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Richmond, VA Photographer Arrested For Trespass on Public Street

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Richmond, Va photographer, Ian Graham, must be wondering where he was this past Monday as he was arrested by local police for trespassing on a city street. Graham, who was photographing police arresting demonstrators in the Occupy Richmond protest, was told by police he was trespassing as he politely stood near a public crosswalk  recording the goings on with his camera. Police claim they told Graham he could take photos but only in the designated “media area,” which was, of course, far from the scene of the arrests.

Graham was detained for the apparent “crime” of walking and photographing police from a public street. It’s more likely he was arrested in retaliation for questioning police about why he was unable to traverse the street and perform an obviously legal action. He was held at the Public Safety Building for about thirty minutes and then released on a summons. 

Eight other people were arrested during the 1:00 a.m raid of the Occupy Richmond encampment. Camping out in solidary with the Occupy Wall Street movement since October 15th, the demonstrators were told they were now trespassing in violation of a city ordinance prohibiting them from being present in the public park after dark. Boy, that took almost three weeks for police to figure out.

The Virginia ACLU is defending Graham who is part owner of RVA Magazine which publishes weekly and is distributed free of charge — or at least at no cost. For his part Graham is nonplussed by the misdemeanor charges. “The freedom of the press is not constrained to a box or some zone that the police inhabit,” he said. He added, “We as the press have the right and responsibility to cover the police during whatever they are doing on public property.”

The arrest occurred at Kanawha Plaza in the heart of Richmond’s financial district. That’s not particularly important until you remember that just a few blocks away down Broad Street is venerable St. John’s Church. There in March of 1775, another Virginian expressed much the same sentiment as Graham’s. I ‘m a little fuzzy on the name — Henry sounds right for the last name — but I’m in good company with the guardians of the peace here in Richmond. They don’t remember him at all.

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

89 thoughts on “Richmond, VA Photographer Arrested For Trespass on Public Street”

  3. Paul Hammond:

    “You guys are playing a dangerous game. It a classic tactic, but it will probably work.”

    *********************

    Not a game really; more of a play. Don’t be afraid my timid, conservative friend. It’s just another Act from a play that began its run in 1776. Patrick Henry played the lead then. Madison and Jefferson wrote the script, and the British provided the conflict. Stick around to see what happens. We’re just at intermission.

  4. I think I have some metal in my head that my Mom never told me about! -rafflaw

    lol… Thanks for that, rafflaw…

  5. You guys are playing a dangerous game. It a classic tactic, but it will probably work. Every movement needs a martyr. Congratulations on your video. It’s a helluva a price to pay.

  7. Every courtesy? Seriously?

    “Video of me being shot by police with a rubber bullet, for no reason at all:”

  8. “…….chicken hawks come in every political persuasion”

    **********************

    Yes they do, but yellow elephants only come in one.

  11. Paul:

    “Well Geez, if a “yellow elephant” doesn’t mean what I think it means, please do enlighten me.”

    *********************

    Think “chicken hawk.”

  12. Well Geez, if a “yellow elephant” doesn’t mean what I think it means, please do enlighten me. While I’m waiting I’ll find Tea Party forum and have some fun with them. You would like them. They say the same damn stuff.

  13. Paul apparently does not know what a yellow elephant means. Anyone care to enlighten him, since he seems to have some sort of comprehension problem? As for me, I am tired from a full day interviewing law enforcement officers out of town and am going home to get some dinner before I go for a book lecture.

  14. Paul Hammond:

    “I earned an honest buck and was never asked my opinion on anything.”

    ******************

    My opinion of the folks at Media General just shot up.

  15. OS, so now you think anybody who works for a living is a “yellow elephant”. So if I worked my tail of for 15 years writing spreadsheet formulas, database queries and helping people get their paper each day, that makes me the enemy. Do you know the kind of people that work there? Some of them are in Occupy Richmond now. I earned an honest buck and was never asked my opinion on anything.

  17. Paul, I am not a wounded vet and all my problems came stateside. I am not one to sit idly by when there is trouble. I work with law enforcement and the legal system. When one small incident goes unpunished or ignored, as Gene said, it tends to escalate. There is an old proverb I learned from my grandpa: Give them an inch and they will take a mile, .

    When you are willing to let the trolls of oppression get away with small stuff, look for a spiral of the same behavior right around the corner. Frog in the boiling pot.

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