From: Stan Klimek (stan@stanklimek.com)
Date: 12/11/02-05:49:04 PM Z
Thank you for posting this, very scary. I'm going to try and keep it
alive by forwarding it to people I know.
Best - Stan
ARTHURWG@aol.com wrote:
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subject:
> [Rollei-user] OT Photographer Arrested For Taking Pics Near Cheney Hotel
> From:
> Dale Dickerson <vze2g2z8@verizon.net>
> Date:
> Wed, 11 Dec 2002 17:47:34 -0500
> To:
> Rollei-user <rollei-user@beststuff.com>, Kiev88@yahoogroups.com,
> MF3D.Forum@lists.unh.edu, photo-3d@yahoogroups.com,
> rolleiflex@yahoogroups.com, rollei@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us,
> russiancamera-user@beststuff.com, Zenitcamera@yahoogroups.com,
> ZICG@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>
>>> Photographer Arrested For
>>> Taking Pics Near Cheney Hotel
>>> 2600 News
>>> 12-5-2
>>
>
> 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.
>
> Off the Hook's Editorial Note (excerpted):
> Those who believe such an event cannot happen in our country have
> simply not
> been paying attention to what's been going on. It seems a foregone
> conclusion that the United States is heading in a direction of increased
> civil rights abuses.
>
> Now let's turn the tables and examine the other side. We contacted
> both the
> Denver Police and the Secret Service to find out if the story was
> true. They
> both took our information and neither of them ever got back to us. Their
> silence has been deafening and it's perhaps the most significant statement
> they could have made.
>
> We realize that there will still be people who remain unconvinced. And
> so we
> hereby invite them to help us get to the bottom of this by proving us
> wrong:
> The Vice President is always staying somewhere and one day he's certain to
> stay somewhere near you. When that happens, simply go down to the
> hotel he's
> staying at and take as many pictures as you can. Be sure to photograph the
> snipers and the military guard as well. When we receive pictures proving
> that we do indeed have the right to take photos of public places while
> standing in a public place, we will be more than happy to make that known.
> We will also welcome and make public any correspondence from
> appropriate law
> enforcement agencies who wish to say for the record that such freedoms
> will
> not be challenged in the future.
>
>
> http://www.2600.com/news/display/display.shtml?id=1441
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
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--
stanklimek
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