Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of telling the Cloud People where to stick their God Complexes more every day. But there are good ways to do civil disobedience, there are bad ways… and then there’s the way Sarah Walton Brady of Meridian, Idaho did civil disobedience. The UGLY way! Heavy.com has the one-stop scoop for us.
My readers already know my opinion of disorderly hair. Beyond that, she isn’t herself ugly. The narrow, upturned nose seems common in excitable people.
Sarah Brady: Idaho Woman Arrested Over ‘Playdate’ Coronavirus Protest
Sara Walton Brady is the Idaho mother arrested after police said she and others refused to leave a playground that had been closed to the public as part of the state’s efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Sounds like the Gestapo are alive and well in Idaho! But when I read further, the story came out different.
Brady was arrested on April 21 for trespassing and violating city orders, according to a news release from the Meridian Police Department. She was booked into the Ada County Jail but posted bond within a couple of hours.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation explained on its website that Brady and other parents had been participating in a “playdate protest” against Governor Brad Little’s stay-at-home. The statewide order went into effect on March 25 and is currently expected to last through April 30.
I don’t object to planned protests… but don’t expect me to cry when the handcuffs come out. Occupational hazard, y’know.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. An Officer Asked Sarah Brady Multiple Times to Leave the Playground Before Placing Her In Handcuffs, Police Say
Sarah Brady and other parents gathered at Kleiner Park in Ada County, Idaho on April 21. The playground area had been closed to the public due to coronavirus concerns. According to the Meridian Police Department, the playground had been cordoned off with caution tape and there were signs instructing people not to use the equipment. But police said they observed that the signs and the tape had been taken down. Officers responded to the park after receiving “several calls to Ada County Dispatch,” according to the news release.
Brady’s arrest was recorded on a cellphone and posted to Facebook Live but the full video has since been deleted. KTVB-TV reported that on the original video, the officers were recorded telling Brady and others that they were allowed on the grass and sidewalks but that the playground set was closed. Brady repeatedly asked why they weren’t allowed to be there.
When the cops give you an easy out like that, take it. You made your point. Tomorrow, somebody else brings their kids to the playground and gets the warning. And the next day, somebody else, until the cops get tired and give up. Do NOT throw a fit, create a scene and give the cops no option but to arrest you. Unnecessary arrests are unnecessary.
In a shorter clip that has circulated on social media, which is embedded above, an officer was seen asking Brady to leave the playground area as she insisted they were not trespassing. The officer said, “Exit the playground area now. I’m really trying to be nice about this.” Brady eventually turned her back to the officer and said, “Arrest me for being difficult. Do it! Record it!”
Stupidity like hers should be a crime. This time, it was!
2. Sarah Brady Says She Never Touched the Playground Equipment & Felt ‘Singled Out’
Sarah Brady said she felt her arrest was unfair because she never actually touched the playground equipment at Kleiner Park. She told CBS affiliate KBOI-TV, “I feel like I was singled out because I was the only person that was arrested. I definitely wasn’t playing on the playground equipment. I wasn’t swinging, never touched them. But yeah, I do feel like I was singled out and maybe it was because I asked too many questions.”
Maybe you’re crossing the streams of “I’m just a mom” with “I’m a political activist asking for trouble”. Which is it, Sarah? Your answering a question that wasn’t asked indicates the latter. The cops said “you are trespassing” and you replied “but I’m not touching the playground”? Note that the cops weren’t asking a question at all.
The point of civil disobedience is to make useless laws too burdensome to enforce. Not to defy their enforcement after the enforcers show up. That’s criminal disobedience, not civil disobedience. There’s a difference.
Speaking of the fuzz, here’s their take. Boldfaces mine as usual.
Segue
https://local.nixle.com/alert/7951078/
After receiving several calls to Ada County Dispatch, Meridian Police responded to Kleiner Park on April 21 2020 at around 3:50PM. Upon arrival, officers saw that metal signage and caution tape announcing the playground closure due to COVID-19, was removed. Additionally, officers observed numerous individuals gathered on the closed playground area. Officers informed those gathered several times that the play structure was closed, and that they were welcome to utilize other areas of the park if they chose. After being told to leave the playground multiple times, forty (40) year old Sarah BRADY of Meridian refused to leave and was arrested for one (1) count misdemeanor trespassing.
Meridian officers made several attempts to help BRADY adhere to the rules. She was non-compliant and forced officers to place her under arrest to resolve the issue. She was arrested for trespassing.
These are very trying times and the Meridian Police Department supports the public’s right to assemble for peaceful protest, however the right does not include damaging public property or ignoring closures of City property and facilities.
End segue.
3. Brady Protested at Meridian City Hall After Posting Bail
Sarah Brady was arrested around 4 p.m. on April 21. Inmate records show she was booked into jail around 5 p.m. and released two hours later. Records indicate she posted a bond.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation wrote on its website that Brady had been participating in a “playdate protest at Kleiner Park in Meridian.” The organization did not explicitly state whether the protest had been planned by a specific group or whether it was more spontaneous.
The organization also stated that after posting bond, Brady went to Meridian City Hall to continue protesting against the governor’s stay-at-home order. KBOI-TV reported that hundreds of people began demonstrating outside city hall following Brady’s arrest.
