Man charged with Assault for criticizing Cheney

Steve Howards was arrested for speaking to VP Dick Cheney. His comments were construed as assault because they were unsupported.
www.progressive.org...

“I didn’t even know he was in town,” Howards says. “He was walking through the area shaking hands. Initially, I walked past him. Then I said to myself, ‘I can’t in good conscience let this opportunity pass by.’ So I approached him, I got about two feet away, and I said in a very calm tone of voice, ‘Your policies in Iraq are reprehensible.’ And then I walked away.”.......

But the Secret Service did not take kindly to his comment.“About ten minutes later, I came back through the mall with my eight-year-old son in tow,” Howards recalls, “and this Secret Service man came out of the shadows, and his exact words were, ‘Did you assault the Vice President?’ ”

Here’s how Howards says he responded: “No, but I did tell Mr. Cheney the way I felt about the war in Iraq, and if Mr. Cheney wants to be shielded from public criticism, he should avoid public places. If exercising my constitutional rights to free speech is against the law, then you should arrest me.”

Guess what happened next

Is this where what we want?

That will teach him to keep his piehole closed when speaking to a member of royalty.

Where's this guy been? Doesnt he know this is a new America?

The goober.

Is this man experiences a touch of things to come our way in the future?

You bet your butt it is.

Next time he will be tagged an enemy combatant or better yet a traitor and be taken away to a secret camp in nowhere land.

Yes, what a bright future awaits us.

I think its worth noting that some esteemed members of the "right" will not come near this subject.

Yes, this has very little coverage in the media in the states... more elsewhere. Four legs: good. Two legs: better.

I wonder if he'll have his day and court and bring his young son as a witness... or will that be a matter of national security? Hope will that work? Hmmm. Somehow this seems un-American and kind of bizzaro-world-like.

Victor K.

41'

I see nothing wrong with this guy actually pointing out something that he saw as wrong. We are in trouble if we can't speak our mind when we need to.

Say, a person in authority decides to put Caucasians (like me) in the gas chamber, because we are falsely deemed as a damned bunch of terrorists, every one of us! Now, wouldn't we want to speek up and protest, or are we supposed to stand in line, and bite our tongues, waiting to get executed? I guess we should, at the very least, and say "FU" numerous times and kick dirt on our executioners while we are waiting to be killed. Or would that be considered rude?

Troy

[edit on 13-10-2006 by cybertroy]

If this is true I think it is crazy but it is nothing new. I had a chat with Tommy Thompson one time abiut some of his policies and 5 min later the cop that was escorting him gave me a ticket. The worst part was the verbal assault he gave me in the process and we ended up nose to nose and another cop came and pulled him away.

If this happened as described, that SS officer should be fired, stripped of his pension, and given a public beating as a lesson to the other SS officers.

Here's a pdf of the civil complaint:
talkleft.com...

Where is the national media on this? This is insane. This SS officer is a lunatic and needs to be thrown out, at the least. And what the hell is wrong with Cheney that he hasn't done anything about this, like, oh, I don't know, tell anyone that its pretty screwed up?

[edit on 14-10-2006 by Nygdan]

Cheney doesn't do anything about it because he revels in it, I think.

He's a loathsome, fat little balding man with a permanent sneer etched on his face that's resulted from decades of 'getting away with it', can we really expect compassionate action from him? I think rational action is even asking too much...

As far as the SS - they're really not doing their job when they act like this, it's just foolish and self-defeating. They're supposed to be doing a job - protecting the president and his cronies. That doesn't include punitive action against political opponents and outspoken citizens.

:shk:

It's like amateur night at the rodeo. These clowns suck.

Can we please get a proper, dignified villain next time around? You know, one who plots and plans and schemes, but maintains a respectable outward appearance?

When I said I wanted more transparency in government, I didn't mean like this...

does anyone else get the irony of the SS abbreviation? In europe, the SS still has a very special meaning, they were the elite security unit for the nazi leaders, short for Schutzstaffel.
It would be funny if it wasn't so sad, history is a cyclic concept

mr Jones

He's being charged with assault?? What the hell? If he's honest about what he said I don't even think that would amount to slander, let alone assault. Crazy stuff.

