Of all the political issues that I cover here, the one I enjoy more than any other is the Bush White House’s “bubble-boy” policies. It simply amazes me the extent to which the Bush gang will shield itself from anyone, or anything, that even resembles dissent. We’re dealing with a group that believes it has a monopoly on truth, so it will frequently go to extraordinary lengths (remember the loyalty oaths?) to obstruct those who disagree.
Even if it means arresting Americans who want to criticize their elected officials directly. (via Michael Froomkin)
A Colorado man who was arrested in June on harassment charges after he approached Vice President Dick Cheney to denounce the war in Iraq filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday accusing a Secret Service agent of civil rights violations.
In his suit, filed in Federal District Court in Denver, the man, Steven Howards, an environmental consultant who lives in Golden, Colo., says he stepped up to the vice president to speak his mind in a public place and found himself in handcuffs — in violation, the suit says, of the Constitution’s language about free speech and illegal search and seizure.
The suit seeks no specific damages, and names only one agent, Virgil D. Reichle Jr., who is assigned to the Denver office of the Secret Service. But Mr. Howards’s lawyer, David A. Lane, said Mr. Cheney might be called as a witness, along with the district attorney in Eagle County who threw out the criminal case against Mr. Howards. If a chain of command within the Secret Service is found that suggests Mr. Reichle was acting on orders, Mr. Lane said, more defendants could be named.
The “acting on orders” question is of particular significance, and was a constant concern when trying to figure out why three law-abiding Americans were forcefully removed from a public presidential event in Denver last year because a Bush administration didn’t like their bumper sticker.
At some point, one has to start to believe that the White House has ordered the Secret Service not only to protect constitutional officers, but also to stifle dissent, even by Americans who are legally expressing their political beliefs.
In the case of Steven Howards, the narrative is almost too ridiculous to believe.
Howards was taking his 8-year-old son to a piano lesson last June when he saw the Vice President at an outdoor mall. Howards approached Cheney, got within two feet of him and calmly said, “I think your policies in Iraq are reprehensible” (or, as the lawsuit itself describes the encounter, “words to that effect”).
Howards walked away, but was strolling back through the area 10 minutes later when Reichle, the Secret Service agent, handcuffed him and said he would be charged with “assaulting” Cheney. Howards eventually faced misdemeanor harassment charges that could have resulted in up to a year in jail, though the charges were later dismissed at the request of the local district attorney.
Mr. Howards said that he had had no intent to test the limits of free speech when he approached Mr. Cheney, but that the government’s actions in the aftermath only deepened his convictions and opposition.
“This administration has a history of intimidating folks,” he said.
Indeed, they do. Howards’ lawsuit against the administration is, if my count is right, the third such case questioning the Bush gang’s bubble enforcement. The first was filed by Nicole and Jeff Rank, who were arrested at a Bush event in West Virginia on July 4, 2004, because they were wearing T-shirts that criticized the president. (About the same time the Ranks were being taken away in handcuffs, Bush was reminding the audience, “On this 4th of July, we confirm our love of freedom, the freedom for people to speak their minds.” Gotta love irony.) The other lawsuit is the Denver Three’s case, about the people who were ejected from an event because of their bumper sticker.
Howards’ lawsuit argues that he was arrested without probable cause to believe that he had committed any offense whatsoever, and in retaliation for criticizing the Vice President. I’ll keep you posted on the case’s progress.