By Kat Kanning

Kurt Hoffman received serious injuries when attacked by Eli Rivera of the Keene Police Department last week. Hoffman was handcuffed when Rivera threw Hoffman headfirst into a wall at Keene District Court. Hoffman is currently in Cheshire County Jail, serving a six month sentence for Contempt of Court. I spoke with Hoffman's wife, Aubern, today, who just had the chance to communicate with her husband for the first time since the attack.

Kurt is now in a wheelchair, unable to stand because of severe pain shooting up from his spine to his head. Aubern and others report that Kurt was squinting, unable to focus his eyes, had multiple bruises and was suffering from a concussion. It is unknown at this time whether Kurt had received any permanent damage to his spine.

The Fall 2009 Free Keene Fest will be on Sunday, October 18, 2009! The Keene Pumpkin Festival is the preceding Saturday, October 17.

http://www.freekeenefest.com/

according to the Free Keene gang:

“Without a victim, I don’t have a crime…I’m going to have to let them go.”
Peter Bowers, Officer, Keene Police Department

http://freekeene.com/2009/09/08/proof-kpd-officer-knew-toplessness-not-a...

And the Keene Sentinel figured out that going topless was not even a crime in the first place:

http://freekeene.com/2009/09/08/proof-kpd-officer-knew-toplessness-not-a...

So how are the Keene police going to make up for harrassing, arresting, and detaining Cassidy?

By Kat Kanning

No one visibly objected as 18 year old Cassidy Nicosia walked shirtless down Keene's Main Street and then back up again. Several men walked shirtless with her. There was no screaming in fear by bystanders. According to one participant in the walk, no one really seemed to notice; that is, until the Keene Boob Police showed up and started blocking traffic and drawing attention to the “situation”. Police presence there drew a crowd of onlookers, many of whom were supportive of Cassidy's walk.

By Kat Kanning

(Photo by Linda Lagana)

Despite the endless roadblocks from the city of Jaffrey, this year's Live Free or Die Rally went off with a bang. Organizers Mike Coutu and Dick Olson have gone head to head with Jaffrey officials since the Rally's inception in 2006. From being denied city permits to being taken to court over firearms issues, Coutu and Olson have leaped over all hurdles the city has tried to place in their way, and still managed to pull off some spectacular events.

As journalist and videographer Sam Dodson was screaming from another room, David Krouse and other activists were ordered to leave the lobby of the allegedly public Keene district court. Krouse sat down and remained peacefully noncooperative. For this, he was arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct”. Last week he was sentenced to six days in the Cheshire jail and that sentence began this morning, as activists gathered to see him off.

Learn more and get the jail contact info at JailedActivist.info. Write to David at Mail-to-Jail.com.

Join us for his release party at the jail on Sunday at 9am.

By Kat Kanning
July 10th, 2009

Dave Ridley stood up for what he believes in. He believes it is important for trials in this country to be open, both to the public and to the media. When trials are conducted in secret, it is because the government has something to hide. That usually means bad news for you and I.

An original function of the press was as a quasi fourth arm of the government, one whose job was to keep an eye on and report on the government and possible corruption therein. Dave Ridley is one of the few media men left who still fulfills this function.

From http://freekeene.com

In protest of government people’s continued aggression against peaceful human beings, I decided to pay the latest Keene property tax bill, over $2700, in all ones. I brought pizza to share with those who were inconvenienced, gave a short speech, and Sam from the Obscured Truth Network brought his video camera. As usual, the bureaucrat aggressors did not like the cameras:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcfhzT2mAYA

By Kat Kanning

Dave Ridley continues his fight for freedom of the press in Keene. He was tried in Keene on June 22nd for filming in the Keene District Court lobby. Public trials are a hallmark of a free society; secret trials a hallmark of tyranny. Dave Ridley, an ex-mainstream media reporter, now runs an independent news stream, The Ridley Report, via YouTube.

Dave Ridley

By Kat Kanning

Sam Dodson of Keene, NH fights for our freedoms. He was arrested on April 13th of this year for filming in a public courthouse lobby. Although Dodson gave police all the information required by law, he was held in jail for 58 days for refusing to give his legal name. On June 12th, Sam was abruptly released. He was tossed out of the Cheshire County Jail so quickly, that his jailers did not even bother to retrieve the jail clothing from Dodson.

How did imprisonment affect Dodson? He spent the first month of his confinement on a hunger strike. Sam wrote his supporters from jail: