In America, we don’t jail people for political speech. Yet Larry Bushart spent 37 days behind bars simply for posting a meme in a Facebook group. Perry County, Tennessee Sheriff Nick Weems sent cops to Larry’s home to intimidate him over a Facebook meme he posted. But he wasn’t intimidated. He knew his rights and didn’t back down. So then the sheriff obtained an arrest warrant that he knew was false and had Larry arrested and then put in jail for over a month. Only after national public outrage did county officials drop the charges and set Larry free. But now Larry’s out for justice and he’s being helped by FIRE, a national nonprofit First Amendment advocacy organization, who has now filed a civil rights lawsuit on his behalf. I got a chance to talk with Larry’s lawyer about the case – what actually happened, why it was so egregious, and how you can help.
In a Walmart in Danville, Kentucky, 66 year old John Hardwick (who had been diagnosed with dementia) was mistreated by Walmart employees while on a grocery shopping trip with his wife. They callously mistook John’s confusion (due to his dementia) for attempted shoplifting, and then called the police. But the police were worse. Officer TJ Godbey punched this vulnerable man 6 times, which was caught on video. And then he, along with Danville Police Officer Ben Ray, arrested John. A lawsuit was filed, which I covered about a year ago. That case has now been settled, with the government claiming the high road. But there’s something they’re not telling you, and they can’t be allowed to cover it up, and escape accountability.
A sober man, who was actually a retired deputy suffering a diabetic crisis, was arrested for DUI by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The worst part about it is, this wasn’t just a mistake where a cop mistook a diabetic crisis for a driver being drunk. Brand new bodycam footage, given to me by the man’s lawyer, shows that this innocent man, Elmer Binkley, was arrested only after this 25 year old trooper (Ryan Nichols) learned that the man was suffering a diabetic crisis. He discovered the man was sober, and yet he arrested him anyway.
One moment this Florida cop is having one of the funniest DUI arrests of his career… then suddenly the arrestee is unconscious on the ground, after having been “dunked” by the officer. This cop went from getting an award from his boss, to being fired and criminally charged as a result of what would happen during this arrest. How did it get to that? Like the old saying goes, the coverup is always worse than the crime…
This guy got arrested at a Christmas parade in Florida for wearing a body armor vest concealedd under his shirt. The problem is, that wasn’t illegal. I saw this in the news, with cops taking a victory lap and Karens rejoicing about it, so I put in a request for the footage, and just got it. And it’s worse than I even thought it would be. Lawful conduct does not become illegal just because police officers – or Karens – are afraid of something. My rights don’t end where your fear of some perfectly legal object begins.
This is Part 2 of the update on the viral video arrest of Demetrius Kern from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, which I originally covered in July of 2023, along with Mr. Kern’s attorney, Chris Wiest. Mr. Kern had been falsely arrested and charged after he was almost hit by a police cruiser driven by Officer Carly Lewis, whose video deposition was featured in Part 1 of this update. That arrest was primarily at the direction of Officer Lewis’ supervisor, Sgt. Naftali Wolf, whose video deposition is detailed in this video.
Here is the main brief by Mr. Kern’s attorneys that I walked you through in the video, using the video deposition excerpts they actually cited in the brief:
If you want to go further into the weeds, here is the motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant Wolf’s lawyers (to which the above brief is responding in opposition):
As I mentioned in the video, as of this date, the Court has not yet ruled on the pending motions. Which means that the case is just hanging in limbo with nothing happening, until such time as there is a ruling. The ruling will decide whether or not the lawsuit gets dismissed, or whether it proceeds to a jury trial. This is fairly unusual for a delay of this length to occur in federal court – though sometimes does happen).
Remember the video I did back in July of 2023, with attorney Chris Wiest, about the lawsuit that he had just filed for a guy named Demetrius Kerns? Kerns was almost hit by a police officer who was driving recklessly. Then when he stopped to get her information afterwards, and she apologized to him, her supervisor then showed up and began to escalate the situation, demanding Mr. Kerns’ ID and ultimately putting him in handcuffs – and later falsely charging him with obstruction, in retaliation for the fact that he was filming and being critical of the police. As Chris and I discussed, eventually he would have the opportunity to take the depositions of these two officers.
