without Julian. With Julian the schedule can be seen at FIJA Education and Information Drive with Julian Heicklen July and August 2010. There is a FIJA event scheduled for Philadelphia,PA on Friday August 13 at 3pm when Liberty on Tour will be here. See FIJA Education and Information Drive with Liberty On Tour, Philadelphia, PA and Philadelphia - Liberty On Tour Meetup . Please join us.

Julian Heicklen's latest email:

FIJA REPORTS 7/27–30/2010

1. FIJA Demonstration of 7/27/10 in Trenton, NJ

It was very hot and sunny day. I appeared at the U. S. District Courthouse in Trenton, NJ at 11:43 am. It was so hot that at 12:25, I moved under a tree to distribute the literature.

Two Federal Protective Service police cars and three officers were waiting for my arrival. One looked at his watch and said that I was early. He then approached me and said that I could pass out literature as long as I did not block the doorways. I assured him that I would not.

I started to pass out the American Jury Institute pamphlet entitled “ A Primer for Prospective Jurors” along with my flyer. A second police officer approached me and asked for a pamphlet for his report. I complied. Soon thereafter the third officer approached me and asked for a pamphlet, which I gave him.

I was not bothered by the police for the rest of my visit, though they and the two police cars remained and were still there when I left at 1:05 pm. This reception was very much more hospitable than at our previous demonstration at the Trenton courthouse.

There was not much pedestrian traffic, but I passed out about 35 pamphlets. I encountered interest by a large portion of the people that did pass by. I also met and discussed legal matters with another pro se litigant who has had similar encounters to mine with the police and the courts.

2. FIJA Demonstration of 7/28/10 in Camden, NJ

It was a hot and shady day, but not as hot as yesterday. I appeared at the U. S. District Courthouse in Camden, NJ at 11:46 am. I stood on the public sidewalk, which was federal property, in front of the courthouse.

A city police car was parked across the street. At 12:04 a Federal Protective Service (FPS) police van appeared and parked in front of me on the street divider. The city police car left. FPS Police Officer Mitchell approached me. He was the same officer who approached me yesterday in Trenton. Apparently I have my own police officers, because the police officer who arrested me in Springfield, MA, was also on duty when I was in Hartford, CT.

Officer Mitchell gave me the same talk as yesterday. I was allowed to distribute literature, even though it was clear that I was on federal property, but I could not block entrances to the building. He took the American Jury Institute pamphlet entitled “A Primer for Prospective Jurors,” along with my flyer, that I handed him.

I was there alone during the noon hour. There was very little pedestrian traffic. I distributed about 15 pamphlets.

However, I had three interesting conversations, two with passers-by and one with Federal Protective Service Police Officer Mitchell. All three conversations were friendly. With my permission Officer Mitchell also took my picture holding a JURY INFO sign in one hand and a pamphlet in the other hand for his personal file.

Starting at 12:30 pm, I had a friendly political discussion with Officer Mitchell and the building manager of the courthouse. The building manager took a pamphlet and left. Officer Mitchell and I continued our friendly political discussion until 1:20 pm, when I left for the day. He was surprised that I was arrested for distributing pamphlets at other U. S. courthouses.

3. FIJA Demonstration of 7/29/10 in Allentown, PA

It was a hot and sunny day, but not as hot as 7/27/10. I appeared at the U. S. District Courthouse in Allentown, PA at 11:45 am. I was met by Darren Wolfe with his camera and by a reporter from TV station Allentown 69 News. He interviewed me on videotape. He said that it was planned to be run on the 6:00 pm news tonight. After the interview, he left, because he said that he had another assignment.

I stood on the public sidewalk, which was federal property, under a shady tree, in front of the courthouse. Darren remained throughout and took video picture which will appear on his blog at:

http://theinternationallibertarian.blogspot.com/ There were no federal police around and none ever approached me. However the tall red-haired female officer, who was so offensive on my last trip, walked about 40 feet away on her way to lunch and waved at us. We think that her name is Claire Burns. Only briefly a Federal Protective Service police car parked in front of us, but no officer left the car.

I distributed about 35 pamphlets. Darren and I left at 1:05 and went to a nearby Subway for lunch. Our visit at this courthouse was 100 % different than my last experience when George Donnelly was arrested. Apparently the felony assault charge against him has been either reduced or dropped. However he is still charged with photographing on federal property.

4. FIJA Demonstration of 7/30/10 in Philadelphia, PA

It was a hot and sunny day, similar to the day before in Allentown, PA. I appeared at the U. S. District Courthouse in Philadelphia, PA at 11:43 am. I was met by Darren Wolfe with his camera. There were 3 Federal Protective Service (FPS) police officers and a FPS police car at the curb in front of the courthouse, but the officers never approached us throughout the demonstration. Over the next 20 minutes, several others joined the demonstration. These included:

Bob Emery from Strickley Business, who distributed FIJA pamphlets.

Jim Allen and his son, who video interviewed me live on the internet using Qwik.net. They also distributed FIJA pamphlets.

Michael Salvi from Campaign For Liberty, who distributed FIJA pamphlets.

Nick Carangi, and Derek Szteliga, who distributed FIJA pamphlets.

Fernando Salguero and his dog Cree from the Philadelphia Love Police Canine Unit, who announced on a bullhorn that free hugs were available.

Kevin Tilsner and Devin Weiss from the Philadelphia Love Police, who distributed free hugs.

Darren and I also distributed FIJA pamphlets.

We distributed over 150 pamphlets and an undisclosed number of free hugs on the federal sidewalk in front of the courthouse, on the federal courtyard, and across the street. The FIJA demonstration disbanded at 1:20 pm. Darren, Derek, and I had lunch in the Chinese restaurant across from the courthouse. The Love Police were still hugging when we finished lunch and left for the day.

5. Current situation of FIJA demonstrations at U. S. district courts

So far I have distributed pamphlets at 16 different U. S. district courthouses. At 8 of these, there was no confrontation with any law enforcement officers. These were Boston, MA; Camden, NJ; Concord, NH; Harrisburg, PA; Hartford, CT; Johnstown, PA; Reading, PA; and Wilmington, DE. At five courthouses there were attempts by law enforcement officers to drive us away, but we held our ground, and they backed away. These were at Albany, NY; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; and Trenton, NJ. Arrests were made at the other 3 courthouses. These are in Allentown, PA; Springfield, MA; and Manhattan, NY. In Allentown on our second and third visits we were left alone. We have not returned to Springfield, MA, yet. Manhattan is a problem. I have attempted to distribute pamphlets there 11 times and have been arrested 10 times on 11 counts. Bile has been arrested once for photography. Currently bile and I are involved in criminal and civil law suits with the Department of Homeland Security and other accomplices for the Manhattan incidents. However the two resisting arrest charges against me have been dismissed.

Thus of these 16 federal courts, 14 currently are not enforcing the Department of Homeland Security regulations against distributing literature and photography without a permit. This is considerable progress.