Cheney sics Secret Service on man who said "your policies in Iraq are reprehnsible"

[PixelPusher]

This guy should just be thankful Cheney wasn't packin' a 12 Gauge.



Arrest over Cheney barb triggers lawsuit (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5039230,00.html)

By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
October 3, 2006
A Denver-area man filed a lawsuit today against a member of the Secret Service for causing him to be arrested after he approached Vice President Dick Cheney in Beaver Creek this summer and criticized him for his policies concerning Iraq.

Attorney David Lane said that on June 16, Steve Howards was walking his 7-year-old son to a piano practice, when he saw Cheney surrounded by a group of people in an outdoor mall area, shaking hands and posing for pictures with several people.

According to the lawsuit filed at U.S. District Court in Denver, Howards and his son walked to about two-to-three feet from where Cheney was standing, and said to the vice president, "I think your policies in Iraq are reprehensible," or words to that effect, then walked on.

Ten minutes later, according to Howards' lawsuit, he and his son were walking back through the same area, when they were approached by Secret Service agent Virgil D. "Gus" Reichle Jr., who asked Howards if he had "assaulted" the vice president. Howards denied doing so, but was nonetheless placed in handcuffs and taken to the Eagle County Jail.

The lawsuit states that the Secret Service agent instructed that Howards should be issued a summons for harassment, but that on July 6 the Eagle County District Attorney's Office dismissed all charges against Howards.

The lawsuit filed today alleges that Howards was arrested in retaliation for having exercised his First Amendment right of free speech, and that his arrest violated his Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful seizure.

[FromWayDowntown]

This Administration is absolutely committed to protecting the fundamental rights that the Constitution seeks to ensure.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

This Administration is absolutely committed to protecting the fundamental rights that the Constitution seeks to ensure.

Next thing you know, school districts are going to tell kids they can't make posts online from their home computers.

[FromWayDowntown]

Before some around here come in to set up their strawman arguments, the truth is that I have absolutely no idea if this guy's side of the story is right or whether he might have done something that was much more in-your-face and harrassing conduct. I'm inclined to believe his side of the story, not because of any similarity in our political sentiments, but because (among other things) the Eagle County District Attorney chose not to press any charges. That's not insignificant here, because that same office was insistent about going forward with charges against a certain 2-guard from LA, despite some apparently significant holes in the evidence. Maybe the office learned from that event; maybe there's a new DA; maybe they figured a jury in Eagle County is likely to side with Howards and chose not to go forward with a case it didn't figure it could win; maybe the office is more inclined to be forceful in pursuing charges arising out of sexual conduct. Who knows?

If he's being truthful, the contention of respect for Constitutional rights by this Administration takes another hit -- here's a guy who has had his Constitutional rights infringed by an Administration actor.

If he's making this up, he's way out of line and deserves to be ridiculed for that.

Only time will tell which of those contingencies is right.

[RandomGuy]

The sad thing is that with this administration's track record on such things, it is more believable than it should be.

I would like to think that the secret service wouldn't allow itself to be used that way.

[Ocotillo]

Well at least the Veep wasn't sitting on a tarmac somewhere getting a haircut for Gawd's sake.

[xrayzebra]

Nice story, wonder if it will hold up in court. Wonder why he had
to walk by the second time? And got within 2-3 feet of the VP.
The whole story seems to lack a little something. But we still have
courts. And that is where this one is going.

Also, he was ask if he assulted the VP. That's kinda strange, don't
you think. I assume the SS man was present during the whole
exchange. Oh, well. We all know that Cheney is no good and part
of the Bush team so he must be wrong. Right?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Nice story, wonder if it will hold up in court. Wonder why he had
to walk by the second time? And got within 2-3 feet of the VP.
The whole story seems to lack a little something. But we still have
courts. And that is where this one is going.

Also, he was ask if he assulted the VP. That's kinda strange, don't
you think. I assume the SS man was present during the whole
exchange. Oh, well. We all know that Cheney is no good and part
of the Bush team so he must be wrong. Right?

Considering their were people taking pictures, I'm pretty sure others were within 2-3 feet of him, too.

[FromWayDowntown]

Nice story, wonder if it will hold up in court. Wonder why he had
to walk by the second time? And got within 2-3 feet of the VP.
The whole story seems to lack a little something. But we still have
courts. And that is where this one is going.

Also, he was ask if he assulted the VP. That's kinda strange, don't
you think. I assume the SS man was present during the whole
exchange. Oh, well. We all know that Cheney is no good and part
of the Bush team so he must be wrong. Right?

If he truly assaulted the VP, don't you think that the Secret Service wouldn't have allowed him to walk away?

I do.

[clambake]

They showed the clip of this video back when it occurred. If he was arrested, I would sue too.

[101A]

Our government is not royalty, they are citizens doing the public's work. They need to have some thick skin.

If dude was arressted, it sounds like a B.S. deal, and those in positions of power who are responsible have to be held accountable for a mixuse of that power.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Whatever happened to the guy who walked up behind Bush/Cheney on camera and said 'fuck you'? This happened when Bush was in Biloxi, MS right after Katrina.. I had a hearty chuckle over that one.. :lol

[boutons_]

dickhead is a pure Beltway bureucratic operator/in-fighter, a Wizard of Oz, hiding behind a curtain of pre-emptive intimidation.

After 6 years of this asshole and the disasters he's created, the motherfucker has the interest of the USA and what the USA stands so far down his list that it's effectively not on the list.

Impeach dickhead, dubya, rummy, condi. What a fucking disaster these jerkoffs are for the USA and world.