Man who broke DC gun law but got off scott free: “Why should @ggreenwald get off scott free?” http://t.co/tzvSWMIoiB
— Political Math (@politicalmath) June 24, 2013
In West Virginia, we see something similar happening when it comes to reporting the story of a prosecutor going after a minor for wearing a pro-Second Amendment t-shirt. When the tide turns against the government agent, the judge orders the reporter barred from the courthouse to keep her from filing a petition on behalf of the press in a gag order hearing and the bailiff enforcing the ban threatened the reporter with arrest after reaching to take her camera and microphone. The prosecutor apparently claimed that the state was trying to silence the teen’s legal team and family for their own good.
Dear West Virginia freedom supporters: The judge who ordered the media banned from the courthouse is elected. You can fix this and send him a message about limits on his power. The prosecutor overseeing the two staff attorneys who insist that court orders silencing defendants are the best things for society and individuals is also elected, and his name is John W. Bennett. There you go; you have tools to make positive changes in your local community. (h/t to Miguel for the link on the WV case)
How can someone legitimately be banned from a COURTHOUSE?! Public building, public records, and a Constitutionally protected right to “petition for redress of grievances”.
According to the reporter, the bailiff informed her that the judge ordered her to stay away from the proceedings. There is video of the bailiff turning the reporter away, trying to grab at her camera and microphone, and threatening to arrest the reporter.
It may not be a legitimate order, but it clearly did the intended job of keeping the press away from the courthouse under threat of arrest.
It is bad enough that they threw her out, but the “hearing” was to be held on the third floor..They wouldnt let the reporter in the ground floor!