Well, it’s been a couple of years now and I have an update for you. The case isn’t over yet. It’s still pending. These things can take years. But I actually have the full video depositions of these two officers, and I’m going to go through them with you so that you can hear exactly what they had to say when confronted under oath. First, part 1 – the sworn testimony of Officer Carly Lewis. And then in Part 2 we’ll get to the rather-unbelievable video testimony of her supervisor, Sergeant Naftali Wolf.
By now we’ve also seen footage of the Alex Pretti incident, from multiple angles, and we’ve also seen clips showing federal officials clamoring to convince the public that what they’ve seen was completely justified – even prior to any investigation occurring. We see both sides pushing politics and sowing division, rather than looking objectively at the facts to figure out what happened, and then fairly applying the law.
I’ll walk you through what we actually know happened, based on the currently-available video footage, and then let one of the best civil rights lawyers in the country – Patrick Jaicomo, with the Institute for Justice – who is literally at the forefront of the efforts at holding federal officials accountable for civil rights violations, cut through all the b.s., all the propaganda, and give you the actual information that you need to know right now. And there’s a lot of it – that you’re not hearing anywhere else right now.
Remember the cop who moved from California to Idaho, and then slammed a kid on the ground because he wanted to take some pictures of a dirtbike? My video on it went viral – now over 6 million views – and made the TV news in Idaho. And as that was happening, the cop abruptly sort of disappears… Well, now a year and four months later, I have a final update for you. That case went to a jury trial, and the verdict may not be what you expect. And you’re not going to believe where that officer ultimately ended up, and what his new employer had to say about that incident; about my video.
Imagine if cops showed up at your front door, banged on the door and demanded that you come outside and answer their questions. Why? Because the contractor working next door says you yelled at him and hurt his feelings… Knowing your rights – that the police cannot just stand on your front porch, detain you, force you to answer their questions, and shout things at you without your permission – you tell them to leave. You even call the cops on the cops. I mean, they don’t have a warrant, and they don’t have your permission. Right? But even though the courts have said this violates your constitutional rights, what if the cops just don’t care? What if the people at 911 don’t care? What if the supervisor doesn’t care? What if they just ignore your constitutional rights?
This involves the Coolidge, Arizona Police Department. Here’s the Police Report and Dispatch Log:
As the Supreme Court held in the 1980 case of Payton v. New York, absent valid consent or exigent circumstances (i.e., an emergency actively occurring) law enforcement may not cross the threshold of a residence without a warrant.” Either to search or arrest.
As the Supreme Court held in the 2018 case of Collins v. Virginia, police cannot enter the curtilage of a home (which is the area close to the home that is treated as a part of the home, such as an enclosed yard, garage or driveway or porch) to search a vehicle parked within that curtilage of that home without a warrant, even where they have probable cause. The Courts (including the 9th circuit) have held that it is “commonsense” and “easily understood” that area “an arm’s-length from one’s house” is curtilage. (citing Morgan v. Fairfield County 6th circuit 2018)).
A so-called “knock and talk” exception to the warrant requirement isn’t really an exception at all. But it allows police to enter the curtilage of a home to ask questions of its occupant “precisely because that is ‘no more than any private citizen might do.’ (Florida v. Jardines (2013). So while police, like “the Nation’s Girl Scouts and trick-or-treaters,” can approach a home to speak with its occupant, nothing in the implied license to have that consensual interaction suggests a visitor can restrict the movements of a homeowner next to his own home any more than she could force the resident to buy cookies or hand out candy. (U.S. v. Lundin (9th Circuit. 2016)).
There is no right to detain, arrest, or otherwise seize the homeowner implied by the license to perform a knock and talk. To the contrary, that implied license may be revoked by the homeowner. (Davis v. US (9th Circuit 1964)).
