From: Greg Schmitz (gws1@columbia.edu)
Date: 12/08/02-05:40:58 AM Z
Perhaps this is off topic - then again it may not be. I've spent most of
my life as a photographer taking pictures on the street so I don't think
it's off topic. If you think it's off topic ... well sorry :*)
-greg schmitz <gws1@columbia.edu>
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"The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is
itself a political attitude."
"Why I Write"
George Orwell, 1946
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PHOTOGRAPHER ARRESTED FOR TAKING PICTURES OF VICE PRESIDENT'S HOTEL
Posted 5 Dec 2002 06:03:48 UTC
An amateur photographer named Mike Maginnis was arrested on Tuesday in
his home city of Denver - for simply taking pictures of buildings in
an area where Vice President Cheney was residing. Maginnis told his
story on Wednesday's edition of Off The Hook.
Maginnis's morning commute took him past the Adams Mark Hotel on Court
Place. Maginnis, who says he always carried his camera wherever he
went, snapped about 30 pictures of the hotel and the surrounding area
- which included Denver police, Army rangers, and rooftop snipers.
Maginnis, who works in information technology, frequently photographs
such subjects as corporate buildings and communications equipment.
The following is Maginnis's account of what transpired:
As he was putting his camera away, Maginnis found himself confronted
by a Denver police officer who demanded that he hand over his film and
camera. When he refused to give up his Nikon F2, the officer pushed
him to the ground and arrested him.
After being brought to the District 1 police station on Decatur
Street, Maginnis was made to wait alone in an interrogation room. Two
hours later, a Secret Service agent arrived, who identified himself as
Special Agent "Willse."
The agent told Maginnis that his "suspicious activities" made him a
threat to national security, and that he would be charged as a
terrorist under the USA-PATRIOT act. The Secret Service agent tried to
make Maginnis admit that he was taking the photographs to analyze
weaknesses in the Vice President's security entourage and "cause
terror and mayhem."
When Maginnis refused to admit to being any sort of terrorist, the
Secret Service agent called him a "raghead collaborator" and a "dirty
pinko faggot."
After approximately an hour of interrogation, Maginnis was allowed to
make a telephone call. Rather than contacting a lawyer, he called the
Denver Post and asked for the news desk. This was immediately
overheard by the desk sergeant, who hung up the phone and placed
Maginnis in a holding cell.
Three hours later, Maginnis was finally released, but with no
explanation. He received no copy of an arrest report, and no receipt
for his confiscated possessions. He was told that he would probably
not get his camera back, as it was being held as evidence.
Maginnis's lawyer contacted the Denver Police Department for an
explanation of the day's events, but the police denied ever having
Maginnis - or anyone matching his description - in custody. At press
time, the Denver PD's Press Information Office did not return
telephone messages left by 2600.
The new police powers introduced by the USA-PATRIOT act, in the name
of fighting terrorism, have been frightening in their apparent
potential for abuse. Mike Maginnis's experience on Tuesday is a
poignant example of how this abuse is beginning to occur. It suggests
that a wide range of activities which might be considered "suspicious"
could be suddenly labeled a prelude to terrorism, and be grounds for
arrest.
We will continue to post updates to this story as we learn them.
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