http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUU3yCy3u
Uploaded by AdamKokesh on May 28, 2011
Come dance with me! Please share this invitation! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150453268357946
http://adamvstheman.com
On May28, 2011 Television host Adam Kokesh and several other activists participating in a flash-mob were arrested at the publicly-funded Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Their crime? Silently dancing, in celebration of the first amendment's champion; a clear violation of their right to free-expression. In an excessive use of force, video was captured of Adam being body slammed and placed in a choke for his non-crime.
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Handcuffed and body slammed by female police officer... for dancing at the Jefferson Memorial
UK Daily Mail
- Protesters dance after law bans 'flashmobs' at memorial
- Police officer investigated for 'bodyslamming' dancer
A female U.S. Parks Police officer who 'bodyslammed' a dancing protester is being investigated after footage of the incident appeared on YouTube.
The man was part of a group of dancers taking part in a 'flashmob' demonstration at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington on May 28 when the officer hurled him to the ground before choking him.
They were protesting against a ruling by a federal judge made in January that made dancing at the memorial constituted an illegal demonstration and not an expression of free speech.
Protest song: A man dances at the Jefferson Memorial after a law made 'flashmobs' on the site illegal
Strong arm of the law: The man continues to dance as a female officer grabs him and lifts him off his feet
Grounded: The officer grabs him by the throat and pins him to the ground after he protested by dancing
The video then shows a dancing man wearing a white T-shirt with the word 'disobey' on it being grabbed round the waist and lifted into the air by an officer who then throws him heavily down onto the stone floor.
Break it up: An officer orders a couple to stop their 'illegal' dancing after a law ruled flashmobs at the memorial are no longer acts of free speech
You were warned: After refusing to stop the woman is handcuffed and led away
Prior to the incident an officer is heard telling protesters: 'I'll give you a warning. If you come out here and you demonstrate by dancing, you will be placed under arrest. ... Does everybody understand that?'
But Police chiefs decided an investigation should be conducted into the officers' conduct and have referred the matter to the Office of Professional Responsibility.
Dancing in the Rotunda building where the Jefferson statue is housed was banned in January this year following an incident on April 12, 2008, before Jefferson's 265th birthday, when 17 headphone-wearing dancers swayed around the interior of the memorial.
A woman was arrested and although charges against her were dropped, one of the other protesters filed a suit against the U.S. Park Service, claiming her arrest was illegal.
But U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled that the dancers were taking part in an illegal act.
He wrote: 'The purpose of the memorial is to publicize Thomas Jefferson's legacy, so that critics and supporters alike may contemplate his place in history.
'Prohibiting demonstrations is a reasonable means of ensuring a tranquil and contemplative mood at the Jefferson Memorial.'
