Who are the brain police?

[catscradle]

This is taken from the Rocky Mountain Independent Media http://rockymountain.indymedia.org

Amateur photographer was "threat to national security"

An amateur photographer, Mike Maginnis, was arrested and detained in Denver, on Tuesday Dec 3rd, for simply snapping a photo of the Adam's Mark Hotel where Dick Cheney was staying. Black-bereted paramilitaries were stationed outside with M-16s, as well as the nefarious snipers on neighboring rooftops. Local police approached him and asked him to relinquish his film and camera.

After being arrested for photographing the VPs security a supposed "threat to national security", a Secret Service agent interrogated him, calling him a "raghead collaborator" and "dirty pinko-faggot" and threatened to charge Mike on terrorist charges under the USA-PATRIOT ACT. After an hour he was allowed to make a phone call and decided to call the Denver Post. An officer overhead his attempt to contact the media and immediately hung up the phone, placed him in a cell and was denied any subsequent calls. He was released 6 hours later without charges and without his camera.

The plot thickens as he made a later follow-up call to the DPD that has denied he was ever there. He tried to contact the Denver Post again and was told, "without evidence they would not report on the incident."

The Adam's Mark Hotel, which has a history of race-related complaints, has become somewhat of a bunker and staging ground for political repression in Denver. Nearly 3000 activists surrounded the hotel in September when UnPresident Bush had a $1000 a plate luncheon. Two weeks later during the Transform Columbus Day march, a couple dozen activists were detained by officers in the parking garage of the hotel.

Some more info on it here: http://www.ccmep.org/2002_articles/General/120702_photograph_cheneys_hotel.htm