Four Harvard Students Arrested For Heckling FBI Director Robert Mueller

[Jcrowley]

Police arrested four Harvard University students last night for heckling FBI Director Robert Mueller prior to his speech on the "Balance of National Security and Civil Liberties," witnesses said. Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn confirmed that four Harvard students were arrested outside the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He could not verify their identities or the circumstances under which they were apprehended.

Harvard senior Austin Guest, who was outside the event when he saw the police take away the students, said officers handcuffed the protesters after escorting them out of the building. " told me if I talked to , I would be arrested," he said.

Police and forum staff declined to comment on the incident. The event, which students described as particularly crowded, had more security than usual because of Mueller's high profile. The protesters "probably expected to be escorted out, but not to be arrested," Guest said.

Mueller was unfazed by the student chants to "free all political prisoners" and "close Guantanamo, stop the lies," and instead commended the protest, saying they were a testament to freedom of expression.

http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2007/04/27/News/Four-Students.Arrested.For.Heckling.Fbi.Director-2885713.shtml

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

1. that just broke my irony detector..

[valerief]

3. Absolutely. Unreal. nt

[brainy]

15. and comments like yours break mine...

Everytime the FBI is mentioned on this board, the hostile posts have me wondering the same thing about the hypocrisy here. WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR GATHERING THE EVIDENCE FOR CORRUPTION CASES AGAINST PUBLIC OFFICIALS? WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING DOWN ROGUE CIA? WHO GATHERED THE EVIDENCE FOR FITZGERALD TO USE AGAINST LIBBY? WHO FIGHTS THE SCOURGE OF ORGANIZED CRIMINALS BEHIND CHILD PORN AND EXTREME PORN? ETC, ETC, ETC...

Thank Mueller and the FBI!

[magellan]

16. Yeah, the FBI is full of saints

And being arrested for heckling Mueller is definitely "a testament to freedom of expression", as he puts it.

[Cha]

21. It broke GreatCaesarsGhost's

Irony detector..it broke my BULLSHIT DETECTOR.

Who does he think he is, bush?

[Jcrowley]

18. COINTELPRO?

:shrug:

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

20. wait... it just jumped a little

i guess your name and your post brought it back to life.

[struggle4progress]

26. Who, year after year, spies illegally on protesters? Oh, look, it's the FIB!

(September 19, 2005 issue)
Spying on the Protesters
John S. Friedman
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050919/friedman

ACLU Georgia Uncovers FBI Spy Files for Vegans, Protest Medics, & the G8 Protest
Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:48:49 -0800
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/7234/ACLU_Georgia_Uncovers_FBI_Spy_Files_for_Vegans_Protest_Medics_the_G8_Protest

FBI Illegally Spying on, Interrogating Anti War Protesters.
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts), H.L. News on April 4th, 2007 7:23 am by HL
Police Log Confirms FBI Role In Arrests
Washington Post
Group Detained, Questioned During D.C. War Protest
http://www.thehollywoodliberal.com/2007/04/04/fbi-illegally-spying-on-interrogating-anti-war-protesters/

[MADem]

2. Testament to freedom of expression? Until we handcuff you OUTSIDE the view of the audience?

And ARREST, rather than simply eject, them?

Who the fuck's zoomin' who, here?

[Miss Chybil]

4. God, I'll be glad when we kick the rest of these Nazis out of our government.

Too bad we have to wait so long to do it. Heaven help us until then.

[shenmue]

24. Me too.

I can't wait.

[scarface2004]

5. we need a constitutional amendment apparently!!

the congress shall make no laws concerning heckling!!

[Bucky]

6. If he commended them and they got arrested, isn't he endorsing criminal behavior?

This is pretty bad. You're supposed to evict hecklers, not arrest them. God, I want my Constitution back.

[me b zola]

7. "free all political prisoners"

Indeed. They can begin with the students that they just arrested.

[AlCzervik]

8. so if they flipped him the bird would they be off to the rubber hose room? WTF?

Is Putin running our country now?

[williesgirl]

9. What ever happened to the 1st Amendment? The press should be screaming about this but won't of

course. recommended

[malaise]

12. Harvard should be screaming about this

They have enough power.

[bluerum]

10. As they are dragged out in hand cuffs he calls them a testament to

freedom of expression?

Don't these people even see the irony anymore? Do they think that people believe them when they say crap like that?

Is there any possible way to interpret what happened as freedom of expression? Yes - they managed to get in a few chants before being arrested, but to call this episode a testament to the freedom of expression is full blown delusion.

[treestar]

11. For what?

Heckling could be obnoxious, but it's not a crime. Maybe Disturbing the Peace?

[annabanana]

13. ARRESTED!!?

Jeez. . For their sakes, I hope they weren't scholarship kids.. I hope they were legacy really really great-grandfather type legacy

That is the only way this will get the publicity it demands...

[Uncle Roy]

14. At least two of the students were editors at the student newspaper "The Harvard Crimson"

That's certainly a refreshing change from the usual journalistic standards.

Crimson article here:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518560

[Cha]

22. Exactly! REAL Journalists

are still in college!

Oh, there's some out there on the nyt and wapo and other papers..but rare.

[BlooInBloo]

17. Are we sure this isn't an Onion-style joke?

[Canuckistanian]

19. And yet, they were probably be released within HOURS

Or at least until the event was over, whichever came later.

And how does this not constitute "prior restraint" under the First Amendment?

The first poster was right. This DOES break the 'irony meter'.

[shenmue]

23. The charge is Mockery, with Intent to be Sarcastic

:dunce:

:eyes:

Puh-leese

[Christawfully]

25. Americans Aren't Even Real, Anymore...

As far as what an American citizen is, as qualified and illuminated by our Constitution and Bill of Rights, these days we are largely playing a weak game of pretend; calling ourselves Americans, in the political sense, is akin to a Jackass calling itself an Appaloosa.

And the news item would appear more truthful if it went something closer to this:

"Mueller was unfazed by the student chants to "free all political prisoners" and "close Guantanamo, stop the lies," and instead commended the protest, saying that their arrests were a testament to America's recent progression towards a more stringent standard of combating disruptive and seditious behaviors such as "freedom of expression" with harsh and even criminal penalties."

Or;

"Mueller said that despite the interruption, he was glad the students lived in a society that allowed them to “express their views,” just so long as they are of course promptly removed from the scene and arrested, so as to disfigure their legal records and make it near impossible for them to travel by air without a significant amount of hassling."

I ask you to please pray with me for a hasty deliverance back into the really-real world, the one that was stitched out of sanity and intelligent thought.

Christawfully