Truther Cited for Commercial Solicitation
In a laughable incident caught on video and then massively overdramatized, a truther was cited for illegally distributing commercial materials in downtown San Antonio by a group of bicycle cops whose silly outfits added to the ridiculousness of a scene which plays rather like the segment in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where an irate and feces-spattered peasant begins ranting insanely that King Arthur is oppressing him when he just asks him for directions.
In the video members of the truther fringe group We Are Change of San Antonio are stopped by bicycle police while distributing copies of two Alex Jones conspiracy videos and one is given a ticket for illegally distributing commercial solicitations in a public place without a permit. Their defense is to claim that they were being oppressed and even “assaulted” by the police and denied their free speech rights because the DVDs they were giving out are protected political speech.
I’m looking forward to seeing this argument tested in court, as Alex Jones videos are clearly works of fiction, rather than meaningful political statements. Because they exist solely to enrich Alex Jones they are also obviously commercial samples rather than protected speech. Now, I admit that I don’t think that San Antonio should have the right to restrict commercial speech or ticket someone for giving out free samples of a commercial product, even if it’s promoting Jones’ particular snake-oil medicine show. However, under the statute as written there’s a very solid argument that these deluded fanatics were just shilling for a commercial enterprise and not really exercising free speech as defined under the statute.
What’s particularly clear from the video is that it’s time for these nutjobs to find a more productive way to spend their time.
Paul Craig Roberts is back on the top of the list of dunces for his heroic defense of Iran and repeated claims that the Bush administration was horribly slandering the innocent Iranians who had no intention of developing nuclear weapons. All of which has now been proven to be as foolish and naive as his equally ridiculous beliefs about the 9/11 attacks. Reports from the IAEA and IISS show that Iran has been actively developing nuclear weapons and that they have no intention of shutting down any of their nuclear weapons development programs. They have also repeatedly asserted their right to have and use nuclear weapons. Just being so totally wrong would get Roberts the nod as featured idiot, but add in the fact that his idiocy is motivated by his rabid antisemitism and he gets to be top idiot with a gold star.
May 14th, 2010 at 3:16 am
Dang, you’d feel sorry for the guy, except that he’s so annoying. I do think it’s sad that we’ve got such poorly educated officers telling people they can’t do things the constitution says they can, regardless of the issue that what they’re doing is stupid. But yeah, this cameraman definitely rings of the peasant in Monty Python hehe. I, myself was once made to delete legally shot, innocent photos I took for illustration reference and tourism while in Houston, by a police officer who just decided to make up a law on the spot.
May 15th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
This video better be honest because I noticed you cut segements out of the article.
May 16th, 2010 at 3:22 am
Nm, he was giving out commercisl flyers, duh.
May 16th, 2010 at 3:23 am
It’s called intellectual property.
January 11th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Wow Dave, your headline couldn’t be more deceptive.
Commercial solicitation means your asking for money.
The guys are handing out information for free.
Looked up San Antonio city code and it does protect the right to distribute information on the streets.
So your headline is deceptive and mis-informative and it doesn’t stop there as you continue to stand on mis-information throughout your article.
Those guys can be seen with a “free DVDs” sign throughout all their videos and you call that commercial solicitation?
Keep up the great deceptive mis information
January 12th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Yeah im, the guy that got the citation. The prosecutors dropped the case once i told them i wanted a jury trial. jejejjejej
January 12th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Dave, I found your article both amusing and hilarious. I like a good argument particularly when people are trying to show two sides of a story. As opposed to giving us anything relevant as to the law of San Antonio or your opinion on why this is not free speech you just started name calling. Nut jobs and deluded fanatics has become a popular term lately in the media for “truthers” but I think we should resort back to days of old and call them freethinkers. There are nut jobs and fanatics in every area of life- why save those definitions just for “truthers,” because you heard it on CNN??
March 12th, 2012 at 1:29 am
These guys need to shut and pay the fine. Criminal scum.