Its both crazy and sad at the same time.

If that were Bill Clinton, he would have answered my question and let me be in peace.

There's your difference.
When i run into the Kennedys I am always able to speak to them and ask them whats up with what. I see them at work all the time, and NO, I do not work at a liquor store.
Threw that in cause i know y'all.

Cheney is a crotchety pathetic old man with that grin that symbolises nothing but evil and is unaproachable. Old fart.

Well how about that girl in California that just got tired of Bush and said "kill bush" she got taken away by the secret police for committing a Federal offense now freedom of speech is a federal offense.

I guess the FBI have no comments on their behavior either, another law sue in the making.

OH, my, if you don't see me here in a few days is because I have been taken away by the FBI for posting this.

Serves him right, that'll teach him a lesson

/sarc

If this happened as described, that SS officer should be fired, stripped of his pension, and given a public beating as a lesson to the other SS officers.

He had every right to say what he said and should not have been arrested, but the thing that I'm stuck on is why did the SS wait till after he walked off to arrest him? If they felt he posed a threat and assaulted Cheney...why not cuff him on the spot?

Also, the SS and Cheney are used to people spouting unsupportive comments, stuff alot worse than what Mr. Howard said.....so why arrest this guy?

I think there's a bit more to this story, I smell BS from Howard.

EDIT: Added something


[edit on 14/10/2006 by SportyMB]

Originally posted by marg6043
Well how about that girl in California that just got tired of Bush and said "kill bush" she got taken away by the secret police for committing a Federal offense now freedom of speech is a federal offense.

marg, yelling for someone to be killed should not be taken lightly and it's not covered under freedom of speech. That can and should be taken as a threat. And she was probably released after a short investigation when they realized she is just a stupid kid not using common sense, no harm intended.

Yeah, we know that she did'nt mean it....it's just a figure of speech. But there's some things you just don't do....and saying Kill Bush (or anyone else) at a crowded place, rally, protest, whatever, is not cool.



[edit on 14/10/2006 by SportyMB]

At the jail, the charge against him was reduced to harassment, he says, and he was released on $500 bond. The Eagle County DA’s office eventually dropped that charge.

IF a SS agent thought for a 'second' that someone assaulted the VP of the US, his arse would be on the ground in handcuffs. I don't he said anything in a 'very calm tone'. This schmuck ran his mouth, and another agent in the crowd probably heard it as he walked away, they shadowed him and when he came back in the area, they tried to ask some questions. I am sure that he has some choice words. The first rule with ANY type of authority, be is a SS or a local cop[ is too shut up, say yes sir, and walk away. Profanity can be construed as assault, this is common knowledge. If you tell a police officer to F### off, he will arrest you for assault.


Also, Charges are not reduced at the police station, charges are filed at the time of arrest, so again, this is creative wording by the left to make this an issue. There is no violation of his rights, and he should be smarter than to run his mouth in front of his children.


[edit on 14-10-2006 by esdad71]

Esdad,

All you had to say was your opinion of what MAY have happened. If this guy is telling the truth, then yes his rights have been trampled on.

Originally posted by esdad71
Profanity can be construed as assault, this is common knowledge. If you tell a police officer to F### off, he will arrest you for assault.

Yes, but the guy said "Your policies in Iraq are reprehensible." There's no profanity there.

[edit on 14-10-2006 by Xeros]

People are innocent until proven guilty. I am trying to express what would have happened to led to this type of action. Use some common sense, I am showing the other side.

If this man truly did 'nothing', then yes, his right were violated. However, have you ever seen when the POTUS or the VP come into town, there are TONS of anti war protesters. There is more to this that we know.

I am not blind, I am cautious.

Also, he was NOT charged with assault, so you may want to change the title of this thread, since it is incorrect. Some of you are responding without reading the article. go figure

[edit on 14-10-2006 by esdad71]

As a german , you guys know what springs to my mind, when you are all talking about a SS man?