It was obviously not a spontaneous protest. One should not react too quickly to upsetting news these days because people like Brady will seek to take advantage of you that way.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation claimed Brady had been charged with a misdemeanor, faced up to six months in jail if convicted and planned to fight the charge. Heavy is working to confirm whether prosecutors plan to file a formal charge.
Six months for trespass would suggest a prior criminal record. Indeed, Heavy.com documents her previous brush with law enforcement… as unnecessarily confrontational as this one was.
4. Sarah Brady Has Spoken Out Against State Immunization Requirements & Founded the Group ‘Idahoans For Vaccine Freedom’
Sarah Brady is a well-known figure in the Meridian community. She runs the Facebook group Idahoans for Vaccine Freedom and is associated with Health Freedom Idaho, which is a group that advocates for greater choice over medical decisions, including vaccines.
Brady made headlines in 2017 in a dispute related to her decision not to vaccinate her own children. She enrolled her son at a private kindergarten that year after he was denied entry into a public school.
Brady explained to the Idaho Statesman that she did not want to fill out the exemption form the school required because it asked for information not required by state law. Instead, Brady wrote a statement explaining why she did not vaccinate her child. Her statement was written on a copy of the Idaho immunization statute. The school district initially insisted Brady fill put the provided exemption form before eventually reversing its decision. Brady asked for a public apology and decided to keep her son at the private school.
This woman creates her own problems. Stay away!
In August 2019, Brady spoke during a public hearing at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She claimed that Idaho parents who chose not to vaccinate their children had been “marginalized” for their decision and called on state officials to consider feedback from all of its citizens. During the hearing, Brady told the story of a mother who said her baby girl died 48 hours after receiving vaccinations.
The plural of “story” is not “data”.
5. Idaho’s Stay-at-Home Order Prohibits Gatherings Of Any Size Unless For Essential Work
Sarah Brady has not posted about her arrest on Facebook. But she expressed her opinion about the stay-at-home order imposed in Idaho with her profile photo: It reads “Disobey Idaho” and includes an image of a snake.
According to the Idaho state government, there were 1,766 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases in the state as of April 21. 51 people have died.
Even with all the number-cooking, the fatality rate for Chinavirus is well under 5% even with the high-risk crowd… the first group to be tested, naturally.
Families in Idaho were ordered to self-isolate on March 25. The order was extended until April 30. The director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare explained that “gatherings of individuals outside the home are prohibited.” The only exceptions were for “essential activities or essential travel or to perform work for essential businesses and government agencies or perform essential infrastructure work.”
A very foolish, very stupid decree that should be casually violated until the State quits playing God. However, directly and publicly antagonizing the authorities then claiming victimhood is not civil disobedience. It’s the behavior that put Cloud People in authority over us in the first place.
What is US law about peaceful assembly, and how does it apply to property owned by the government, rather than private property?
For example, I would assume that if 100 protesters decided to protest by occupying / blocking access to the washrooms in the city hall municipal building, that this would not be a protected action. The protesters do not own the municipal building, and blocking the washrooms would seem to be a deliberate annoyance rather than merely expressing their disapproval.
But by this reasoning, they could be banned from accessing any city property, including parks, as they do not own the parks. The municipal government owns the park. And if someone else decides to close their own facilities, what right does a private person have to complain? Yes, your taxes pay for the municipal operations; but you still do not own the park.
On a separate idea, It is strange to me that some US states have more draconian tin-pot dictators than what is seen in Canada. I normally would expect the US to have more respect for individual rights than Canada.
First off is the distinction between public property and government property. The latter is reserved for government’s use (city hall, prisons) and the former are for everybody’s use even though the government has authority over them (roads, parks). On gov’t property, they aren’t bound by the Constitution any more than your landlord is. (Meaning, not at all.) But on public property, they ARE bound, which is why you see debates over matters like crosses on gov’t-owned wilderness that the public is allowed to use.
Next, the First Amendment was originally only binding on the Federal government. It was quickly expanded to include all levels of government, however.
So, can people peacefully assemble in a park? Yes, and no American government can lawfully ban it; there is no exception of any kind in the Constitution. Assembly may be a bad idea, depending on the context, but the loophole of “emergency powers” simply does not exist. This is probably why the police here tried to handle the matter as gently as they did.
I fault Brady for her methods, not her goal. Instead of trying to live her normal life, she is forcing confrontations in order to play the victim. Many police and middle management would be sympathetic to our frustrations if permitted the chance. The playground is closed to them, too, right?
But the Socialist cares only for identity politics and binary thinking. Brady is not our ally and not deserving of our support.
“I normally would expect the US to have more respect for individual rights than Canada.”
After half a century of unopposed Communist/Jewish rule, most Americans think of their individual rights as entitlements rather than restrictions on government behavior. When was the last time one of those tin-pot dictators was charged with so much as perjury of his oath of office? Not since 1960.
public property versus government property: Thanks Gunner for the explanation re right to assemble.
And I agree that deliberately looking to cause strife / stress is not the correct method. She may be partly driven by a desire for attention.
you can’t hit me I’m a girl!