Thread: TnRIP Details About Rally in Morristown

From: "TnRIP - Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policies"
Date: 2006/06/25 Sun PM 11:08:24 EDT
Subject: TnRIP News: Details about Saturday's Morristown Rally

st1\:* { BEHAVIOR: url(#default#ieooui) }

www.TnRIP.org

As all of you know that have attended rallies and/or protests across the Nation during the past several months, unless you are an illegal aliens, you can expect nothing more than 'law' enforcement surveillance and, in many instances, out-right harassment and intimidation. This past Saturday, the insanity reached a new low. Read below what REALLY happened straight from one of the rally's organizers, Hamblem County Commissioner, Dr. Tom Lowe. You may also read the news stories that we've posted so far about this event on our website at www.TnRIP.org Go to "Resources" then "News". We'll have more posted as it becomes available.

Theresa Harmon
Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policies
www.TnRIP.org



-----Original Message-----
From: Tom E. Lowe
Sent: Sunday, June 25, 2006 9:54 PM
To: Theresa Harmon
Subject: re: Rally 2006 vs Executives of Hamblen County & Morristown,TN


June 24th, 2006

Morristown, TN (Hamblen County)



TODAY, AMERICA’S FLAG DROPPED LOWER IN EAST TENNESSEE!!!

Dr. Tom E. Lowe DPh

Hamblen County Commissioner



Today, Ol’ Glory dropped down the pole a little further. It’s reason ???...Violation of Constitutional Rights. But it did NOT “fall” unnoticed.! There were 130-150 witnesses PLUS recorded Video of the entire fiasco by the Local City and County officials who had forgotten their oaths of Office…to Honor, Protect, and Defend The Constitution.



Several weeks in advance of today’s date, a peaceful Rally was planned by a group of East and Middle Tennessee Patriots who refer to themselves a “Concerned Citizens of America”…,an ANTI- ILLEGAL group of men & women whose sole purpose is to inform the general public on How they can get involved in STOPPING the Invasion of Illegal Aliens. Permission had been granted to me from the County Mayor, David Purkey whose brother is Sheriff of Hamblen County. He sounded very cooperative and told me where we could plug in our P.A. System…..he even promised me we could use the Large Courtroom of the Courthouse in event of bad weather. County Mayor Purkey told me…”Tom, I’m going to trust you to keep it from being anything racial or controversial [keep this in mind for later].” We were excited and we made the plans, distributed printed pamphlets, etc. We would inform the public of what they could do to contact their Senators & Representatives….Tennessee and Washington. We were to talk about Health related problems, Co$t$ of Illegal Aliens to Economy, clarification of Myths & Facts relating to Aliens, Dangers of Multi-Culturism, Helpful & informative Website addresses. A member who once lived in Tuscon, AZ and was run out by Illegal Alien was to share his and her nightmare.



Today was THE BIG DAY we had all looked forward to….speakers lined up…drinks to sell for funds to support our groups printing expenses…PA System borrowed..etc. However, the scene for the 2 PM rally was an Armed Camp of Hamblen County Sheriffs Deputies, Morristown Police, Tennessee Highway Patrol [from as far away as Putnam County (Cookeville,TN) ], Haz-Mat, Snipers on the roof of the Courthouse, S.W.A.T. team in full Body Armor and M-16 Rifles, Riot Police,…all that was missing were The National Guard Troops ( must have been busy on the Southern Borders answering phones, etc ). The promised power supply for our P.A System had been “cut”…..there went our Communications to the gathered crowd. But, in case that was not enough distraction, they added a Helicopter (THP Chopper) to circle overhead to make sure the public audience could NOT hear anything we said whatsoever.



And Ol’ Glory dropped a little further.



