Arrests at A-B Tech (Free Speech)

This is a video of Survivors being arrested on October 2nd, 2007 at 12:50pm doing free speech activity at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech) in Asheville, North Carolina.

Along with 5 Survivors Campus Life Tours members, 3 citizens of Asheville were arrested, including a current student of A-B Tech, the director of a local prolife group, and a former A-B Tech student.

Each of us said things to the effect of, if they showed us this was not public property, we would gladly leave. They refused to answer our questions and instead ignored them, and arrested us because we refused to allow our 1st amendment rights to be trampled upon.

The police unlawfully arrested us under what may be an unconstitutional North Carolina statute, which will be challenged in court. Survivors has won every case like this over the last 10 years, and the police and college administration were informed of this prior to the arrests. The college will also be sued, taking money away from their own community college students, due to insisting on these unlawful, anti-1st amendment arrests.

In addition to defending the unborn, we are free speech advocates. Not backing down when being unlawfully arrested preserves all of our 1st amendment rights.

Asheville Citizen Times article:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771002143
-The article doesn't really make it clear, but there were 5 Survivors arrested (2 female, 3 male) plus 3 Asheville residents (1 female, 2 male), with a total of 3 females and 5 males arrested.

Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust
http://www.survivors.la

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• free
• speech
• prolife
• abortion
• survivors
• campus
• life
• tours
• 1st
• amendment
• AB
• Tech
• unlawful
• arrests
• asheville

[SurvivorsCLT]

The First Amendment to the Constitution grants Americans to have the right to Freedom of Speech in the public square. These individuals were exercising that right by attending a public college and speaking out against Abortion.

Sometimes police and administrators abuse their authority by unlawfully arresting and removing our group from public areas, to silence our message. A public college campus is a traditional venue to explore and express personal views.

[Showaholic]

i would probably laugh in your face if I passed you by demonstrating against abortion... but this video really looks like you had the right to demonstrate against whatever you wanted. you should not have been arrested.

[MrHaggis03]

Oh dear, is there any end to the criminality these fundie fascists will go to. Hopefully, they will be off of our streets for a vey long time, it would certainly make me feel safer.

[UniversalDirt]

(One of the five was Kortney Blythe who with her pre-born child was killed in an automobile accident about a month ago in Georgia. She was 28. Kortney was a graduate of Montreat College, which is near Asheville.) 

[UniversalDirt]

Of the eight people who were arrested, five were from out of town and three were local. The local people were me and two of my children. The five were members of a group called Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, based in California. Despite all of their bragging, they did plead guilty. There generally was a difference between how my children and I acted on the ABT campus and the behavior of a couple of the Survivors, who were loud, especially AFTER or AS they were arrested.

[WNCbadwolf]

this is freaking hilarious. These people come to our town, create a big stir on the local community college. whine & cry that their first amendment right is being violated, they post this video and comments about how they have never lost a case like this & that they will be suing the school. Make multiple comments over & over about all of that and when it comes to the day of their trial, they wimp out and plead guilty. How pathetic. Hopefully they will stay out of Asheville along with their kind

[bloodraynefan190]

I agree...any building funded by the federal government is public property.

[cheath432]

The badge they wear represents the law of the State of North Carolina, listen to what they say and comply with them. It's pretty simple. They did the right thing by arresting you all. The free speech argument is for court, not the police officers. All that could've been avoided had you complied.

[smbullz]

you have to apply for the permits to do these things. if you want the right to force your opinion on someone, the the director of the "public property" must give sufficient warning to the surrounding public that your protests/rally, may be offensive or shocking. that brings attention to the facility or grounds so that they can make a decision if they want to be subjected to your material. i think the freedom of speech is the greatest amendment, closely followed by the right to bare arms.

[xxxslash616xxx]

Yes, he does have the authority to ask you to leave he's the vice president. I go to AB-Tech myself and if I saw idiots like this I would just laugh at them. I don't believe in abortion but making displays and shit and pretty much forcing your opinion on others is idiotic. Yes you do have free speech, but I bet any of you would turn away or laugh away a preacher that came onto campus trying to convert people. I hope you are all banned from campus cuz I will so laugh at you if I see you.

[mcconnell51]

Look at the fat ass on that chick cop, LMFAO

[jukio02]

@avlkush ya, it because a problem when it starts creating problems. but i dont know what happened before this vid