To show the public that they meant business, they “took down” a 61 year old Veteran who was trying to ‘sneak in’ …….an American Flag on an Aluminum pole !!!! They said ”it was a dangerous weapon”. The Veteran, Ted Ray Mitchell, wanted to hold on to his flag and had a small sign that read…”I served my Country, but NOT for Illegal Aliens”. I wish the story ended there but it doesn’t. After the Sheriff’s Deputies “took down” Mr. Mitchell, they decided to ‘TAZER’ him (while he was down on the Concrete sidewalk)…they ripped his American Flag out of his hands and hauled him off to jail to be charged with Resisting Arrest and Disorderly Conduct. HOWEVER, our video shows that neither charge is justifiable. It looks more like the Sheriff’s Dept. were “training some new Deputies”.



Little did those Deputies (of the County Mayor’s BROTHER) know….This time last year, Ted Ray Mitchell was in a wheelchair…..from back surgery. He had a “Handicapped Tag” on his car, but had to park 2-3 blocks away and walk because ALL of the ‘Handicapped Parking Spaces’ were cordoned off for Police, Highway Patrol, and Sheriff’s Cars!!!!



The Policemen that were required to take him to jail said to him..”They should not have talked to you or treated you that way”…to which Ted Ray said….”All I wanted to do was attend the rally and display MY Flag.”



And Ol’ Glory dropped a little further



Ted Ray Mitchell was released from jail later this afternoon on a $3,000 bond. My wife and another Hamblen County Commissioner drove down to the Police Station and obtained a copy of the report…..located Ted Ray….brought him to our house. With his permission, we lifted his shirt and took photos of the marks on his wrists, arms, back….compliments of the City and County Mayors & Law Enforcement agencies.



And Ol’ Glory dropped a little more



[ To Be Continued ]

I am without words. This is unacceptable.

Unbelievable.

Go to my post on this and you can get the contact info for the mayor and the commissioners. Let them know this will not be tolerated or forgotten!

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=32744

http://www.wate.com/global/story.asp?s= ... =Printable
*MUST SEE! VIDEO AT ABOVE LINK*
Rally against illegal immigration ends with arrest and chaos in Hamblen Co.

Teddy Mitchell, shown here in a frame of video captured by a rally organizer, was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

June 24, 2006

By SONU WASU
6 News Reporter

MORRISTOWN (WATE) -- A rally that was supposed to be peaceful ended with chaos Saturday afternoon outside the Hamblen County courthouse.

Things got testy for a while as police tried to stop a disabled veteran from carrying an American flag onto courthouse grounds.

Teddy Mitchell, 62, was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Police say the flag pole he carried was too sharp and they did not want him to take it onto courthouse grounds.

Organizers of the group Citizens for Legal Immigration say they had received permission to peacefully take a stand against illegal immigrants. They say they were surprised to see the overwhelming police presence when they arrived.

A Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesperson, Lt. Glenn Cantwell, told 6 News troopers were prepared for the worst.

"You never know who may show up to these things," he said.

Authorities had received word that the Tennessee Minutemen and Ku Klux Klan members might show up to protest. Morristown Police Chief Roger Overholt asked THP to assist.

Lt. Cantwell says there were about 80 armed officers at the scene. They included officers from Morristown, a police SWAT team, Hamblen County deputies, THP officers, and a police helicopter.

Officers barricaded public parking lots around the courthouse.

Rally organizers say the show of force was intimidating. They tried to go on with their scheduled speeches, but said their public address system was not working because they had no electricity.

Organizer Audrey Lowe told 6 News the city and county violated the group's First Amendment rights. "One hundred percent violated," she said. "Our freedom of speech was violated. Our freedom of peaceful assembly was violated. Our freedom to fly our flag, the U.S. flag, on the public courthouse lawn was violated today-- big time."

Rally organizers moved to the VFW building on Highway 11E to continue their protest. They say they did not feel welcome outside the courthouse.

At least one rally organizer now plans to file a federal lawsuit against the city and county.

Hamblen County commissioner Tom Lowe says the action police took was a violation of the group's First Amendment rights.

"I am 95 percent sure that I and other members of the group, we'll all file a federal lawsuit against the city and the county and anybody else involved in shutting us down," Lowe said.

Mitchell, the man who was arrested, posted a $3,000 bond and has been released from jail.

Morristown Police Dept
(423) 585-2710
100 W 1st North St
Morristown, TN 37814